CAPITOL/EMI TO RELEASE "GOOD VIBRATIONS"/"HEROES AND VILLAINS" 78 RPM

[DonnyL]

"SMILE" font on the album sleeve, hmmm ...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/02/record-store-day-beach-boys-ozzy-osbourne-syd-barrett.html?utm_source=feedburner

[buddhahat]

Hey Donny,

Check out the smile thread - we're already discussing the significance of the font there - Does seem prescient. Let's hope, anyway!

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,9845.800.html

[JJ3810]

Is this whole "78 RPM" idea just a way to get more publicity?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Is this whole "78 RPM" idea just a way to get more publicity?

No - Capitol commissioned a study and this is the future of recorded music.

[The Heartical Don]

Is this whole "78 RPM" idea just a way to get more publicity?

No - Capitol commissioned a study and this is the future of recorded music.

  brilliant! So the SMiLE box set will consist of 100 78rpm disks then? 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Is this whole "78 RPM" idea just a way to get more publicity?

No - Capitol commissioned a study and this is the future of recorded music.

  brilliant! So the SMiLE box set will consist of 100 78rpm disks then? 

No - 93.

[The Heartical Don]

Is this whole "78 RPM" idea just a way to get more publicity?

No - Capitol commissioned a study and this is the future of recorded music.

  brilliant! So the SMiLE box set will consist of 100 78rpm disks then? 

No - 93.

OK, as long as it will be released, the format won't bother me...

[guitarfool2002]

I just wanted to add a footnote to this - Columbia is releasing a similar, and lavish IMO, box set featuring re-releases of all the original Robert Johnson 78rpm releases, the originals of course being some of the most coveted blues 78's out there. The labels are repros of the original "Vocalion" name and it's offshoots, and it comes in one of those library-style portfolios like the classical 78 sets used to be packaged.

However, the big difference here is the Robert Johnson discs are actually played at 45rpm, so the majority of buyers can actually play the records on a standard turntable.

It's still sort of odd, but the 45rpm twist on the concept of reissuing 78's is very interesting.

[bgas]

 Interesting that two labels are taking similar, if different, tacks for Record store day. Not jujst special releases, but 78's. Amazing they'd come up,separately, with the same format.  
Of course the crybabies will say Capitol should have also made their release playable as 45s... ( or CDs)

[guitarfool2002]

Interesting that two labels are taking similar, if different, tacks for Record store day. Not jujst special releases, but 78's. Amazing they'd come up,separately, with the same format.  
Of course the crybabies will say Capitol should have also made their release playable as 45s... ( or CDs)

There seems to be a mini-trend working here!

It touches on a point I had earlier about the Beach Boys 78, the fact that Robert Johnson's music was originally released and experienced on 78, while the 78 format was dead when the band released their first single, yet the Johnson set updates it just enough to appeal to fans of vinyl and blues 78's and makes it more accessible to a larger audience. Johnson's 78's were always sought after, for decades with some songs available nowhere else but the old 78's.

But even so, listening to Robert Johnson on an original 78 is a singular experience, and if the records are 45 it's not exactly the same...Tough call. If you're a fan of the artist and have some extra cash, you'll probably buy the product, plain and simple. Whatever anyone thinks of it doesn't amount to a hill of beans if people accept the concept and buy the product.

Now when will they bring back Crystal Pepsi, anyway? I liked that stuff.

[drbeachboy]

It is just odd that a performer who released on 78 rpm gets re-released on the 45 rpm format, while The Boys get the opposite treatment. As bgas says, it is for Collectable purposes only.

[MBE]

I love vinyl more then anything but even I think doing it at 78 defeats the purpose of Record Store day which is partially to show people how cool vinyl can sound. I am all for record collecting but why do it if you don't play the damn things or in this case cannot. I am not about to buy a 78 turntable for one record.

[bgas]

I love vinyl more then anything but even I think doing it at 78 defeats the purpose of Record Store day which is partially to show people how cool vinyl can sound. I am all for record collecting but why do it if you don't play the damn things or in this case cannot. I am not about to buy a 78 turntable for one record.

maybe you should start collecting Indian Beach Boys 78's, to give you enough reason to buy another turntable

[Ron]

It is just odd that a performer who released on 78 rpm gets re-released on the 45 rpm format, while The Boys get the opposite treatment. As bgas says, it is for Collectable purposes only.

Whatever makes the money, I suppose. 

