Every team needs a star player or two, but the legendary Vertigo records imprint had several. Black Sabbath for one. Status Quo for another. Let’s not forget Rod Stewart and his seminal solo albums, An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down and Gasoline Alley. Hell, Vertigo even had Nirvana on their books for a while – albeit the Patrick Campbell-Lyons kind.
But star players are nothing without a strong supporting cast, and that’s where this Buyer’s Guide comes in. Vertigo might have built its reputation as the go-to progressive label of the late 60s and early 70s, with albums such as Sabbath’s debut and Paranoid, Quo’s Piledriver, Uriah Heep’s …Very ’Eavy …Very ’Umble, even. But Vertigo’s DNA was built on a dizzying array of what could be termed B-list bands. That’s not to denigrate these lower-tier acts in any way, shape of form. They might not have enjoyed the critical acclaim and hot-selling success of Vertigo’s album-chart-busting performers, but that doesn’t make them any the less worthwhile.
You also have to place this guide in the context of the musical environment of the time, when the pages of record companies’ chequebooks were looser than a circus clown’s trousers, and A&R stood for artists and repertoire, not attitude and rejection. Vertigo could sign unproven bands to four-album deals in the hope they might, one day, come good – a luxury that doesn’t exist today.
Who, in 2015, remembers the likes of Cressida, Gracious!, Ancient Grease, Daddy Longlegs, Catapilla or Frumpy? Determined eccentricity was the backbone of the label and gave it a cachet it still enjoys. If there’s one unifying theme behind this guide, it’s that no modern-day mainstream record company would dare touch any of these bands with a barge pole.
The role of album-sleeve designer Marcus Keef played its part too. Keef might be renowned for his work with Sabbath but he was also the mastermind behind many other Vertigo releases – check out the Beggars Opera, Colosseum and Warhorse albums featured here. Keef’s covers were always mysterious and attention-grabbing; he contributed considerably to the label’s look.
Here be the soft white underbelly of Vertigo; the connoisseurs’ choice, with the iconic swirl label – designed by Roger Dean – on the A-side. As well as describing the albums, we've also also included the highest first-pressing price each album has sold for on Discogs. Happy digging!
...and one to avoid listening to but definitely buy
