OK, this made me think back:

It can be worse than mere retreads by artists tenuously connected with the
original records. In the 70s, there was a pretty large market for the folks
who bought albums at Woolworth's and places like that. Pickwick used to put
out packages of current hits performed by some bar band or another. Some of
these make for hysterical listening. Longines had a record club type of deal
for awhile (when they weren't busy making watches). My mom used to have
these records like "Best Hits of 1971" that were all recreations of the
popular songs of the day. I first heard "Rocky Mountain High" for the first
time on one of those records. (They Might Be Giants name check: "My story's
infinite / Like a Longines symphonette") In fact, such artifacts even have
their own record collecting niche.

--Ken






On 10/30/06 12:09 PM, "Brad Harvey" <billionbrads@att.net> wrote:

> 
>> However, sometimes in my haste of the impulse purchase, I'll buy a track
> and find that it's been RE-RECORDED by the artist.<
> 
> I've been victim of that a few times--when I was a trucker, I bought a Mott
> the Hoople collection at a Big Lots near Little Rock that had a cover shot
> of the band--yet the disc was some Holland group recreating the hits along
> with a few of its own dubious originals. The cashier understood and let me
> swap for another CD.
> 
> Target was selling a Rick Nelson best-of on Curb Records, all recreations
> with no disclaimer. They have scads of triple-CD sets of recreated hits by
> the original artists--or a facsimile. Look closely and they might mention
> this somewhere on the cover.
> 
> And our local used shop has a Badfinger CD released by Joey Molland--with
> the original line-up pictured--but at least they've slapped a stickee on the
> front saying 'NOT the original group!'.
> 
> Truck stops occasionally have interesting finds--'The Filth and the Fury'
> Sex Pistols documentary for $2.50 on video and a reissue of Elton John's own
> sordid pre-fame past, recreating the hits of the day before fame hit.
> 
> Brad Harvey
> NP: The Tages 
>    
> 
>   
>