Favorite Label?

[Nololob]

I doubt Frontiers is actually a good label. They spent quite a lot on Whitesnake clip, but by watching Uriah Heep or Yes clips their promotion is not that good. But indeed production is great.

 

[Dairenn]

Have you seen the video for "Undertow" by Mr. Big? I think the budget they extended on that one got the job done (it was quite a bit like the videos promoting Whitesnake's Forevermore).

As I mentioned before; it used to be that bands and artists from all genres were on all labels but now, more and more, you're seeing specialty labels due to the splintering of genres. Now it actually matters who's doing the A&R, scouting new bands. For instance, given my tastes, I am more likely to hear a record I like if I know they were signed by the people at Lion, Frontiers or AOR Heaven than I would if they were on Roadrunner. Until recently (Dream Theater, Rush, RATT, etc)., all they signed were bands who sound like they used to be on Universal or one of their 900 "mini-labels" owned by the same company. In other words, Top 40 garbage. IF Roadrunner keeps going in the direction of classic prog metal/rockers (and new bands with that sound), I might start paying them more attention.

 

[LG]

honestly, I've never really cared what the label is, but rather who is playing on the record.

I noticed a huge difference in the quality of certain labels over the years I used to collect vinyl.

One of the best old labels was A&M, most of their recordings were very good, the vinyl itself wasn't flimsy and they included nice plastic sleeves to protect the record from wear and tear.

 

[Dairenn]

I also noticed mixing and mastering approach differences, at least in the 1980s. Chrysalis Records, for instance, always had significantly more bass than comparable releases (like Billy Idol's eponymous release, or Huey Lewis and The News' "Sports"--both much punchier than what they were doing before, like on Pat Benetar's "Crimes of Passion" or "Precious Time"). Although that might have a lot more to do with the fact that mix genius Keith Olsen behind those albums; which sound identical to Working Class Dog by Rick Springfield.

 

[Scotty The Rebel]

Capricorn Records back before they went bankrupt in '79 had The Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, Cowboy, Stillwater, Wet Willie, Elvin Bishop & Black Oak Arkansas in the fold. What a damn good group of bands! I mean two of (maybe) the top 5 Southern Rock bands ever in The Allman Brothers Band and The Marshall Tucker Band on the same label, wow! When the label restarted in early 90's, it shouldn't have. Cake and 311 were their top acts. That's how far downhill the restarted label was.