Keith Hirsch’s CD Resource

Back in September, I posted a feature on the original Japanese CD issue of Herb Alpert’s famous album, Fandango.  You may find the write-up here.
I cited the Japanese disc as being one of just two legitimate issues of Fandango on CD.  The second one is featured here.  It is the rare U.S. issue with A&M catalog number [...]

In the spirit of the holiday season, I thought I would share information on a rare Christmas CD that it took me quite awhile to obtain.  It is the original European issue of the classic Carpenters album Christmas Portrait.  The disc was pressed in West Germany and was released by A&M under catalog number of [...]

Lately, I have been entering a new post here on a monthly basis.  The last post was entered below on October 29th, so one would expect a new post at the end of November.  That was my original plan, and I was going to post a rare Christmas CD in keeping with the holiday season.  [...]

(Part 2 in this series of Phonogram label entries covered the RSO and Polydor labels. This post was entered below on August 30, 2008.)
With this third installment of Phonogram label designs, we arrive at Mercury.  Mercury titles pressed in West Germany were issued with two primary designs in the 1980s.  The original, which is only found on select [...]

One of the most popular post-Tijuana Brass Herb Alpert albums is his 1982 effort, Fandango.  This Latin American-flavored collection features smooth sounds and includes the hit single “Route 101″.  Although Fandango is regarded as one of Alpert’s best albums ever, it, like many of his solo works, has been out of print for years.  There are just [...]

(Part 1 in this series of Phonogram label entries covered the Rocket label. This post was entered below on June 29, 2008.)
In the second installment of Phonogram CD label designs, we cover the RSO and Polydor labels.  They are combined into one entry due to their similarity.  The first CDs on these record labels [...]

The subject of this entry is a very rare disc that took me years to acquire.  I had never seen a copy available for sale or even a picture of one before actually obtaining it.  It’s the original Japanese pressing of Janis Joplin Pearl for the U.S. market.  The disc was released on the Columbia [...]

In the early days of the CD, the Phonogram family of labels included Polydor, RSO, Vertigo, Mercury, Rocket, and Casablanca, to name a few.  Original discs on these labels were pressed in West Germany and were afforded unique, and often attractive, label designs.  Of particular interest to the collector was that each label went through [...]