FOR COLLECTOR'S

COMMENTS

This is a very curious record. Musically, it is a useless compilation from previously released LPs; moreover, it is also of a distinctly lesser sound quality, particularly on Side B, which is very poorly pressed and has unpleasant crackles. But what makes it unique is that it was apparently mastered in Japan, as suggested by the typical style of the machine-impressed matrix numbers, but pressed somewhere else. The pressing mark, a deep groove at 30 mm from the spindle hole, excludes, in fact, that the discs were pressed in Japan, where these pressing machines were not used. The Fan-Buys Marketing labels were used only once by Jimmy, John Wizardo's partner, on 30 NOSTALGIA HITS, just before he started his cooperation with Wizardo. Jimmy used the Lewis plants, whose mark is the deep groove at 30 mm from the spindle hole. Therefore, the possibility that the LPs were realized by Jimmy could not be ruled out. The LP was generally distributed in Argentina, where most of the copies were seen, and its layout is similar to that of other Brazilian bootlegs. We asked Wizardo, and this is what he told us: "If Jimmy made it, I never knew about it. I don't think he had anything to do with it. As bad as the cover is, Jimmy never could have done it on his own. We never used color printing and Jimmy couldn't possibly have come up with those crazy song titles. The type font doesn't match Jimmy's (or my) typewriter, either. The big question is, who would make such a stupid record? Well, Jimmy certainly would be a good candidate. It's possible that someone in Japan sent Jimmy the stampers, and he took them to Lewis. This unknown party could have also produced the cover. But why would the records have ended up in  South America? Jimmy and I never had any accounts in South America. This record is a true mystery. The B-side being a bad copy of Have You Heard the Word, is hysterical and definitely reminds me of the antics Jimmy used to get up to." .

A close examination of the Fan-Buys Marketing labels can give some hints: the labels used for FOR COLLECTOR'S are in fact very different from those on 30 NOSTALGIA HITS. The two outer rings are missing, and the fonts are different. Also considering the South American distribution, we suppose that this is an Argentinian or Brazilian production, possibly, but not necessarily, pressed in the USA at the Lewis plants, but without any involvement of the Wizardo group, using counterfeit Fan-Buys Marketing labels.