Chet Baker & Art Pepper => Playboys

[Chas]

O.K. I assume everyone here is familiar with the story of Hefner threatening legal action over the cover . Looks like a clear case of wordmark infringement , given that the typeface has been only slightly altered on a couple of the letters in the title . A retitled LP ( Picture of Heath ) didn't appear until 1961 if I recall correctly . Was the Playboys LP pulled from the shelves shortly after its release in 1957 or were Bock and co. able to sell their initial pressing run ?

If the Hefner story is not apocryphal , how is it that EMI was able in 1990 to reissue Playboys on CD with the original cover ? And why was it re-reissued in 1998 with the Picture of Heath cover ?

I notice that the 1990 CD does not have the original liner notes which were written by the late Swedish pianist Lars Werner . Cuscuna opted to let Pepper discographer Todd Selbert share his thoughts instead . Parenthetically , Cuscuna in 1990 also opted for Selbert's words over Whitney Balliet's when reissuing the John Lewis-Bill Perkins Grand Encounter side .

I would like to know whether the 1998 Picture of Heath CD has Werner's notes or any of the four photos from the session that graced the back of the LP jacket ? Could someone please post Werner's liner notes ?

As to the music on Playboys , well I think honors go to Art Pepper and Carl Perkins . Baker is a touch scrappier , less lyrical here . Phil Urso is somewhat faceless . Carl Perkins really catches the ear with his highly rhythmic , propulsive, bluesy approach , though on a couple of numbers as he is just gathering up a head of steam he has to give way to a ( poorly recorded ) Curtis Counce solo; a little less democracy in the allocation of solo space would have made for a better record . There's no real ballad on the record , just a couple of those relaxed , ambling numbers that made Left Coast jazz (in)famous . One of the real strengths of the date is the melodic writing of Jimmy Heath and Art Pepper .

[Chuck Nessa]

You are thinking way too hard. Are you sure Playboy stopped it? What do you really know and why do you really care?

FWIW, this all took place when Bock and Hefner were cooperating on Playboy lp boxes.

[Chas]

Are you sure Playboy stopped it?

Deliberately obtuse response . Did you miss it ? : " If the Hefner story is not apocryphal , how is it that EMI was able in 1990 to reissue Playboys on CD with the original cover ? "

You are thinking way too hard.

You aren't thinking hard enough before your bilious ejaculations .

What do you really know and why do you really care?

Instead of posting your apology in a PM , how about this time posting one in public ?

[Chuck Nessa]

Jeez!

[(BB)]

Playboys was reissued in the 80's IIRC with the cover in the middle of this image. Although it does not have the cheesecake image, it did retain the same font and name. FWIW

[Aggie87]

bilious ejaculations

[Chuck Nessa]

Are you sure Playboy stopped it?

Deliberately obtuse response . Did you miss it ? : " If the Hefner story is not apocryphal , how is it that EMI was able in 1990 to reissue Playboys on CD with the original cover ? "

You are thinking way too hard.

You aren't thinking hard enough before your bilious ejaculations .

What do you really know and why do you really care?

Instead of posting your apology in a PM , how about this time posting one in public ?

For folks "in the dark" about this exchange, Chas made a post a while back with 2 links to illegal music downloads (undoubtedly innocent on his part) and I reacted strongly. He PMed me, claiming to know nothing about the links, and I apologized for my zeal. Now, obviously with the "sting" of my previous post in mind, I feel he has over reacted to my post.

To the issue at hand - the Playboys lp - I believe it was a "made up" controversy to pump sales of the record AND to provide an alternative package for stores with more conservative tastes. As evidence of this I offer the (then current) business association between PJ and Playboy.

[Head Man]

Are you sure Playboy stopped it?

Deliberately obtuse response . Did you miss it ? : " If the Hefner story is not apocryphal , how is it that EMI was able in 1990 to reissue Playboys on CD with the original cover ? "

You are thinking way too hard.

You aren't thinking hard enough before your bilious ejaculations .

What do you really know and why do you really care?

Instead of posting your apology in a PM , how about this time posting one in public ?

For folks "in the dark" about this exchange, Chas made a post a while back with 2 links to illegal music downloads (undoubtedly innocent on his part) and I reacted strongly. He PMed me, claiming to know nothing about the links, and I apologized for my zeal. Now, obviously with the "sting" of my previous post in mind, I feel he has over reacted to my post.

To the issue at hand - the Playboys lp - I believe it was a "made up" controversy to pump sales of the record AND to provide an alternative package for stores with more conservative tastes. As evidence of this I offer the (then current) business association between PJ and Playboy.

Children, calm down!!!!!!!!

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I asked Tom Evered why they switched over to the "Picture of Heath" cover when they reissued this music and has said they got pressure from their marketing group to switch. It was purely PC. No Hugh Hefner involvement at all.

Quite honestly, given Hefner's love of Jazz, I highly doubt he'd be upset.

Later,

Kevin

[Chas]

So let me get this straight . When political correctness was at its zenith ( 1990 ) they reissued the CD with the Playboys cover , and when it was ebbing ( 1998 ) , they reissued the CD with the Picture of Heath cover .

So what's the lesson here ? -- when it comes to marketing jazz CDs you can't alienate the all-important Women's Studies faculty member demographic !

Seems obvious that the kitsch value of the original cover would lead to more sales not fewer .

Anyway , thanks for looking into this Kevin .

Now , I ask again , could someone please look inside the Picture of Heath CD booklet and see if it contains Werner's or Selbert's liner notes , and could someone please post Werner's notes .

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

IT WAS THE SAME GUY WHO YANKED THE "BASRA" RE-ISSUE IN THE 11th HOUR

[jazzydaddy]

I must admit that when I purchased my CD of this album

in the late 1990's it was for an all too rare opportunity

to hear Carl Perkins tickling the ivories.

However had I been collecting records back in the

late 1950's I'm sure it would have been the title font

on the original issue that would have grabbed my attention

Don

[Randy Twizzle]

For what it's worth, in 1958 the original cover offended at least one critic for the Oakland Tribune

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Korean reissue?? ...is this legit?