DURING THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS I've acquired some pretty impressive records from the Run Out Groove (ROG) label, which uses a democratic voting process to determine what they are going to release next. Sign up to receive a ballot via e-mail and you'll get to vote on one of three proposed monthly releases. The winning title gets pressed in a very small quantity - and to very exacting standards - and if you vote you get the opportunity to pre-order a copy.
The label's slogan is "Get 'em before they're got!" and they get got pretty quick. If you're thinking about acquiring one of these records don't think too long. Although some pressings stick around longer than others, for the most part they go pretty quick. And then you are out of luck.
Unlike some other reissue labels, ROG's pressings span all genres of music. I've collected Brad Mehldau's Live In Japan (only 3,000 copies pressed), pictured above, as well as Type O Negative's None More Negative box set (only 7,500 copies pressed), which is about as far removed from Brad Mehldau as can be imagined. Two of the LPs in that set - Bloody Kisses (only 5,000 copies pressed) and World Coming Down (only 7,500 copies pressed) - are also available separately. The box set is a stunning piece of art but if you don't already own one, well, good luck finding a copy!
In my collection, in-between Mehldau and Type O Negative, there's releases from Ronnie Hawkins, Morphine, the Beau Brummels, Luna, Dusty Springfield, Bill Frisell, Solomon Burke, Cher, Sonny Stitt, Dr. John, Delaney and Bonnie … the list goes on, and it's not stuff you can readily find elsewhere. These are records that have been long out of print or are appearing on vinyl for the first time ever - two reasons each ROG release is almost too tempting to resist.
What really sets ROG apart from many other reissue labels is the attention to detail and the quality they inject into every single release. With so many unscrupulous labels releasing hastily cobbled together crap disguised as quality repressings, ROG's releases - meticulously remastered (from the original master tapes and cut at either Sam Phillips, in the US, or at Record Industry, in the Netherlands) - sound refreshingly sensational. And they're dressed up pretty nice, too, usually in a gatefold tip-in jacket produced at Stoughton Printing Company in California. They look, feel and sound great, and I've bought several ROG titles on spec based solely on the label's reputation for quality, such as Morphine's Yes, a recording I probably still wouldn't otherwise even know about.
The label's slogan is "Get 'em before they're got!" and they get got pretty quick. If you're thinking about acquiring one of these records don't think too long. Although some pressings stick around longer than others, for the most part they go pretty quick. And then you are out of luck.
Unlike some other reissue labels, ROG's pressings span all genres of music. I've collected Brad Mehldau's Live In Japan (only 3,000 copies pressed), pictured above, as well as Type O Negative's None More Negative box set (only 7,500 copies pressed), which is about as far removed from Brad Mehldau as can be imagined. Two of the LPs in that set - Bloody Kisses (only 5,000 copies pressed) and World Coming Down (only 7,500 copies pressed) - are also available separately. The box set is a stunning piece of art but if you don't already own one, well, good luck finding a copy!
In my collection, in-between Mehldau and Type O Negative, there's releases from Ronnie Hawkins, Morphine, the Beau Brummels, Luna, Dusty Springfield, Bill Frisell, Solomon Burke, Cher, Sonny Stitt, Dr. John, Delaney and Bonnie … the list goes on, and it's not stuff you can readily find elsewhere. These are records that have been long out of print or are appearing on vinyl for the first time ever - two reasons each ROG release is almost too tempting to resist.
What really sets ROG apart from many other reissue labels is the attention to detail and the quality they inject into every single release. With so many unscrupulous labels releasing hastily cobbled together crap disguised as quality repressings, ROG's releases - meticulously remastered (from the original master tapes and cut at either Sam Phillips, in the US, or at Record Industry, in the Netherlands) - sound refreshingly sensational. And they're dressed up pretty nice, too, usually in a gatefold tip-in jacket produced at Stoughton Printing Company in California. They look, feel and sound great, and I've bought several ROG titles on spec based solely on the label's reputation for quality, such as Morphine's Yes, a recording I probably still wouldn't otherwise even know about.
DURING THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS I've acquired some pretty impressive records from the Run Out Groove (ROG) label, which uses a democratic voting process to determine what they are going to release next. Sign up to receive a ballot via e-mail and you'll get to vote on one of three proposed monthly releases. The winning title gets pressed in a very small quantity - and to very exacting standards - and if you vote you get the opportunity to pre-order a copy.
The label's slogan is "Get 'em before they're got!" and they get got pretty quick. If you're thinking about acquiring one of these records don't think too long. Although some pressings stick around longer than others, for the most part they go pretty quick. And then you are out of luck.
Unlike some other reissue labels, ROG's pressings span all genres of music. I've collected Brad Mehldau's Live In Japan (only 3,000 copies pressed), pictured above, as well as Type O Negative's None More Negative box set (only 7,500 copies pressed), which is about as far removed from Brad Mehldau as can be imagined. Two of the LPs in that set - Bloody Kisses (only 5,000 copies pressed) and World Coming Down (only 7,500 copies pressed) - are also available separately. The box set is a stunning piece of art but if you don't already own one, well, good luck finding a copy!
In my collection, in-between Mehldau and Type O Negative, there's releases from Ronnie Hawkins, Morphine, the Beau Brummels, Luna, Dusty Springfield, Bill Frisell, Solomon Burke, Cher, Sonny Stitt, Dr. John, Delaney and Bonnie … the list goes on, and it's not stuff you can readily find elsewhere. These are records that have been long out of print or are appearing on vinyl for the first time ever - two reasons each ROG release is almost too tempting to resist.
