1968 Columbia 2-eye?

jgordon

Super Member
I had thought that the 2-eye label was in use from 1952-1959, after which they went to the 6-eye, and then to the red / multiple yellow columbia logos around the perimeter.

I'm listening to a 2-eye stereo version of Filles de Kilimanjaro, which to my understanding came out in 1968.

Not the most pressing question of the day, but an interesting one to me.

Thanks.
 
Here's a page discussing Columbia MASTERWORKS labels over the years. Link will be below.

I do not know how accurate the page is.

If I'm reading right, it says the gray was used from 1955 to 1962- 1955-1960 it stayed the same, then two slight mild minor changes for the 1961-1962 run, with the addition of a stereo version too. At least that's what I think it's saying.

http://ronpenndorf.com/labelography2.html
 
From TonyL from Pinkfish Media:

Please note it's not definitive but a helpful stab at labels (no solid dates):

columbialabels.jpg


1) US Columbia ‘six eye’ mono – original late 50s to early 60s design with deep groove. Nice heavy paper over card sleeves but prone to seeam splits and ring wear (same as Blue Note and Riverside). Superb sound quality.

2) US Columbia ‘six eye’ stereo – same period and again deep groove. The red or grey colour may or may not mean anything – it doesn’t refer to stereo or mono, and it doesn’t seem to be a distinction between jazz and classical. Any ideas? Superb quality.

3) UK CBS matt orange mono – this is late 50s to early 60s, later 60s kept the same design but has a smoother less matt finish and different contour – I’ve left these off the picture as they’d look no different at this resolution. Nice laminated flip-back or non-flipback sleeves. Superb quality.

4) UK CBS matt orange stereo – same period and traits as above. Superb quality.

5) US Columbia ‘two eye’ – has a ridge but not exactly a deep groove. Stereo ‘two eyes’ are the same IIRC. But I don’t think I’ve got one to photograph. Paper over card sleeves. Superb quality.

6) UK CBS blue – frequently used on classical and also soundtracks. Overlaps with the UK orange timewise, again matt and less matt variations. Both laminated or non-laminated sleeves. Very decent quality.

7) UK CBS mid 70s gradient – used on new titles and later on ‘nice price’ reissues. Variable in quality, but usually pretty decent. No laminated sleeves by this point, just flimsy card.

8) US Columbia mid 70s red – tends to come in nice heavy paper over card 60s style sleeves. Decent quality.

9) UK CBS Masterworks – 70s – 80s classical label and very nice quality. Non-laminated sleeves.

10) German CBS Masterworks – same period as above – I’m sure I’ve seen UK pressings with this design. Thin card sleeves. Decent quality.

11) UK 80s CBS red – quality starting to take a substantial dip now, but not actually bad, just not as good as what went before. Really cheap typical 80s card sleeves. Worth having at the right price.

12) Current US Columbia – appears as both warped 180g and warped 140g pressings. Glossy card sleeves. Actually bad.

13) Japanese 1960s Nippon Columbia pressing. US style paper over card sleeves with OBI and insert. Superb.

14) Japanese 1970s CBS Sony pressing. US style paper over card sleeves with OBI and insert. Superb.

Please post any corrections / opinions / omissions to the above.
 
From TonyL from Pinkfish Media:

Please note it's not definitive but a helpful stab at labels (no solid dates):

columbialabels.jpg

7) UK CBS mid 70s gradient – used on new titles and later on ‘nice price’ reissues. Variable in quality, but usually pretty decent. No laminated sleeves by this point, just flimsy card.

9) UK CBS Masterworks – 70s – 80s classical label and very nice quality. Non-laminated sleeves.

11) UK 80s CBS red – quality starting to take a substantial dip now, but not actually bad, just not as good as what went before. Really cheap typical 80s card sleeves. Worth having at the right price.

7,9,11 were also used for titles pressed in Holland. SUPERB sound quality!
 
Here's another link that claims that the 2-eye label was used sporadically as late as 1970.

"...In 1962, Columbia switched to the "2 eye" label, which lasted in one form or another until 1970. The first variety (1962-1963) featured the words "Guaranteed High Fidelity" at the bottom for mono LP's and "360 Sound" twice around the word "STEREO" at the bottom for stereo LP's.
In Fall, 1963, arrows were added to the stereo logo. A similar change was made for Masterworks/soundtrack albums.
This variation covers mainstream numbers CL 1780-CL 2379 (mono) and CS 8580-CS 9132 (stereo)...."

http://heroinc.0catch.com/columbia/
 
maroon: 1949-1955
6-eye: 1955-1962
2-eye: 1962-1969
"modern": 1969-present

There may be a few exceptions and spill-overs into other years as the pressing plants used up their stock of blank labels, but these are the primary cut-off years.
 
From what I've seen the red 6-eyes were generally used for "popular" music, and the grey for classical. Jazz seems to get split between the two, though most of the jazz I have on Columbia 6-eye labels are red.
 
Grey labels denoted "Masterworks" and were for Classical, Original Cast, and selected film Soundtrack albums,
 
From what I've seen the red 6-eyes were generally used for "popular" music, and the grey for classical. Jazz seems to get split between the two, though most of the jazz I have on Columbia 6-eye labels are red.

I have never seen a jazz album on the Masterworks label except for a 1950 LP of Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall concert. It was later reissued with the red label.

552797666_tp.jpg
 
I have never seen a jazz album on the Masterworks label except for a 1950 LP of Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall concert. It was later reissued with the red label.

552797666_tp.jpg

I have that on a grey label Masterworks reissue from the mid 70's. (Label 10 on the chart, above) I guess it changed depending on who was running the store that particular day.
 
I'll have to dig around, I could have sworn that I have a couple of grey 6-eye jazz albums. I also could be losing my mind...
 
The two-eye used on that 1968 Davis LP was a fall 1967 variant design. It was a mesh of the original 1965 redesign of the "two-eye" label, based on the positioning of the STEREO, arrows, eyes, and COLUMBIA on the top; coupled with the "360 Sound's" and rim print (except for the small walking eye logo which was a recent add-on), which were cribbed from the Columbia Masterworks label design. I.I.N.M., by then the red used for the LP labels would have been Pantone 199. This variant in turn was an update of a redesign that had taken place in early 1967 and was on first-pressings of, say, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits.
 
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