electric eye records

! KEITH O’CONNOR  NATHAN BLAIS

First came the vinyl record created in 1930 by RCA Victor. In 1982, the first commercial compact disc, Billy Joel’s “52nd Street,” was released in Japan. It was the beginning of the end for vinyl and CD sales overtook the format in 1988, essentially ending the vinyl era. Then came streaming which gained popularity in the mid-2010s and put a major dent in the sale of compact discs. Despite the many changes in the recording industry over nearly 100 years, vinyl has made a resurgence. “I’m not really sure what is driving the turnaround, and I’m not sure the trend is sustainable. However, hard core collectors are always going to purchase records. Most of my customers are regulars, I’m not seeing a lot of new faces,” said Andy Crespo, owner of Electric Eye Records in Florence. There are theories as to what is driving the sale of vinyl once again among millennial and Gen Z consumers, not just those who grew up on the format. Compared to streaming, record albums are something you own and are tangible. Then there is the sound. Many loyal record owners say the analog tone of vinyl is warmer and fuller than digital audio. While others who can’t stand the “pops and clicks” that come along with vinyl pressings rejoice in CDs. Also, compact discs don't have the wear that the vinyl grooves of records have after many playings. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), vinyl record sales have now outsold CDs in the United States for the first time since the 1980s. The RIAA also noted in a recent report that streaming accounts for greater than 85% of all music enjoyed, and only 6% is now download. “For now, I’m just trying to sell quality used vinyl to people who share the same passion as I do,” he said. Before opening Electric Eye Records in 2016, Crespo was a printing press operator for 20 years.

“It’s not what you would call a very exciting job,” he said. So, when he learned his friend, Bill, was selling his record store to move to Philadelphia with his wife, Crespo decided talking to people about music all day long would be more exciting. “Bill was my friend and I would go down to his store and hang out with him talking about music and everything else. We talked about my owning the store. I had been a record collector for years, but didn’t have a business background. Bill spoke to his landlord for me and the next thing I knew, I owned my own record store,” Crespo said. “When I took over the store, there were only empty bins left behind. At 52 years old, I have been a record collector for years. Luckily, I had enough of my own product to start filling the bins again,” he added. A longtime music fan, Crespo’s parents had “one of those old furniture-style stereos” that he would play records on to listen to his favorite albums. “I began as a youngster listening to children’s novelty records, then as a teen like so many others I began listening to The Beatles. Eventually I totally got into punk rock.....still am today,” he said. Although he is still very much a punk rock fan, Crespo said when he took up playing the bass guitar, his musical taste began to expand once again. “For 20 years I was a bass player filling in

for friends’ bands when needed,” he said. He noted many musicians as he did turn to jazz and the record seller now feeds his habit for the popular genre with the many used Blue Note and Impulse jazz label records that come through his doors at the store. In addition to records from his own collection, Crespo stocks his store with vinyl people bring in to sell or trade, from purchases he makes at record conventions, tag sales and flea markets, and from going into collector’s homes to price their collections. “I try to buy the cleanest records with jackets that haven’t been utterly destroyed, and I give them an extra cleaning before selling them. I also stay away from those that are worn and I listen to them for skips and check for any warpage,” Crespo said. The store owner noted he also sells a “smattering” of newly-released vinyl records and some used CDs, but it is “good, used records” that are of more interest to him.

Electric Eye Records is located on 52 Main St., Apt. 6 in Florence. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit Electric Eye Records on Facebook, call 413-585-5738, or email andybarnowl@comcast.net.