When did "S.R.O.", "Sounds", "Ninth

[AM Matt]

When did those albums & what date did A&M finally stopped pressing those albums & took it off the record store shelves. Was it around 1972 or 1973 because the white swirl (with the A&M in brown & on black at the bottom) decided NOT to released them back then??? I was only 7 or 8 years old back then. Matt Clark Sanford, MI

 

[AM Matt]

When I bought the CD "Foursider", it says "This album no longer made" including the 5 i've mentioned. Was that on the album back in 1973?? Matt Clark Sanford, MI

 

[Mr Bill]

FourSider came out in 1973.

I got my TJB addiction in 1972 and immediately started buying all I could. At that point (mid '72) S.R.O., Sounds Like, Ninth, Christmas Album and Warm were already discontinued. Brass Are Comin' lasted a couple more years until stock was depleted (I assume). None of these appeared with the Siler/White/Tan label (except Christmas Album which carried that label when it was reissued in the 80s with the new "ripped" cover).

--Mr Bill

 

[AM Matt]

So the record shelves back then had "The Brass Are Comin'" & "Summertime" back in 1973 & 1974. What about 1975? Did Herb decided to not reissued those anymore & put it back in the A&M vaults?? Matt Clark Sanford, MI

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I think the catalog got discontinued gradually as stock ran out in the warehouses. I don't remember the whole bunch disappearing en masse.

 

[Harry]

The FOURSIDER LP originally never had any indication on it of from which albums the tracks were pulled. SOLID BRASS, in LP form, listed each of its tracks with the original album and SP #. GREATEST HITS VOL. 2 being from the later '70s, began listing the SRO, SOUNDS LIKE, and NINTH tracks as if they had originated from SOLID BRASS, and that the CHRISTMAS ALBUM was no longer available.

In the '80s, when the CDs were issued for these three compilations, FOURSIDER had an insert listing where the songs came from. It got things right by listing SRO, SOUNDS LIKE, and NINTH as being out of print, and that "Casino Royale" was also currently available on SOLID BRASS.

For SOLID BRASS, they listed SRO, BRASS ARE COMIN', SUMMERTIME, WARM, SOUNDS LIKE, and NINTH as being no longer available.

The inside of the insert for GREATEST HITS VOL.2 parroted the verbiage from the LP, basically listing many tracks as having come from SOLID BRASS and that CHRISTMAS ALBUM was no longer available.*

*I should point out that GREATEST HITS VOL.2 had at least two different CD issues. The earlier one had all of the proper fonts and graphics that originated on the LP. The second issue was a stripped down version, printing the track listing on the back insert in a plain yellow-on-black Arial-style font. The back of the front insert was done in that same plain style, and there was nothing printed inside the front insert. The printing on the disc also listed only the titles, ommitting composer and publisher credits. The front cover had the same photo, but the black border around it is much thinner on this revised edition.

I remember back in the '70s, thinking about how fortunate I was to have all of these albums that were listed as "no longer available." It was my first real experience with titles going out of print.

Harry

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Same here. I used to habitually check the new catalogs every time they came in...I would look at the Alpert section first, looking for anything new that I'd missed. I remember being amazed that not all the titles were listed, all of a sudden.