Beach Boys "Friends" LP: Capitol Starline label?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by action pact, May 14, 2012.

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  1. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    Yesterday at a flea market I bought what looks like an early pressing of the Beach Boys' "Friends" LP. I was surprised to find that it has the late '60s red and white "Starline" label instead of the black-with-color-band "regular" label.

    I thought that the Starline label was reserved for budget greatest hits LPs, ie: "Best of the Beach Boys Volume 2." Is my "Friends" LP an oddity or was it officially released as part of the Starline series? (I'm guessing the wrong labels were fed into the machine at the factory.)
     
    bgas likes this.
  2. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    I'm not an expert on Beach Boys pressings, but it sounds like this is an oddity. I do know that Capitol made a mistake with the Beatles We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper 45 and pressed a bunch of them with that red and white Starline label. Those records go for big bucks.
     
  3. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    Thanks, Tommyboy. If it is in fact a mistake, I won't assume that it's valuable, but it is kind of a neat oddity.
     
  4. empirelvr

    empirelvr "That's *just* the way it IS!" - Paul Anka

    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    Friends was originally released on the rainbow label.

    Capitol did some strange things with Beach Boys and select back catalog LP's back in the very late 1960's. While I hadn't heard of "Friends" with the red and white "Starline" label, a copy of 20/20 I once owned had the "Starline" label.

    It may have been a transitional pressing, around the time Capitol changed to the lime green colored label with the stylized "C" logo. Since Beach Boys records at that time were such poor sellers and the label and group were at each other's throats in lawsuits over supposed royalty mishandling, it's possible they used up any old label stock to save money on a poor selling LP. Or, conversely, the last few Capitol BB LP's really were "demoted" to Starline status despite not changing the catalog prefix or number.

    I've seen other one time "full price" Capitol LP's with the "Starline" label that were pressed in the very late 1960's. Strange times.
     
  5. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    Good insights, empirelvr!
     
  6. Pawnmower

    Pawnmower Senior Member

    Location:
    Dearborn, MI
    My copy of "20/20" is on the Starline label too.
     
  7. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    Sounds like a batch of late '60s BB albums were demoted to Starline. Thanks, folks.
     
  8. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    I don't think the standard 20/20 was issued on the rainbow label in the US except for the fan club edition (sans gatefold). I think it was Starline from the get-go.

    Never heard of a Friends Starline. I'd be interested in seeing such a thing.
     
  9. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    I also picked up a copy of "20/20" yesterday, from the same seller as "Friends." It has the black-with-color-band label and gatefold.
     
  10. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man



    Was this a flea market or a portal into a parallel universe?!?! :eek::D;)
     
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  11. JJ3810

    JJ3810 Senior Member

    Location:
    Virginia
    I bought 20-20 on the day of release "way back when" and it was definitely a black colorband label. I've since added a record club green label (cover does not fold open) to my collection. I have seen the Starline label frequently with this but never for the FRIENDS LP.
     
  12. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    I'd love to see some pics of the Friends LP. Just when you think you've seen it all....if Friends was on Starline does this open up the possibility of others like Smiley and Wild Honey? And how does the Starline sound compared to the Rainbow? Any differences?

    Since we're on the subject of abnormalities, I have a 20/20 with an inner gatefold defect.....on one side Brian's head is going vertical and on the other the eye chart is going horizontal. Has anybody else seen one like this?
     
  13. Buckyball

    Buckyball Forum Resident

    That's the only variation I've seen. Whenever I run across this album in the racks I check inside hoping to find one that isn't glued together wrong. Of the dozen or so copies I've checked, all of them were glued together in the way you've described. My copy of 20/20 is on the rainbow/black label, by the way, and not Starline.
     
  14. brother1002

    brother1002 I'm hungry....

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Not to hi-jack this thread, but this beauty showed up on eBay a few years ago. I do not own it, but I thought the image was cool. I guess Capitol was using any stock labels they had lying around.
     

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  15. xios

    xios Senior Member

    Location:
    Florida
    Most copies of 20/20 I've seen have been "Starline " label copies. I also have a black band copy, though, pressed in Winchester. Never seen or heard of Friends in the "Starline" label. Interesting.
     
  16. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    I must have been thinking of something else. Upon inspection, I see I own both the rainbow and the Starline editions, with the Starline having the weird gatefold:

    [​IMG]
     
  17. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    Both of my "new" Beach Boys LPs have the triangle stamp in the deadwax. Scranton, right?

    I'll upload scans of the labels tonight.

    I also need to check the gatefold on my "20/20." :)
     
  18. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    Boy, do I feel like a dope...

    My copy of "Friends" has the black/rainbow label. However, the copy of "20/20" that I bought at the same time does have the Star Line label. :hide:
     
  19. EdogawaRampo

    EdogawaRampo Senior Member

    Goldmine lists 20/20 with a Starline label, but not Friends. Seems a bonafide rarity there.
     
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  20. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    There goes over 3 years of my life wasted looking for a Starline Friends. :D
     
    action pact likes this.
  21. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC

    Thats SO cool...i'd love to own those.
     
  22. pnreum

    pnreum Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    Capitol deleted many Beach Boys albums with the intent of recouping money lost when they lost the 1967 lawsuit filed by The Beach Boys
     
  23. EdogawaRampo

    EdogawaRampo Senior Member

    In 1968 or so they deleted just about all of the early albums. Then, not long after ('70 or '71) the 10-song budget, re-titled reissues started appearing. If you wanted a new early or mid-60s BBs album in those years you were SOL. I know -- I was looking.
    And by 1973 or so, I had to pay $15 to get a NOS copy of 20/20, which was impossible for me to find in rural Northern California. They just weren't to be had.

    Strangely, in the early 70s you could still get all the early albums (with the full, original track lists, stereo or duo editions) on 8-track tape (!). Yes, I bought them and was delighted to have them.
     
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  24. Psyre

    Psyre Forum Resident


    I've got 2 original rainbow labels, one has the "proper" gatefold, the other one has the mismatched gatefold image. It's possible someone switched the cover with the starline cover, but I doubt it as both sleeve and vinyl are mint and had been very well cared for. Keeps puzzling me.
     
  25. gorangers

    gorangers Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Haven area
    Regarding Starline, I just played a Best of Dave Clark Five with the blue Starline label. Sounded fantastic. Super quiet vinyl. I will look for other artists on this label. Any recommendations?
     
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