COLLECTABLES RECORDS
Collectables is a reissue record label founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Collectables is the largest independently owned (and family-operated) reissue label in the United States. It maintains a catalogue of over 3,400 active titles on compact disc, with thousands of additional titles available on vinyl. It has released hundreds of recordings from the vaults of major labels such as Columbia, Atlantic, RCA, Capitol, Vee-Jay and others, making many available on CD for the first time. Genres found on Collectables include nearly every style of rock music, plus jazz, comedy, blues, doo-wop, funk, and many others. (More from Wikipedia)
Like many a garage rock band before them, Collectables Records has issued a compilation CD on the Magicians called An Invitation to Cry: The Best of the Magicians, and that CD is definitely on my Christmas wish list.
(December 2011)
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Mostly it is just Linda Pierre King and her guitar, but that is a full-blown band backing her on “Hard-Lovin’ Babe”. They are named the Outcasts, and the people at Collectables Records hinted that they were the famed Texas garage rock band called the Outcasts. Whoever is backing King is definitely not the famous Outcasts – former bandmember Denny Turner disavows the recordings on his website – so they are a mystery for now.
(April 2012)
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The Outcasts had an early hit song called “I’m in Pittsburgh (and it’s Raining)” that was included on the Pebbles, Volume 1 LP. A retrospective album by that name, I’m in Pittsburgh (and it’s Raining) was put out on Collectables Records.
(September 2013)
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After being dropped by Capitol Records, Crystal Mansion finally added a bass guitarist, Billy Crawford and released a single in 1970 for Colossus Records, the same label that released records in America by the Dutch band Shocking Blue, including their mega-hit “Venus”, also in 1970. The 45 was released under the name Crystal Mansion Featuring Johnny Caswell, with the “A” side being the James Taylor song “Carolina in My Mind” and an original song (by Johnny Caswell and Sal Rota) called “If I Live” on the flip. When Collectables Records reissued the 1971 album The Crystal Mansion on CD in 1994, “Carolina in My Mind” was included as a bonus track.
(August 2015)
