The Return of Swamp Oaf!
It was the late spring of 1989 when Crispin Wood first played me the mix of Swamp Oaf; a side project that the Bags had recently recorded. I was bowled over. To my ears, Swamp Oaf was the great late-’60s record that was never made! The band was stretching out; blasting away on all cylinders, pushing the boundaries lyrically, and allowing songs to expand ever so slightly making room for somewhat longer solos and band interplay. And the songs, themselves were great! It was a different side of the Bags, and one that I particularly enjoyed! Strong numbers, such as “Extra Eye,” emerged from this record to become favorites in the Bags repertoire.
It didn’t take long before Swamp Oaf, the album, became a reality. The summer of 1989 saw its release as a very limited (numbered) edition of 300 copies that instantly sold out. A second pressing with a slightly different cover followed nearly immediately to satisfy demand, especially overseas. Sadly, the Oaf retired when the Bags disbanded at the end of 1991.
Luckily, this was not the end. In the years that followed, The Bags would occasionally get together for a few shows or to record new material. Around 2000, they began to re-issue their catalog as CDs on their label Oaf Records. It was only a matter of time before Swamp Oaf would join that club. And in early 2025, the LP was finally reissued on both vinyl and CD. While it hasn’t been listed on the Bags’ site just yet, I bet if you write and ask nicely, you might be able to score a copy. Then, all I can say is: turn it up!
A Very Special Sale
Over the years, Stanton Park has run a few. At one point in the mid-nineties, I began to run sales in the Vinyl Injections catalog during the summer and holidays. Most items were discounted; some by a lot. Over the last few years, selling on Discogs, made it harder to run the sales this way, so I haven’t.
But, it’s time.
Make sure to come back March 1 to see what is likely to be the the big one.
Where is Stanton Park?
Exactly where Stanton Park is doesn’t really matter. What it is, though, matters a great deal.
While Stanton Park was created solely to release a record the Trodds in 1981, it grew over the next few years into a bona fide independent label releasing records by bands such as: Willie Alexander, the Bags, the Brood, Head and the Hares, Kenne Highland, Medicine Ball, Rising Storm, Voodoo Dolls, World of Distortion and many others.
A small mailorder catalog and this web site quickly followed to help spread the word to enthusiastic record collectors around the world. The focus was vinyl, and for several years, no CDs were listed. During the nineties, the catalog, Vinyl Injections took on a life of its own growing to nearly 1500 titles at its peak.
After 2000, with the general shift to the web, this site took over the entire distributon of the label and non-label mailorder items. And today, our store on Discogs handles all orders.
This site is now dedicated to telling the Stanton Park story, from the bands, to the label to the ups and downs of running a small label.