What is this "EROC"?

[Xenu]

I suppose this thread could also be titled "What the heck happened to Repertoire Records?"

In a way, Repertoire always posessed a certain, enigmatic quality, as well as a mercenary air. As they were obviously based in Germany, there were frequently lingering questions about source tapes, licensing, et cetera.

Most of this didn't matter, though, as a large number of their releases were absolutely brilliant. Most of my faves fall squarely within their most mercenary era, in fact...the one where bonus tracks were assigned without rhyme nor reason, and liner notes across albums by the same artists being exactly the same (with copious typos, of course). They weren't always perfect, but they were at least really, really good.

And then something happened. I'm still not entirely sure what. Repertoire.de (their former website) vanished. Releases stopped briefly, and then resumed in digipak-format. Most old stock went OOP, seemingly. And then...the EROC.

I only have one Repertoire EROC remaster: the three-disc Pretty Things singles collection. It isn't horrible, but it is a bit squashed. From what I've heard here and elsewhere, the rest seem to follow this pattern. It's a real pity, too, because while many of the current Repertoire releases are just recycled versions of previous CDs (the Pretty Things discs *are* the Snapper versions, as far as I can tell, and the Zombies/Easybeats discs are functionally equivalent to older Repertoire titles), they often "pad out" the reissues with stuff that should've appeared on disc in the first place; in the case of the Easybeats, for example, we get mono single versions that were otherwise MIA.

So what happened? Is Repertoire even the same company? Who's EROC?

And what's happening to this family?

[lukpac]

Isn't/wasn't he some big proponent of noise reduction?

[Rspaight]

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showt ... light=eroc

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showt ... light=eroc

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showt ... light=eroc

Ryan

[lukpac]

I'm too damn predictable:

Isn't Eroc the guy who claims he can use NR and not have it affect the music? Enough said...

[Rspaight]

And what's happening to this family?

Drugs! You're all on drugs!

Ryan

[Xenu]

As an aside, Luke, I never realized you had that argument with Malc re. digital processing. I had the exact same one about a year later.

Did EROC do all of Repertoire's reissues, or just the newer ones?

[lukpac]

Is that the one where he claims digital is only good for *storage* and not for processing?

[Xenu]

Something like that, yeah. Anything done digitally fundamentally alters harsh sound. Etc.

Does anybody here have any of the EROC digipak remasters?

[Andreas]

I don't have it, but I have listened to "The Very Best Of The Pretty Things" from Repertoire, and it is horrible.

I do have the two Zombies digipacks releases, they are okay but not as good as the Big Beat CDs.

[Xenu]

See, I've always wondered how those compared with the original Repertoire reissues, which were done ~93, I think?

-D

[Ess Ay Cee Dee]

I have most of his Yardbirds reissues. I don't think they're all that bad. (Of course, I don't hold up a crucifix in sheer terror when I hear NR, either.)

[Crummy Old Label Avatar]

Eroc was the drummer/composer in Grobschnitt (pretty much a hoary Zappa-influenced 70s prog act). He also did some halfway decent eccentric solo albums (heavily influenced by Lumpy Gravy).

His Amon Düül II remasters on Repertoire sound great, just as Peter Mew's Kevin Ayers remasters on Harvest are pretty damn impressive. So be careful how you wield the big brush.

[Mike Hunte]

Eroc was the drummer/composer in Grobschnitt (pretty much a hoary Zappa-influenced 70s prog act). He also did some halfway decent eccentric solo albums (heavily influenced by Lumpy Gravy).

His Amon Düül II remasters on Repertoire sound great, just as Peter Mew's Kevin Ayers remasters on Harvest are pretty damn impressive. So be careful how you wield the big brush.

When are you going to have the 'Annoying Prog Brackets Tourney' at Stereo Central? I wanna be sure to cast my vote.

[Xenu]

Aren't there *two* sets of Amon Duul II remasters on Repertoire? I assume he just did the second batch?

Oh, tangent, speaking of which: how do the Captain Trip remasters compare?

-D

[Crummy Old Label Avatar]

When are you going to have the 'Annoying Prog Brackets Tourney' at Stereo Central? I wanna be sure to cast my vote.

I believe we have this pencilled in to follow our "Greatest Madrigals of the 14th Century" tourney.

Aren't there *two* sets of Amon Duul II remasters on Repertoire? I assume he just did the second batch?

I am referring to the 2001 remasters. They are (were?) available in both digipak and jewel case versions (mastering is the same). There were earlier ADII CDs on Repertoire, but I've never heard them.

It's confusing. The first ADII CDs were the ones on Mantra from France -- and they were pretty lousy sounding. The catalog may have been issued by the notoriously dodgy Spalax label as well, around the same time that Captain Trip issued the catalog in Japan....

Then the ADII UA catalog was *very briefly* available on Gerhard Augustin's Gamma label. Those were pulled after an injunction by ADII members, and then the Repertoire Eroc remasters suddenly appeared. I have no idea if the Gamma versions are the Eroc remasters or not, but since they contain the same bonus tracks, I suspect they are one and the same.

As you can see, the CD history of Amon Düül II is one hell of a confusing mess.

How do the Captain Trip remasters compare?

I've never heard them, but I do have the Amon Düül I Captain Trip CDs and they sound quite nice. All of the Captain Trip CDs I have (La Düsseldorf, Spacebox, Guru Guru, etc.) do indeed sound excellent. But the Uli Trepte and Klaus Dinger releases are licensed directly from them, whereas the Captain Trip ADII series was a shady Gerhard Augustin deal. (I believe the band put a stop to the Captain Trip releases as well.)

Now, the Captain Trip Yeti is the ONLY CD version that features the full-length "Pale Gallery" on it. The track is 5:09 on vinyl. All CD versions bar the Captain Trip fade the track out after the 2:15 mark. This one has been a mystery to me for quite some time. There's room on the CDs to use all five minutes and 9 seconds of the track. Even the Eroc remaster (he swears he had the original tape) has the 2:15 edit.

I remember reading an interview with someone from ADII (it was either Chris Karrer or John Weinzierl, but it could have been Lothar Meid) a few years back in which he said that the multi-tracks and original artwork elements of the ADII UA catalog just vanished from sight in the mid-70s. Everything -- from the Telefunken LP reissues in the early 80s to CDs today -- uses copy masters. That's all that exists now, apparently.

My guess about "Pale Gallery": the copy master tape was damaged some time ago. As I said, I never heard the Captain Trip Yeti but the fact that it is the only CD to have the intact "Pale Gallery" leads me to wonder if it's actually a needle drop. (Most Amon Düül I CDs are needle drops; guess no one can find the tapes anywhere.)

Anyone ever heard an early 80s Telefunken Yeti LP? I wonder if "Pale Gallery" is 5:09 or 2:15 on that. (I do have Telefunken Dance of the Lemmings and Wolf City LPs -- and they sound pretty terrible.)