Inner City Pressings

[dsockel]

Is there any way to tell which were the first pressings on the Inner City label? I realize that they were primarily a re-issue label in the US for European labels.

I have seen blue labels with buildings in the background, brown labels with a buildings in the background, solid blue with IC and other solid colors with IC.

Thanks.

Dave

[mjzee]

I never saw a label with buildings in the background. IIRC, the different colored labels denoted the original source of the music. Purple was Steeplechase. A greenish-brown was Enja (I'm color blind, so not the best judge of colors), and green was East Wind.

[marcello]

My copy of "The Pentagon" by Cedar Walton is a East Wind and the label is brown.

Great record!!

[sidewinder]

I've got two East Wind Art Farmers on Inner City ('The Summer Knows' and 'To Duke With Love'). Brown labels both. They sound fine - but I'd prefer the East Wind versions.

[jaybreezie]

I've got a David Friedman - Futures Passed LP on Inner City with a purple label that was that was licensed by Enja. Never occurred to me there was any intentional color-coordinating going on according to the corresponding European label. I'll have to keep an eye out for this!

[paul secor]

A lot of Inner City pressings were mediocre at best.

Edited June 22, 2009 by paul secor

[wolff]

A lot of Inner City pressings were mediocre at best.

Yeah, they kinda suck.

They were some of the last LP's left in the bins when vinyl went tits up.

I liked the OJC's, which hung on for dear life.

[BFrank]

A lot of Inner City pressings were mediocre at best.

If by "pressings" you mean technically, I won't dispute that (although I never had a problem). But if you're referring to the quality of the music, I would disagree. There were a lot of really fine performances either made available through licensing or original pressings. Some really nice albums by the likes of Nat Adderley, Dexter, Great Jazz Trio and many others.

[JohnS]

A lot of Inner City pressings were mediocre at best.

My experience too.

[mjzee]

I had a few discs where one side was pressed off-center. Boy, did that destroy the music; gave me vertigo!

[paul secor]

A lot of Inner City pressings were mediocre at best.

If by "pressings" you mean technically, I won't dispute that (although I never had a problem). But if you're referring to the quality of the music, I would disagree. There were a lot of really fine performances either made available through licensing or original pressings. Some really nice albums by the likes of Nat Adderley, Dexter, Great Jazz Trio and many others.

I was referring to pressings, not music. Tho, in some cases, the pressings interfered with my enjoyment of the music.

[JohnS]

Back to labels, I had a Vogue Legacy issue on Inner City. If my memory is correct it had a silver label.

[kh1958]

I found both blue and purple labels on Steeplechase licensed LPs.

[mjzee]

Back to labels, I had a Vogue Legacy issue on Inner City. If my memory is correct it had a silver label.

Yes, they released some of the Jazz In Paris stuff as a distinct series. I remember the Clifford Brown.

Overall, Inner City did have an ambitious release schedule for a small label with limited resources and no major backing.