I think we're all forgetting what underlies many of the issues that we now
see as problems.
As the cost of shipping kept escalating, the weight of the record package
was reduced. The European take on this was to fabricate a thinner jacket,
ours a thinner record. What I call the RCA taco was the belimic restult of
too much thinning down.
The other factor in making lighter weight records was the record club, which
accounted for a large proportion of the LP market. At one time, I believe I
read but can't find the referece, it was one side or the other of 40%.
It has always been my feeling that the average quality of playback equipment
by those buying through the clubs was somewhat below that of the store
purchaser. The ability of the changers and cheaper players to track bass
and inside grooves resulted in that most expensive of overhead items,
returns. My empirical observation leads me to believe that identifiably
record club pressings have less bass than records sold through the stores,
though this is not true for Reader's Digest issues, for example. Try the
early commercial relase of "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" with it's club
counterpart. Eventually, the K-Mart type small all-in-one York, Lloyd,
etc., units, were also having problems with inner grooves and bass.
And, of course, EMI took a more active role in their American outfit-
Captiol, Angel, etc., and got their revenge for the American Revolution by
milking the U.S. market with terrible pressings at normal retail prices
while a far superior product was available in the U.K.
And I could go on...
Steve Smolian