Classic 45's Jukebox

Label: Def Jam 05665
Year: 1985
Condition: M
Price: $12.00

From a warehouse find, this is a new, unplayed stock copy, in its original Def Jam factory sleeve. I'm so glad to have this one back in stock, at least for awhile! I just can't live without my L.L. Cool J! By the way, both sides of this 45 are specially edited from longer album tracks of 5:27 and 5:07, respectively. Note: This copy has light storage wear that lowers the Label grade to Near Mint. The wax and audio are pristine.

Collector Nerd Alert: Here's another case where if one behaves like a man from Mars and looks at this record's labels with no other information about the record, one would conclude that "I Can Give You More" was the intended A side, and perhaps it was. But to persist in acting as if that's the record's "A" side in the face of overwhelming sales and airplay data that show "I Can't Live Without My Radio" was L.L. Cool J's first hit, reaching #15 on Billboard's Black/RnB Singles chart, and it's also the side that lands him at #550 on Dave Marsh's list of the 1,001 greatest 45s of Rock'n'Soul. Yes, the market-demoted "B" side is a fine piece of Rap/Hip-Hop, but the award for most significant side, and therefore the "A" side in our way of thinking, clearly goes to "...Radio". That's the side collectors will be seeking, and it should be placed rightfully as the "A" side of this particular 45, the label information notwithstanding. It behooves any discography to put each record in the context of its period in terms of chart data, airplay and sales data, and awards of various kinds from institutions and influential writers.