EDITOR’S NOTE: Goldmine compiles its Market Watch countdown from eBay auction results and seller descriptions. Any images shown with Market Watch entries are the same ones that appeared with the seller’s description of the piece.

By Susan Sliwicki

This Market Watch countdown might be shorter than some of the others we’ve seen in Goldmine, but the records are just as sweet, with a mix of psychedelia, funk, hard-rock, British Invasion and even an historic recording.

5. $3,221.66 — Status Quo, “Fakin’ The Blues” b/w “Heavy Daze,” 45. This hard-rock U.K. 45 was pressed on the Vertigo label (QUO 31) — but it never was supposed to make it into collectors’ hands.

“I understand that the release of this was cancelled back in 1991, making it an impossible-to-find single,” the seller wrote. This copy featured a NM disc that appeared to the seller to be unplayed, and an EX cover that  shows some creasing.

Thirty-six bids were exchanged before a winner was declared. But, if you’re dying to hear the songs themselves, you can find “Fakin’ The Blues” on the 2002 Spectrum record “Rock ’Til You Drop;” “Heavy Daze” is included in the 4-CD box set “Rockers Rollin’: Quo in Time.”

(What are your records worth? Find out with a Goldmine price guide!)

4. $3,278.36 —  Peter Howell and John Ferdinando, “Alice Through The Looking Glass,” LP. Alice proved to be a musical inspiration in the late 1960s for more than Jefferson Airplane. This rare, U.K.-pressed, psych-folk LP was the inaugural outing for Howell and Ferdinando, who later collaborated as Ithaca and Agincourt.

“Released in 1969, only 99 copies were made,” the seller wrote. “However, it’s very likely only a handful are still in existence.”

This NM copy bears the catalog number SNP LP 11/12. The cover, which shows some yellowing and light creasing, is in VG++ shape. The package includes a rare H&F Recordings calling card.

Same-batch pressings of this LP brought $1,322.83 in June 2010 and $982.75 in September 2010, according to Popsike.com. Numbered editions of this record, pressed in a 1,000-LP run by 10th Planet in 1969, don’t fare nearly as well, drawing between $35 and $78 in sales recorded by Popsike.com between 2006 and 2010.

The original cover (above) was printed with only black ink. The 10th Planet pressing’s cover shrunk the original Alice sketch, added smiling green trees at top of the front cover and a series of eight cards marching along the bottom of front cover.

3. $3,418 — Jimmy Lane and the Incredible 5, “Deal With It” / “What Kind of Man.” 45. Here’s another limited-number pressing, this time featuring soul-funk on the Little Records label of Schenectady, N.Y.

The VG/VG++ 45 originally was pressed in a batch of 500 copies in 1969 and carries the catalog number VSS-82043. It was part of a lot of records purchased near New York City, and, for the seller, one of the more appealing offerings.

“There were a number of Robert Barry Vibrasound Studios records in the lot … square dance, country, garage band, funk, soul and rock,” the seller wrote. “Unfortunately, there were multiple copies of the square dance record … but only one copy of this rare funk gem!”

2. $3,999 — Sun Yat-sen, “King of the King,” 78. Unless you speak Cantonese, chances are you won’t take a lot away from hearing this recording. However, if you’re buying it, it’s probably not because you wish the former Chinese leader would finally release his speaking engagements via iTunes.

This EX-condition 78 was made in China in 1924, under China post Shanghai, and it is the only known vocal recording of Sun Yat-sen, the seller wrote.

“You may only seen it at the Museum in China,” the seller wrote. “Only few copy been survive nowadays (sic).”

1. $4,055 — The Beatles, “Please Please Me,” LP. Clocking in at 2,372 words, this seller’s pitch earns the dubious honor of longest sales pitch this countdown, perhaps in Market Watch history.

On to the record. This stereo EX++++ copy of PCS 3042 is a first U.K. pressing. The seller was quick to point out how copies of “Please Please Me” are eBay regulars, then cited a Record Collector magazine article listing the 200 rarest U.K.-pressed records, of which this rated No. 12 at an estimated value of £3,000.

