Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "F♯ A♯ ∞"

"F♯ A♯ ∞" (pronounced F sharp A sharp infinity) is the debut album by Canada's post-rock collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor.  The band is very well known among the post-rock community, and this particular albums tends to be a fan-favorite.  It is one of the band's darkest recordings.  GY!BE's style of post-rock consists very heavily of field recordings among the band's climactic instrumentation.  It was originally released on August 14th, 1997 under Constellation Records on vinyl LP.  A CD release of the album was later made available through Kranky on June 8th, 1998.

The definitive release of this album is questionable.  The vinyl LP and CD versions differ quite a bit.  The original vinyl LP release consists of one track on each side, clocking in at about roughly 20 minutes each.  The CD release has a some portions moved around and removed, and a little over 30 minutes of new content.  Both versions of the album are excellent, and comes down to personal preference.

The CD release is readily available in-store and online for a fair retail price.  The packaging is nothing out of the ordinary, but the booklet that serves as the cover is fairly well put together.  The 12 page booklet contains eight pages of artwork and four transparent overlays that follow the "apocalyptic" theme of the album.  The two tracks are shown split into movements in one of the booklet's pages.  A bit of an introduction to the "story" of the album is also made available.

The vinyl LP release of the albums is one of the most interesting that I have personally seen.  The first 500 copies of the album were and numbered.  Newer copies are not numbered, but come with all of the original packaging.  The album comes in a maroon, textured sleeve with one of three different photographs glued to the cover.  Inside of the sleeve there is also a manila envelope containing many different inserts.  In the envelope there is a sheet with the albums credits, various pieces of artwork (some by the band), an old handbill from a previous show, and a train-crushed Canadian penny.  To this day, the album remains intact with all of these inserts and remains available at a retail price.  In addition to these, the B side of this album contains a "locked groove", meaning that the record will continue to play until you remove the needle (a reference to the infinity in the album's name)  A visual of the album and the inserts follows below.

Modest Mouse - "The Lonesome Crowded West"

"The Lonesome Crowded West" is the sophomore LP from Washington's Modest Mouse.  This is personally one of my all time favorite albums.  The album is considered one of the very best indie rock albums of the 90's among critics and music listeners in general.  It is vaguely a concept album on the subject of the urban sprawl in the west.  Through it, the members of the band expressed their frustration with what the massive urban development did to the western landscape.  The album was release on Up Records on November 18th, 1997 on CD and vinyl LP.

This was a very simple release, but it has some very odd quirks.  The vinyl LP release of this album contains a bonus track and a slightly altered track-listing.   The CD release is usually considered the definitive release simply because it is the most accessible.  CD's can very easily be found for $10 in any good music shop.

The vinyl LP release is the real gem here.  It is released on two LPs, but unlike most records that either use a gatefold to hold the two LPs or store both LPs in a single jacked, it is released in two separate jackets.  On the subject of the jackets, the track-listing is actually printed incorrectly.  It does not match up with either the CD release or the actual tracks on the vinyl LP itself.  This version of the album demands ridiculous prices and can easily get $300 for a decent copy.  I have personally seen an impeccable copy of the album go for over $400, and I've seen a sealed copy of this album go for over $800.

Recently front man Isaac Brock has stated that he intends on reissuing "The Lonesome Crowded West" on vinyl LP soon.  Unfortunately, the masters for the album have been lost.  As a result of this, the entire album must be remaster from scratch in order for a vinyl reissue to be possible.  When/If this will ever happen is unsure, but fans and collectors wait eagerly to this day.