My review is not scathing (?), I only stated that I find it mediocre to my ears. Now, mediocre doesn't equate to lousy! That is something else entirely.
I certainly would never classify it as a great or killer garage 45. And I'm sure other 60's garage 45 collectors would agree with this assessment. At the time I compiled Teenbeat Mayhem, I didn't find the Bobby Reno disc to be worth listing. My guess is that if I did list it, the song "Crying Of A Storm" would have rated as a 2 ,3 or 4 out of a possible 10.
The reason you can't find archived sales of the Bobby Reno 45 is that no auction archival website:
a- goes back far enough year-wise
b - many records sell for $20 or less, or do not sell at all. None of these are archived.
I know I've seen the Bobby Reno 45 listed on ebay in the past. Maybe it had no bidders? Maybe it only sold for $10? I cannot recall specifics. "Never listed on ebay" is most often a myth.
Records are not exclusively found native to their locale - It is hardly unusual for a local label or vanity pressed 45 to turn up hundreds of miles away, years later (my collector friend found his copy up here in the northeast USA. He may not even have it anymore in his collection).
I have gone on about the misuse of the term rare before on G 45 and other websites to deaf ears, but....
(I am speaking from a 60s garage / psych 45 standpoint, however, this concept can certainly apply to other collecting genres):
Rare = the record must be actively sought after and in demand by the majority of active collectors who specialize in the genre, often for a decade or even longer, with very few copies, if any having turned up during that time.
Scarce = an obscure 45, something unheard & unknown to all except perhaps a very few. Values affixed are usually widely random and variable. These 45s may fall prey to documented overhype - subsequent copies that come forward are priced the same. From what I've witnessed, the high asking price 45s do not sell for anywhere near the original auction price or asking price, if they sell at all. And the misguided seller will not budge on his asking price, thinking the 45 is worth what he cannot possibly sell it for. Of course, there are some shrewd dealer types who can coax the dollars from trusting collector types via hype, manipulation, etc. Another subject for another time.
I can't count the number of times I paw thru dealer boxes, auction lists, sales lists or even ebay...and i see the same 45 for the same price. Month after month. Year after YEAR! Nothing is ever marked down accordingly. Do these folks really WANT to sell their 45s?
I guess not.
Whenever I come across a big ticket opening bid price on an obscure , musically mediocre 45 tagged as "garage" by a seller, I wonder if the seller is just being greedy, paranoid, or both. The realistic rationale for these kinds of 45s is to set a low opening bid (with a reserve if you really think someone would pay an astronomical price). Then watch the bids roll in, or not. The marketplace decides.
Now, if the Bobby Reno 45 is tagged / known as a "teener" 45 to that crowd, well, that's not my area of expertise at all. I would not know a monster teen record from a mediocre or lousy one in terms of teen 45 collectibility.
And I certainly cannot vouch for a realistic value aspect concerning local New Orleans record collectors who file any kind of 45 as long as it has provenance to the area. It just might be worth four figures to a New Orleans 45rmp archivist / collector.