BTW all you audionerds on this forum, clue us hopeless morons in.  78's are actually a pretty damn good media to put audio on, aren't they?  I've always heard that 78's were actually pretty bad ass.  These should sound pretty good, shouldn't they?

[donald]

I have 2 windup 78 players.    They will ruin "electric" 78's.   We need vintage 78 pre vinyl Beachboys records for my machines.  

And how about re releasing some 4 track tapes and players?

Tell you what.../.some player piano roll versions of Brian tac piano H&V.     Yeah!

[scudetto_boy]

I had a funny feeling they're release Good Vibrations now that the Smile 1966/67 version is going to be released in a few of months

[Andrew G. Doe]

I had a funny feeling they're release Good Vibrations now that the Smile 1966/67 version is going to be released in a few of months

Surely Capitol wouldn't do something like that just to pique interest in a summer Smile Sessions release. BTW, the Smile 'version' was going to be the hit single.

[Dr. Tim]

Speaking of 78's I assume the new ones will be cut with standard stereo LP lathes?  So that three-speed turntables will play them without changing the needle?  To play historic 78's properly you need a 78 stylus (wider than both the stereo LP needle and the 1950's-style mono needles).  I'm sure for record store day they will use modern cutting methods, they don't want to make this too difficult for people.

Many new inexpensive turntables are three-speed again, but only a few cartridge-makers (i.e., Audio-Technica) still make 78 styli that you can pop on in place of the LP stylus to play older 78s.  Indeed, for super-audiophile turntables, the cartridge itself must be replaced when you want to play 78s, the stylus does not detach from the cartridge.  Wotta headache.

The last gimmick 78 of this type I have is a Stiff Records promo 78 of Joe "King" Carrasco's "Buena" - in stereo, played with a regular LP needle - from 1978 or so.

And yes 78s can sound fantastic - especially the later jump blues/rock & roll 78s cut from tape sources.  Those are sought after for old-style 78 jukeboxes. With the higher playing speed comes less surface noise and distortion. but like I said you need a 78 needle and be able to bridge the signal to mono to remove lots of the shellac/vinyl hiss.

[Roger Ryan]

Wow, Dr. Tim, you reminded me of something I had forgotten about for nearly 40 years: my grandparents had a turntable that had both a 78 and a 33 1/3 needle built into the same cartridge. You simply rotated the correct needle into position depending on the disc. I believe this model originated in the 50s.

[guitarfool2002]

Wow, Dr. Tim, you reminded me of something I had forgotten about for nearly 40 years: my grandparents had a turntable that had both a 78 and a 33 1/3 needle built into the same cartridge. You simply rotated the correct needle into position depending on the disc. I believe this model originated in the 50s.

It is amazing how things like this jog the memory - I also grew up with a console model radio/turntable set from the early 60's. There were 4 speeds actually, including 16 rpm which obviously was only used for laughs. But I did have a small stack of 78's, and to play them you would indeed turn the cartridge upside down so it read "78", then you could safely play the 78's. Playing them on the 33/45 side would damage both the needle and the record.

It is definitely not as easy as saying "I'm going to play a 78" unless you want to risk damaging something. The niche market for a new 78 is soooooo small...

And one other thing to consider - by design, the 78 speed was a good format for audio. But having had more than one original 78 literally crumble in my hands as i tried to put it on that player, they were very delicate and became worse in some cases over time and depending on how they were stored. I lost an original "In The Mood" by Glen Miller and an original Bill Haley 78 by doing nothing more than trying to play them, and I was old enough at the time to know better!

[donald]

THEY ARE INDEED DELICATE.  WHEN MY GRANDFATHER PASSED I INHERITED HIS 78'S.  I WAS A CHILD BUT I TRIED TO BE CAREFUL KNOWING THEY WERE BRITTLE.   THEY WERE ALL BROKEN WITHIN A YEAR OR 2.  ACCIDENTALLY DROPPING ONE ON ITS EDGE, EVEN FROM A COUPLE OF INCHES SEEMED TO BE ENOUGH TO BREAK THEM.  I NOW HAVE SOME ROCK ERA 78'S BUT I HAVE THEM MOUNTED IN FRAMES AND DON'T BOTHER THEM. 

EVEN SOME 45'S SEEMED TO BE QUITE BRITTLE.  MY RED BIRD LABEL 45'S ALL SEEM TO HAVE DEVELOPED  CRACKS OR CHIPS.

