Virgin Records: The First 50 Albums Poll

These days, it's V2019 for me...

There were a few contenders, but I went with Ivor Cutler's "Velvet Donkey."

Voted for "Ommadawn", which I consider better than "Tubular Bells".

Had Charisma's releases counted, my vote would obviously been for another album though. :)

V2010 - Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

OBVS

V2017 (rock bottom)

My top three votes would be: Phaedra, Rock Bottom, and You.

My vote's for Phaedra, too.

Oh noes Ivor Cutler votesplit! I went with Dandruff.

This label seems like a sound little indie btw.

i've never heard of v2036, what is it?

"Ommadawn", which I consider better than "Tubular Bells"

I've always preferred Ommadawn as well. Never really got on with Side Two of Tubular Bells...

V2048 is a harbinger of changes ahead, as 8 out of the next 12 releases (V2051 to V2062) are from reggae acts.

Slapp Happy

"Tubular Bells"
I like side two, it ends just before it starts to get boring.

i've never heard of v2036, what is it?

Finnish fusion jazz, it's quite okay if you like the genre. One of the tunes was sampled by DJ Shadow on Entroducing. Pekka Pohjola and Wigwam (his former band) were signed to Virgin because Mike Oldfield dug them, if I remember correctly.

Mike Oldfield also plays and Sally Oldfield sings on Pohjola's following album "Keesojen lehto", but for some reason that wasn't released by Virgin.

I've played the first LP by Hatfield and the North to death, so that gets my (and probably the only) vote.

there's a lot of stuff on there that i don't know, but those tangerine dream albums are awesome. phaedra it is.

V2004!

It's definitely a toss-up between The Exorcist and Tangerine Dream.

I do have great love for those solo Froese records too.

Virgin used to be great label, didn't it. The pre-punk releases are often overlooked now, but a lot of those are very good. It is Tangerine Dream's, "Phaedra" for me too. I've always had a soft spot for Kevin Coyne.

Interesting, never realized how many Dandelion artists they copped!

I chose V2038 - David Bedford - The Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner but it was a fucking crapshoot.

Anyone know if that big Virgin anniversary book actually covers this period? I was always tempted to buy that book for some reason.

Virgin used to put out great label samplers. They would put punk, prog, reggae, and krautrock all on one record. Did a lot to open up my punk obsessed ears. Hey, there's another poll!

Virgin used to be great label, didn't it.

They were great as long as Richard Branson cared. When he took more interest in planes than music, Virgin became just like another record label.

The first sign of something wrong was when they signed Janet Jackson. Not because there's anything wrong with Janet Jackson, but because she doesn't represent the kind of music that Virgin were about. (In fact, the beginning of the end may have been Paula Abdul as well). They should have kept to prog rock, new wave and synthpop/new romantics, and kept away from those more recent trends.

Butbutbut Richard Branson never cared about music in the first place! (As evidenced by his Desert Island Discs picks, which were mostly the songs which had made him the most money.) Right from the start, he sensibly left the A&R-ing to others.

Anyway that's roughly when Virgin stopped being Virgin. When they signed such as Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson, acts that didn't fit into what they had been doing musically previously.

TDream votesplit!
I probably would have voted for Phaedra if I hadn't just heard Rubycon for the first time this year. It's like a more concise Phaedra. I've always loved Phaedra, but Rubycon sounds fresher to me now.

Where is the Faust-love? IV's their best record!

I thought that Tapes was a Virgin release? I love IV, but I wanted to vote for Tapes.

otoh: ithought rock bottom'd walk it.
ot2h: i voted for faust's iv.

Confused: why isn't Marjory Razorblade there? it predates the other Kevin Coyne records on the list, but its catalogue number appears to be out of sequence- VD 251......

Also Trip maker is right - the Faust Tapes preceded IV as did Gong's Camembert Electrique bith released for 49p or something like that, but with odd catalogue numbers

definitely rock bottom

Yeah, budget releases and double albums were catalogued differently... and then there was also the budget-priced sister label Caroline (Lady June's Linguistic Leprosy etc.)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Rock Bottom but i like Faust iV and even Landed quite a bit. went thru a Phaedra/TD phase at one point. haven't heard Mallard in ages - that was Beefheart band right? I would love to find a buried treasure chest with all these albums in it.

This list reminds me of the Virgin Value inner bags you'd get in Virgin LPs in the mid-'80s, advertising their £3.99 back catalogue.

I bought way too many Tangerine Dream records in my late teens; I'm sure Phaedra and Rubycon would sound ace now but they're weighed down by too much dross in my memory. I've predictably plumped for the only record listed above that I own on CD - V2017.

Phaedra

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Tangerine Dream vote split!

Where is the love for GONG?

Way too little love for Mike Oldfield.

Hatfield And The North - The Rotters' Club

I recently read the book, The Rotters' Club. It was pretty epic. A couple characters attended a Hatfield and the North show, and I thought they made that band up! It can be a bit gut-wrenching, but I recommend the book.

I have been mildly curious about Steve Hillage, but nothing here seems to recommend him very strongly. That's pretty much the story with early Virgin -- lots of fairly interesting albums, but only a few that are truly awesome.

I (re-)purchased Steve Hillage's Fish Rising earlier this year. Enjoyable stuff, but Gong's You is a better starting point (they pretty much share the same personnel, barring Daevid Allen). It's held up astonishingly well, revealing itself as much funkier and dancier than I had remembered.

Hatfield's The Rotters Club is one that I admire more than love. Sure, it's clever, dextrous stuff, but it also gets a little too dense and bookishly sterile at times.