Just Another Band from LA
No differences between vinyl and CD versions, apparently. The 1995 Ryko CD adds some extra cover/booklet artwork.
What We Need: How do the current CDs compare to the older issues?
ESSENTIAL VERSIONS FOR COMPLETISTS: Any version. [completist's guide]
Issues
- Original vinyl (Bizarre MS 2075 in the US, Reprise MS 2075 in Canada (with and without gatefold cover), March or May 1972 (repressed in 1973); Reprise K44179 in the UK, June 1972)
- French vinyl (44179)
- German vinyl (WEA Reprise 44179)
- Japanese vinyl (Reprise P-8245R, also as blue-label promo)
- Brazilian vinyl
- Australian vinyl (Reprise MS 2075, 1972 - "more or less unaltered")
- Cassettes (Bizarre M 52075 in the US, Reprise ZCK4 44179 in the UK)
-
8-track (Reprise M 82075, 1972, with custom slip
cover) - Reel-to-reel (Bizarre/RepriseRecord RST 2075-B, green label)
- The Old Masters vinyl (Barking Pumpkin BPR 8888-7, November 1986)
- Original CD (Ryko RCD10161 in the US, Zappa Records CDZAP25 in the UK, May 1990; VACK 5031 in Japan; Ryko D30374 in Australia, 1990)
- 1995 CD (Ryko RCD 10515, May 2 1995; VACK 5122 in Japan, renumbered to VACK 5257 in 1998)
- Russian pirate copy of RCD10161 (no catalogue number, 1999)
- Japanese paper-sleeve CD (Ryko/VACK 1214, October 24 2001 - Bizarre inner sleeve)
Vinyl
Steve Cobham has a UK issue with fun etchings in the run-out groove:
"Kipper" on one side and "Bobil" on the other. Nicknames of the guy who cut it, perhaps?
Reprise ZCK4 44179 - UK Cassette
This tape had a funky colour scheme: army
green with murky yellow labels. From Ben H:
Interestingly enough, this tape was manufactured by Precision Tapes (big on making cassettes and 8 tracks in the 1970s) who were part of the Pye company ... a touch ironic when you consider the events of 1968 ...?
Original CD
The original CD was missing some artwork that had been on the vinyl; this was restored on the 1995 re-issue.
From Neil in the UK:
Same mix. Good sound quality.
From Juha Sarkkinen:
Timings on some songs are wrong on the back covers on both the original CDs, though correct on the CDs themselves: for example "Magdalena" is 06:24 on the CD and 05:55 on the cover, and "Dog Breath" is 03:37 on the CD and 04:07 on the cover.
1995 CD
The 1995 CD re-issue includes a little new artwork: a behind-the-tray inlay of "Billy the Mountain hisself - fabricated storyboard [pencil] drawing (slightly visible over my head in interior photo)", as Cal Schenkel put it. Official Ryko statement: "New master. New timing sheet. Restored artwork." [full statement]
1995 CD versus the Old CD
Nothing yet.
Japanese Paper-Sleeve Version (2001-2002)
Starting in 2001, Video Arts Music released a limited-edition series (2000 copies each) of Zappa CDs in paper sleeves - miniature LP sleeves. There was nothing special about this series other than the covers, which were very well done - inserts and "bonuses" were reproduced, the albums that originally had gatefold covers got little miniature gatefolds, and cover track lists were exactly as on the corresponding LPs, even in cases where the CD has bonus tracks or a different track order. Included in this series were some entries that never had "proper" LP issues, i.e. Läther. Additionally, some rarities--like the "green/gold" cover of Chunga's Revenge--were reproduced as special items in this run.
We need to stress that the sound quality of these discs matches the US Ryko issues, which they are clearly derived from. These are collectors items, not new remastered editions.
LATE-2005-UPDATE: Ryko USA has apparently been importing the overstock of these releases to sell as domestic "special editions," causing the speculators who paid top dollar for the entire collection to hari-kari themselves. This includes some of the discs that, as of August 2005, were pretty hard to find ("Money" and others).
Various
From Wiffles:
When the first series of ryko re releases came out I pu**hased Weasels Ripped My Flesh. However, the music on the disc is Just Another Band from LA. Everything - the booklet and the track listing on the back and the disc - shows Weasel material.
Questions
- Any details on cassette versions?
- Any details on 8-track versions?
- Any regional peculiarities?
- Any Old Masters type spooky details?
- Old CDs. New CDs. What's the connection?
Additional Informants
- Klaatu
- Patrick David Neve
- Gonçalo
- Adam Biser