What really sets ROG apart from many other reissue labels is the attention to detail and the quality they inject into every single release. With so many unscrupulous labels releasing hastily cobbled together crap disguised as quality repressings, ROG's releases - meticulously remastered (from the original master tapes and cut at either Sam Phillips, in the US, or at Record Industry, in the Netherlands) - sound refreshingly sensational. And they're dressed up pretty nice, too, usually in a gatefold tip-in jacket produced at Stoughton Printing Company in California. They look, feel and sound great, and I've bought several ROG titles on spec based solely on the label's reputation for quality, such as Morphine's Yes, a recording I probably still wouldn't otherwise even know about.
The label's slogan is "Get 'em before they're got!" and they get got pretty quick. If you're thinking about acquiring one of these records don't think too long. Although some pressings stick around longer than others, for the most part they go pretty quick. And then you are out of luck.
Unlike some other reissue labels, ROG's pressings span all genres of music. I've collected Brad Mehldau's Live In Japan (only 3,000 copies pressed), pictured above, as well as Type O Negative's None More Negative box set (only 7,500 copies pressed), which is about as far removed from Brad Mehldau as can be imagined. Two of the LPs in that set - Bloody Kisses (only 5,000 copies pressed) and World Coming Down (only 7,500 copies pressed) - are also available separately. The box set is a stunning piece of art but if you don't already own one, well, good luck finding a copy!
In my collection, in-between Mehldau and Type O Negative, there's releases from Ronnie Hawkins, Morphine, the Beau Brummels, Luna, Dusty Springfield, Bill Frisell, Solomon Burke, Cher, Sonny Stitt, Dr. John, Delaney and Bonnie … the list goes on, and it's not stuff you can readily find elsewhere. These are records that have been long out of print or are appearing on vinyl for the first time ever - two reasons each ROG release is almost too tempting to resist.
What really sets ROG apart from many other reissue labels is the attention to detail and the quality they inject into every single release. With so many unscrupulous labels releasing hastily cobbled together crap disguised as quality repressings, ROG's releases - meticulously remastered (from the original master tapes and cut at either Sam Phillips, in the US, or at Record Industry, in the Netherlands) - sound refreshingly sensational. And they're dressed up pretty nice, too, usually in a gatefold tip-in jacket produced at Stoughton Printing Company in California. They look, feel and sound great, and I've bought several ROG titles on spec based solely on the label's reputation for quality, such as Morphine's Yes, a recording I probably still wouldn't otherwise even know about.
BONUS TRACK
Text and numbers appearing in the runout groove of records has been a thing almost since the beginning of recorded music. Traditionally, they represent the recording's matrix number (an alphanumerical code that helps pressing plants identify the correct stamper). There can be extra digits too, often referencing a particular song or take.
Some record plants or recording engineers assign their own signatures to the run out groove.
Collectors often take matrix numbers into consideration when attempting to identify a particular pressing of a particular record, which might be worth a lot of money if the numbers match up. But sometimes non-technical stuff make their way into the runout groove, too. Legendary mastering engineer George Peckham would sign off on the records he cut with "Porky”, which was his nickname, or “A Porky Prime Cut”. Occasionally he’d inscribe other things, such as phone numbers people could call to win prizes.
On Primal Scream’s 1990 EP Loaded, he cut the words “FREE SLY STONE!” onto one side of the record and “FREE JAMES BROWN!” on the other.
Nirvana’s 1988 single on Sub Pop, Love Buzz, reads “Why Don’t You Trade Those Guitars For Shovels?”
The strangest one I've ever heard of can be found on the 1989 LP Love Is A Battlefield Of Wounded Hearts by the Australian hardcore punks The Hard-Ons. Side one is inscribed with the words "What the fuck are you looking at? There’s no secret message here you stupid prick!” Side two reads, "there’s no message here either, cunt!!”
MY RUN OUT GROOVES (THE ONES I'VE POSTED SO FAR)
Text and numbers appearing in the runout groove of records has been a thing almost since the beginning of recorded music. Traditionally, they represent the recording's matrix number (an alphanumerical code that helps pressing plants identify the correct stamper). There can be extra digits too, often referencing a particular song or take.
Some record plants or recording engineers assign their own signatures to the run out groove.
Collectors often take matrix numbers into consideration when attempting to identify a particular pressing of a particular record, which might be worth a lot of money if the numbers match up. But sometimes non-technical stuff make their way into the runout groove, too. Legendary mastering engineer George Peckham would sign off on the records he cut with "Porky”, which was his nickname, or “A Porky Prime Cut”. Occasionally he’d inscribe other things, such as phone numbers people could call to win prizes.
On Primal Scream’s 1990 EP Loaded, he cut the words “FREE SLY STONE!” onto one side of the record and “FREE JAMES BROWN!” on the other.
Nirvana’s 1988 single on Sub Pop, Love Buzz, reads “Why Don’t You Trade Those Guitars For Shovels?”
The strangest one I've ever heard of can be found on the 1989 LP Love Is A Battlefield Of Wounded Hearts by the Australian hardcore punks The Hard-Ons. Side one is inscribed with the words "What the fuck are you looking at? There’s no secret message here you stupid prick!” Side two reads, "there’s no message here either, cunt!!”
MY RUN OUT GROOVES (THE ONES I'VE POSTED SO FAR)
- Bradley's Barn - Beau Brummels
- Butterfield Blues Band Live At Woodstock - Butterfield Blues Band
