With only a few hundred copies of Blue Note 1568 Hank Mobley in existence, and few people inclined to or able to spend around $5,000 on a record, there is a very exclusive club, The Mobley 1568 Owners Club. They should meet every third Sunday at a Country Club and compare notes on whose vinyl is the most shiny and lustrous, nearest to mint. The club should have a Private Members Lounge at international airports with valet parking, and a credit card with no limits and unlimited overdraft. And of course a badge to let the world know you are a member of the Mobley 1568 Owners Club.
Latest new member of the club – I exclude member 2008soolyn whose $5,600 cheque bounced – is ppmpmc1202 from the USA, whose bids as 1***m ( 917). This gentleman bids in both jazz and highly collectible rock and pop and July saw him romp home with a most extraordinary collection the most desirable records, including Mobley 1568 for only $4617. Only mint is good enough. June was little different. A quick check brought to light these stunning purchases:
Beautiful copies of beautiful records, he is like a wealthy bachelor with a swanky Upper East side penthouse apartment, dating all the Miss World finalists at once, a giant round bed shaped like a turntable, turning at 33 1/3 rpm..
Digging through his loot I turned up a number of quite modest UK auctions I had unexpectedly found myself second placed in, only to find they had been stolen by ppmpmc1202. Despite shelling out thousands of dollars on the most desirable records, he is quite prepared to rob the church poor box in the UK collectors pool. It is a grudge match now.
So is he a dealer, a collector, or a bit of both?
One small satisfaction, and I can say there were few, was the price he paid for a copy of the Yardbirds album, Roger The Engineer, a fairly rare British R&B dating back from 1966.
The copy on my home shelf is mono Columbia 1st press, which I bought new in 1966 for a couple of quid. It hasn’t been played much because I never liked it that much. I thought the Yardbirds were never much cop after Eric Clapton left to join John Mayall. I put it on the turntable, unplayed since 1966, and the sound quality was dreadful. Funny how the passing of time and events changes your perspective on the world. Time was I would have thought it was pretty cool. Shows how little you really know, most of the time, about anything, really.
I’m not entirely sure that I see either the entertainment or the educational value in discussing the eBay purchasing habits of a presumably competetively bidding stranger in a forum (? blog?) such as this. To do so on ones own in the privacy of their own home is one thing, of course, but to disect and criticize is another that, upon reflection, feels a bit odd. But maybe that’s just me. No offense intended. Carry on.
I agree with everybody today. If I did somehow come by an original 1568, I would have it made into a medallion to wear around my neck. If you got it, you gotta flaunt it.
I agree with Lennib, but, but, but, but……
Great last sentence. Thought about it a lot today. Very true. And at the risk of being branded plebian, to my ears, the overall performances on Blue Note 1568 are not that stellar.
Nice records but not worth that sort of money. Rarity does not aways equal great music… Although I would have loved to have won ebay item 330772909195 (Coltrane – Giant Steps) – Original Mono 1st press, even if it does have a wonky front cover.