“This is only a suggestion, and as prices for black and gold stereos in the last year in similar condition to what I have here on auction have been reaching between £10,000 and £14,000,” the seller wrote. “This ultra-early yellow and black stereo variation will probably double the basic £3,000 variation in the very near future as more collectors around the world become are that this pressing does actually exist and that only 1,000 or so were made (if that) with this tiny 33-1/3 credit.”

By Susan Sliwicki

Paolo Campana has had a life-long love affair with vinyl records. His mantra? “Music saves my life, vinyl records save my brain … ”

So, it’s no surprise that Campana is director of a new feature-length documentary, “Vinylmania,” which celebrates the musical format. Even the film’s Kickstarter campaign, launched to fund a special-edition DVD of the film, pays homage to the format: “33in45.” The campaign wraps up Nov. 10, 2011. To donate to the cause, visit http://kck.st/oaRyTc.

“There’s a lot of heart in this film,” Campana said. “Please share in helping it see the light of day on DVD.”

The DVD will featured a cover sleeve designed exclusively for the film by Winston Smith (Dead Kennedys, Green Day record sleeve artist), who stars in the film. For more information about “Vinylmania,” visit its Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/vinylmania or check out its Web site at http://www.vinylmaniafilm.com/.

Paolo Campana directed the documentary "Vinylmania," which focuses on the love of vinyl records.

Goldmine: What do you do for a living?
Paolo Campana: I’m a filmmaker and a DJ, as well. Over the last couple of years, I’ve spent most of my time working on “Vinylmania,” my first feature-length documentary. It’s been great because I’ve got to mix both my passions, film and music, together! When I DJ I play exotic, lounge and Latin music from the ’50s up until today. I play in all kinds of clubs, bars and parties.

GM: What attracted you to do a documentary about vinyl records?
PC: When I was a child, my mother would wake me up with an old Mozart vinyl. It played every morning. I stood for hours looking at the black surface turn on my mother’s turntable. I would get lost in space. We talk about kids and their imagination, but these records would just take me into another universe. I took pleasure in watching the record spin, fixing my eyes on the microgrooves until they were close to watering, a habit that still accompanies me today in my adult life.

My love of vinyl started to get me thinking about a story for a fiction film involving records. Suddenly, I realized the reality I had in front of me was much more interesting. I was frequently DJ-ing and continually visiting record stores and clubs and there was this moment when it just hit me, “Oh, there you are!” It was a couple of years before Nick Hornby released his novel “High Fidelity.” I wanted to know more about what it was about vinyl records that made it such a cultural phenomenon, so I decided to make a documentary.

GM: What did you learn about vinyl records that surprised you the most during the course of making of “Vinylmania”?
PC: Behind every vinyl record, every cover, every song, every groove, there is always a personal story that can be shared. When I was in Prague, I met people that, at the end of the ’60s, were arrested just because they had a Frank Zappa or a Rolling Stones record … Vinyl records hold a locker of memories. I’d always been aware of my own locker, but, wow, was I blown away by others!

GM: What do you, personally, love most about vinyl records? Why?
PC: The sound? The cover? The shape? Even the smell? I don’t know exactly what it is that I love most about vinyl records … They activate a whole world of senses. Maybe it’s the fact that you’re looking for a record for years and then you find it, you touch it, you look at it, and it’s pure and simple devotion. You can finally taste the music, hear its deep, crackling sound. I think the most important thing with records is that you get to live the absolute physical experience of music.

GM: What annoys you (or what do you wish that you could change) about vinyl records?
PC: How much they cost! That was the hardest thing about filming “Vinylmania.” We filmed in seven different countries, and just when you thought you couldn’t spend any more on records, a rare piece would fall into your hands. I’m just joking; the fact that prices can reach hundreds and thousands of dollars for a single record just reiterates how precious they are, and you can’t mess with that. The truth is, I wouldn’t change a thing. There are problems that come with vinyl; they’re heavy and can get scratched relatively easily, but just like with people, you accept them faults and all. Just because they have failings doesn’t mean you stop loving them, and, actually, more often than not, their failings become the thing you love most. I probably annoy them as much as they annoy me, if not more.

