ART58Koen enters a dub-free zone...
In the late 1980s, I discovered second hand copies of an American magazine
devoted to CDs (named, surprise, surprise: CD Review!) on the Chatuchak
Weekend Market, Bangkok, and I was enthralled!
Thanks to this magazine I learned about Rykodisc…
If
there was one record label to have made efficient use of the move from
vinyl to cd it must be Rykodisc. Unlike most of the established record
companies, they seem to have from the start in 1983 a very clear idea of
the potential of this new medium of playing music. And even more
important, the guys in charge had a real love of music which showed in
varied ways…
Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record
label in the United States, Rykodisc was founded in 1983 in Salem,
Massachusetts, by Arthur Mann, Rob Simonds, Doug Lexa, and Don Rose. The
name "Ryko," which the label claimed was a Japanese word meaning "sound
from a flash of light," was chosen to reflect the company's CD-only
policy.
Rykodisc had some notable successes in the CD-reissue
industry, as artists such as Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Yoko Ono,
Frank Zappa, the estate of Nick Drake, Nine Inch Nails, Sugar, Robert
Wyatt, and Mission of Burma allowed Rykodisc to issue their catalogs on
CD. Rykodisc also re-released the SST Records-era recordings by the Meat
Puppets. It also was responsible for the first release of the "I Am the
Cosmos" LP by the late Chris Bell of Big Star, another band on the
label.
And especially those CD reissues set up a very high standard for other record companies, new and informative liner notes, bonus tracks, great artwork, etc.
Rykodisc Timeline:
1984: Rykodisc is founded to release music on compact discs.
1986: Frank Zappa reissue series is launched.
1989: Firm wins bid to license David Bowie catalog.
1991: Acquire Hannibal Records of England and music publishing affiliate.
1993: Elvis Costello catalog is licensed.
Another key person behind Ryko was Jeff Rougvie, who at present is trying to get his book on his experiences there published. Definitely something I’m looking forward to reading as the few excerpts he put on his website are intriguing to say the least.
Back to CD Review!
There I discovered that Rykodisc had released 2 special low-priced samplers with unusual titles: Steal This Disc 1 & 2. Immediately I wrote (snail mail!) an American buddy of mine and asked him if he could get those for me. And sure - bless him and the Thai postal services - about 2 months later I got those discs delivered at home. Strangely enough, he had actually bought both CDs instead of stealing them…
Both Steal
This Discs had 21 tracks and came out in 1987 and 1988, an amazing
amount of music in those days. Later I managed to score No. 3 which
followed in 1991 with 23 tracks...
It was quite a listening experience
as the discs covered a huge variety of music, from The Residents to The
Red Clay Ramblers to Zappa & beyond…
Over the years I got quite a few Ryko CDs and was seldom disappointed, excellent label!
There's a question below...you know the score!
Art58Koen sez...
ReplyDeleteHow to get my fresh rips of those 3 early samplers?
Dead-easy, just name one of your favorite artists who has a Ryko connection!
Richard Thompson
ReplyDeleteBTW Ryko did release cassettes as well - I've still got some knocking around somewhere. I had, until very recently, the David Bowie Sound + Vision on cassettes.
ReplyDeletesugar or true believers
ReplyDeleteDavid Bowie
ReplyDeleteOne minor quibble, the Bowie Ryko CDs were a little too midrange heavy.
Frank Zappa is a close second.
In 1985, I took a three-year subscription to CD Review. When the subscription ran out, a copy arrived with a note saying if I didn't resubscribe, this would be my last issue. This went on every month until they ceased publishing in the mid 1990s.
Apart from the better known people, Ryko was the first label I heard with Evan Johns on. Loved that guy.
ReplyDeleteSo far so good, all perfect answers! Any more Ryko annecdotes?
ReplyDeleteI remember cherishing Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Sussan Deyhim, Ali Farke Toure, & Little Axe on Ryko discs. I still have Champagne & Grits. Thanks art58koen.
ReplyDeleteWillard Grant Conspiracy
ReplyDeletePlus, weren't all their CD cases tinted green? Seemed a deluxe measure to me at the time . . . --Muzak McMusics
ReplyDeleteCorrect!
DeleteThose green tinted cases were notoriously weak around the center holder & would often break. You could telephone Rykodisc directly & they would send you (a) new case(s).
DeleteZappa. But one of their first releases from 1987 was a then-exclusive Hendrix release: "Live @ Winterland" Oddly, that CD case was not tinted green, but all the Zappa's were...
ReplyDeleteCorrection: Not all early editions had green tint. It must have started later. (News you can use!)
DeleteIn 1992 Ryko introduced the Green Tinted jewelbox with this text on them: "The green-tinted CD jewelbox is a registered trademark of Rykodisc",
DeleteI had a bunch of Bowie & Zappa on RYCO. Didn't RYCO re-release Old & In The Way? And maybe Country Joe McDonald. Just going by memory here and that's not always accurate. But I loved the RYCO label and the bonus tracks.
ReplyDeleteThe green cases were very helpful when seeking good music in used CD stores.
ReplyDeleteYes, they did put out Old & In The Way; Ist time it was on CD I think. Now David Grisman has the rights (last time I checked) & released a mult-disc box, too on his Acoustic Disc label. Tasty stuff!
ReplyDeleteTasty stuff, indeed!
DeleteThe Ryco release was the first time on CD. I still have the original vinyl on "Round Records".
Somewhere I have the Round Records vinyl EP sampler with Old & In The Way on 1 side and some Grateful Dead off-shoot on the other.
DeleteOne of my favorites is the Mercyland retrospective, Spillage. Mercyland bassist David Barbe played in the band Sugar, so that's the Rykodisc connection.
ReplyDeleteRykodisc also put out several Bill Hicks CD's.
Obviously most of us have good memories of Ryko! Some of their promo samplers also had unreleased tracks...
ReplyDeletePete Townshend - Who Came First (in green CD case)
ReplyDeleteMust have fallen on my feet for a change: I picked those compilations up when i visited the USA for the first time in 1990.
ReplyDeleteAll I could find was a few Zappa and two by Morphine.
ReplyDeleteIn that case, do check this:
Deletehttp://www.jeffrougvie.com/morphine
Thanks Art, Morphine got a lot of radio play on the alternative shows here in England, I thought they were great, but were over too soon.
DeleteThanks everybody for your comments, here is your reward:
ReplyDeletehttps://mega.nz/file/CddzjZaA#lo_0bS6JZ2jcH8vwWw3tloMbVZkZs5mY9xShu02T0pg
Thanks, Art! Very cool mix of music.
DeleteI can't help but wonder what Abbey Hoffman thought of the title.
As I told you, Koen, I used to have these but somehow lost them. It's great to have them again - thank you very much!
DeleteRyko had quite a diverse group of artists! Thanks for these.
DeleteGlad you like them!
DeleteI think RYKO was the first "class act" of the CD reissue companies. I also liked a lot of the I.R.S. issues. I believe they have both gone out of business. Too bad. And I liked a lot of the stuff from RELIX. Thank you art58.
ReplyDelete