CHAIN OF STRENGTH - THE ONE THING THAT STILL HOLDS TRUE

Ok here's the full collection of Chain material on one big fat plastic disc. Bonus is obviously the previously unreleased track "Impact". Anyway as Rev Recs decided to do a bit of a cash grabbing exercise back in 2001 and me being a huge Chain fan I quickly ordered this. I was hoping to get the more ltd clear green but hey Grey is better than black!!! This one is limited to 440 pieces.

UNIT PRIDE - THEN AND NOW EP, CLEAR YELLOW

Highly underated late 80s youth crew band fron Berkley California. Featuring Eric Ozenne of Redemption 87 and Nerve Agents fame. I will testify that I also think that Chain Of Strength hijacked the start of Making A Difference and put it to their True Till Death tune. Seriously I defy anyone to tell me otherwise!!! Anyway 50 copies of this record came with a limited edition cover (commonly refered to as the "Calvin And Hobbes" cover or the "Jason Bush Can Suck It!" cover), hand-numbered on the back of the record cover and on the B-side label of the record. Regular copies are also hand-numbered on the inner dust sleeve (mine is 339 numbered out of 1,000) but I don't know if the two different numbering systems overlap or if they are independent of one another. There are also regular copies that came with a fold-out, live photo poster of the band in addition to the normal insert but the quantity made is unknown.

CHAIN OF STRENGTH - WHAT HOLDS US APART EP, MINDPOWER PRESS, YELLOW SLEVE

And here is the Mindpower Records version of WHUA ep. So what we have here is basically the 2nd press of the Foundation Records WHUA ep that Mindpower Records bought from them and issued with either a light blue card sleeve (200) or like this variant with a gold card sleeve (800). I recently watched one of the light blue sleeved copies go for over $150, which basically shows the collectability of Chain records. Note the glossy Foundation Lyric sheet that is included, so other than the sleeve its mostly a Foundation release! I'd love to know why Foundation sold 1000 of the second press, did the owner give up on hardcore, give up on Chain....someone give me an answer on this one please! I recall buying this from a 2nd hand record store around 93 for the pricely sum of £1, little did I or the store owner know how much in value these would rise to!

Check this link http://vimeo.com/1669873 for a video of Kevin Finns Chain WHUA collection. Seriously mindblowing!!!

CHAIN OF STRENGTH - WHAT HOLDS US APART EP, CONFUSION PRESS

Chain to me was the quintessential "Youth Crew" band in my formative years, I loved everything about this band, their music, their style, their coolness. Ok so there have been an abundance of rumours and stories about the flakiness of Chain dudes but one thing you cannot fault is their musical ability, which to me has always been grade A. This ep is a weird one because it's the second press of the "non rejected" Foundation Records version of WHUA ep. I'm really not sure how many were issued with this sleeve, but the ebay price of this is getting higher each year. Apparently 1000 pieces were pressed for this second press with the majority being sold to Mindpower Records (see the other WHUA ep post) and a small number being given the "Confusion" sleeve. This variant has exactly the same Foundation small glossy lyric sheet as the Mindpower press.

CHAIN OF STRENGTH - WHAT HOLDS US APART COLLECTION

Originally released on Foundation Records in 1990, Alan's skate and record shop based in Wigan had a record label that somehow reissued this for the UK and Europe! Still not quite sure how that happened but I'm grateful nonetheless. I remember ordering this and waiting patiently for the postie to deliver my goods, that wait lasted 8 weeks. On initial examination I was excited that I had both first press colours of white and blue. The label even placed a small typed sheet explaining the pressing info and why the artwork  sucked (see pic above)! I still feel that they could have done without the excuses and produced something with a bit more imagination,and hey at least the live photo on the cover was actually a live gig photo this time around. Anyway another musical ripper from the the Orange County answer to the Backstreet Boys! The 3rd press I got in a trade a while back and the colour scheme must be First Strikes answer to the first ep on Revelation!

TRUE TILL DEATH

Chain are undoubtedly one of those bands you either love or hate. Not for the music which in my eyes is flawless but due to their rumoured flakiness and posturing and the ongoing debate as to the real truth behind the lyrics to True Till Death. Is it about selling out from straight edge or the hardcore scene. I always have and always will love this band, and this although not the rarest variant of this record is an impressive looking item. Apparently Chain staged the photos on this release to make it look like they were playing an awesome gig, but in truth prolly to 10 of their mates in a practice room! Oh well they still look convincingly good.