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Once again, ALDI is flogging vinyl records of questionable quality this weekend.
The salient facts:
- The special buy kicks off on Saturday 16 December 2023.
- Each of the 10 discs is $16.99, which is a lot less than the $50+ you’ll usually pay for new release vinyl in Australia. It’s also the cheapest vinyl album deal ALDI has run this year (it was charging $17.99 or $19.99 for previous vinyl special buys.) At this price, don’t expect a high-quality pressing.
- Most were originally released by European discount label Khemco/Musicbank, a switch from Bellevue Publishing which has been ALDI’s major supplier for other vinyl sales this year (see my overviews for the April and August deals).
- Once again, ALDI is also selling turntables to attract new vinyl converts. This time, you can choose between a $129 “retro turntable with legs” in black or blue, or a $69.99 “retro turntable briefcase” in tan, powder blue or black. The $129 model is easily the most expensive record player ALDI has sold this year, but I suspect you’re mostly paying for the legs.
Here’s the disc-by-disc review. There’s nothing here I’d want to buy, and the quality remains mixed: there are a few genuine recordings licensed from major labels, but a whole lot of dubiously packaged live reissues.
Elvis Presley, Elvis At The Movies: You could create a terrible Elvis movies compilation by picking unknown tracks from his abysmal later flicks, but this 2021 release is actually not a bad selection for the casual listener. Plenty of big hits including ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Love Me Tender’ and ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ amongst the 14 songs on offer.
Elvis Presley, The Christmas Album: While it has new cover art from 2017, this is a genuine reissue of Presley’s 1957 Christmas album, and thus easily the most authentic record in this selection.
Classic 60s Number Ones: Like the similarly titled The Best Of The 1960’s from ALDI’s August batch, this 2022 release suffers from a surfeit of early 60s hits: across its 16 tracks, there’s nothing later than 1962. It does seem to be the original recordings though. Big names (Elvis, Cliff Richard, Roy Orbison) rub shoulders with one-hit wonders (The Tornados, B. Bumble & The Stingers).
Alanis Morissette, Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival: This is where stuff gets really murky. The titles on these records are all but impossible to read in ALDI’s own catalogue online, and a reverse image search doesn’t show up any obvious prior releases.
It seems likely that the Alanis record, which is not the legendary Jagged Little Pill album, is is a partial repackaging of Live At Montreux 2012, which has been reissued multiple times. ALDI is fond of the “use the same title for a live album as a well-known album” trick; it tried it earlier in the year for a Bob Marley release.
And while the Fleetwood Mac cover art shows the best-known line-up of the group, I very much suspect these are live recordings from 1970, meaning no Stevie Nicks, no Christine McVie and no Lindsay Buckingham. Same for Led Zeppelin; these 1969 recordings have been reissued multiple times, and their copyright status is pretty questionable. That’s also true of the Nirvana and Creedence titles, which are probably radio recordings of live broadcasts.
As for Billy Joel; at a guess, this might be a reissue of recordings made with his 1960s group the Hassles. I’ll have to confirm these when the vinyl actually hits the stores, but it’s all a tad deceptive for my tastes.
Rockin’ Christmas: A bland selection of carols from 1950s and 1960s crooners (Bing Crosby! Max Bygraves!) grace this 18-track selection. The definition of inessential. But at least it’s the original recording.
The target for these releases is not music enthusiasts, obviously. ALDI is hoping nostalgic shoppers will be tempted by the low prices and not look too closely at the details. But me, I’m one for the details.
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