The problem with major labels is that everyone remembers the bad things about them and never the good things. That said, these days the good things are rather scarce, but there was a time when the major label was quite the asset and a career could be jump-started, deservedly or not, by hard work and promotion on the labels' part. I've bashed Warner Brothers in the past for issues surrounding the non-releases of albums by the Jungle Brothers and Juliana Hatfield, but for every sad story like those there is an incredible story for artists like Cibo Matto, Soul Coughing and others. I don't know if it comes down to being in the right place at the right time or having the right friends, but it's a shame when something goes right for an artist but it completely fails for an equally deserving one.
I've always wondered how much of the failures goes back to their promotional pushes. I remember lots of great samplers that would get sent to record stores in the nineties. Sometimes they wouldn't get played, but you'd find them really cheap in the used bin and there would be a song or two you knew and liked as well as a bunch of stuff you'd never heard of. I heard a lot of great stuff that I never would have heard otherwise because of those samplers, and practically no one gets that kind of treatment anymore. A lot of labels get the impression that people find out about everything online, but despite how easy it is to download an MP3, if you don't know to look for it how are you gonna get it? That's why it was great to get free samplers in your bag with a purchase or find a bunch sitting by the door for you to grab while leaving. I really miss stuff like that.
In regards to samplers, Elektra, a Warners subsidiary, always had great ones, and Atlantic had some good ones too, but Warners as a whole did some really classy releases from time to time. In particular, I found out about their Trademark Of Quality series when researching the Jungle Brothers' Crazy Wisdom Masters, as the 1993 compilation featured the only official release of the otherwise unavailable Troopin' On The Down Low. Now I knew where to look for that track, but I also found a ton of other awesome stuff which was unavailable elsewhere too. On top of that, for a few years Warners would issue a new Trademark comp every year and give them away at music industry events like the CMJ showcases. Most of the tracks contained therein have never been reissued making the releases very collectable. A very kind reader of this site is sending me a copy of the 1993 comp which I'll post after receiving in a few weeks, but here is the 1992 edition which holds just as many oddities for all to examine.
One more thing before I go the link..., how is it the Flaming Lips can have a continued career with Warners? I'm sure their record sales are okay, but they can't be THAT GOOD. Are they just a heluva lot more realistic about their business plans than a lot of other bands? I'd love to hear the inside story as to how Zaireeka got approved, although I heard that it was by figuring out the numbers completely in regards to sales. Still, that had to be quite the hard sell. Okay, enjoy the album!
Warner Brothers Records: Trademark Of Quality (1992)
NOTE: You must download both parts to get the complete album.
Part One
Part Two
01 The Carl Stalling Project - Intro
02 Mudhoney - Fix Me
03 Babes In Toyland - Bruise Violet (Alternate Version)
04 Poster Children - Isis
05 The Muffs - Lucky Guy
06 Jane's Addiction + Body Count - Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey
07 The Flaming Lips - Jets Part 2 (My Two Days As An Ambulance Driver)
08 Gallon Drunk - Ruby
09 American Music Club - Love Connection N.Y.C.
10 Daniel Lanois - Collection Of Marie Claire
11 Bomb - Nineteen
12 David Lynch - The Pink Room
13 R.E.M. - Half a World Away (Live)
14 John Wesley Harding - Your New Clothes
15 Brian Eno - Tutti Forgetti
16 Scorpio Rising - The Strangest Things Turn You On
17 Sister Double Happiness - Tough
18 Medicine - The Power
19 The Wolfgang Press - Birmingham (Howard Grey Remix)
20 The Carl Stalling Project - Outro
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