The definite scuttlebutt back in the day (late '70s) was that pic discs (especially) and colored vinyl were lower quality (and, this without scientific study or any official read-out...we just put 2 and 2 together). Really to the point where you get the "street" disc sold at stores, and, if you dig the artist, you get the special disc as a "souvenir," maybe even hanging it up (as we've seen)😉!
Thank you, Brad! Yes, everything I have read and studied about that period (unlike you, I need a cheat sheet with these things!) points exactly at what you’re saying. Interesting that back then sound quality seemed to be much more important (or at least, considered/thought of) more often than it is nowadays. Sometimes I can’t help feeling I was born in the wrong decade!
You were born in just the right decade! You have an old soul, which is nothing BUT the hugest of compliments! And, you wear it well, btw! You're right about the irony of '70s importance of sound quality coupled with the love of "specialty" vinyl! How do you square the two? The answer lies in A) $ and B) record companies.
Labels were getting so fat with cash, they started pouring money into things like promo items for virtually every release, to curry air-play favor with radio, and encourage retail to rack their product on end-caps with lavish displays!
Some of the promo items were these specialty vinyls, but they also couldn't stop at that. So, Limited Edition coloured discs and pic discs hit the shelves for sale, as well (and, suddenly care for pressing quality vanished). I think we (at retail, anyway, where I was at the time) could "smell" that the specialty vinyl was a "gimmick," and even the money grab that it was.
As labels were shoving $ out the door for these extraneous pufferies, they were caught short when (in my 2 examples) Frampton and F. Mac followed up their massive hit albums, just past the decade's mid-point, with absolute retail bombs in the late '70s (Frampton's "I'm in You" and Mac's "Tusk"). Hence, the "Crash of '79."
Thanks again for the space, Andy, and your constant appreciation for my equally-old soul!!😉
Wow, this is really informative! It's great for me and my readers to find out out about all this and contextualise certain trends we all read about (as some sort of generic thing that happened long time ago) but with actual detail and examples from someone who witnessed some of these phenomena first hand. So I thank you for the time and the love you show for this space!
Thank you, Dale! Glad you found it interesting. Yes, Discogs is a great source of information, and the "reviews" section of each release will usually include comments from collectors on the sound quality of specific releases. As with most things in life, some comments are to be taken with a pinch of salt, of course, but they still make for an interesting read :)
I agree that black vinyl is a safer bet. But as I explain in the article, the mastering and manufacturing conditions play an important role (now more than ever), so I try to stay away from bold generalisations.
Precisely. And sometimes, a black vinyl is rushed through production whereas a coloured/picture disc is done properly (from a mastering and manufacturing perspective), so even with the limitations of coloured/picture discs, sometimes they can give you a positive surprise.
The definite scuttlebutt back in the day (late '70s) was that pic discs (especially) and colored vinyl were lower quality (and, this without scientific study or any official read-out...we just put 2 and 2 together). Really to the point where you get the "street" disc sold at stores, and, if you dig the artist, you get the special disc as a "souvenir," maybe even hanging it up (as we've seen)😉!
Thank you, Brad! Yes, everything I have read and studied about that period (unlike you, I need a cheat sheet with these things!) points exactly at what you’re saying. Interesting that back then sound quality seemed to be much more important (or at least, considered/thought of) more often than it is nowadays. Sometimes I can’t help feeling I was born in the wrong decade!
You were born in just the right decade! You have an old soul, which is nothing BUT the hugest of compliments! And, you wear it well, btw! You're right about the irony of '70s importance of sound quality coupled with the love of "specialty" vinyl! How do you square the two? The answer lies in A) $ and B) record companies.
It all falls into what I called "The Crash of '79," if I may, Andy: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/the-crash-of-79-albums-by-peter-frampton
Labels were getting so fat with cash, they started pouring money into things like promo items for virtually every release, to curry air-play favor with radio, and encourage retail to rack their product on end-caps with lavish displays!
Some of the promo items were these specialty vinyls, but they also couldn't stop at that. So, Limited Edition coloured discs and pic discs hit the shelves for sale, as well (and, suddenly care for pressing quality vanished). I think we (at retail, anyway, where I was at the time) could "smell" that the specialty vinyl was a "gimmick," and even the money grab that it was.
As labels were shoving $ out the door for these extraneous pufferies, they were caught short when (in my 2 examples) Frampton and F. Mac followed up their massive hit albums, just past the decade's mid-point, with absolute retail bombs in the late '70s (Frampton's "I'm in You" and Mac's "Tusk"). Hence, the "Crash of '79."
Thanks again for the space, Andy, and your constant appreciation for my equally-old soul!!😉
Wow, this is really informative! It's great for me and my readers to find out out about all this and contextualise certain trends we all read about (as some sort of generic thing that happened long time ago) but with actual detail and examples from someone who witnessed some of these phenomena first hand. So I thank you for the time and the love you show for this space!
Happy to do it! If it's in this noggin, it's comin' out! Thanks again for the kind use of the space!
Anytime, my friend, and thank you for sharing!
Great stuff. And thanks it sharing the Discogs link.
Thank you, Dale! Glad you found it interesting. Yes, Discogs is a great source of information, and the "reviews" section of each release will usually include comments from collectors on the sound quality of specific releases. As with most things in life, some comments are to be taken with a pinch of salt, of course, but they still make for an interesting read :)
Sorry about the typo.
No worries!
black is the best sounding. followed by clear wax.
but vinyl lovers love the vinyl noises, right?
:-)
Well… can you really generalise based on the colour of the record? Mastering and manufacturing play a huge role.
the question was about the vinyl itself. not the mastering and cut. ;)
I agree that black vinyl is a safer bet. But as I explain in the article, the mastering and manufacturing conditions play an important role (now more than ever), so I try to stay away from bold generalisations.
OK, sure. a bad recording can't sound great, even on wax ;-)
Precisely. And sometimes, a black vinyl is rushed through production whereas a coloured/picture disc is done properly (from a mastering and manufacturing perspective), so even with the limitations of coloured/picture discs, sometimes they can give you a positive surprise.