The right number
If the record industry had an equivalent to new journalism,
it would be Chicago’s
Numero Group label. With the same passion and passionate abandon of a young Tom
Wolfe or Hunter S. Thompson, this label goes beyond the pale in the field of
reissues.
Numero Group was born in 2003 and currently has a catalogue
numbering 12 releases. All the records are reissues of artists that have
previously been released. So far the label has explored gospel funk, Caribbean disco, French electro-samba, and unsung
folksingers from the ’70s.
The packaging of any given Numero release is distinctly
spare. Customers have complained that the record sleeves have no barcode, no
track listing, and no artist name on the cover. The only identification is a
small “N” symbol, the number of the release and an unlabeled photograph. In
response to these complaints, Ken Shipley, founder and de facto spokesperson
for the group, says, “Hallelujah! Who cares?”
This is a label that doesn’t look to the Billboard charts
for inspiration. Shipley has said Numero often looks to books for inspiration
more than records (he counts the book Naked
As A Jaybird, about a nudist magazine among his
major influences). The passion for books is evident in the liner notes. Each
accompanying booklet features backbreaking research, fastidious prose, archival
photos, and, above all, personality.
Numero has gone and created a brand that no matter the
genre, no matter the artist, and no matter the year, if you like Numero, you’re
gonna like the music. And therefore, it doesn’t matter if there is no
track-listing or artist name on the cover. As Ken Shipley says, “This isn’t
about convenience. This is about creating a library of unheard music.”
This article appears in Dec 27, 2006 – Jan 2, 2007.
