A Record Collector's Guide

Tuscadero was spectacular.  That's all there is to it.  Four talented musicians, two female singers whose voices worked well together, clever lyrics, loud guitars when necessary...they should have gone much farther.  There was nothing like Missy really belting a song out.  They had two albums, an EP, and a handful of singles, mostly on Teenbeat, all released between 1994 and 1998.  Once they started side projects, you could see the end was near.  Their last show was their 6th anniversary show in DC in 1999.  I was there.  So was that weird guy with the stuffed gummy bear who always went to these things.  Tuscadero really did attract a lot of freaky people.  They even wrote a song about that...

Mt. Pleasant b/w Nancy Drew 7"

Teenbeat 139, released 1994

Tuscadero's first single.  Nancy Drew became a crowd favorite.  The Teenbeat catalogue that came with the single said that mail-order copies of the Mt. Pleasant record were on pink vinyl.  After a long time having never seen a pink one, I finally came across one.  The black one looks black at first, but when you hold it up to the light, it is actually a transparent brown with a reddish tint to it (see images below).

Version	Approximate value ($)
Teenbeat 139 Pink Marble	30-45
Teenbeat 139 Black	45-60

Backlit Black

Sleeve	Paper foldover

Angel in a Half Shirt b/w Poster Boy 7"

Teenbeat 149, released 1994

Single #2.  These two tracks were later released on the Step Into My Wiggle Room EP.  This record is on translucent black vinyl.  Pretty easy to find.

Version	Approximate value ($)
Teenbeat 149 Translucent Black	5

Sleeve	Paper foldover

 

The Pink Album

Teenbeat 159, released 1994

Elektra 61918-2, released 1996 (CD)

Hmm...where to begin with this album?  The first pressing was discarded entirely, destroyed at the pressing plant.  The album was remixed for the second pressing.  However the sleeves from the first pressing survived, and they were used for the next pressing.  However, these sleeves did not reflect the fact that it had been remixed by Geoff Turner, and so, instead of redoing the artwork, they added a brief audio track to the very end of the album to give Turner his props.  The artwork was then changed for the third pressing, which was distributed by Matador.  You can easily tell the difference between the pressings.  On the vinyl: the second pressings have pink labels.  They are white on the third one.  The second pressings have the aforementioned Geoff Turner track at the end, which starts with crickets chirping.  On the sleeves, the front looks the same for both versions.  The back is completely different between the two (see pics below).  Things of note: the later sleeve mentions Geoff Turner and says, "Manufactured and Distributed by Matador," right above the Teenbeat logo.  The earlier sleeves do not.

But wait...there's more!  The band signed to Elektra, which decided to put out their own version of the Pink Album.  So they re-recorded some and remixed most of it again.  The Elektra version does sound really good, though.  There was never a vinyl version of the Elektra release.  That part remained on Teenbeat.

Version	Approximate value ($)
Teenbeat 159 - 2nd Pressing Black	15-20
Teenbeat 159 - 3rd Pressing Black	8-10

2nd Pressing Sleeve (Back)

3rd Pressing Sleeve (Back)

V/A - Squirrel

Tuscadero - Island Girls/Chisel - Out For Kicks b/w Frodus - 22-D10/Bloodnation - Flesh of Another

Level Records LVL-005, released 1995

This 7" compilation came out in between albums.  It has one Tuscadero song on it, which never appeared anywhere else (there's a reason...seek out only for completeness).  All on clear vinyl.

Version	Approximate value ($)
LVL-005 Clear	8-10

Sleeve	Paper foldover

The Mark Robinson Re-Mixes EP

Paper Crown / The Sky is Cold Blue / Pleasure Idle b/w Sweet Sweet Sugar Pops / So Sick of You / I Am King Oil / Your Chocolate Bells

Teenbeat 169, released 1995

Several songs from the Pink Album as interpreted by Mark Robinson.  It's on that same translucent black vinyl as the previous Teenbeat single of theirs.

Version	Approximate value ($)
Teenbeat 169 Translucent Black	5

Sleeve	Paper foldover

Step Into My Wiggle Room 12" EP

Teenbeat 179, released 1995

I view this EP in three parts: 1. Holidays R' Hell, one of the best songs ever written by Tuscadero. 2. The two songs from the Angel in a Half Shirt 7". 3. Everything else, most of which sounds like they were just screwing around in the studio.  Black vinyl.

Version	Approximate value ($)
Teenbeat 179 Black	8-10

Tuscadero/Jet Lag Split 7"

Tuscadero - Tickled Pink b/w Jet Lag - 100% Soap

Duchess 001, released 1996

This was a solid single to tide over fans between albums.  Tickled Pink was eventually released on the My Way or the Highway album.  Black vinyl.

Version	Approximate value ($)
Duchess 001 Black	8-10

Sleeve	Full glossy

My Way or the Highway

Teenbeat 259 (LP), released 1998

Elektra 62170-2 (CD)

Tuscadero's final album, released on Elektra in 1998.  This is a very good album.  It has some high points and lower points, but overall is very solid.  My only gripe was that the band never played most of the songs I liked best off of this album live.  My theory here is that Missy could only handle playing a handful of songs in a given live performance that required her to seriously belt out lyrics, and that more than 3 or 4 of those in a set would be too taxing.  Of course, those were the songs that always really jumped out at me, so naturally, I always wanted to hear more of them.  Anyway...Teenbeat had the rights to the vinyl for this album.  As far as I know, all copies were on black vinyl.

Version	Approximate value ($)
Teenbeat 259 Black	8-10