Mail-order various-artists compilation CDs

The recipe was simple: a two-minute TV ad showing a male actor and a female actor extolling the virtues of a record/cassette/CD compilation that was not available in stores. Clips from music videos would play. Titles and artists would scroll upward across the screen, with yellow text for the song that was actually playing at that moment in the ad, and white text for the others. Then an extended portion of title and artist scrolling, usually while the phone number is shown in huge numbers on the screen. Always ending with a blue screen of text, with the name of the compilation and the phone number. Call now.

Repeat endlessly.

Some ads became legendary in their own right. ("Hey man, is that Freedom Rock? Yeah, man! Well, turn it up, man!"; "You also get Huey Lewis And The News!")

The music collections themselves also followed a recipe. Most included about 35-40 songs, spread out over two CDs or several cassettes. Most were produced by mail-order record labels that were completely unknown to most record store dwellers: Heartland, Sessions, Silver Eagle, Razor & Tie, Starland, Music By Mail, Mystic Music, R-Kive, Westwood Promotions, Cornerstone Promotions, and TVMusic4U, to name a few. The only time these collections would appear in stores was in the "used" sections. Very few had bar codes on the packaging.

Time-Life Music was the largest mail-order label by a wide margin. Time-Life produced over 3,000 compilations. The Time-Life releases have their own page on this site.

All of the mail-order record labels farmed out their record/cassette/CD manufacturing to a "special markets" division of a bigger label, like Warner Special Products, CEMA Special Markets, CBS Special Products, Sony Music Special Products, RCA Special Products, and others.

In the early days of CDs, Warner Special Products dominated the mail-order world. Although Warner Special Products released about 20 CDs to retail under their own name from 1985-1988, the vast majority of their releases were for the the mail-order record labels. In general, the Warner Special Products releases tend to be better than the competing Special Products divisions of the other labels.

In general, the Warner Special Products releases sound good, with relatively few instances of excessive compression/limiting, weird EQ, added noise reduction, or truncation of an opening note or a fade. They're not flawless, but they're very good.

If I had to give out letter grades for sound quality, Rhino gets an A for collections released 1996 and earlier, Time-Life gets an A- for collections released between 1995 and 2002 (in particular, those mastered by Dennis Drake), and Warner Special Products gets a B+ for collections released from 1992 onward.

Rule of thumb: The Warner Special Products collections are worth owning; buy them if you find them.


Here's a catalog from Silver Eagle Records from around 1989. Here's the same document, but uncompressed (and huge).

I bought a bunch of these around 1989-1990. These sets formed the bulk of my oldies library when I first started DJing entirely from CD. The individual sets are listed below by the year of their release. Silver Eagle folded up in 1991.


Here's a catalog from Razor And Tie, circa 1993.

In 1990, Razor And Tie put out their first CD - a 1970s pop compilation called Those Fabulous '70s. It was the first-ever compilation of AM-radio-friendly up-the-middle pop, and it did well enough to make Razor And Tie a viable corporate entity.

In 1990-1991, they put out five more compilations, all cut from a similar cloth as Those Fabulous '70s.

Razor and Tie branded these first six compilations as "The '70s Preservation Society Presents..." All six of them have fun track listings, but none have particularly good sound quality. Most of these tracks sound better elsewhere.

Beginning in 1993, Razor And Tie teamed up with Warner Special Products to produce their compilations. As a result, the sound quality improved dramatically over their 1990-1991 compilations.

Razor & Tie went on to be a successful label with their own roster of artists. The same can't be said of Sessions, Starland, Silver Eagle, and just about all the other mail-order labels detailed below. (Except for Time-Life, who get their own page on this site.)


The following is an admittedly incomplete listing of all the various-artists mail-order compilation CDs that I could find, listed chronologically by year of release. For more details, I'll steer you to Discogs, where I personally touched up the pages of hundreds of entries. The Discogs pages are as correct and as complete as I could make them. I gave up listing stuff released after 1997.


1986

There was no Warner Special Products release with catalog number 4501.

The 4-LP/3-cassette collection The Allniter never came out on CD, but would have been Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4502. It's 50 tracks, all 1980s pop hits, and would have been one of the best '80s compilations in history if it had come out on CD.

The 4-LP/3-cassette collection Keep On Rockin' never came out on CD, but would have been Silver Eagle, Warner Special Products OPCD-4503. 45 tracks, mostly late '60s rock.

Fun Rock (Heartland HD-1042, Warner Special Products OPCD-4504)

In 1986, CDs were gaining acceptance, but weren't fully mature yet. Billboard magazine had only started its weekly Top Compact Discs chart on June 1, 1985. CD sales lagged behind LP sales until 1987. The Beatles catalog was released on CD in 1987. A&M Records established a benchmark for label-oriented collections, with the release of over twenty single-artist collections starting in 1987. Rhino Records raised the bar for sound quality with their Billboard series, released in 1988. Point being: Maturity was imminent, but wasn't fully there in 1986.

