A Happy Pocket
...so come aboard, I'm going to explore...
Front cover
Album sleeve, front cover
Side one
Side two
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This is the vinyl version of the Trashcan Sinatras third album A Happy Pocket. I especially like the way they incorporated the song titles into the map on the album's back cover.
Back cover
Album sleeve, back cover
Side one, magnified
Side two, magnified
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This cassette of A Happy Pocket is a rare item, in part because it is made in Turkey. Turkish music publishing company Raks Muzik was a subsidiary of Polygram at the time this cassette was produced.
Back cover
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Front cover
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Side A
Side B
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Inside case
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Front cover
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Here is the CD version of the album A Happy Pocket, considered a UK release, though it was made in Germany.
Back of booklet
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Inside booklet
CD
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Back cover
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The Japanese version of the CD A Happy Pocket has the typical (but very stylish) obi strip along the spine of the CD case. While the booklet has all of the general info (credits, lyrics, etc) in English, there is a separate sheet of info in Japanese script.
Front cover
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Back cover
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Liner note sheet, front
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Liner note sheet, back
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Inside booklet
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Back of booklet
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CD
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CD, magnified
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Originally released on Go! Discs, A Happy Pocket was re-released in 2004 by Universal Music Group (UMG) as part of its efforts to put re-issue several of its archival library of albums (as a result of Polygram acquiring Go! Discs, and then subsequently UMG was formed with the merger of Polygram and MCA....OK enough of that....). Unlike the spine of the original, this one is plain black and does not have "THE TRASH CAN SINATRAS" written vertically.
Whoever put together this release didn't exactly do their homework, however: "Douglas" is listed as the songwriter for each and every one of the 14 songs on the album. Much of the songwriting of Trashcan Sinatra songs is a joint effort between most if not all of the members, and while there are occasional individual songs written by just one of the members, I highly doubt every song on A Happy Pocket is by either John or Stephen Douglas. 
Back cover
Back of insert
Back of insert (magnified)
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Front cover
Back cover (magnified)
CD
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The first single from the album A Happy Pocket was "The Main Attraction". The front cover depicts a bathroom stall with a "VACANT" indication. Interestingly, the CD single version of this has a cover with just the opposite, showing the stall to be "ENGAGED". However, while the 7" vinyl shows "VACANT", the labels on Side One and Side Two show both dispositions, respectively (see bottom set of photos).
The record also includes "Stainless Stephen" (side one), "Charlie's Atlas" and "Jane's Estranged" (side two).
These 7" versions of the single were limited in number, and each one has a unique serial number (mine is 0873 as shown below).
The record also includes "Stainless Stephen" (side one), "Charlie's Atlas" and "Jane's Estranged" (side two).
These 7" versions of the single were limited in number, and each one has a unique serial number (mine is 0873 as shown below).
Front cover
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Back cover
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Side one
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Side two
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In contrast to the 7" vinyl version, which has "VACANT" on the cover, the CD version cover has "ENGAGED" (the CD itself has "VACANT").
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Front cover
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Back cover
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CD
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"To Sir, With Love" was a smash hit in the 1960s sung by Scottish singer Lulu, and was the title song of the movie of the same name, starring Sidney Poitier. Here, the Trashcan Sinatras provide there own cover version, which is more slow and haunting than the Lulu original. Also included are two TCS originals ("Claw" and "A Boy and A Girl"), as well as a redo of the James Bond title song from "You Only Live Twice".
Front cover
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Back cover
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Side A
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Side B
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The CD version of the above 7" vinyl "To Sir, With Love" single also includes the same four songs, but has in addition a round postcard, presumably providing the means for getting on a mailing list for band information.
Front cover
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Back cover
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CD
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Postcard
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Front cover
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In addition to the standard CD and 7" official single releases, "To Sir, With Love" was also available on a special promotional CD single entitled Four Sound Tracks. Along with the single version of "To Sir With Love", the CD contains a second orchestral version of the song, plus "Claw" and a cover of "Born Free", the latter used in the film based on novelist Irvine Welsh's Marabou Stork Nightmares. To top it off, there is a quick NME review of the the TCS short film Spooktime, which was released around the same time as this CD single.
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Back cover
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CD
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The Trashcan Sinatras released a white label promo version of the single "To Sir, With Love", but the unique thing about this record is that while Side A has the tune, Side B is solid black vinyl (i.e. no grooves) with the image of a kangaroo etched in the vinyl. Pretty cool....
Side A
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Side B
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The Trashcan Sinatras' single "Twisted and Bent" is shown below, in 7" vinyl. Included on the record are the songs "Mr. Grisly", "No Gasoline" and "Aberration".
Front cover
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Back cover
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Side A
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Side B
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The English and German versions of "Twisted and Bent"--Same as the 7" version above, only these versions are in CD single format. The German release has extra liner notes written in German, as well as a different spine on the CD case.
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Front cover
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Back cover
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CD
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Liner notes, front (German version)
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Liner notes, back (German version)
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CD spines: UK version (top), German version (bottom)
The Trashcan Sinatras' single "How Can I Apply...?" is shown below, in 7" vinyl. The B-side of this release is "Save Me".
Front cover
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Back cover
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Side A
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Side B
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Front cover
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The CD single version of "Twisted and Bent"--Same as the 7" version above, only this version is in CD single format.
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Back cover
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CD
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Here is the CD soundtrack to the short film made by the Trashcan Sinatras called Spooktime. Issued as a promotional release, the CD contains 5 songs that TCS performed in the film, which are also on the Happy Pocket album.
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Front cover
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Back cover
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CD
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