USSR "Variety's Orbit" (C60-05007-08)
This album is correctly titled "Эстрадная Орбита" - which translates from Cyrillic into Roman script as "Estradnaya Orbita" and into the English language as "Variety’s Orbit". The catalogue number is C60-05007-08, and the initial year of release was 1974, when we presume the majority of copies first appeared. There are a number of editions of this LP manufactured at various locations, and there seems to have been enduring interest in the collection, with several new pressings emerging from various parts of the Soviet Union in the late-1970s and early-1980s:
1978: Georgia
1979: Leningrad
1980?: Uzbekistan
1980?: Moscow
1980: Latvia
1981: Latvia
Most of the tracks are by the original artists, including Elvis Presley no less, and are billed as such on the sleeve. But two are not billed in this way - the two which close either side of the album. One of them, "Sugar Me", is billed as by киршнер (Kirschner), which is in fact a reference to the song's publisher (ATV-Kirschner), while the other, "Living In Harmony", is billed as by Мьюин (Mervyn), also a reference to the publisher (Mervyn Music).
So what is going on with these two tracks? They are kept anonymous because they are in fact recordings by the Poppers, both from volume 26.
Track listing:
1978: Georgia
1979: Leningrad
1980?: Uzbekistan
1980?: Moscow
1980: Latvia
1981: Latvia
Most of the tracks are by the original artists, including Elvis Presley no less, and are billed as such on the sleeve. But two are not billed in this way - the two which close either side of the album. One of them, "Sugar Me", is billed as by киршнер (Kirschner), which is in fact a reference to the song's publisher (ATV-Kirschner), while the other, "Living In Harmony", is billed as by Мьюин (Mervyn), also a reference to the publisher (Mervyn Music).
So what is going on with these two tracks? They are kept anonymous because they are in fact recordings by the Poppers, both from volume 26.
Track listing:
Side 1
|
Side 2
|
Several of the sleeves below appear to be somewhat generic, in that Melodiya used the exact same designs elsewhere, with the alternative LP titles printed over the top. The tell-tale sign is the inclusion of the phrase, "зарубежная эстрада" on the front - this translates as "Foreign Hits", indicating that these sleeves were in fact used for a whole sub-genre of releases, rather than just these specific albums. Sleeves without that are almost certainly for the exclusive use of "Variety's Orbit".
Georgia pressings
Above LP labels: Unknown
We currently know of four different editions from the Tbilisi factory in Georgia, pictured above.
At the top are two sleeves which are very close in design to the Moscow edition, below (which happens to be the most common one in circulation), although the colours of these vary quite noticeably. (Technically there is another Tbilisi pressing in existence too, since the top one is known to exist with either black or yellow labels.)
The blue sleeve, with the rainbow motif, was also used on different albums, with the LP title (in dark print) changed accordingly. This edition was pressed in 1978, as revealed in the small print.
At the top are two sleeves which are very close in design to the Moscow edition, below (which happens to be the most common one in circulation), although the colours of these vary quite noticeably. (Technically there is another Tbilisi pressing in existence too, since the top one is known to exist with either black or yellow labels.)
The blue sleeve, with the rainbow motif, was also used on different albums, with the LP title (in dark print) changed accordingly. This edition was pressed in 1978, as revealed in the small print.
Latvia pressings
Editions of this Latvia pressing manufactured in Riga seem to have been issued over a period of time. While we believe the light coloured edition (top) was probably issued in the 1970s, the one with the very pink cover (middle) is as late as 1980, as noted in the small print on the back of the sleeve, and the one at the bottom is 1981 - also stated in the small print. These two album covers are virtually identical in terms of design, but apart from the different date, the one housing the blue label disc (bottom) has a copyright symbol next to the small print bottom-left.
Leningrad pressings
There are six known Leningrad editions, all pictured above. It is not clear why this factory issued the album so many different sleeves.
Note the differences between the bottom two (apart from the labels): The sleeves are printed with parts of the pattern consisting of light blue ink on top of red, to make a sort of dark purple colour. This is particularly noticable on the back of the lower copy, as compared to the upper one, where the addition of the blue overprint makes for a three-colour graphic. Other differences include the fact that the front of this edition has the word "CTEPEO" ("stereo"), just visible beneath the Melodiya logo in the top corner, while there is another Melodiya logo added on the back. This is a late (1979) edition.
Note the differences between the bottom two (apart from the labels): The sleeves are printed with parts of the pattern consisting of light blue ink on top of red, to make a sort of dark purple colour. This is particularly noticable on the back of the lower copy, as compared to the upper one, where the addition of the blue overprint makes for a three-colour graphic. Other differences include the fact that the front of this edition has the word "CTEPEO" ("stereo"), just visible beneath the Melodiya logo in the top corner, while there is another Melodiya logo added on the back. This is a late (1979) edition.
Moscow (Aprelevka) pressings
The LP pictured above was manufactured at the Aprelevka factory. It was issued on standard black vinyl. This sleeve is the the most commonly found of all the designs used on this LP.
This LP was issued in three different coloured vinyl editions, all translucent, as pictured above. The coloured vinyl pressings have a very slightly different design on the back of the sleeves and each coloured vinyl pressing has a different coloured label, as shown.
Above LP labels: unknown.
The LP above is an alternative black vinyl pressing, believed to date to 1975. It differs from the others in that the small print at the bottom of the back cover is noticably different (although not clear enough to be read in these images).
The LP above is an alternative black vinyl pressing, believed to date to 1975. It differs from the others in that the small print at the bottom of the back cover is noticably different (although not clear enough to be read in these images).
A later edition, with a much greener front cover. The label shows this LP to be 1980 or later.
A completely different cover on this 1970s edition, with the title also given in English, as "Variety music".
Uzbekistan pressings
There is an amusing misprint on early pressings (present on both sleeves and labels). Where Elvis Presley is billed at track 2, the act is given as "Ялвис" rather than "Элвис" - which leads to the mis-pronunciation "Yalvis" Presley, which sounds far more natural in Asia than "Elvis".
The yellow-label edition of the top album, and the very bottom pressing, are much later (1980s) and have a modernised label design compared to the 1970s pressings. On these editions, the Elvis typo has been corrected.
The yellow-label edition of the top album, and the very bottom pressing, are much later (1980s) and have a modernised label design compared to the 1970s pressings. On these editions, the Elvis typo has been corrected.
Last but not least, we feature this translucent blue vinyl pressing from the 70s. (The slanting print and dark rings around the label are showing through from the record sleeve the disc was placed on when being photographed.)
Other (factory unknown)
EPs
There were at least two EPs lifted from this album. Each contained four tracks. However only one of them is known to contain Top of the Pops tracks - see next page for details.
The non-Top of the Pops EP is pictured below in a few different pressings. It carries a cover design which is recognisable as a variation of the Uzbekistan-manufactured LP above. Tracks are: Gentle On My Mind / True Love Travels On A Gravel Road / Freedom / Les Rois Mages.
The non-Top of the Pops EP is pictured below in a few different pressings. It carries a cover design which is recognisable as a variation of the Uzbekistan-manufactured LP above. Tracks are: Gentle On My Mind / True Love Travels On A Gravel Road / Freedom / Les Rois Mages.