In many ways, Fun Rock set the template for many, many future collections produced by Warner Special Products. The collection included twenty tracks per disc, forty tracks total. The discs themselves included a vertical light blue stripe at the left edge of the disc, with track titles in the middle, and the disc title at rightmost edge. Warner Special Products would maintain this look for many years, for just about all of their mail-order collections (except those on Time-Life). The set packaged the two CDs in separate jewel boxes, with a single-fold booklet for each. Each booklet had a color exterior and a black-and-white interior. The booklets had title, artist, writers' credits, and publishing credits for each track, but no substantial liner notes. The very early Warner Special Products collections credited the Cover Illustration to Richard Merchan and the Art Direction to Heather Harris. The personnel credits would disappear very quickly for later releases.

Importantly, the source material arrived by reel-to-reel tape from the individual labels. As a result, the sound quality of these mail-order compilations was a tape generation removed from the best available sources. Still, it was pretty exciting at the time to be able to play oldies of any type from the newfangled compact discs.

1987

Secret Love (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4505)

A rare 3-CD release in Warner Special Products' OPCD-45xx series. Most others are 2-CDs. This collection had 48 songs; the number would fall to 40 shortly after this release. The single-fold booklet interiors are in color, which Warner Special Products soon ditched in favor of black-and-white booklet interiors.

The original release is packaged in three separate jewel boxes. Track 9 of disc 3 is the Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love". Disc 3 lacks an "RE-1" in the matrix number.

A reissue is packaged in one double-wide jewel box. Track 9 of Disc 3 is Christopher Cross's "Sailing". Disc 3 has an "RE-1" in the matrix number. Discs 1 and 2 of the reissue are identical to the original release. Mastering info: Disc 3 of the RE-1 reissue has digital clones of the original release on all but track 9. Tracks 1 and 8 of RE-1 are digitally exactly 0.8 dB louder than the original release. Track 3 of RE-1 is digitally exactly 0.6 dB louder than the original release. Tracks 2, 4-7, and 10-16 of RE-1 are digitally identical to the original release.

Summer Love (Silver Eagle, Warner Special Products OPCD-4507)

Back down to 2 CDs, down to 45 songs.

Senior Prom (Sessions on first two releases, Westwood Promotions on third release, all Warner Special Products OPCD-4508)

50 songs, crammed onto 2 CDs on first two releases, spread out to 3 CDs on third release.

The original release was produced by Sessions, with two discs in separate jewel boxes. Disc 1 has no "RE" in the matrix number and has 25 tracks, with track 8 being Sam Cooke's "You Send Me". Disc 2 has no "RE" in the matrix number and has 25 tracks, with track 1 being The Teddy Bears' "To Know Him Is To Love Him" and track 20 being "Put Your Head On My Shoulder".

Sessions lost the rights to the Sam Cooke and Teddy Bears tracks, and replaced them with Ivory Joe Hunter's "Since I Met You Baby" and Little Anthony And The Imperials' "Tears On My Pillow", respectively on the RE-1 reissue. Also two discs in separate jewel boxes. Disc 1 has "RE-1" in the matrix number and has 25 tracks, with track 8 being "Since I Met You Baby". Disc 2 has "RE-1" in the matrix number and has 25 tracks, with track 1 being "Tears On My Pillow" and track 20 being "Put Your Head On My Shoulder".

After Sessions had put out their last release in 1994, Westwood Promotions rereleased the set under their own name, now with three discs in separate jewel boxes. Westwood Promotions lost the rights to Paul Anka's "Put Your Head On My Shoulder", and replaced it with The Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown". Westwood Promotions (apparently) regained the rights to The Teddy Bears' "To Know Him Is To Love Him", and returned it to the track listing, dropping Little Anthony And The Imperials' "Tears On My Pillow". Disc 1 has 19 tracks, with track 8 being "Since I Met You Baby". Disc 2 has 19 tracks, with track 7 being "To Know Him Is To Love Him". Disc 3 has 12 tracks, with track 7 being "Cathy's Clown".

Real Rock (Heartland HCD 1054-4, Warner Special Products OPCD-4509)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color.

Freedom Rock (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4510)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color. This release marks the first time that the booklet includes ads for other CDs. This set hypes Senior Prom and Secret Love.

The original release included two Jefferson Airplane tracks. Track 11 on disc 1 is "Somebody To Love". Track 7 on disc 2 is "White Rabbit".

Sessions lost the rights to the Jefferson Airplane tracks and replaced them in later pressings. On the reissue, track 11 on disc 1 is Joe Cocker's "Feelin' Alright", and track 7 on disc 2 is the Guess Who's "No Time".

