AIP Records

Last updated
AIP Records
AIP Records (logo).jpg
Parent company Bomp! Records
Founded1983 (1983)
Founder Greg Shaw
Distributor(s) Bomp! Records
Genre Garage rock, psychedelic rock, rock and roll
Country of originU.S.

AIP Records is a record label that was started by Greg Shaw's Bomp! Records in 1983 to continue the Pebbles series. AIP stands for "Archive International Productions". The first 10 volumes in the Pebbles series had been released by BFD Records of Kookaburra, Australia (most likely a fictitious label name to avoid copyright infringement lawsuits) in 1979–1980 and have been kept in print by AIP for many years. Including those in the companion Highs in the Mid-Sixties series – which concentrated on American regional music scenes – there are over 50 LPs covering some 800 obscure, mostly American "Original Punk Rock" songs recorded in the mid-1960s – primarily known today as the garage rock and psychedelic rock genres – that were previously known only to a handful of collectors.

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Two similar series of LPs featuring British music were released in the ensuing years, the English Freakbeat series and Electric Sugar Cube Flashbacks series. Although LPs are still available from the Bomp! Records website, none are being manufactured any longer; and many are now out of print, including all of the Freakbeat and Flashbacks discs.

AIP Records also issued numerous CDs in the English Freakbeat series and Pebbles series, with the first 6 Pebbles volumes being basically the same as the LPs, with bonus tracks. The 6th Pebbles album was reissued more appropriately as the 6th CD in the English Freakbeat series, since this LP also featured British music. Most of the later Pebbles CDs were taken from particular regions, like the Highs series. In 2007, AIP Records released the Pebbles, Volume 11 CD as the last of the albums in this landmark series.

AIP Records has begun the Essential Pebbles series, the Planetary Pebbles series, and the You Gotta Have Moxie series. With the exception of an album called New Fruit by Sky Saxon, former leader of the Seeds, all of the AIP releases are in one of these series.

See also

Related Research Articles

Freakbeat is a loosely defined subgenre of rock and roll music developed mainly by harder-driving British groups during the Swinging London period of the mid-to late 1960s. The genre bridges British Invasion R&B, beat and psychedelia.

The Choir was a garage rock band largely active in the greater Cleveland area from the mid-1960s into the early 1970s. Originally called The Mods, their largest commercial success came with the release of their first single "It's Cold Outside" in December 1966. The song, considered to be a classic of the garage rock era, was featured on Pebbles, Volume 2, one of the earlier garage rock compilation LPs. The flipside, "I'm Going Home" was included as a bonus track when the Pebbles album was reissued as a CD, and it can also be found on a garage rock compilation LP on Ohio bands, Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 9. The Choir is well known for containing three of the four original members of Raspberries.

<i>Pebbles</i> (series) 1978 compilation album by Various Artists

Pebbles is an extensive series of compilation albums in both LP and CD formats that have been issued on several record labels, though mostly by AIP. Together with the companion Highs in the Mid-Sixties series, the Pebbles series made available over 800 obscure, mostly American "Original Punk Rock" songs recorded in the mid-1960s — primarily known today as the garage rock and psychedelic rock genres — that were previously known only to a handful of collectors. In 2007, the release of the Pebbles, Volume 11: Northern California CD marked the final album in the Pebbles series. The following year, Bomp! marked the 30th anniversary of the original Pebbles album with a spartan, limited-edition, clear-vinyl reissue complete with the original pink cover insert.

<i>Pebbles, Volume 1</i> 1978 compilation album

Pebbles is a compilation of US underground and garage single record releases from the mid- to late-1960s. It had a limited original release in 1978 and a more general release in 1979. It was followed by several subsequent Pebbles compilations and albums. This album is nowadays known as Pebbles, Volume 1 and was originally issued in 1978 as Pebbles, Volume One: Artyfacts from the First Punk Era, an obvious riff on Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, a similar, groundbreaking compilation from 1972.

<i>Pebbles, Volume 4</i> 1979 compilation album

Pebbles, Volume 4 is a compilation album in the Pebbles series that has been issued in both LP and CD formats. Unlike other volumes in the series – which compile obscure garage rock and psychedelic rock music – Volume 4 collects rare examples of surf rock. The LP is subtitled Summer Means Fun, while the CD is subtitled Surf N Tunes. Another Pebbles, Volume 4 was issued on CD a few years earlier by ESD Records and has completely different tracks.

<i>Pebbles, Volume 6</i> (1979 album) 1980 compilation album

Pebbles, Volume 6 is a compilation album among the LPs in the Pebbles series. Subtitled The Roots of Mod, Volume 6 is the only album in the Pebbles series that features primarily British music. The Pebbles, Volume 6 CD is not at all related to this LP; instead, the CD featuring the songs on this LP was released as English Freakbeat, Volume 6.

<i>Pebbles, Volume 11</i> (1983 album) 1983 compilation album

Pebbles, Volume 11 is a compilation album among the LP's in the Pebbles series and has no relation to the Pebbles, Volume 11 CD that was released many years later. The cover was adapted and colorized for a later Pebbles double CD, Essential Pebbles, Volume 2.

Rubble is a 20-volume collection of compilation albums featuring mostly late-1960s British psychedelic rock compiled by Bam-Caruso Records, St Albans, Herts, England by Phil Lloyd-Smee.

