I do though think I understand part of what is going on with the re-re-issues. There has been a pretty good resurgence in vinyl over the last five or so years and therefore there a quite a few people out there who are spinning records now that did not have a TT when a lot of these titles were originally re-issued. And since most of the early re-issue titles were small limited edition runs many of them are unavailable to this crop of new users except at largely inflated collector prices. (Try to find a copy the Classic records reissue of Led Zepplin IV) So while some of us hard cord vinyl audiophiles grabbed these releases in there earlier incarnations, there is still a good amount of pent up demand for some of these titles from the new born-again vinyl lovers. So I can see from a business perspective why some of these tiles will be hitting the shelves yet another time.
While I agree that audiophile lables need to find ways to attract new listeners, I disagree that reissuing the same stuff over and over again is the way to do it. The market and demand for collectible vinyl is what it is. I have no sympathy at all for someone having to pay $200 for an OOP Classic Records reissue of Physical Graffiti, and apparently neither does Acoustic Sounds -- nor should they. No one took pity on me when I paid hundreds of dollars for a minty original Riverside pressing of Waltz for Debby. An original copy of Overseas by The Tommy Flanagan Trio recently sold for over $2,000 on eBay.
I just hope that Chad doesn't forget the customers who helped make his business successful. Reissuing the same records over and over again comes dangerously close to what people have long accused the major labels of -- milking a title for every last red cent it was worth and not really offering customers anything new.
That said I do think that Chad has really been on the forefront of bringing back a lot of lost gems, especially in the jazz and blues area. as I said earlier, one of his next releases will be Ben Webster's "Gentle Ben", something that has been scarce and demanding premium collector's prices for quite some time now. I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned if Chad needs to sell a bunch of over -released pop albums like Tea for the Tillerman in order to be able to bring us more Ben Webster and similar LPs, that's a tradeoff I'll make in a heartbeat.
I agree that Chad has done well with the Blue Note, Riverside, and Prestige reissues. I have bought a ton of them. Though I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the Verve 45 RPM announcement. For the most part they are all titles that were issued on 45 RPM vinyl by Classic Records. That makes sense because of the acquisition, but I still think an opportunity was missed to put other Verve recordings on the table that have never been reissued. There's the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band sessions, or Lester Young's recordings for Verve, or Anita O'Day, or the Norman Granz jam sessions. There is a huge reservior of material that we have never seen on audiophile vinyl that could have made that list. I'm hoping they will expand the Verve offerings.
I don't believe for a second that a tradeoff is necessary. If you look at Analogue Productions releases over the years, there have been just as many jazz as rock releases, if not more, especially on 45 RPM LPs. I still enjoy and listen to rock, but I am spinning jazz and classical titles much more often. I have no idea what Chad's target demographic is, but it stands to reason that it is probably people in their 40s and 50s, who are at the height of their earning power and can afford to induldge their record collecting hobby with audiophile vinyl pressings. I would also suggest that many of these folks have musical interests that go well beyond rock.
Don't get me wrong, I really like a lot of what Chad has done with Acoustic Sounds and Analogue Productions. I'm definitely a fan and loyal, repeat customer. But no one is beyond critique.
--Jerome