Rockin' Down The Block (Silver Eagle SED-10624, Capitol Records CDL-9728 and CDL-9729), later repackaged as HBO Presents 1st & Ten: The Party Animal Album with a picture of O.J. Simpson on the front

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, inserts are one-sided, no booklets. Sound quality is mediocre, due to high-generation tape sources.

The Best Of The King Biscuit Flower Hour (Silver Eagle SED-10674)

26 songs, 3 CDs in separate jewel boxes, inserts are one-sided, no booklets. All tracks are non-hit live versions.

1988

All Star Country (Heartland HD-1065/4, Warner Special Products OPCD-4511)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color.

Dancin' The Night Away (Silver Eagle, Warner Special Products OPCD-4512)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color.

I have much personal love for this particular set. This was the first collection of mainstream disco available on CD, anywhere. Here's a review from page 25 of the August 20, 1988 issue of Billboard. It includes the rare promo 45 version of Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music", which edited out the words "white boy".

Christmas Wishes (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4513)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color. The booklets hype Senior Prom and Secret Love.

Love Songs (Heartland HD 1073/4 and HD 1073/4-2, Warner Special Products OPCD-4514)

The original release was packaged in two separate jewel boxes, with Heartland Music catalog number "1073/4".

A reissue was packaged in a single jewel box, with Heartland Music catalog number "1073/4-2". The audio was identical to the original release.

Night Beat (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4515)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color. The booklets hype Secret Love and Freedom Rock.

55 Original Country Classics (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4516)

55 relatively short songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color. The booklets hype Senior Prom and Secret Love.

Ready To Rock (Silver Eagle, PolyTel Canada 816642.2)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, inserts are one-sided, no booklets. Sound quality is mediocre, due to high-generation tape sources.

Formula 45 (Silver Eagle SED-10774, Capitol CDL-57026, CDL-57027, and CDL-57028)

45 songs, 3 CDs in separate jewel boxes, inserts are one-sided, no booklets. Sound quality is OK overall, but many tracks use relatively higher-generation tape sources.

Motown Anniversary Collection (Silver Eagle SED-10214)

50 songs, 3 CDs in separate jewel boxes, inserts are one-sided, no booklets. Sound quality is unbelievably terrible. LP/cassette sets were released in 1983; it's unclear when CDs were released. Avoid this set.

Motown 30th Anniversary Collection (Silver Eagle SED-10794, Motown/MCA MSD 35150)

50 songs, 3 CDs in separate jewel boxes, inserts are one-sided, no booklets. Sound quality is quite good overall. The 1960s-era tracks are in stereo. Many tracks are digital clones of some very early Motown CDs. (This set sounds orders of magnitude better than Motown Anniversary Collection listed above. It's not even close.)

Moments To Remember (Silver Eagle SED-10764, CBS Special Products A 20878 and A 20879)

45 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, inserts are one-sided, no booklets.

Unforgettable Fifties (Heartland 1072/4-2, BMG Direct DVC 2-0867)

50 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, jewel box front inserts are single-sided, no booklets.

1989

Under The Boardwalk (Mystic Music, Warner Special Products OPCD-3518)

30 songs on 2 CDs.

Cosmic Dreams (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-3519)

40 songs, 3 CDs in separate jewel boxes.

Heart And Soul Of The Sixties (Silver Eagle, Warner Special Products OPCD-3520)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color.

Tonight's The Night (Time-Life TND, Warner Special Products OPCD-4517)

The Time-Life discs that were part of a series had the Warner Special Products catalog numbers of OPCD 25xx, 26xx, and so forth. Time-Life occasionally released stand-alone sets that were not part of a series. Although some of the stand-alone sets used the same WSP 45xx catalog numbers as the other mail-order companies, the graphics, booklet design, artwork, and mastering were all done in-house at Time-Life and are markedly different from all the other Warner Special Products discs listed on this page.

Bop (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4518)

50 relatively short songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in black-and-white. The booklets hype Senior Prom and Those Fabulous '50s.

#1 Country (Heartland, Warner Special Products OPCD-4519)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color.

Feel Good Rock (Heartland HD 1090/4, Warner Special Products OPCD-4520)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color. Disc 1 has RE-1 in the matrix number. Disc 2 has RE-2 in the matrix number. There may be earlier releases with different track listings.

Mastering info: This may be the first Warner Special Products mail-order collection that incorporates digital clones of some earlier CDs. "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and "Right Back Where We Started From" are differently EQ'd digital clones of Dancin' The Night Away. "Crocodile Rock" is a differently EQ'd digital clone of a retail CD from JCI called Rockin' Seventies. Most others are taken from reel-to-reel dubs from the record companies, making them one tape generation removed from the best sources out there.

Everlasting Love (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4522)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color. The booklets hype Senior Prom and Bop.

Solid Gold Party Rock (Silver Eagle, Warner Special Products OPCD-5501A)

46 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes.

