Used copies of Sonny Rollins’s classic 1957 record Way Out West are easy enough to find. The album has been reissued some 30 times on vinyl, most recently in 2018 on Craft Recordings (but read Michael Fremer’s take on that reissue before buying1). You can still buy Original Jazz Classics reissues from 1988—sealed—for about $20.
If you want an early pressing, though, your opportunities are limited. If you want an early pressing in collectable condition, expect to pay real money. And if you want that early pressing in pristine condition, good luck with that.
This is the niche the Electric Recording Company (ERC) fills. No, ERC reissues aren’t early pressings, so ERC makes sure their reissues are better than the originals ever were. They ensure authenticity in all the ways that matter and then sell in small quantities for prices that, while very high for a record, are lower than collectible first issues.
In May, ERC released two versions of Way Out West, mono and stereo.ERC typically presses 300 copies for their jazz titles and even fewer—as few as 99—for classical titles. Each copy is numbered and comes with a certificate of authenticity and a guarantee that ERC will never press more. Even at the price—Way Out West sold for £300, or about $373—ERC reissues sell out quickly. Clearly, scarcity is part of their business model.
This story is from the September 2020 edition of Stereophile.
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This story is from the September 2020 edition of Stereophile.
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