Roots Archives Forum

Nice one from "I" Rocky Balboa records, ie IROKO

Always wondered if my OG LP had an issue with the LP's best track, "Come We Go reason Now", which starts at low volume, and then kicks off 25 seconds later, as if engineer suddenly realized he hadn't tuned right till then. Well, the IROKO issue has the same issue, so now I know. Its embedded in the stamper, wherever the issue came from. Could have been an easy fix for the re-issue. Still way worth purchasing

Cover: good effort on the painting, wrong typeface. Typography has lost its soul since the arrival of adobe & friends

I like the cover art

Pitty it's only an LP release, what about formats for young people?

Isn't that spotify, iTunes and wav/mp3 downloads? I think we're beyond physical formats for young people. Even CD's are a format for grown ups today

I like the cover art to an extent, but isn't that painting based on the Harsh Words cover? That's kind of odd. I used to have the original and it had someone with a machine gun on the cover, if I remember. Of course I could look it up on this very site but am too lazy.

But what am I complaining about!!?? This has been one of my top reissue wants for the past few years and I've been kicking myself for a long time for selling my copy way back when (late 80's) for probably $2 as a trade in at a record store.

As for format; yes, I'm old, but I went 100% mp3 for maybe 5 or more years until I finally got a turntable and started pulling out my old vinyl. Haven't gone back since. Not because I think vinyl sounds better per se, but I find the experience of deliberately pulling out a physical record, placing it on the tt and sitting down and listening to it and watching the needle in the groove a deeper and more pleasurable experience. I don't expect someone else to agree, and I don't even think it makes that much sense, but it's just how it is.
I do still buy CDs sometimes and download as well. I listen to ipod on trips or sometimes in the car.
This may sound extra silly, but I've even reverted to making mix tapes onto cassette and plugging a Sony Walkman cassette player into the media jack in my car!
For whatever reason, music was more fun for me in the lp and cassette era, so I'm keeping the flame alive for all the old folks.

flashman,

yes the painting is based on harsh words album

Iroko did it right so far with replica cover art and labels for the most part

I am not a fan of reissues that redesign OG cover art. First, I like the idea that the original collectors item go down in price by being in competition with replicas (even though I own many originals), as I can get them for less. Secondly, the original art reflects the times at which the recording was made.

I think that the desire to change the cover art comes from the impression it gives to the re-issue label that they are in fact creating something new, like producing music.

With all due respect for re-issue labels - and I do love them, for most - re-issuing is not an act of creativity, The success criteria is the fidelity level vs. the original. In some instances, when the music wasn't released back then - like say the recent Trojan Gaylads 7" - the re-issue label should, in my opinion, think: what label could have been used to release this tune? and do its due diligence to reposition it "in context". That is why I think Trojan's 7" releases, or Japanese re issues, are so smart and set the re-issue standard for all.

Rastafari

But of course, issuing a track not previously released is NOT a re-issue

Anyway, my point is: when re-issuing leave the original artwork alone, and create new artwork only for new music or compilations

I don't mind new cover art, but I do think it's strange to base the art on a different album by the same artist! I guess reissuing Harsh Words is out of the question now for Iroko. Or maybe not; they could repaint the art for Tribal Inna yard for the Harsh Words reissue

Full disclosure: I so far have all but 2 releases from the Iroko catalog; they may be my current favorite reissue label and I always look forward to their releases. So, the cover art thing is a very minor issue in my mind.

flashman,

You will enjoy this:

The "I'm A Free Man" LP is a painting that borrows a picture from "The Best of Freddie McKay" LP

So Iroko did the same thing, ie borrow a picture from a different LP

I do care about cover art. Imagine the re-issue of BMW's Survival LP using the Catch A Fire (issue 2, with BM's portrait smoking) image, re-drawn...

As much as I think there was not much thinking and/or mastery behind most of Freddie McKay's LP cover art (unlike Bob's island covers), re-issue labels must show more discipline if they are to dig into the archives and bring back to the youths. They need to work a bit more like historians, with discipline and precision.

and, to close my contribution to this thread:

Amongs the top 10 worst covers of all times is Freddie McKay's Fire Is Burning LP. Looks like a painting that belongs to the Planet Of The Apes movie set.

"Always wondered if my OG LP had an issue with the LP's best track, "Come We Go reason Now", which starts at low volume, and then kicks off 25 seconds later, as if engineer suddenly realized he hadn't tuned right till then.:

The re-issue was dubbed from disc Vlad, and so the problems with the mastering on the original are on the re-issue for this reason.