Those Fabulous '50s (Sessions, RCA Special Products DVC2-0877)

43 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklets have color interiors. The booklets hype 55 Original Country Classics and Senior Prom.

Woodstock Rock (Silver Eagle SED-10813, Capitol CD3L-57069)

40 songs, 3 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklets have color interiors. Sound quality is mediocre.

Shades Of Love (Silver Eagle SED-10804, MCA MSD 35119)

45 songs, 3 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklets have color interiors. Sound quality is mediocre. "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" is a differently EQ'd digital clone of MCA's A Decade Of Steely Dan (1985). "The One That You Love" is inexplicably in mono. Several tracks have their waveforms truncated around -5 dB in both channels. Released as Traces Of Love in Canada.

1990

Guitar Rock (Time-Life GUD, Warner Special Products OPCD-4521)

38 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes.

Mastering info: Around 1990, I believe that Joe Sasfy at Time-Life started to use DAT (Digital Audio Tape) copies from the labels for their source material. We start to see many tracks using the same analog transfers (not digital clones) as existing CDs. A handful of tracks have their left and right channels swapped.

After Hours (Silver Eagle, Warner Special Products OPCD-4523)

40 songs, 3 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in color.

Mastering info: "La Bamba", "Strut", "Girlfriend", "The Other Woman", "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)", and "Obsession" are digital clones of Night Beat (some different EQ, some just volume-boosted). "Ladies Night" is a volume-boosted digital clone of Dancin' The Night Away. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight", "Whip It", "Freeway Of Love", "Hold Me Now", "Always Something There To Remind Me", "Tell It To My Heart", "Seasons Change", and "Don't Shed A Tear" are all new analog transfers that all suffer from tape drag, making each track slower at the end of the song than at the beginning of the song. I suspect that these were reel-to-reel tape dubs sent from the labels and played on a faulty tape deck at Warner Special Products. Many tracks also run faster on this CD than on other CDs. While this was a relatively important release at the time (and provided me with my first digital copies of most of these songs), better-sounding copies of just about everything can now be found elsewhere.

Rock Party (Time-Life RPD, Warner Special Products OPCD-4524)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes.

Hot Rod Classics (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4525)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in black-and-white. The booklets hype Senior Prom and Bop.

Always (Heartland 1114/4 and 1114/4-2, Warner Special Products OPCD-4526)

The original release was packaged in two separate jewel boxes, with Heartland Music catalog number "1114/4".

A reissue was packaged in a single jewel box, with Heartland Music catalog number "1114/4-2". The audio was identical to the original release.

Mastering info: "Always" and "Take My Breath Away" are digital clones of Night Beat. "Handy Man", "Dance With Me", "If You Could Read My Mind", and "Oh Girl" are digital clones from the first batch of Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies discs.

Singers & Songwriters 40 Hits (Time-Life R103-33, Warner Special Products OPCD-4528)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes.

Mastering info: About half the tracks are digital clones of earlier, existing CDs.

60's Frat Rock (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4529)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in black-and-white. The booklets hype Hot Rod Classics and Bop.

Country Romance (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4531)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in black-and-white. The booklets hype Senior Prom and Everlasting Love.

Rock Box (Silver Eagle SED-10885)

5 CDs in separate jewel boxes. Many rerecordings, which is quite unusual for the mail-order collections.

Those Fabulous '70s (Razor & Tie, CBS Special Products A 21640)

23 songs, 1 CD, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: Many, many early fades to squash 23 songs onto one CD. Many tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs (most faded early for this disc), with five being taken from CBS's Seems Like Yesterday series. Basically, the track selection is great, the sound is not.

Rock Archives (Entertainment Weekly, CEMA Special Markets CD2L-57373)

30 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in black-and-white. This set was likely offered with a subscription to the magazine, and likely wasn't marketed through TV. I included it because it used to be relatively common in the used market.

Mastering info: One or two tracks seem to have added noise reduction. About five tracks are volume-adjusted digital clones of other CDs. "Some Like It Hot" has tape drag, so that the end of the song runs slower than the beginning of the song.

1991

Good Times (Mystic Music, Warner Special Products OPCD-3523)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in black-and-white.

The original release has 20 tracks per disc. Disc 1 has no "RE" in the matrix number and has 20 tracks, with track 11 being "Lay Down Sally". Disc 2 has "RE-1" in the matrix number and has 20 tracks, with track 16 being "Call Me". There is no known variant in which disc 2 lacks an "RE" designation. Disc 1 runs 72:38. Disc 2 runs 79:46.

Disc 2 of the original release must have been too long, because a reissue moved Blondie's "Call Me" to disc 1. Disc 1 has "RE-1" in the matrix number and has 21 tracks, with track 11 being "Call Me" and track 12 being "Lay Down Sally". Disc 2 has "RE-2" in the matrix number and has 19 tracks in same order as above minus "Call Me".