GM: Where do you weigh in on other formats — CDs, 24-karat gold CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks, MP3s? How do they compare to vinyl?
PC: Depending upon the situation, all formats can be handy. I’ve got CDs and MP3s, and sometimes I use them precisely because of the situation I find myself in, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy it. Digital bothers me because of the sound. For me, vinyl is absolutely the best format for listening to recorded music. Not a string of ones and zeros, vinyl is pure analog, just like real life. I like cassettes and 8-tracks, but I don’t use them, though they are just beautiful objects. 24-karat gold CDs or similar? For my ears, vinyl is still superior.

GM: How long has this documentary been in the making? What has been the best part of working on this “Vinylmania?”
PC: I began to work on this idea more then 10 years ago when nobody talked vinyl. During these years, I wrote and rewrote the project, fighting to find producers interested in it. There was this obscure moment when they would say, “Vinyl records? They are just a nostalgia … too niche.” Finally, five or six years later, vinyl was back in the tabloids because of increased sales, and finally I found money to make my film.

The best part of working on “Vinylmania” was definitely during shooting. Having the possibility to fly out of Italy where I live and meet people I’d dreamed of meeting for years was surreal. In Japan, for example, near Tokyo, after years of e-mailing, I finally met the producer of the laser turntable, a 70-year-old quiet and simple man. What emotion! After we finished filming in his lab, we went to drink a couple of beers in a pub, in secret from his wife. It was four in the afternoon, and we didn’t even mention records!

GM: What’s the first record you ever bought?
PC: With my own pocket money … I remember the “Video Killed the Radio Star” single by The Buggles. I was 8. I bought my first album when I was 12 … the “Flash Gordon” original soundtrack by Queen — not really because of the band, but because I really liked soundtracks.

GM: Do you collect records? If so, how big is your collection? What artists/themes dominate it?
PC: I do collect records, but not in a “traditional way.” I like originals, but I don’t mind if I don’t find them. I had approximately 3,500 records, a little wall in my room. For years it was dominated by trip-hop, exotic and lounge music, Latin bossa boogaloo and post-punk and new wave, the music of my generation. The last one dominates again in my collection.

GM: What’s your favorite record format (33-1/3, 45, 78) and why?
PC: For a long time I preferred the 33; now I’m rediscovering the 45. They are compact and more practical for gigging. I’m also really surprised about the quantity of good music you can find on 78 and how many people like dee-jaying with them … maybe it’s the future?

GM: If money and availability were not factors, which record would you most want to enjoy in your collection?
PC: A classic one: “The Velvet Underground And Nico” (Andy Warhol) by Velvet Underground, the original press with the banana sticker.

GM: What are your passions/hobbies besides vinyl records?
PC: Concerts, dancing in a club … cooking for someone else while listening to a good record with a good glass of wine from Piemonte, Italy, where I’m from.

GM: What records are currently on your want list? How long have you been seeking them?
PC: The first album of the Associates and X-straordinare by Gina X Performance, a German woman who made electronic music in the ’80s … simple things, but hard to find with a good price. I’ve been looking for them for over two years at the flea markets.

GM: What differences can you detect between music played back on vinyl records (sound “warmer”) vs. the same music played via CD or MP3?
PC: Vinyl’s sound makes me relaxed. It’s a more peaceful experience and definitely warmer than those frosty zeros and ones, no doubt! The digital sound penetrates my ears too much. It’s too sharp. The first time I played a CD at home, I got a huge headache. Vinyl is a natural sound, analog that conforms to our analog ears! MP3 is … no comment. I couldn’t use an iPod for more than 10 or 15 minutes … I prefer listening to the radio … analog radio!

GM: Do you think vinyl’s resurgence is here to stay? Why or why not?
PC: Yes, I think so. I think vinyl is here to stay for many years to come. We need it to. Human beings need it to. Definitely my generation will keep buying vinyl, because it’s linked to our memories, but I think today’s generation, the young people, the teenagers, will help vinyl stick around more than anyone. After all, they’re the ones principally responsible for today’s vinyl resurgence. Maybe it’s because they want a concrete experience in front of a world that is going dematerialize. Maybe it’s because they finally want to be part of the physical experience of music, too! Either way it’s today’s youth more than anyone who have brought vinyl back into vogue today.

