Impulse! Complete 1st Label Reference Set: Stereo (1961-78)

Last Updated: August 27, 2022

AS-9149 – earlier “ABC Paramount” label found

UPDATE June 3, 2020: significant find – Coltrane, A Love Supreme thought to be the first example of the -A suffix (characteristic of later pressings of lower catalogue numbers), has itself been found without the suffix as AS-77.  The overwhelming number of stereo auction copies claimed “original” 1st Edition are AS-77-A on the label.

It seems likely from sight of a promo without the suffix, and a second commercial release copy also without the sufffix, that the initial label print run was,  as the mono, simple A-77/ AS-77.

Stereo was well established at the beginning of 1965, Coltrane was ascendant, and extra copies of the stereo will have been pressed after the initial release. From the  sheer number  of suffix -A/-B editions, the initial print label run was small. Copies without the suffix, are, as one seller would say,  insanely rare.

My thanks to Cooper W for throwing light on this significant discovery.  The provenace of a stereo promo is difficult to confirm, but the evidence of a 2nd stereo like copy is hard to refute.

Back to label series:

Pictured, label of  first pressing of every Impulse title released in stereo A-1-S through to AS-9333.

Synopsis (by Dottorjazz)

ORANGE/BLACK  LABEL: STEREO

A-1-S to A-14-S: a product of AM PAR record corp

 AS-15 to AS-33: a product of AM PAR record corp

 (AS-27 and AS-29 first ABC?, not yet found on AM PAR)

 AS-34 to AS-77, AS-80 and AS-99: a product of ABC Paramount records INC

SUFFIX -A/-B:

 AS-78 to AS-9133-A, A-9135-A, A-9136-A, AS-9144-A and AS-9151-A: a product of ABC Paramount records INC (except AS-9120-A)

 AS-9120-A, AS-9134-A, A-9137-A to AS-9164-A: a product of ABC records INC New York, N.Y. 10019-made in USA

 9141, 9148, 9154, 9156, 9160, 9161, 9162 (BLACK/RED)

 AS-9164: LAST ORANGE BLACK

 SPINE: up to 9158, IMPULSE in capital letters, from 9159, impulse in lower case

 BLACK/ RED RIM LABEL: STEREO

AS-9141-A, AS-9148-A, AS-9154-A, AS.9156-A, AS-9160-A,

AS-9161-A, AS-9162-A, AS-9165-A to AS-9200-A: a product of ABC records INC New York, N.Y. 10019-made in USA

 AS-9187-A: no address, ® in logo box

 ® in logo box: AS-9187-A, AS-9193-A, AS-9198-A, AS-9199-A, AS-9200-A

Last Black/ Red Rim AS-9229-A

 LAMINATED COVER: up to 9178 NON LAMINATED COVER from 9183

BLACK/ NEON LOGO

First black/ red rim AS-9230-A through to AS-9275 except AS-9265-A (released a year later than neighbouring titles, in 1975)

GREEN BULLSEYE

ASD-9276 first Green Bullseye (except AS-9265-A, as above) through to last true Impulse (pre-MCA ownership) AS-9333. Green Bullseye continues with “AI – ####” as catalogue number (Abc Impulse?) replacing AS – #### and adds stacked note abc logo to label. Green label continues up to IA-9361, where it is replaced by yellow bullseye.

LABEL REFERENCE SETS (LJC) 

1st pressing label of all Stereo titles from A-1-S to AS-9333 (1961-78)

Here ends the Impulse Years with the takeover by MCA in 1979

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