Mystic Music lost the rights to Eric Clapton's "Lay Down Sally and replaced it with Gary Wright's "Love Is Alive" on a second reissue. Disc 1 has "RE-2" in the matrix number and has 21 tracks, with track 11 being "Call Me" and track 12 being "Love Is Alive". Disc 2 has "RE-2" in the matrix number and has the same 19 tracks in the same order as above.

Slow Dancing (Heartland 1131/4 and 1131/4-2, Warner Special Products OPCD-4530)

The original release was packaged in two separate jewel boxes, with Heartland Music catalog number "1131/4".

A reissue was packaged in a single jewel box, with Heartland Music catalog number "1131/4-2". The audio was identical to the original release.

Honky Tonkin' (Time-Life, Warner Special Products OPCD-4532)

O Holy Night (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4533)

38 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes. The booklets hype Christmas Wishes and Senior Prom.

Summers Of Love (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4534)

Rock Revival (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4535)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in black-and-white. The booklets hype Summers Of Love and Freedom Rock.

The Best Of Canadian Rock (Silver Eagle SED-1100)

36 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, no booklets. Sound quality is mediocre at best. Many tracks have extremely low volume levels, too.

Good Time Rock 'N' Roll (Silver Eagle SED-1041, MCA Records MCAD-6171)

18 songs, 1 CD, all tracks are live from a 1985 concert.

Those Funky '70s (Razor & Tie, CBS Special Products A 22045)

21 songs, 1 CD, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: Same issues as with Those Fabulous '70s: Many, many early fades to squash everything onto one CD. The track selection is great, the sound is not.

More Fabulous '70s (Razor & Tie, CBS Special Products A 22505)

23 songs, 1 CD, multi-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. Booklet hypes Those Fabulous '70s, Those Funky '70s, Disco Fever, Sweet '70s Soul, and Those Rocking '70s.

Mastering info: 21 of the 23 tracks are differently EQ'd digital clones of Rhino discs, 18 of those being from Rhino's Have A Nice Day series. A few fade early, as with the earlier Razor & Tie discs.

Disco Fever (Razor & Tie, CBS Special Products A 22496)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single double-wide jewel box, multi-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. Booklet hypes Those Funky '70s, Sweet '70s Soul, Those Fabulous '70s, More Fabulous '70s, and Those Rocking '70s.

Mastering info: Finally, using 2 CDs allowed Razor & Tie to get rid of all the early fades. Many tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, with seven being taken from Rhino's The Disco Years series and four from Dancin' The Night Away.

Sweet '70s Soul (Razor & Tie, Sony Music Special Products A2 22499)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single double-wide jewel box, multi-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. Booklet hypes Those Funky '70s, Disco Fever, Those Fabulous '70s, More Fabulous '70s, and Those Rocking '70s.

Mastering info: Many early fades. Many tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, with ten being taken from Rhino's Didn't It Blow Your Mind series.

Those Rocking '70s (Razor & Tie, Sony Music Special Products A2 22502)

39 songs, 2 CDs in a single double-wide jewel box, multi-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. Booklet hypes Those Funky '70s, Disco Fever, Sweet '70s Soul, Those Fabulous '70s, and More Fabulous '70s.

Mastering info: Very few early fades, which is good, but odd EQ choices on many tracks, which is not good. "Baby Hold On" is differently EQ'd digital clone of Greatest Hits Sound Of Money. "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" is a differently EQ'd digital clone of Greatest Hits. "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad" is a differently EQ'd digital clone of Bat Out Of Hell. This disc, and the other five Razor & Tie collections from 1990-1991, don't sound very good.

Instrumental Magic (Mystic Music, CEMA Special Markets CD2L-57386)

40 songs, 2 CDs.

Mellow Gold (Mystic Music, CEMA Special Markets CD2L 57392)

40 songs, 2 CDs.

Mastering info: Half of the tracks have added noise reduction, which is one of the sins against sound that I find unacceptable in compilation CDs. Avoid this set.

1992

New Country (Entertainment Weekly, Warner Special Products OPCD-2681)

25 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in black-and-white.

Magic Moments (Heartland 1188/4 and 1188/4-2, Warner Special Products OPCD-4536)

The original release is packaged in two separate jewel boxes. Track 18 of disc 1 is Chris DeBurgh's "The Lady In Red". Disc 1 and disc 2 both lack an "RE-1" in the matrix number.

A reissue is packaged in a single skinny 2-CD jewel box. Track 18 of disc 1 is Seals & Crofts's "Get Closer". Disc 1 has an "RE-1" in the matrix number. Disc 2 has no such "RE-1" in the matrix number, and is identical to the original release.

V Disc - The Songs That Went To War (WWII 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition) (Time-Life R139-39, Warner Special Products OPCD-4537 and Time-Life R138-03, Warner Special Products OPCD-4538)

79 tracks total, two 2-CD sets

Our Songs: Singers & Songwriters Encore (Time-Life R105-26, Warner Special Products OPCD-4539)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes.

