aiA Look at Warner Brothers Records' late '60's-mid '70's Groundbreaking "Loss Leader" Albums

Warner Brothers got into the record business in the late '50s releasing a series of super-corny records half-heartedly aimed at the growing "audiophile community". The label did it without its own recording studio or much of an A&R department and it showed! However, someone there knew good sound-not surprising since WB invented "The Talkies"-movies with sound.
A few years later, Warner-Reprise was the hippest label on the planet with the most complete counterculture catalog featuring: Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Captain Beefheart, Randy Newman, The Kinks, Alice Cooper, Pentangle, Van Dyke Parks, James Taylor and on and on!
In this video, TrackingAngle editor Michael Fremer does some record holding up and much more talking about Warner Brothers Records' rise from cultural irrelevance to prominence as a counterculture musical leader with the richest roster of rock and folk talent of any label in the world (well, maybe Island U.K. gave WB some stiff competition).
Between the late '60s and mid 1970's the label released a series of "loss leader" compilations that consumers bought directly from the label for $2.00 each. You'll see them all in this video.
So, after watching, next time you're record shopping if you see any or them, you'll fully understand what these records are and why they are musically and culturally significant.
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[@Texeq]

That first one - '69 Songbook - was a major influence and portal for me into albums. Roots by The Everly's, Bradleys Barn.... The track sequencing is burned into my brain. When I got into FM radio I started out thinking 'hey this is like the Warners Songbook....'

[@Onteo1]

Wonderful overview of a collection of inexpensive records that helped turn us on to new music back in the day. Thank you Michael ! Love those stackable shelves

[@sonicyoungkurdt]

I think there was also a Frank Zappa compilation among these releases and it was called Zapped. It included all the artists on the labels associated with Zappa

[@alpep1307]

Zapped

[@analoguecity3454]

Records hold so much history, not to mention the grooves themselves keeping the artists alive!😊

[@mrskeats2780]

In the UK there were two albums like this from Island - Nice Enough To Eat, and You Can All Join In, which showcased the more proggy side of things, and several from Vertigo. I've been collecting the Warner releases for a while and especially like the sampler they put out featuring ECM artists titled Music For 58 Musicians.

[@trackingangle929]

I have some of those. Probably would have been a nice addition to show them. I have a Vertigo and an Island sampler among them.

[@SafeAndSoundTXAudioExcursion]

Great topic! I remember the 70’s series I bought from the inner sleeve promo order form. Have to pull all mine out now. Thanks for the memory. Happy Holidays Michael.

[@careyatchison1348]

I would add that some tracks on these samplers were real rarities. Van Dyke Parks with some of VW commercial synth doodlings, also Jethro Tull ("Toe"!)'s first single before they were signed by Chrysalis, and some others.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

some rarities for sure and some real dog-piles as well. A real mixed bag but that's the charm of these mix-tapes on wax.

[@lastrada52]

You were wonderfully concise. A pleasure to listen. From what I remember these Loss Leaders (1969-1980) samplers were only available through the mail from Warner Brothers (in Rolling Stone Magazine or Village Voice, SoHo News, Crawdaddy & publications like that). They were only $2.00 -- a buck each. After a while, there were some single albums issued but mostly doubles. A&M tried it once with a double LP & Columbia issued a 3-record sampler. But the Warners' albums were far more clever, artistic & had marvelous artists. They were also consistent -- I think they issued several albums a year. I have them all -- "Looney Tunes" boxed set with insert was magnificent. Bits of Warner Brothers film dialogue are sprinkled throughout the tracks. I discovered many artists & went out to buy them -- so their marketing worked. The only one I didn't buy was "Schlagers!" (1970). It was more of a middle-of-the-road sampler (Petula Clark, Peter, Paul & Mary, Glenn Yarborough, The Vogues, Theodore Bikel, etc) with little rock music. All were annotated excellently though. I think "Troublemakers" was the last Loss Leaders issued in America. Great video TrackingAngle.

[@BillsBoxOfSound]

Absolutely loved this video. Thank you!!!

[@jimmccloskey4254]

Got them, Electra, etc from 1960’s onward.

[@705johnnyboy]

we need more vinyl with bare essentials ...

[@bobmerlis]

I don't think these were available in stores.. it was a clip-the-coupon and mail it in with your $2 kind of thing. That press release you quoted still haunts me to this day.

[@georgecheung4271]

Thank you for your wonderful comments which I always enjoy. Your collection never stops amazing me. Those only write-in available albums eluded me as a teenager then. I did read about them from some of my records in those days but never got around trying to get them in the mail primarily because I was not living in the States. What a shame!

[@markevans7969]

Enjoyed your discussion of the Loss Leaders series. They are a fun listen. I hope you do a writeup on Tracking Angle. Stan Cornyn's book, "Exploding", is a fun read for those that want to know about the highs, hits, hype, heroes and hustlers of the Warner Music Group.

