The Sharks The King Of London (Gold Colored) vinyl is a Western Star Records EP pressing that gives three different versions of the same song across four tracks, which is a format choice that tells you something about how this material was approached in the studio. Gold vinyl for a band called The Sharks is a visual decision that lands correctly.
The Sharks The King Of London (Gold Colored) vinyl: Three Takes on One Song
The tracklist here runs through the standard version, an instrumental mix, a jazz version, and a fourth track, all built around the title song. Releasing the same song in multiple versions is a specific artistic and commercial choice. It says that the song can support different interpretations, that there is something in the underlying material worth exploring from multiple angles. The jazz version is the genuinely interesting inclusion. Taking a pub rock song and applying jazz arrangement to it is a creative risk that either reveals latent depth or exposes the limits of the material.
Western Star Records and the Sharks
Western Star operates in the territory of British rock and roll with a commitment to the physical format. The gold colored vinyl pressing distinguishes this EP from standard pressings and makes it a specific collector object. EPs with multiple versions of a single song on gold vinyl from an independent British label are the kind of release that tends to become harder to find as time passes and the pressing run sells through.
The Physical Object and Its Place
Gold colored vinyl is not common for this genre or this label. The choice makes the EP visually memorable and gives collectors a reason to seek it out beyond just wanting the music. The Sharks have been working this territory of British rockabilly and pub rock long enough to have built a specific audience, and this EP is aimed directly at that audience with the format and pressing variant as part of the argument for owning it physically. Western Star Records has built a catalog that takes British rock and roll seriously as a living tradition rather than a nostalgic recreation. The Sharks fit that mission precisely. The King of London in three versions on gold vinyl is a physical statement about what the song can support, and the gold colored pressing gives the EP visual identity on a shelf that plain black vinyl would not provide. For collectors of British rockabilly and rock and roll working in physical formats, this EP belongs in that section.
More Punk vinyl:
