Strange Brew podcaster Jason Barnard‘s house is on fire. Loved ones have been safely evacuated but which record does he run back into the burning building to save?

With its deep focus and revolving door of rock-worldy interviewees, Strange Brew is the real deal when it comes to music podcasts. Founder/producer/host Jason Barnard’s unquenchable desire to quiz every person who ever appeared on the sleeve credits or liner notes of a rock album from the mid-1960s through to the modern day means he has created a formidable archive; which can be discovered at thestrangebrew.co.uk/podcasts/. But before you click through to his fabulously exhaustive site, Groovy Times was curious to find out which album he would risk a painful death by smoke inhalation to save.

You’re running back into the burning building and coming out with only one record. Which one is it?
Based on the quality and amount of music I’m choosing From Liverpool – the Beatles Box (World Records SM701). It’s an 8 LP compilation of Beatles material released in 1980. It is more extensive and better value than buying the new versions of the Red and Blue albums. There’s also a few interesting mixes which can be hard to acquire otherwise.

I file my records mainly in genre/band groupings eg. Beatles, Kinks, jazz, indie but I need to spend much more time getting a better system. Saying that, I know exactly where the From Liverpool – the Beatles Box is so I’d be able to grab it in time!

Which other records do you instantly regret not saving?
The Action, Rolled Gold (Guerssen, GUESS153). I wrote the sleeve notes but this is one of the greatest lost/unfinished albums. Merging mod rock, jazz and psychedelia this album of largely demos is still a masterpiece. Sidewalk Society’s wonderful attempt to complete/recreate the album with Strange Roads: The Songs of Rolled Gold (Fruits de Mer, Crustacean81) is also worth a mention. UK psychedelia is big for me, when I first heard the Morgan Blue Town material in the late 1990s it opened up a new world. 

I also had, ‘before the fire’, a largely complete set of Barry Ryan singles with their original picture sleeves.

Fairfield Parlour’s From Home To Home is another stunning album – from the renamed Kaleidoscope. There’s a post psychedelic world weariness to Peter Daltrey and Eddy Pumer’s songs. Odessey and Oracle too, albeit a pair of different reissues. I’ve always loved the album and it’s been fantastic to see The Zombies rise again over the last 20 years.

Any valuable records left in the collection that have gone up in flames?
Probably more than I know. I have an EX original press of Aladdin Sane that springs to mind. In terms of reissues, I have the Nirvana Songlife album set – what a group the original Nirvana were!

Any records in your collection that you don’t mind seeing burn?
I have a habit of picking up cheap LPs at charity shops which have some good tracks but are very common – The Seekers, Gilbert O’Sullivan, early Leo Sayer etc.

The Strange Brew podcast can be downloaded and played directly from its parent website thestrangebrew.co.uk/podcasts/ or from a streaming service of your preference.