<i>Pebbles Box</i> 1987 compilation album

The Pebbles Box is a 5-LP box set of mid-1960s garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings, primarily by American bands. Several years later, a similar 5-CD box set was released that was called the Trash Box. The Pebbles Box purports to collect the first five volumes of the Pebbles series, although there are fewer songs than on the original LPs: 72 total tracks on the five discs, as compared with 86 on the original LPs. Also, as is generally true of the CD reissues of these five volumes, the tracks differ significantly on all five discs as compared to both the original Pebbles LPs and the later Pebbles CDs in the corresponding volumes; and the surf rock rarities on Pebbles, Volume 4 have been eschewed entirely.

<i>Trash Box</i> 2004 compilation album

Trash Box is a 5-CD box set of mid-1960s garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings, primarily by American bands. This box set is similar to the earlier Pebbles Box and includes almost all of the same recordings in that box set, along with numerous bonus tracks at the end of each disc. Supposedly, the Trash Box collects the first five volumes of the CDs in the Pebbles series. However, as is generally true of the CD reissues of these five volumes, the tracks differ significantly on all five discs as compared to both the original Pebbles LPs and the later Pebbles CDs in the corresponding volumes; and the surf rock rarities on Pebbles, Volume 4 have been eschewed entirely. Overall, there are 109 tracks in the box set as compared to 101 songs on the individual CDs and 72 tracks in the Pebbles Box. Although most of the recordings on the Trash Box were released at some point on one of the individual Pebbles albums, several of the songs have not appeared elsewhere in the Pebbles series. Inexplicably, one of these songs is the well-known hit "I Fought the Law " by the Bobby Fuller Four – which is also included in the Pebbles Box – in place of the much rarer "Wine Wine Wine" by Bobby Fuller that appears on Pebbles, Volume 2.

Highs in the Mid-Sixties series Series of rock music compilation albums

The Highs in the Mid-Sixties series is a group of 23 compilation albums of garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings that were issued by AIP Records in the mid-1980s. This series is a companion to the Pebbles series of similar music; the title is technically preceded by "Pebbles Presents:". The title sounds like it might have come from a weather report, although "Highs" intends to mean "the best", while the recordings on these albums were originally released in the mid-1960s.

<i>Pebbles, Volume 8</i> (1996 album) 1996 compilation album

Pebbles, Volume 8 is a compilation album among the CDs in the Pebbles series; it is subtitled Southern California 1. The next CD in the series, Pebbles, Volume 9 also feature bands from Southern California; while Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 1, Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 2, and Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 3 showcase music from Los Angeles specifically.

Essential Pebbles series

The Essential Pebbles Collection is a series of compilation albums of obscure garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings that were originally released in the mid-1960s. As the name implies, the series was created by AIP Records as a distillation of the albums in the Pebbles series and the Highs in the Mid-Sixties series that had been released in earlier years. Only two more albums in the Pebbles series have been issued since the Essential Pebbles series was begun.

<i>English Freakbeat</i> series

The English Freakbeat series is a group of five compilation albums, released in the late 1980s, that were issued by AIP Records. The LPs featured recordings that were released in the mid-1960s by English rock bands in the early punk, proto-punk, R&B, mod, and beat genres. The series served as a follow-up to the Pebbles, Volume 6 LP, itself subtitled The Roots of Mod, which was the only album in the Pebbles series that was devoted to English music. When the English Freakbeat series was reissued as CDs in the 1990s, the Pebbles, Volume 6 LP was adapted into the English Freakbeat, Volume 6 CD.

<i>English Freakbeat, Volume 1</i> 1988 compilation album

English Freakbeat, Volume 1 is a compilation album in the English Freakbeat series, featuring recordings that were released decades earlier, in the mid-1960s.

<i>English Freakbeat, Volume 2</i> 1989 compilation album

English Freakbeat, Volume 2 is a compilation album in the English Freakbeat series, featuring recordings that were released decades earlier, in the mid-1960s.

<i>English Freakbeat, Volume 3</i> Compilation album

English Freakbeat, Volume 3 is a compilation album in the English Freakbeat series, featuring recordings that were released decades earlier, in the mid-1960s.

<i>English Freakbeat, Volume 4</i> Compilation album

English Freakbeat, Volume 4 is a compilation album in the English Freakbeat series, featuring recordings that were released decades earlier, in the mid-1960s.

<i>English Freakbeat, Volume 5</i> Compilation album

English Freakbeat, Volume 5 is a compilation album in the English Freakbeat series, featuring recordings that were released decades earlier, in the mid-1960s.

Back from the Grave is a series compilation albums of 1960s garage rock created and compiled by Tim Warren and released by Crypt Records. The series originally consisted of eight LP records released between 1983 and 1992. Volumes seven and eight were double albums. Starting in 1994, the series was reissued on compact disc. Due to the longer playing times offered by CDs, the first seven volumes were contained on four discs, save for a few tracks that were omitted. And, while all of the songs on the first four CDs are included on first seven vinyl albums, they do not necessarily correspond to the individual LPs bearing their same titles. However, the Volume 8 CD corresponds almost directly its LP double-LP counterpart, but with the addition of four bonus tracks not included on the LP. The eight vinyl albums are titled consecutively "Back from the Grave, Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 5, Volume 6, Volume 7, Volume 8, Volume 9, and Voume 10". In similar fashion the five CDs are titled "Back from the Grave, Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 8, and Volumes 9 & 10". There are no volumes 5, 6, or 7 for the CDs. Two separate LPs for Volume 9 and 10 were released in 2015 as well one CD, released the same year, which combines Volumes 9 and 10 onto one double-length disc.

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