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This is a spot where we get to show off those cool little bits of promotional packaging or cool photos we usually find in the sleeves of our Classic Used Album Travels that usually met the dustbin/garbage dump shortly after one buys an album. As I usually go through the regular price/Dollar Dump bins, I'm usually surprised that some things are kept in the sleeve after all these years although the well worn covers suggest that the best you will get is a good condition album at best. This is not to show off high horse riding collectivity, but for us to enjoy the world of Music Promotion in a time before Videos.

Also, a little Youtube action in the post of your favorite song from the album may be a good touch as well.

If it is an offer (ie T-shirt, Fan Club stuff), please state that it's no longer valid and state the due date for clarity. This is for Retro Memories only.

PS: Try to keep the finds connected to the band and/or album you're writing about.

My sections may be fused into my Ghost Mall Music journal, as I have been aiming to get it re-activated once more, but I'm testing this out here with (I hope) some very cool contributions. DIG THROUGH YOUR ALBUMS!

Onward!

For my first example, Areosmith's Draw the Line came with a cool ad for their then-recent T-Shirt and Fan Club letter ("Aero Knows"). The shirt may be a collector's item now considering the survival and success of a long standing classic Rock band despite it featuring the not so attractive front cover by then-known artist Al Herschfled that looked like the line drawings found in newspapers of the day. The white of most of it's cover certainly reflected what the "line" was all about, but thankfully the music inside recorded in a disused convent was more than just being there then (ahem!) as it was a good if not Rocks-solid collection of rockers featuring Steven Tyler's influential singing at full force especially on the title track and the epic "Kings and Queens" and Joe Perry even trying out a Rock-Punker on his turn on "Bright Light Fright".

Keep in mind that the offer ended Sept. 30, 1978 - a good 35 years plus ago!





In retrospect, Draw the Line has been called out as a great album, but back in the day many have called it the start of the long fall that lasted until the Late 80's. If you agree with Kerrang!'s recent appraisal or Rolling Stone Record Guide's two star review, like it or lump it, Draw the Line is in all essence the final of the classic Areosmith albums of The 70's.

Sadly, I miss the Promotional Copy I had when I was a kid, with the Columbia white Promo label perfect with the cover and I think the wrap around that might have been on it too (I got it back when they were at a major downfall, parted it when I went Punk...should have kept it!).

Anyway, here's my favorite track, and what I think is a song that has influenced a lot of bands who followed them when they felt they wanted to be more epic and dramatic although certainly not even coming near this choice highlight.

Plankton

Draw The Line is probably the ONLY song I can stand from Aerosmith, and was the highlight of the show when I saw em (taken to the show at gunpoint against my will) with Joe Perry laying on the ground doing the "Curly" or spinning side walk thing as the tune built up:



So, anyway not to get sidetracked...

Cheech and Chong - Big Bambu

The original albums had a giant rolling paper (hence the title), and although I'm surprised it even got nominated, lost to George Carlin in the 15th Grammy Awards. I had quite a few friends that actually used the rolling paper that are kicking themselves right now. AM radio used to play this one quite a bit:

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See location...

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As much as I like some of the Music of Emerson Lake and Palmer, sometimes I have to dive into the hell that is their 1978 album. Onto the "train wreck that you have to look at" evil that is ELP's Love Beach!

Speaking of being forced at gunpoint, I know this was not but it sure sounded like it after Works Vol. 2 tanked (and I actually like that album a little!).

As one looks inside, there is an attractive order form which was quite the norm back then, but certainly not really an ELP kind of a thing...





It's possible that they knew that Love Beach was a steaming turd enough to go all out into Rock and Roll Fashion Commerce by selling mass produced versions of their tour gear. I still think that the Love Beach Jogging Shorts (which in the US were $7.50) was the nadir of their while existence which thankfully never went to "Tap" level but was already turning into a nightmare. The Baseball Jacket which was satin running for $69.96 US, and the perfect thing to spark thinking about Jello Biafra singing "I wear a satin Baseball jacket everywhere I go!" on MTV Get Off the Air.

The cheapest was the T-shirt for $6.50, which possibly was turned into a dishrag by the 10'th wash.

