Vintage View: How to care for vinyl records

Vinyl is back, taking the market by surprise. Let's go for a spin to see what we need to know to preserve records for posterity

A record collection really is a peek through the beaded curtain into a person’s private club where they over-bite, groove and grind without fear of being seen. It also can contain some emotional landmines, so I treated the slightly damp fins of my family life, listing in collapsing boxes, with tender fingertips.

Danny Kaye tells 6 Stories from Faraway Places (1960, Golden Records) — infant treasure. In The Court of the Crimson King (1969, Golden Records) — we thought we had personally discovered this surreal stew in the 1982 reissue. With the Beatles — well that delivered a gloss of unspeakable cool to my parents in our teenage confusion. Whipped Cream & Other Delights, a jaw-dropping image buried in dad’s joy of jazz chops, showing a booby woman frolicking in whipped dairy.