Horizon, Audio Master Plus and The "Black Label" Era
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The fledgling Horizon label would feature a sunset-themed variation of A&M's silver label. It would appear first on the Alpert/Masekela album.
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The second variation on the Horizon label was this blue label for the Tommy LiPuma era.
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One of the last variations on the "silver label" style is this label from the Audio Master Plus series. The design is such that, read left to right, it reads "A+M;" top to bottom, "AM+" (Audio Master Plus.) The 3000-series A&M/CTi albums were half speed mastered and pressed on Quiex II vinyl, and released at a price only a buck or two more than standard A&M's at the time. (List price may have been $9.99.) An excellent label to look for, the vinyl being quiet and durable. Inner sleeves were a frosted transparent plastic with the same color scheme as the red pattern on the label. They were packaged in thick, loose-fitting clear plastic sleeves to prevent the warpage caused by standard shrink wrapping. A collectible series.
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This final shot is a custom label for Herb Alpert's Magic Man LP, which takes the basic silver label design and does it up in hues of purple and pink...faeturing the "Magic Man" title airbrushed in white.
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The last ride of vinyl for A&M would sport this black label with its stylized rounded squares and square-ish A&M logo, done in shades of tan, grey and white. Lettering was silver, and was probably one of A&M's nicest typography layouts for clarity.
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A promotional version of the "black label," which still retained touches of the tan coloring in the design.
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