What can tell the label

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Label of gramophone records. Small circle paper in the center, its passport.
Its upper part contains the names of agencies organizing release records, the factory of the company "Melody", its trademark - "Music and the stylized" letter "M".
By the way, collectors of old records know that for decades in the place of this letter was a swallow carrying in its beak a treble clef , treble clef, and crossed the lyre, the hammer and sickle, and a torch, and a tower with a star.
Also,it is very rare to find the first Soviet records which have labels with symbolic illustration: a standing peasant on the globe in the rays of the rising sun in his peasant`s coat tightly belted, in sandals, with a huge gramophone pipe in his hand, like as he going to blow the world a new song.

In 20-30s labels were much more laconic: do not always indicate the authors of works and names of artists in general were often hidden behind impersonal word "orchestra" Actually, at that time did not exist our usual standards, and some inscriptions today cause a bright smile. For example: "Clock. Foxtrot App. Jazz n / simp. Skomorovskogo Jacob."

In 1938, records,which had labels "Noginsk Plant" appeared in the stores. It was the largest in the USSR plant which made 90 million disks per year. (Aprelevka Plant in those years produced only 19 million).Names of supervising organizations throughout the history also changed several times - "Muztrest", "Gramplasttrest".

Some collectors have preserved pre-war discs with records of songs performed by popular artists.On the discolored labels can be seen print "Exchange Fund.Can not be sale."

A similar warning refers to the time, when the young Soviet industry of records production was lacked with raw materials - import alkali varnish. Marked in such a stamp scarce, as they say now, on the vinyl records of Leonid Utesov, Vadim Kozin, Tamara Tsereteli and other singers could not just buy: they were only in exchange for broken, by weight.

Since the beginning of the war Aprelevsky and Noginsk plants produced only military products. After the defeat of the Germans near Moscow one of the department of the Aprelevsky plant resumed production records of Utesova L., K. Shulzhenko, L. Ruslanova and other popular artists. The labels of these vinyl records were stamped : manufacturer - People's Commissariat mortar weapons. This inscription of the vinyl records equate to the munitions, and symbolize the importance of the vinyl records during the war time.

The first LP was released by the Aprelevka Plant in 1951, stereo - in 1958.

In 1964, on the national vinyl records appeared well-known name in the world - the All-Union company of the vinyl records production "Melody".

Today, on the labels can be seen not only the name of the Order of Lenin Aprelevsky plant, but also Leningrad, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Riga.

The lower part of the label is reserved for the mini-story that is written on the vinyl record: where are listed the names of authors, titles of works and parts thereof, artist names, and if the record contains music, the instruments list. On the vinyl records with the unique restored records added another inscription: "Archival recording."

The center of the label has a number of "ciphers", which should understand every collector of disks. Two intersecting rings in combination with the word "stereo" means a stereo recording, triangle indicates mono recording

The number "33" and "45" - rated rotational speed of records – number of rotations (rounded) per minute.

Slightly lower attached the number of the record 's side - "1" and "2", and if the album has many records, respectively, "3", "4", etc. Even lower - plate contains the repertory of group, which determines its cost. For example, if the record is "col.3", which means: a third repertory group, that includes the recording of the operetta, pop and dance music. (Group 1 - Documentary, political record, the 2nd group - symphonic music, opera, chamber, literary and dramatic recording music of the peoples of the USSR and abroad, recordings for children, etc.).

Near the designation of repertory group specified the price of the plate without packing The right side of the label indicates the designation the National standard applies to records. Records released since 1988, meet the requirements of GOST 5289-88, and have enhanced features compared to previous years plates.

Near the designation of GOST specified the year of issue, as well as an index by which the record is registered in the catalog of the company "Melody". Index record receives at its birth immediately after the reference record on copper discs, from which in the future plant will receive matrices and stamped hundreds of thousands of records. This index is a cipher, from which you can learn a lot about the record.

The cipher begins with the letter "C" (stereo) or "M" (mono). In 1982, "Melody" has released the first album, produced with digital soundtracks, and the label had the letter "A".

The labels of records with stereo recording, released before 1980 have letter designations "CM". These records are written with the restriction of the vertical component of stereo signal. They can be played on stereo equipment (with a slight loss of stereo effect) and on "old" players with mono sound pickups, which have limited the flexibility of vertical and therefore are not able to follow with deep groove stereo recording. And now, using a matrix made in those years, records with popular recordings produced with the symbol "CM".

The first digit indicates the genre of record: 0 - hymns, documentaries, political record; 1 - symphony, opera, choral music; 2 - Russian folk music; 3 - creativity of people of the USSR; 4 - poetry, prose, drama; 5 - entry for children; 6 - stage, songs by Soviet composers, jazz, operetta; 7 - training records (lessons, lectures, etc.); 8 - the music of the peoples of foreign countries (folklore); 9 - other records (special orders "Outlook", "Gingerbread Man", measuring records and others.).

The second digit indicates the format of records: 0 - 300 mm (giant), 1 - 250 mm (Grand), 175 mm (EP). This is followed by a five-digit serial number of the record. Numbers of the record 's side have three digits. This additional code can process orders of trade organizations on the records on the computer. For example, Alexander Malinin album, "The Misfits," released by Aprelevka Plant in 1990, has an index of C60 30343 006: stereo recording, genre - pop music, the format plate - 300 mm, the serial number of the record 30343 (on the other side - 30344), the code for trading organizations - 006.

The number of each record is set on increasing, and for mono and stereo quantity of numbers is different.

At the end of 1990 issued more than 25 thousand mono and more than 15 thousand stereo (respectively listed in the bulletin catalog "Melody" - 50 and 30 thousand numbers of records ' side).

With the help of the record ' s sides number can be set the year, when it was released. Below are the numbers of the first side of records, released at the beginning of the respective year.

Separate numbering Stereo Records started with number 101, until 1961 stereo record numbered in one line with mono.

Great attention is paid to the decoration and printing performance envelopes for records. Today the envelope - it's not just the packaging, is an art illustration of the record. Bright cover modern disks with annotations, text, songs or an interview with artists often have the independent aesthetic value and is a product of the industrial arts – design.

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Translated by Daria Yurchenko

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