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Thread: Vinyl - Did they ever STOP making it?

  1. #26
    Anthony Phillips had a lot of records on Passport. I never had much problem with those pressings.

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  2. #27
    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Jubal View Post
    One thing I'll say for sure- today's 180G pressings are far superior to most of the crap presssings from the 70s and 80s.
    I've heard the reason a lot of records sucked during the 70's was because of the oil "shortage". I remember someone telling me that's one reason progressive music fell out of favor with big labels in the late 70's. It was well and fine to dump money on bands that were shifting enough money to cover the expenses, but once the oil crisis kicked in (remember lining up for gas?!), it became significantly more expensive to actually make records, and suddenly Columbia, MCA, and other big labels felt obliged to drop anything that was "too esoteric" because "we can't afford to out something that's not going to move at least 100,000 units" or whatever.
    I have a couple of RCA Red Seal records with "Dynaflex" emblazoned on the label, as if an extra flimsy record is a feature and not a bug.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

  3. #28
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by progmatist View Post
    I have a couple of RCA Red Seal records with "Dynaflex" emblazoned on the label, as if an extra flimsy record is a feature and not a bug.
    The weight of the record -- 180 grams, 160 grams, 140 or in the case of Dynaflex even 125 grams -- is not as important as the COMPOSITION of the vinyl. During the oil shortage vinyl records began appearing with substantial percentages of recycled vinyl in them -- old melted down Heino records -- and of course it was too much work to remove the labels first. The Dynaflex records had some kind of plasticizer in them which supposedly kept them quieter and, aside from an elevated tendency to warp, they generally WERE very good sounding LPs.

  4. #29
    Member lak611's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    I know the dude you're thinking of, because he worked at Wax Stax towards the end of it's existence. Was he actually in Speaker/Cranker, or was he just their all purpose roadie/stage manager? Their drummer, Scott Pickering also worked at Wax Stax, he was one of the people who hipped me whenever cool prog or psych vinyl would show up. I remember one day, he comes out of the back room, holding a record and asks me if I had it or not. I didn't have my glasses so, I couldn't see what it was at first. As I got closer to him, I realized it was Can, Tago Mago, and I'm like, "GIVE ME THAT!!!!" [emoji38] Wax Stax was a cool store.


    I spent about a hundred bucks on one trip to Record Revolution. The basement area was called Stiff Records, and I walked in there one day and saw an Amon Duul II LP, which led to me having to go through ALL the records to see what else they had. That was the day I was introduced to Gryphon, and Le Orme, and the one and only time I ever saw an original issue Sun Ra LP on sale (the original Blue Thumb edition of Space Is The Place). The guy behind the counter had to give me a box to take the records home.

    Record Exchange was pretty cool too, back in the 80's, the original store on Coventry. The thing that always got me, though, was they'd have some of the same records that I'd find at Wax Stax, but for some reason at Wax Stax they were always several dollars cheaper. Record Exchange also always had a good selection of bootlegs (as did Record Revolution). I bought several bootlegs at that store.
    Have you checked out A Separate Reality? That store has all vinyl and most of it is prog and jazz. I picked up a lot of great albums there a few months ago.

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  5. #30
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    once the oil crisis kicked in (remember lining up for gas?!), it became significantly more expensive to actually make records, and suddenly Columbia, MCA, and other big labels felt obliged to drop anything that was "too esoteric" because "we can't afford to out something that's not going to move at least 100,000 units" or whatever.
    It's true the labels stopped producing esoteric experimental low-volume albums in the early-'80s, but I don't think it had anything to do with increasing costs. It was a business decision. Multi-million sellers (like Michael Jackson's "Thriller" 1982) have huge profit margins, and all the record execs liked unlimited coke budgets. Whereas previously record publishing was somewhat like book publishing, where a publisher keeps certain low-volume titles in print for the prestige of being their publisher, after "Thriller" everyone wanted the home run, base hits weren't good enough anymore.

  6. #31
    Member lak611's Avatar
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    I haven't noticed any difference in sound quality between 140g vinyl and 200g vinyl. The only difference is that I need to raise the tone arm height to play the thicker vinyl.

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  7. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    It's true the labels stopped producing esoteric experimental low-volume albums in the early-'80s, but I don't think it had anything to do with increasing costs. It was a business decision. Multi-million sellers (like Michael Jackson's "Thriller" 1982) have huge profit margins, and all the record execs liked unlimited coke budgets. Whereas previously record publishing was somewhat like book publishing, where a publisher keeps certain low-volume titles in print for the prestige of being their publisher, after "Thriller" everyone wanted the home run, base hits weren't good enough anymore.
    Well, yeah, there was that. But I was talking more late 70's. The "esoteric music being bankrolled by big record labels" thing kinda ended more in the late 70's. Think about some of the records that were around in the early 70's that were put out by big labels. Consider Columbia, for instance. They released Bitches Brew, Sextant, Caravansarai at least three Soft Machine albums (and a couple Hugh Hopper solo records, too). NONE of those records has anything that even remotely sounds like it was aimed at being "a hit". But someone at the label (presumably Clive Davis or one of his underlings) must have thought they could at least break even, while at the same releasing fantastically creative music.

    BUt by the mid 70's, that was kind of over. It seemed like everyone was moving in a more middle of the road direction, or else they were working for smaller labels who were less concerned about hits than they were about just making good music.

