RSO (Red Cow) CD list

Has anyone compiled a list of all known RSO CDs (red and silver face)?

They exist for:
Eric Clapton (and his various bands)
Bee Gees
Soundtracks

Any other artists?

 

The soundtrack for the 1980 film Fame was available on RSO CD.

 

I have several of these early CDs, orange labels or otherwise, and do look for them, though some were mastered pretty badly, until Dennis Drake redid many of the titles in the late 80's early 90's.

 

I love and collect the 'cow' pressing cds!

 

You mean you collect them just cause they have a red cow on them? Not making fun, just curious.

 

It seems there were a lot more "Cow" pressings in Japan than in West Germany. If you look on eBay at the overpriced offerings of seller "chung197", there are at least a half-dozen Bee Gees titles that I believe are Japan only, and also a couple Clapton/Cream.

Some of the titles I either have or am aware of:

Clapton
Rainbow Concert
461 Ocean Blvd (both silver and red faces)
There's one in Every Crowd
EC was Here
No Reason to Cry
Slowhand
Backless
Just One Night (silver and red)
Another Ticket
Timepieces (silver and red)
Timepieces 2
History of (Japan only?)
Layla
Derek & Dominos in Concert (Japan only?)
Fresh Cream
Disraeli Gears
Wheels of Fire
Goodbye
Live Cream I
Live Cream II
Cream Greatest Hits (Japan only?)
Backtrackin'
Blind Faith

Soundtracks
Star Wars (red and silver)
Empire Strikes Back (red and silver)
Jedi (red and silver)
Fame (red and silver)
Saturday Night Fever (red and silver)
Staying Alive (red and silver)

Bee Gees
Whole bunch of 'em

 

Is it a cow....or a pig? Anyhow, around 1979-80, there was an obese young lady(who was a big Bee Gees fan) that I knew from local record collecting swapmeets, and I knew that she was going in for surgery to remove a gland from her lower neck, and that there was going to be a long recovery. Anyhow, at the time, there was an independant record store in North Miami, and the owner had a prized collectors item up on his shelf. It was a large(16" x 12") ceramic cookie jar made to look like the RSO Records red cow(or pig), and I persuaded the store owner to sell it to me for $50, and I presented it to the young lady. Anyhow, after all my efforts(and despite the fact that she had met all three Gibbs), she eventually lost interest in The Bee Gees. She got into Van Halen.

 

SAscherl, a lot of those Japanese CD's are in fact the first pressings made for the Japanese market in W. Germany so I'm almost certain they would exist for the W. Germany/European market as well.

 

If it's a pig, it's wearing a cowbell. Or is that a pigbell?

 

I like these discs. I need more pigbell.




(It's actually a cow.)

 

I'm still looking for the Jedi CD simply to have the original CD issues of all three Star Wars soundtracks even though they've been improved upon several times since.

 

We're freaks!

 

Really?

 

They're more collectable than their Polydor CD brethren..because there were so fewer pressed of them than the Polydor ones,sooo..bigger prices!

 

I've been doing a little research, and I believe I've assembled a (near) complete list of the first Cow pressings in Japan. The Japanese catalog numbers are consecutive, the West German ones are not. Maybe someone else wants to have a go at listing the West German catalog numbers?

Anyway...

Cat No. Prefix Title Artist
*WG for JAPAN pressing*
50001 (P33W) Staying Alive Soundtrack
50002 (P33W) Empire Strikes BackSoundtrack
50003 (P33W) Slowhand Clapton, Eric
50004 (P33W) Disraeli Gears Cream
50005 (P33W) 461 Ocean Blvd Clapton, Eric
50006 (P33W) Timepieces Clapton, Eric
50007 (P33W) Timepieces vol. 2 Clapton, Eric
50008/9 (P58W) Star Wars Soundtrack
*1st JAPAN pressing*
20001 non-RSO title
20002 non-RSO title
20003 (P30W) Greatest Hits Bee Gees
20004 non-RSO title
20005/6 (P58W) Backtrackin' Clapton, Eric
20007 (P33W) Best of Cream
20008/9 (P58W) Greatest Bee Gees
20010/1 (P58W) Saturday Night FeverSoundtrack
20012 (P33W) Staying Alive Soundtrack
20013 (P33W) Fame Soundtrack
20014/5 (P58W) Star Wars Soundtrack
20016 (P33W) Empire Strikes BackSoundtrack
20017 (P33W) Return of the Jedi Soundtrack
#'s jump up to:
25001 (P33W) Blind Faith Blind Faith
25002/3 (P58W) Wheels of Fire Cream
25004/5 (P58W) Layla and Other SongsDerek & the Dominos
25006 (P33W) No Reason to Cry Clapton, Eric
25007 (P33W) Another Ticket Clapton, Eric
25008 (P33W) Live Cream Cream
25009 (P33W) There's One in Every Crowd Clapton, Eric
25010 (P33W) Backless Clapton, Eric
25011 (P33W) Rainbow Concert Clapton, Eric
25012 (P33W) Live Cream II Cream
25013 (P33W) Goodbye Cream
25014 (P33W) Fresh Cream Cream
25015 (P33W) Spirits Having FlownBee Gees
25016 (P33W) Children of the WorldBee Gees
25017 (P33W) Main Course Bee Gees
25018/9 (P58W) Here at last Live Bee Gees
25020 (P33W) Eric Clapton Clapton, Eric
25021 (P33W) 461 Ocean Blvd Clapton, Eric
25022/3 (P58W) In Concert Derek & the Dominos
25024/5 (P58W) History of Clapton, Eric
25026 (P33W) Slowhand Clapton, Eric
25027/8 (P58W) Just One Night Clapton, Eric
25029 (P33W) EC Was Here Clapton, Eric
25030 (P28W) Living Eyes Bee Gees
25031 (P28W) Odessa Bee Gees
25032 (P28W) First Bee Gees
25033 (P28W) 1934-1976 King, Freddie
25034 (P28W) Disraeli Gears Cream
25035 (P28W) Timepieces vol. 2 Clapton, Eric
25036 (P28W) Timepieces Clapton, Eric

Additions/Corrections most welcome.

 

were these "Cow" pressings manufactured in both Japan and WG?? were either manufactured for sale in the US?

 

Did Dennis Drake master some of the early cow pressings? I know he remastered many of them when they were issued on Polydor later on like Cream and Clapton.

 

The Japan discs were for Japan only (I believe). The WG discs were for the world (including Japan, until they started pressing their own). I have one Cow pressing (Clapton's Rainbow Concert) that was manufactured in the USA.

 

I have some of the Clapton discs, but I don't think I've even seen a Bee Gees with a red cow. I have had both Odessa and Bee Gees 1st for years, but not red cows. Were they released in the US?

 

I have both Odessa and 1st on RSO. The discs are silver but they do have the red cow at the top.

Keith

 

Most US pressings are on the Polydor label instead of RSO. Polygram bought RSO in the early 80's. I'm not sure why when it came to CDs the decision was made to use the RSO label in some countries, and the Polydor label in others (Bee Gees vinyl in the US is on RSO).

 

Thanks...now I have some more searching to do. It's actually fun.

 

I have some Bee Gees with the Polydor, including a Best of Vol II made in W. Germany. Thanks for the info!

 

I LOVE these versions! Much Thanks! for the list, I did not know how many of these guys were out there?