need some Prestige help

djr

Found a copy of Joe Dukes - "The Soulful Drums of..." this weekend.The cover certainly seems an original (heavy cardboard, pasted on cover, water damage, call letters stamped on the back), but the album label is black with silver lettering. Never seen a Prestige LP with a black label / silver lettering. Original or not?I was expecting the label to be dark blue.Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

djr

oh yeah. Googled for hours, but didn't find a Prestige label site....

faux_rillz

Found a copy of Joe Dukes - "The Soulful Drums of..." this weekend.

The cover certainly seems an original (heavy cardboard, pasted on cover, water damage, call letters stamped on the back), but the album label is black with silver lettering. Never seen a Prestige LP with a black label / silver lettering. Original or not?

I was expecting the label to be dark blue.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I think that the black label actually preceded the blue one and the purple one. You should also be able to tell from the quality of the vinyl whether or not it's an OG--they really don't make platters that heavy anymore.

pickwick33

I'm not totally sure, but I believe that like Blue Note, Prestige would switch off and experiment every now and then, issuing a label that is totally out of keeping with whatever else they would have done. (I believe they ran a purple label for a MINUTE back in 1970, before moving on to the green label they used up until they stopped making vinyl.)

I have a Willis Jackson album that also has a solid black label, with the Prestige logo up top. Totally out of character with anything else Prestige would have released around the same period. I think the title is More Gravy.

djr

Yes, the vinyl is heavy. I guess I just can't get my head 'round the black / silver label.

Danno3000

I have a Willis Jackson album that also has a solid black label, with the Prestige logo up top. Totally out of character with anything else Prestige would have released around the same period. I think the title is More Gravy.

I can confirm that More Gravy has a black label.

The_Non

I can confirm they had a purple label as well at one time.

hammertime

Yes, the vinyl is heavy. I guess I just can't get my head 'round the black / silver label.

I believe they used the yellow/black labels for their early mono releases, and silver/black for stereo.

hammertime

yeah, I can't find any pics online but my stereo copy of Miles- Diggin' has black/silver labels.


Also, according to the Goldmine Jazz Price Guide:

"From inception through 1956 (7000-7140), Prestige albums had a black on yellow label with the company's 'W. 50th Street, NYC' address on top. From 1957-1964 (7141-7320s), the same black on yellow label featured a 'Bergenfield, NJ' address. In 1960 stereo titles were released on a black on silver Bergenfield label carrying a 'PRST' prefix"

Lynn_Ness

Found a copy of Joe Dukes - "The Soulful Drums of..." this weekend.

The cover certainly seems an original (heavy cardboard, pasted on cover, water damage, call letters stamped on the back), but the album label is black with silver lettering. Never seen a Prestige LP with a black label / silver lettering. Original or not?

I was expecting the label to be dark blue.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Yep, you got the OG. I have the second pressing of that Joe Dukes with the green label. Silver text on dark blue/purple are more popular but the black ones were used on OGs just the same.

djr

I have a Willis Jackson album that also has a solid black label, with the Prestige logo up top. Totally out of character with anything else Prestige would have released around the same period. I think the title is More Gravy.

I can confirm that More Gravy has a black label.

I have a copy of this LP with gold labels with black print.....

Fatback

black and silver labels are OG first stereo pressing. they were often put in OG mono sleeves with a stereo sticker slapped on. those stickers would peel off over time. so there are a lot of legit OG stereo copies with mono sleeves. still a nice copy, but not worth as much money.