A Record Collector's Guide

I am still kicking myself over this one. As tuned into the indie scene as I was in the mid-'90s, and as much of a sucker as I was for female-fronted indie rock at that point, I completely missed Sarge. I am still trying to figure this out. I ate up everything that sounded like Sarge during those years, and yet...just never came across Sarge. I even received monthly mail order updates from Parasol Records (parent company of Mud Records, which put out all of Sarge's stuff), and STILL managed to never cross paths with anything Eliabeth Elmore did until sometime in 2006. Really. It's inexcusable. I hang my head in shame. Here I go. From a collecting standpoint, I guess the silver lining for me is that there was not all that much Sarge or Reputation vinyl released during my years of ignorance. Everything on this page is worth your time.

Supporting Actress/Sarge Split 7"

Grand Theft Autumn GTA002, released 1996

Supporting Actress - I'm Attracted to... b/w Sarge - Backlash

Sarge was not originally intended to be the second band on this split, but the original one fell through at the last minute, and they were given the opportunity. I have read that there were 1,000 copies of this one, but I have nothing to confirm that figure. It was once pretty hard to find, and had become quite common over time. It is on translucent black vinyl.

Insert

This page was last updated on January 24, 2020.

Dear Josie, Love Robyn b/w The Last Boy

Mud Records MUD-018, released 1996

Great single. Apparently, the A side got some good press while I had my head in the sand. It seems there were two releases for this single. By random chance, I happened upon two different versions. They are almost identical, save for the URL on the back of the sleeve and the insert. The earlier one has a "cu-online.com" website listed, and the later one had the full Parasol Records address, along with an updated "indies.com" URL (see pic below). Both releases contained Parasol catalogue inserts. The earlier one was on beige paper; the later one was on white, and had a more extensive catalogue listing. The vinyl was translucent black.

Sleeve Comparison

1st Insert

2nd Insert

This page was last updated on January 24, 2020.

Charcoal

Mud Records MUD-CD-019, released October 1996

The first time I heard Charcoal, I thought it could have been a follow-up Tiger Trap album. After some time passed, I realized that was selling it short. Excellent album overall, and only ever available on CD.

This page was last updated on January 24, 2020.

Stall b/w Time After Time

Mud Records MUD-023, released March 1997

This was a solid 7" that bridged the gap between albums. Good stuff. Elizabeth doing a Cyndi Lauper song is fun. Translucent black vinyl. Very common.

This page was last updated on January 24, 2020.

The Glass Intact

Mud Records MUD-LP-028/MUD-CD-028, released 1998

Things really started to come together for the second Sarge album. There are several songs on here that beg to be heard repeatedly. The Glass Intact did come out on vinyl, and that record remains readily available.

This page was last updated on January 24, 2020.

Distant

Mud Records MUD-CD-043, released 2000

Sarge broke up in late 1999, but had recorded a few songs before the band's demise. Elizabeth put those together, along with a few live tracks and b-sides, and released Distant in 2000. She then did a small solo tour to promote the album. There is some spectacular material on here. The songs began to take on a deeply personal quality (which had always been there to some degree...but songs like "The End of July" took that to another level). CD only.

This page was last updated on January 24, 2020.

Robert Nanna/Elizabeth Elmore Split 7"

Robert Nanna - Forgiveness b/w Elizabeth Elmore - You Blink

Troubleman Unlimited tmu 069/tmuSSS012 7"/CD, released 2001

After Sarge had split and when The Reputation was getting going, Elizabeth did a split single with Bob Nanna from Braid, as part of a split single series done by Troubleman Unlimited. "You Blink" is a very solid song. Black vinyl, also available on CD and some download sites. The 7" seems to be more common than the CD.

I am including the single with the Sarge entries. Why? I needed a place for it. Elizabeth did a solo tour around this time and played this song along with mostly Sarge material, so it felt like this one fit more with Sarge.

This page was last updated on January 24, 2020.

The Reputation is my favorite band of the '00s, and it's not close. This is great stuff. Go get it. Go. I'll wait.

The Reputation

Initial Records IR49 CD, released 2002

Elizabeth eventually got another band together, and this was the product. This album is freakin' fantastic. There I was, blithely going about my daily business, living an unenlightened Elmore-less existence. I was sitting at my computer in 2006 in Switzerland. I had my iTunes library on shuffle. Suddenly, the demo version of "For the Win" (from the Fields and Streams compilation) started playing. My head tilted a little in confusion. Then, I proceeded to listen to that song about 15 times in a row. My initial reaction to this album was that it sounded like the female subject of some of Greg Dulli's songs voicing her take on everything. It's really, really good. CD only.

This page was last updated on December 7, 2019.

To Force a Fate

Lookout LT0594CD, released 2004

The Reputation's 2004 second album was also very good. I thought the first one was a bit better, but that's just one guy's opinion - it was better than anything else that came out in 2004. It doesn't seem like something that should have been on Lookout. Solid release, only on CD.

This page was last updated on December 7, 2019.

Either Coast EP

UNRELEASED

Planned as Synesthetic Recordings SYRE 009

The vinyl story for The Reputation is largely about what didn't happen. This single was planned as a 2004 Norwegian release, and was supposed to have contained demo versions of three songs from the first Rep album. The single never came to fruition. I have confirmed that there was never even a test pressing made. The band released at least one of the demos digitally (I think it was on MySpace). The image you see above was intended to be the sleeve artwork.

Let This Rest b/w Killing Word Split 7"

Lookout CP4404, released 2004

Right. Tracking this one down was maddening. Elizabeth Elmore told me it existed, but years passed before I had any other information about it. Then, out of nowhere, someone contacted me through the site. Suddenly, game on...this was a red vinyl promotional split 7" that was pressed for a Red Stripe beer promotion. I have no idea how few of these were made, but I do know that it was really, really tough to track down. It was actually the only record featured on this site for which I had no image (or any concrete information). Fortunately, those days are gone.

In the last few years, one or two other copies have surfaced. The demand seems to be pretty low, so it has been inexpensive (but it shouldn't be).

This page was last updated on December 7, 2019.