    Oh sure, there were a couple guys at Arista who went off the reservation and signed Happy The Man and Anthony Braxton, but that was kind of like the exception during that era. Everyone else was backing away from stuff that they didn't think would make it on radio in some shape or form.

    Of course, the whole industry was changing in general. AOR was replacing freeform progressive rock radio stations, "jazz radio" was kinda becoming an endangered species. And of course, there was the rise of punk and disco, which is said to have had a lot to do with everyone burying their faces in Mount Everest sized piles of Peruvian marching powder to the extent that "trippy" music was cutting it anymore.

    So who knows what happened. There was so many different things going on once.

  8. #33
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    So who knows what happened.
    The go-go eighties happened, when greed suddenly became a laudable goal in and of itself and nothing else mattered.

  9. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by lak611 View Post
    Have you checked out A Separate Reality? That store has all vinyl and most of it is prog and jazz. I picked up a lot of great albums there a few months ago.

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    Is that one of the 2 music stores near the Beachland? If so, I've been there and pulled about 5 or 6 albums each time. Nothing earth shattering though, and it does take a while to go through their stock.

  10. #35
    Member lak611's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    Is that one of the 2 music stores near the Beachland? If so, I've been there and pulled about 5 or 6 albums each time. Nothing earth shattering though, and it does take a while to go through their stock.
    No, it's on the other side of town. It's on W.14.

    A Separate Reality Records

    2678 W 14th St, Cleveland, OH 44113
    (216) 644-7934

    https://g.co/kgs/jvIdEf

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  11. #36
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lak611 View Post
    No, it's on the other side of town. It's on W.14.

    A Separate Reality Records

    2678 W 14th St, Cleveland, OH 44113
    (216) 644-7934

    https://g.co/kgs/jvIdEf

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    Thanks, I'll have to check it out!

    I visited a record store in the Tremont area (I think) several years ago that was set up like an art studio, with a couple of floors. They didn't have much stock at the time, as they had just opened. I recall buying a UK press of Crimson's Earthbound but that was about it. I wonder if that's it?

  12. #37
    Member lak611's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    Thanks, I'll have to check it out!

    I visited a record store in the Tremont area (I think) several years ago that was set up like an art studio, with a couple of floors. They didn't have much stock at the time, as they had just opened. I recall buying a UK press of Crimson's Earthbound but that was about it. I wonder if that's it?
    That's a different place. It's also a coffee shop. The one I'm referring to is just a record store.

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  13. #38
    Member lak611's Avatar
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    Another record store I remember from the 90s is Chris' Warped Records.

    Speaking of the 90s and vinyl, I'm currently playing "White Light, White Heat, White Trash" by Social Distortion, which was a 1996 release by Sony.

    Social Distortion was somewhat popular, but they were never on the level of Nirvana or Pearl Jam, so the fact that Sony released that album on vinyl in 1996 is somewhat surprising. I forgot I even had it, and found it searching through my vinyl. I probably haven't played it for 20 years.

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    Last edited by lak611; 01-01-2017 at 01:19 PM.
    Laura

  14. #39
    Dinosaur Jr. is another band where the label released LPs through the 90's. I guess for those alt-rock guitar oriented bands, vinyl was still "in" and it was profitable enough for the labels to keep making it.

  15. #40
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lak611 View Post
    Another record store I remember from the 90s is Chris' Warped Records.
    Only went there once, as it's a punk specialty shop, but I did pull a Deviants LP.

    Quote Originally Posted by lak611 View Post
    Speaking of the 90s and vinyl, I'm currently playing "White Light, White Heat, White Trash" by Social Distortion, which was a 1996 release by Sony.

    Social Distortion was somewhat popular, but they were never on the level of Nirvana or Pearl Jam, so the fact that Sony released that album on vinyl in 1996 is somewhat surprising. I forgot I even had it, and found it searching through my vinyl. I probably haven't played it for 20 years.
    I recall seeing Social D at Van's Warped Tour in the 90s.

  16. #41
    Member lak611's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    Only went there once, as it's a punk specialty shop, but I did pull a Deviants LP.



    I recall seeing Social D at Van's Warped Tour in the 90s.
    Chris" Warped Records is defunct now. I still had the shrink wrap on the Social D album with the $8 price tag, which is what I paid for the new record in 1996.

    I saw Social D at the Cleveland Agora in 1996.

    Back in the 90s, I went to all sorts of concerts/clubs. I saw everything from indie rock (Sebadoh, Guided by Voices, The Jesus Lizard), punk (Social D, Murphy's Law), prog (ELP, Yes, Pink Floyd, Daevid Allen/Kevin Ayers), jazz (local bands at Sixth Street Under and Night Town), country (Willie Nelson), classic rock (Bob Dylan, Deep Purple), metal (Judas Priest, Metallica, Ozzfest), classical (free concerts at the Cleveland Music Institute). That's just a small snippet, but I went to everything from small clubs to stadium/arena shows.

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    Last edited by lak611; 01-01-2017 at 08:28 PM.
    Laura

  17. #42
    Quote Originally Posted by Adm.Kirk View Post
    Anthony Phillips had a lot of records on Passport. I never had much problem with those pressings.
    Passport’s QC went to crap in the 80s. I never did manage to find a playable copy of Utopia’s Oblivion LP. And my first copy was brand new out of the shrink wrap!
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