CD CORNER : Vinyl Oldies Get Extra Attention in New Format

“Hope Springs Eternal”--the title of one disc in a new two-disc retrospective devoted to the inventive but short-lived Ze Records--could be the slogan for one of the most encouraging developments in the field of compact discs.

The fear when CD began driving vinyl out of the pop market in 1985 was that lots of valuable music would be lost to consumers because there wouldn’t be enough sales potential for record companies to re-release old records in the new, costlier CD format.

While there is much music of merit still unavailable in CD, there has been a positive aspect to the situation. Thanks to the consumer and media interest in compact discs, artists that are re-introduced in CD are tending to get far more attention than they would if their music were simply re-issued in cassette or vinyl.

This is not only true of of special collections--such as “Zetrospective,” the Ze Records tribute from Island Records’ Great Jones division--but also the re-release of compilations or original studio albums by such acclaimed figures as John Prine and John Hiatt.

Ze Records was a wonderfully imaginative New York label operated in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s by Michael Zilkha, a man with an ear for catchy but offbeat sounds that combined arty instincts with strong if quirky pop sensibilities and dance-floor impulses.

Among the Ze artists featured in the highly recommended new collection: Was (Not Was), Kid Creole & the Coconuts, the Waitresses (whose “I Know What Boys Like” cracked the national Top 100 in 1982), Suicide, James White & the Blacks and Lydia Lunch.

HIATT/PRINE: John Hiatt and John Prine are two of the most gifted singer-songwriters of the rock era, but they have been seriously under-represented in compact disc.

Hiatt--whose sharply-crafted songs have evolved from bittersweet and sarcastic to comforting and warm--has been making noteworthy albums since the mid-’70s, but only his two A&M; albums (1987’s “Bring the Family” and 1988’s “Slow Turning”) are available in CD.

Geffen Records, however, has now released a single-disc compilation that includes 13 of Hiatt’s most prized tracks from his MCA Records and Geffen Records periods, including “Pink Bedroom” and “She Loves the Jerk.” In addition, Geffen has released two of its three Hiatt albums (1983’s “Riding With the King” and 1985’s “Warming Up to the Ice Age”).

Prine--who has given us arguably the most evocative body of work of any folk-edged songwriter since Bob Dylan--made eight albums for Atlantic Records and Asylum Records (including a greatest-hits package) before starting his own Oh Boy Records a few years ago. But only three of the Atlantic albums (1972’s “John Prine,” 1975’s “Common Sense” and 1976’s “Prime Prine”) are available in CD.

Prine, however, has obtained the CD rights to the three Asylum albums and they are all now in CD editions through Oh Boy. “Bruised Orange” was released several months ago, while “Pink Cadillac”--an atypical, experimental effort stressing Prine’s rowdier rock instincts--and “Storm Windows”--an especially compelling look at disillusionment caused by the break-up of a marriage--have just been released.