Guitar Rock Monsters (Time-Life R105-24, Warner Special Products OPCD-4540)

36 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in black-and-white.

Mastering info: Disc 1 is mostly volume-adjusted digital clones of existing CDs. Disc 2 doesn't appear to have any digital clones, and has many tracks with left and right channels swapped.

The Ultimate Party Album (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4541)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single skinny dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. From this point forward, the Warner Special Products collections are packaged in a single skinny dual-CD jewel box, rather than two separate jewel boxes. Also, from this point forward, the Warner Special Products collections include a single-fold booklet that has a black-and-white interior.

Mastering info: "Jump (For My Love)" is a digital clone of Good Times. Most other tracks appear to use the same analog transfer (but not digital clone) of earlier existing CDs.

By this time in 1992, it would appear that Warner Special Products has started to receive delivery of source material from the labels on DAT (Digital Audio Tape) rather than reel-to-reel tape. Using delivery by DAT doesn't really add a generation of tape loss; DAT has essentially no wow/flutter, a nearly-flat frequency response, and a dynamic range comparable to that of CDs themselves. From this point onward, the Warner Special Products collections are at their peak, sonically. They'll depend on the quality of the source material that the labels provide, but they won't suffer from the extra generation of tape loss from the reel-to-reel delivery.

Sixties Light Listening (Sessions, Sony Music Special Products A2 23031)

30 songs, 2 CDs.

Groovin' (Mystic Music, CEMA Special Markets S22-57628)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box.

Moments To Remember (Mystic Music, CEMA Special Markets S22-57825)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single skinny dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. Booklet hypes Instrumental Magic and Mellow Gold.

1993

The Disco Collection (Entertainment Weekly, Warner Special Products OPCD-2695)

24 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: Most (all?) tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, over half being taken from Rhino's The Disco Years collections.

New Country II (Entertainment Weekly, Warner Special Products OPCD-2711)

25 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Country Crossroads (Starland, Warner Special Products OPCD-3527), later repackaged as Southern Comfort (Starland, Warner Special Products OPCD-3527B)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box.

Rock Dreams (Time-Life R105-40, Warner Special Products OPCD-4542)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: "Time After Time" is digitally exactly 4.3 dB louder than She's So Unusual. "Heat Of The Moment" is digitally exactly 1.2 dB louder than Asia. "Take Me Home Tonight" is digitally exactly 1.9 dB louder than Greatest Hits Sound Of Money. "Lovin' Every Minute Of It" is digitally exactly 0.1 dB louder than Big Ones. Many others use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" is missing the opening 0.25 seconds of the intro. "Some Like It Hot" is missing the very last line of the song. The tail of the fade is shortened on several tracks.

Easy '70s (Razor & Tie, Warner Special Products OPCD-4543)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: Virtually all tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, with five being taken from Always.

Totally '80s (Razor & Tie, Warner Special Products OPCD-4544)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes Totally '80s, Disco Fever, Those Rocking '70s, Those Fabulous '70s, More Fabulous '70s, Sweet '70s Soul, Those Funky '70s, and Easy '70s.

Mastering info: Virtually all tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, with six being taken from After Hours, three being taken from Night Beat, and three being taken from Good Times. The first 0.06 seconds of "What I Like About You" is missing. This set is mastered by Steve Hoffman, but sounds no better and no worse than other Warner Special Products sets from this time frame.

40 Summer Fun Hits (Starland, Warner Special Products OPCD-4545), also packaged as Good Times Rock & Roll

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: Virtually all tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, with ten being taken from Rhino's Have A Nice Day series and four being taken from Time-Life's Superhits/AM Gold series.

Golden Dreams (Starland, Warner Special Products OPCD-4546)

30 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Christmas Magic (Sessions, Sony Music Special Products A2 24283)

40 songs, 2 CDs.

Wacky Favorites (Heartland Music HD 3070, MCA Special Markets & Products MSD2-35480)

40 songs, 2 CDs in separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in black-and-white.

1994

Hometown Country Christmas (Starland, Warner Special Products OPCD-4547)

38 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Lost In Love (Starland, Warner Special Products OPCD-4548)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: Virtually all tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, with four being taken from Love Songs.

Get Together (Time-Life, Warner Special Products OPCD-4549)

42 Original Hits (Sessions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4550)

42 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Awesome '80s (Razor & Tie, Warner Special Products OPCD-4551)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes Totally '80s, Disco Fever, Those Rocking '70s, Those Fabulous '70s, More Fabulous '70s, Sweet '70s Soul, Those Funky '70s, and Easy '70s.

Mastering info: Most tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, with four being taken from Night Beat. "Love Is A Battlefield" is missing its opening sounds. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" is missing its first 0.25 seconds. This set is mastered by Steve Hoffman, but sounds no better and no worse than other Warner Special Products sets from this time frame.

Body Talk (Time-Life R138-18, Warner Special Products OPCD-4554)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: At least 27 tracks are digital clones (different EQ or just level-shifted) of earlier existing CDs.

Rock Your Socks Off (Cornerstone Promotions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4555)

Rockin' USA (Starland, Warner Special Products OPCD-4556)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: Most tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, with six being taken from Night Beat.

Night Songs (Heartland HD-3297-1/2, Warner Special Products OPCD-4557)

36 songs, 2 CDs in two separate jewel boxes, single-fold booklet interiors in black-and-white.

Mastering info: Most tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, with nine being taken from Secret Love.

Sentimental '60s (R-Kive, Warner Special Products OPCD-4558)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box.

Forever Young (Starland, Warner Special Products OPCD-4559)

38 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: Most tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, with nine being taken from Secret Love.

Changin' Times (Razor & Tie/R-Kive Music, Sony Music Special Products A2-25055)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box.

Forever '80s (Razor & Tie, Sony Music Special Products A2-25069)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes Awesome '80s, Totally '80s, Back To The '80s, Disco Fever, Motown Love, Sweet '70s Soul, Easy '70s, Those Rocking '70s, and Those Fabulous '70s.

Mastering info: Many tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs. This set is mastered by Steve Hoffman, but sounds no better and no worse than other Warner Special Products sets from this time frame.

Motown Love (Razor & Tie DR 7074, PolyGram Special Markets)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box.

Mastering info: All but three Miracles songs are in stereo. This set polishes up the stereo mixes as best as can be, but they'll never have the punch of the hit mono mixes.

Back To The '80s (Razor & Tie DR 7075, PolyGram Special Markets)

20 songs, 1 CD, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes Awesome '80s, Totally '80s, Back To The '80s, Disco Fever, The Complete Donna Summer, Motown Love, Those Rocking '70s, Sweet '70s Soul, Easy '70s, Those Funky '70s, and Those Fabulous '70s.

Mastering info: Most tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs. Some tracks a little loud and clip a bit. This set is mastered by Steve Hoffman, but sounds no better and no worse than other Warner Special Products sets from this time frame.

1995

Hooked On A Feeling (Heartland, Warner Special Products OPCD-4552)

Everything '80s (Razor & Tie, Warner Special Products OPCD-4560)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes Living In The 90s, Awesome '80s, Totally '80s, Forever '80s, Back To The '80s, and Disco Fever.

Mastering info: All tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs.

Rock And Rhythm Gold (R-Kive, Warner Special Products OPCD-4561)

Rock This Way (Music By Mail, Warner Special Products OPCD-4562)

Seventies Feelings (Mystic Music, Warner Special Products OPCD-4565)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

The original release includes the Sound Exchange logo on the discs and rear artwork.

A reissue omits the Sound Exchange logo on the discs and rear artwork, and includes the Olyphant logo in the matrix number. The booklet and audio are the same as the original release.

Mastering info: "I Honestly Love You" is a digital clone of Night Songs. Most (all?) other tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs.

Country Love (Heartland 3493-2, Warner Special Products OPCD-4567)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Super '70s (Razor & Tie DR 7076, PolyGram Special Markets)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes Disco Fever, Those Fabulous '70s, More Fabulous '70s, Those Rocking '70s, Sweet '70s Soul, Easy '70s, Those Funky '70s, and Awesome '80s.

Mastering info: Most tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, but many have their fades shortened. "Le Freak" uses the LP version from the Chic collection Dance Dance Dance, which has left/right synchronization problems. "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love" also has left/right synch problems. Steve Hoffman mastered this set, but it's pretty spotty from track to track.

Heroes Of Rock & Roll (Razor & Tie, MCA Special Markets & Products MSD2-35803)

42 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes Totally '80s, Forever '80s, Those Rocking '70s, Motown Love, and Easy '70s.

Living In The 90s (Razor & Tie, CEMA Special Markets S22-18601)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes Living In The 90s, Totally '80s, Awesome '80s, Back To The '80s, Forever '80s, Disco Fever, and Those Rocking '70s.

Mastering info: Most (all?) tracks are volume-adjusted digital clones of earlier existing CDs. Most seems to be LP versions, cloned from the single-artist full-length CDs. Sound is excellent, as you'd expect.

Razor & Tie released a 1-CD version of this set to retail in 1997.

Cool Rock (Mystic Music, CEMA Special Markets S22-18168)

35 songs, 2 CDs in a single skinny dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. Booklet hypes Good Times and Mellow Gold.

Mastering info: About half the tracks are volume-adjusted or differently EQ'd digital clones of earlier existing CDs. I didn't detect any added noise reduction on this set. Sound is better than some other Mystic Music releases.