GM: What’s your favorite cover art/picture sleeve of all time?
PC: Wow, the toughest question! My favourite record sleeve is… there are too many … I think Joy Division “Unknown Pleasures” cover design by Peter Saville. For years, the small white and stylized graphic that represents a pulsar death on a black field was a big mystery to me. It really touched. So obscure, introspective … this coldness … This cover made me really feel the music. I bought the LP at 15 in 1983.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Goldmine compiles its Market Watch countdown from eBay auction results and seller descriptions. Any images shown with Market Watch entries are the same ones that appeared with the seller’s description of the piece.

With a Market Watch countdown like this one, it’s tough to spot record market trends. We’ve got a variety of genres — Northern Soul, grunge, British Invasion, funk, vintage blues, classical — and formats — 45s, 78s, LPs, promos. So what rocks record-buyers’ worlds the hardest? You’ll just have to keep reading to find out.

10. $4,000 — Mixed Feelings, “Sha-La-La” b/w “Love Will Find A Way, 45. The seller had little to say about this Northern soul gem on United 351, other than to share that it is a demo copy and is in “almost Near Mint condition.”

9. $4,060 — Uncle Funkenstein, “Together Again,” double LP. Uncle Funkenstein’s double LP on the R&L label returns to Market Watch after about a year’s absence. Last summer, it hit the countdown twice in a row, bringing $4,000 for a still-sealed, signed LP and $3,200 for a VG+ copy. This time, the vinyl grades at VG to VG+, and the cover is a strong VG+ due to ring wear and some residue from an old price sticker. “Certainly one of the rarest rare groove or funk LPs from the U.S., without question.” Also of note: Jazzman recently reissued the album in a quantity of 500, which has since sold out, leading the seller to state he feels the reissues are collectible as well. We think time will tell.

8. $4,500 — The Black Birds of Paradise, “Muddy Water” b/w “Sugar!”, 78. This E-condition copy of Gennett 6211 was snagged for the seller’s buy-it-now price. “This is probably in the finest condition of the three to four known copies in the world,” the seller wrote. “We surely doubt you will ever see this one show up again.”

7. $4,550 — The Rolling Stones, “The Rolling Stones” promotional album, LP. An estimated 400 copies of this record were pressed via Decca — 200 for the U.S. and 200 for the U.K. “This is, without any doubt, the rarest U.K. Rolling Stones LP ever made,” the seller wrote. “A true investment-grade collectible and a top rarity, indeed!!” Despite a scratch that resulted in a 15-second audible click through “Sympathy For The Devil,” this VG+ copy of the 1969 U.K. rarity (LK-6405) drew 24 bids.

6. $4,579.89 — The Movements, “Cockstrong” b/w “Let’s Get Involved,” 45. While the song title on the A-side of Virginia funk 45 might be a little racy, that didn’t seem to turn off bidders. The seller had little to say about this single on the Sounds International (50122) label, other than to share that it was in Mint-Minus condition and that it was an “alternate version to Peanut country 45.”

5. $5,027.72 — Johanna Martzy, J.S. Bach’s “The Unaccompanied Violin Sonatas,” Vols. 1-3, 3-LP set. This three-record U.K.-pressed set on the Columbia label (33CX1286-1288) features violinist Johanna Martzy. All the vinyl earns grades of Excellent Plus, but the sleeves vary from VG to E due to some tape repairs, spine wear and ring marks. “All in all a very good copy of this super rare, very highly sought-after quality original three-LP record set which very rarely comes up for auction with all three records together!!” the seller wrote.

4. $5,100 — Arthur Verocai, “S/T,” LP. This NM Brazilian pressing on the Continental label earns this countdown’s honors for the largest number of bids exchanged (41). “The story goes that Arthur Verocai was an arranger who was involved with many Brazilian records but that this is this is his only solo album,” the seller wrote. “The vast majority of copies were burned in a fire, and very few survived.”

3. $5,100 — The Beatles, “Please Please Me,” LP. This perennial Fab Four favorite — the 1963 first pressing on the Parlophone label (PCS 3042) — is back on the countdown after a couple of months’ absence. The seller advertised this amazingly preserved copy to be in Mint condition, but then went on to say that the album has been carefully tested and played through all the tracks. (Sorry, but that’s not Mint in our books).