The reverse side showed their album covers, but although Works Vol. 2 had a cover like the first one, it was not shown but only given a brief mention as if their first real chart fail was not worth the show (maybe as every copy available was already with a saw cut C/O mark?)

The music...well, to be kind, they tried, but even the Bee Gees-looking front cover did not fool the fans as they aimed to create music that would fit the increasingly corporate Rock music scene of the Late 70's by toning down their unique style and sounding like a warm up to Asia. Peter Sinfield's lyrics tried to Rock out and be simple, but in a couple of places they went into a kind of self-parody that would not seem ill fitting with Spinal Tap. Still, there was an epic on Side Two that unfortunately did not match the best and at least a couple of decent songs...but that's a single not an album.




Now for the "Big Bottom" of their career...you know I listen to this at times because they at least survived. Something to wear that jacket and the jogging shorts while listening...humm, sounds like a Tribute Band idea!

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Cheap Trick - Budokan - Vinyl with the booklet!
OK, it's not rare, or even that collectable, but it was cool to find it with that something extra with some very cool Trick Shots (OUCH!) with that decently priced vintage vinyl find. It may not have been the whole package, but certainly worth getting.

Urban Hat€monger ?

Not from the 50s to the 80s but almost.
Metallica's black album came with a free dustbin to throw the album into after you heard it...



And if Big3 is reading this, feel free to use this as an avatar my friend.

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ladyislingering

I love finding those sleeves where it has all the artists that a specific label was promoting at the time, and all these weird LPs (some of them quite rare or commercially ignored) for a few dollars at the very most.

It's like having a little slice of music history. It's like being there just for a few seconds.

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Thanks, seriously!

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Just in case - I posted at the same time as another response, and I should have done a quote as I was laughing at this joke. It's a pretty funny and quite silly criticism to the Black Album. I'm sure Post-Cliff critics will laugh.

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Over onto some real promotional items once again, here's Angel from the album White Hot from Early 1978. Signed to Casablanca in the label's mega serious heyday, the band which had keyboardist now Las Vegas based CEO Gregg Guiffria was supposed to be a lighter answer to Kiss although sadly the label's Disco reputation stopped a lot of their progress on their way to getting known and their style which really pre-dated Hair Metal by at least a half decade was not what the AOR stations were looking for despite a big stage show that had it's fans (mainly in California, from what I heard). Actually, in The 80's Guiffria the band proved that those who predicted that the keyboardist would move into stardom even for one hit correct although his second 80's band, House of Lords (again helped out by Gene Simmons of Kiss and signed to the short lived Simmons Records) was only moderately successful.

On the negative side of the criticism, this was the band who was made fun of by the one and only Frank Zappa on "Punky's Whips" named after their singer Punky (real first name Edwin) Meadows. Well, to be fair, at least they were made fun of by a talented legend instead of some crap joke merchant.
Also, there was a hard but funny dismissal by Greg Prevost back in the day of their album On Earth As It Is in Heaven in the fanzine Future (as in The Seeds album, I think) - "When I first saw this LP I got excited. I thought Ronald McDonald made an album. Then I found out it was these schmucks - Ronald McDonald WOULD be better than these squares if he put out an LP", although the reality punch line was that Casablanca actually did commission McDonald's for a series of children's albums through KidWorks (as in Casablanca Music and FilmWorks).

Moving on...

In true to form 70's style, there was an ad for Angel Merchandise that was in their wanna-be-big style that's funny as well as very part of it's time. Go ahead and laugh as I do at the bad puns, over the top look, and loud style, but it paved a way for others like them later in the MTV generation.

Hey, I got it for a dollar!





On the Earth Force scan, that's Gregg second to the left.

Wait a minute...Get Your Wings?!!! That's Aerosmith's line!

The mini-hit cover of a song made famous by The (Young) Rascals.


Something timely for this season...


An interview from that era...

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Following a request for record company ads, I found one in a copy of Uriah Heep's Salisbury, the US release on Mercury who was also carrying Vertigo's Progressive line. As I'm feel a little "Vertigo" going on (another bad pun, sorry!), I might as well get into the Prog and place some favorites here. In a way, the green tint and cheap paper that it was on is really so early 70's and an example of just how cheap promotion can actually grab the eyes of those who were looking for something different