1996

Let There Be Rock (Cornerstone Promotions, Warner Special Products OPCD-3532)

Malt Shop Memories (Cornerstone Promotions, Warner Special Products OPCD-3535)

Punk (Starland, Warner Special Products OPCD-3536)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

This set was later repackaged as '80s Retro. Identical audio (track selection and mastering), same catalog number, new licensor (R-Kive), new disc title, and new artwork.

Mastering info: All tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs.

Sweet Love (Mystic Music, Warner Special Products OPCD-3537)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes Cool Rock and Bell Bottom Rock.

This set was sold with a bonus disc called Soft Love (Warner Special Products OPCD-1868).

Mastering info: Most (all?) tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs.

'90s Style (Razor & Tie, Warner Special Products OPCD-4569)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes '90s Style, The Big '90s, Living In The 90s, Totally '80s, Awesome '80s, and Super '70s.

40 Wacky Classics Of The '70s (Sound Exchange, Warner Special Products OPCD-4570)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box.

Reflections Of Love (Starland, Warner Special Products OPCD-4572)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: All tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs.

Lost Hits Of The '60s (Echo Records, Warner Special Products OPCD-4573)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box.

70's Party Mix (Westwood Promotions/R-Kive, Warner Special Products OPCD-4574)

32 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes All For Love, Super '70s, Living In The 90s, Awesome '80s, Everything '80s, and Forever '80s.

Mastering info: All tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs.

40 Party Classics (Starland, Warner Special Products OPCD-4576)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Mastering info: Most (all?) tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs.

The Big '90s (Razor & Tie, EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets 72438-19283-2-5)

19 songs, 1 CD, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes The Big '90s, '90s Style, Living In The 90s, Totally '80s, Awesome '80s, and Super '70s.

Mastering info: Most (all?) tracks are differently EQ'd digital clones of earlier existing CDs. Sound is excellent.

Bell Bottom Rock (Mystic Music, EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets 72438-18922-2-0)

35 songs, 2 CDs in a single skinny dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. Booklet hypes Groovin' and Mellow Gold.

Mastering info: A small number of tracks have added noise reduction, which is one of the sins against sound that I find unacceptable in compilation CDs. About nine tracks are digital clones of earlier existing CDs; those track sound just fine.

All For Love (R-Kive Music, Sony Music Special Products A2 26946, A 26947, and A 26948)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single skinny dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Duets (R-Kive Music / Westwood Promotions, Sony Music Special Products A2 28248, A 28249, and A 28250)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single skinny dual-CD jewel box.

1997

Touched By Love (Cornerstone Promotions, Warner Special Products OPCD-3541)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

The original release includes absurd artwork of two silhouette faces on a bright yellow background.

A reissue has new artwork and a new catalog on the artwork (3541A), but retains the same catalog number on the CDs. The audio is the same as the original release.

Mastering info: All tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs.

Opera's Golden Moments (Cornerstone Promotions, Warner Special Products OPCD-4577)

3 CDs in a single double-wide jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Viva Las Vegas (Razor & Tie DIR 9000-2, Polygram Special Markets)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Suddenly '70s (Razor & Tie DIR 9001-2, BMG Special Products DMC2-1733)

40 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes Suddenly '70s, Super '70s, Those Rocking '70s, Disco Fever, Easy '70s, Those Funky '70s, and Sweet '70s Soul.

Mastering info: Most tracks use the same analog transfers (but not digital clones) as earlier existing CDs, with eight being taken from Those Fabulous '70s and seven being taken from Rhino's Have A Nice Day series. "King Tut" is taken from vinyl. Steve Hoffman mastered this set.

Razor & Tie released a 1-CD version of this set to retail in 2001.

Monsters Of Rock (Razor & Tie DIR 9004-2, Sony Music Special Products A2-28805)

35 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. The booklet hypes Monsters Of Rock, Everything '80s, '90s Style, and The Big '90s.

Razor & Tie released a 1-CD version of this set to retail in 1998.

1998 (likely incomplete; I gave up attempting to be rigorous after 1997)

Twilight Time (Mystic Music, Warner Special Products OPCD-3542)

36 songs, 2 CDs in a single dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white.

Sugar & Spice (Cornerstone Promotions, Warner Special Products OPCD-3543)

34 songs, 2 CDs.

Make You Sweat (Razor & Tie 89018-2, Warner Special Products OPCD-3544)

35 songs, 2 CDs.

Love Forever (R-Kive Music, Warner Special Products OPCD-3545)

36 songs, 2 CDs.

Red Hot (Mystic Music, EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets 72438-19817-2-6)

35 songs, 2 CDs in a single skinny dual-CD jewel box, single-fold booklet interior in black-and-white. Booklet hypes Cool Rock and Sweet Love.

Mastering info: Over half the tracks are volume-adjusted or differently EQ'd digital clones of earlier existing CDs. I didn't detect any added noise reduction on this set. Sound is better than some other Mystic Music releases.