2. $5,500 — U2, “Three,” 12-inch EP. This EX copy (hand numbered No. 644 of 1,000) of CBS 12-7951 has brought the best price we’ve seen for this record this year ($1,863.18 in our February magazine countdown and $5,100 in our April 12 online edition of Market Watch.

1. $10,000 — Nirvana, “Nevermind,” LP. The 20th anniversary of this album’s release is in September, but this copy comes with something any reissues won’t: Band members’ signatures and a COA. “This ‘Nevermind’ vinyl was personally given to me in 1993 by Kurt during a backstage tour at a show in Seattle,” the seller wrote.

— Susan Sliwicki

By Susan Sliwicki

5.  $3,100 — Leaf Hound, “Growers of Mushroom,” LP. While the music may not be to everyone’s taste, this 1971 pressing of (Decca SKL-4.5094) stereo pressing seemed to hit the the right notes with eager bidders.

“Monster rare, only 500 copies in the world, and serious collectors will know just what this album represents!” the seller wrote. “This massively rare LP initially sold barely anything and therefore had a very small run and is incredibly hard to find. An astonishing album that really deserves to be in every serious ’60s/’70s record collection!

Forty-two bids were exchanged before a winner was declared for this VG+ copy. Earlier this spring, a copy sold for $4,300.

4. $3,350 — Sonny Clark, “Cool Struttin” LP. When we saw this Sonny Clark record in our Market Watch countdown earlier this spring, it sold for $2,258.12 for an EX- copy.

This clean-playing NM copy of Blue Note 1588 came from a deejay’s collection. The labels, which carry the 47 W. 63rd address, grade as VG+. The cover bears the DJ’s address stamp, but no formal grade was assigned by the seller.

Along with Clark, trumpeter Art Farmer, and alto sax player Jackie McLean appear to perform “Cool Struttin’,” “Blue Minor,” “Sippin’ at Bells” and “Deep Night.”

Thirty-two bids were exchanged before a winner was declared.

3. $3,833.33 — Billy Boy Arnold, “I Ain’t Got No Money” and “Hello Stranger,” 78. Here’s an artist and entry we don’t recall seeing on the Market Watch countdown before. Unfortunately, we won’t learn much from listings, as the seller shared precious little.

“This record is in E+ condition … like new-flexible disc … Super rare label … Recorded by RCA …” the seller wrote.

This promo-marked 78 was issued on the Cool Records label (Cool 103), which is listed on the label as a division of Co-Ben Recording Co. And, the seller wrote that this rarity was Arnold’s first record.

Eighteen bids were exchanged before a winner was declared.

2. $3,516 — John Heartsman And Circles, “Music of My Heart,” 2 LPs. While buyers do seem to appreciate original pressings of this self-released 1976 set, its value seems to be dropping over time, at least in terms of Market Watch countdowns. A VG+ copy sold for $5,500 in March 2010; two months later, a Mint-Minus copy sold for  $4,200 by May 2010. Unfortunately for this seller, this “pristine” copy featuring autographs by all the album’s major players only brought $3,516.

“These LPs are clean, glossy and perfect,” the seller wrote. “My mom was the bass player in a little-known Sacramento-based all girl rock ‘n’ roll band called Filly in the early 1970s. Filly played gigs around the area, at times with John Heartsman. Mr. Heartsman gave this copy of this album to her, a music fanatic and musician in her own right, along with autographs.”

Nine bids were exchanged before a winner was declared.

1. $3,999, Johanna Martzy, “J.S. Bach: The Unaccompanied Violin Sonatas, Vols. 1-3,” 3 LPs. This 3-LP set pressed in Great Britain in the 1950s is no stranger to our countdown, selling earlier this summer for $5,027.72 for EX+ vinyl with VG to E covers. This set of Columbia 1286-1288 posted vinyl grades of EX, VG+ and EX to EX+; its sleeves are all in a very handsome EX+ condition.

“The violin sounds clean and sharp, but there’s some light background crackling in some parts,” the seller wrote. “I think it’s very hard to get this set in a better shape … especially for such an old item of an age of about 60 years now.”

For related items that you may enjoy in our Goldmine store:

• Find out what your 45s are worth with “Goldmine Price Guide to 45 RPM Records” on CD
• And click here to check out all the latest price guides from Goldmine