[@cjay2]

Reading that now. In hard-cover!

[@Tuberhead1000]

Yep, I have most of those compilation album sets, they were supposed to (at the time) demo all the artists that were involved with Warner records. Like the GTO's? (girls together outrageously). Interesting stuff. THANKS for showing this!

[@bobt3374]

Excellent film love to here about variations in music. Hope you had a great Christmas.

[@user-lm4bi8sx6q]

Dear Michael.Happy New Year!I wish you health and vigor!!

[@almondroca]

Nice shoutouts to VDP and John Cale’s ‘Paris 1919’ (btw Simon Raymonde’s Bella Union label did reissue ‘Song Cycle’ & ‘Discover America’ about a decade or so ago). Do hope you’re able to post that WB Records history on the TA site sometime.

[@johnryan3913]

Sundazed reissued those Van Dyke Parks albums as well.

[@Orchestra101]

Van Dyke Parks “song cycle” reissue? Please do. 😊 Happy Holidays!

[@Steveanator123456]

I had a half dozen of those "Loss Leaders" LP's back in the 70s. Didn't like the cuts selected on them, so I didn't mind so much when they and most of my LP's were stolen along with some audio gear. But interesting to see them again.

[@jakedavis2838]

Your jokes made me crack up. Its refreshing to hear in this subject which is often serious and stuffy.

[@GiancarloBenzina]

Merry x-mas, happy new year and let the dogs bite the dust. You’re the sh…! 🙂 Keep going, contributing, producing.

[@olliebeak131]

5:30 And also Girls Together Outrageously....

[@mr.george7687]

In the words of Artie Johnson "Verry Interesting" !

[@thomashowe5256]

Michael, a fun video,I remember these and they were an intro for me of a lot of artists. By the way, where are your Wilsons, they are not visible in the video.

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

Love the artwork on that Deep ear, i collect stuff with similar artwork

[@fredericmorris2931]

Great fun, completely missed these. The Reprise album Ella you mentioned proves she could do anything: most performers of her era doing 60s material utterly flopped. But this Richard Perry produced LP is great, including some terrific Randy Newman and utterly committed Savoy Truffle. Good sound too.

[@jeffthevideoguy23]

Song Cycle is amazing. I got the CD for 99 cents.

[@7and12inchvinyl]

You gotta do more than samplers. There's some great stuff there. I got a lot of jazz simplers. A lot of pop samplers sort of like what you showed you're great

[@brunorivademar5356]

I cannot wait for the GMT one review!!

[@trackingangle929]

you'll get to hear it too---at least as much as KZbin passes, which is more than I thought possible...

[@thegrimyeaper]

The editing is giving me vertigo. Still fun!

[@7and12inchvinyl]

Nice job. I got a bunch of them myself but then again you'd have to be like my age to Get a lot of that stuff.

[@LyndonSoulGroove]

In recent years ive enjoyed 60's 70's compilation albums revisiting some i've heard before on older cheeper stereo music centres by gec which did not sound that good with poor tracking / cheep stylus , yes their not the best quality , but still sound better than CD's on a well setup stereo turntable. its so good to find cover versions too songs sung by for example Ella or Petula, enjoy reading the inner notes too :)Will look at for the artist who played " Paris 1919 "

[@Nomad-vv1gk]

TrackingAngle - Correction needed in your title. The word "Brothers" in the company name is abbreviated, it should be "Warner Bros. Records".

[@geneobrien8907]

I remember ads for these records, especially The Big Ball and Whole Burbank Catalog, printed on the inner sleeves of albums I bought in the late 1960's. BTW, Robert Downey Jr. was Iron Man, not Ant Man. And its The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie, not Phosphorescent Leech & Eddie.

[@EddieJazzFan]

Those green label WB records usually were good sounding pressings.

[@terrycochrane7811]

A bit like K-Tel but with a lot more song histories and pics included and maybe a little better than squeezing 11 songs per side!

[@labalo5]

Fremer!!!!!

[@islandhorizonvideos8230]

Looks like you’re missing “Zapped”.

[@trackingangle929]

I am!

[@vinylpatrol101]

I have most of those records in my dollar bin 😮

[@trackingangle929]

Then someone will get a great set for not much $$!

[@ronaldjennings8057]

👍👍👍👍🎸🎵🎶🎹🎺✌️🙏

[@deeg8849]

3:34 likely didn’t have many dates

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

speaking of 'deep ear' have you seen the columbia europe only comp from around the same time called 'fill your head with rock' .. uh it's borderline implying pedophilia. I found both that album and deep ear at the same record show one year for a few bucks - some weird stuff going on the 70s leading up that that 'famous' scorpion album cover - how many stories are we going to have of the 'guy's under-age daughter came in to do a highly suggestive sexualized album cover for all to see for decades'.... again..very weird stuff.