[bgas]

THEY ARE INDEED DELICATE.  WHEN MY GRANDFATHER PASSED I INHERITED HIS 78'S.  I WAS A CHILD BUT I TRIED TO BE CAREFUL KNOWING THEY WERE BRITTLE.   THEY WERE ALL BROKEN WITHIN A YEAR OR 2.  ACCIDENTALLY DROPPING ONE ON ITS EDGE, EVEN FROM A COUPLE OF INCHES SEEMED TO BE ENOUGH TO BREAK THEM.  I NOW HAVE SOME ROCK ERA 78'S BUT I HAVE THEM MOUNTED IN FRAMES AND DON'T BOTHER THEM. 

EVEN SOME 45'S SEEMED TO BE QUITE BRITTLE.  MY RED BIRD LABEL 45'S ALL SEEM TO HAVE DEVELOPED  CRACKS OR CHIPS.

Funny. I went to a sale, some time back, and they had a few hundred 78's. Some really great Blues too! The only problem being, they had been stored in the attic of this house, and the really good ones were WAY bent up. NOT broken or chipped, but no way you'd ever get them to play. wierdest thing I've ever seen with 78s

[juggler]

THEY ARE INDEED DELICATE.  WHEN MY GRANDFATHER PASSED I INHERITED HIS 78'S.  I WAS A CHILD BUT I TRIED TO BE CAREFUL KNOWING THEY WERE BRITTLE.   THEY WERE ALL BROKEN WITHIN A YEAR OR 2.  ACCIDENTALLY DROPPING ONE ON ITS EDGE, EVEN FROM A COUPLE OF INCHES SEEMED TO BE ENOUGH TO BREAK THEM.  I NOW HAVE SOME ROCK ERA 78'S BUT I HAVE THEM MOUNTED IN FRAMES AND DON'T BOTHER THEM. 

EVEN SOME 45'S SEEMED TO BE QUITE BRITTLE.  MY RED BIRD LABEL 45'S ALL SEEM TO HAVE DEVELOPED  CRACKS OR CHIPS.

Funny. I went to a sale, some time back, and they had a few hundred 78's. Some really great Blues too! The only problem being, they had been stored in the attic of this house, and the really good ones were WAY bent up. NOT broken or chipped, but no way you'd ever get them to play. wierdest thing I've ever seen with 78s

Some warped 78s can be un-warped.
See:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4548167_straighten-warped-78-rpm-records.html
http://www.experts123.com/q/how-do-you-straighten-warped-78-rpm-records.html

[bgas]

THEY ARE INDEED DELICATE.  WHEN MY GRANDFATHER PASSED I INHERITED HIS 78'S.  I WAS A CHILD BUT I TRIED TO BE CAREFUL KNOWING THEY WERE BRITTLE.   THEY WERE ALL BROKEN WITHIN A YEAR OR 2.  ACCIDENTALLY DROPPING ONE ON ITS EDGE, EVEN FROM A COUPLE OF INCHES SEEMED TO BE ENOUGH TO BREAK THEM.  I NOW HAVE SOME ROCK ERA 78'S BUT I HAVE THEM MOUNTED IN FRAMES AND DON'T BOTHER THEM. 

EVEN SOME 45'S SEEMED TO BE QUITE BRITTLE.  MY RED BIRD LABEL 45'S ALL SEEM TO HAVE DEVELOPED  CRACKS OR CHIPS.

Funny. I went to a sale, some time back, and they had a few hundred 78's. Some really great Blues too! The only problem being, they had been stored in the attic of this house, and the really good ones were WAY bent up. NOT broken or chipped, but no way you'd ever get them to play. wierdest thing I've ever seen with 78s

Some warped 78s can be un-warped.
See:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4548167_straighten-warped-78-rpm-records.html
http://www.experts123.com/q/how-do-you-straighten-warped-78-rpm-records.html

Sure, figures.  I checked at the time, and the records were valued somewhere around $5-700 each, but I didn't buy them because of the warping.( some looked like lasagna noodles)  Had I known this then....

[MBE]

I assume this Beach Boys set won't be brittle but still wish they did it on 45 as that's the Beach Boys era. If I was a Sinatra collector I would make sure to have 78's but I'm into stuff from the early 50's to the early seventies and only a hanfull of titles haven't been reissued on 45 or LP from the 51-53 era because the slower speeds were already being phased in. From 1954 on I can't think of anything just on 78.