“Pushin’ Too Hard” / “Mony, Mony”

Welcome to the world’s first and only 78 rpm Seeds record!

Unfortunately for lovers of antiquated audio collectibles, The Seeds came along after the 78 era was over. Sure, some areas of the world held onto 78 rpm records until the very early 1960s, but The Seeds never got in on the fast-spinning action. Their first garage rock output came in 1965 – so, strictly LPs and 45s only.

Fortunately for collectors though, the classic "Pushin' Too Hard" did make it onto a rare and collectible honest-to-goodness 78 rpm record. It was part of a box set from Rhino called Jukebox Classics. Unbelievably, this set of 78s was released well into the CD era.

Read on for the story of this rare garage rock curiosity.

Rhino Jukebox Classics Box Sets

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, classic rock darlings Rhino Records released no fewer than four box sets of 78 rpm discs, under the series name Jukebox Classics. Anyone who had a jukebox that could play vinyl (not shellac) ten-inch 78s was in luck. In those heady days of cheerful MTV faces like Whitney Houston and Bon Jovi, this was clearly a niche venture.

And a lovingly-executed one. Each of the four sets contained 25 discs, with one song per side, for a total of 50 songs per box set. They were taken from the original master tapes, and came with a sheet of pre-printed jukebox title strips. (And the third and fourth sets in this series were even on colored vinyl, setting collectors’ mouths a-drooling to this day.)

The four sets, in order by catalog number, were:

• Jukebox Classics – Rhino 78000
  1950s and early 1960s songs.
• Jukebox Classics: The Sixties – Rhino 78001
  Early- and mid-1960s songs.
• Jukebox Classics: ’50s Hits Volume 2 – Rhino 78002 *
  More 1950s and early 1960s songs.
• Atlantic Jukebox Classics (Volume 4) – Rhino 78003 *
  Classic sides from Atlantic Records.

* Colored vinyl

Confusingly, “Volume 2” refers to the fact that it’s the second set of 50’s music, and “Volume 4” refers to the fact that it’s the fourth in the series. But, judging by the catalog numbers, they’re actually the third and fourth volumes, respectively. At any rate, The Seeds appears on the second set, Rhino 78001.

Release Dates of the Rhino 78s

I’m not exactly sure about all the release dates of these. Different sources list them differently and they are sometimes out of sequence with the catalog numbers, calling their accuracy into question. (If I had the box sets I could just look at the packaging, but I do not. Not many do; each is rare and expensive when it does become available. I only have The Seeds’ one individual record, which has no date printed on the label. Finding good, comprehensive photos of them online is even a challenge.)

What is certain is that ’50s Hits Volume 2 came out in 1989, and the Atlantic box apparently came out in 1993. Whatever the exact years of each of these box sets – wow! What an awesome series. I wonder how many people on the planet have all four sets?

The sound quality is excellent and the song really hits hard. (It always did, but it’s especially punchy on the Rhino 78.) Unlike some other artists on Jukebox Classics: The Sixties, The Seeds sadly only got this one song included. The B-side of the 10″ record is the enjoyable “Mony Mony” by Tommy James & The Shondells. Not a bad pairing, though Seeds fanatics may grumble that Tommy James also got both sides of record #6 in this set for a total of three tracks. Pshaw.

The Label of the “Pushin’ Too Hard” 78

The labels on each recored in this box set were all the same, a Jukebox Classics logo at top and the song and artist name printed in a serif font at the bottom. All on a white background. There is no “Featuring Sky Saxon” blurb on "Pushin' Too Hard". (Though Sky does get mentioned as the songwriter.) Another small blurb says “Licensed from GNP Crescendo Records”. In the 1960s, GNP proved themselves open to licensing The Seeds in interesting new formats (like the Mini-Twin tape) and in various countries (Sweden, Canada, Australia). It’s nice to see that they were still doing so in the late 1980s. Kudos to all the artists and rights-holders on these box sets, actually. In Rhino we trust.

Buying Rhino Jukebox Classics 78 rpm Box Sets

As mentioned, while you may be able to pick up a stray 78 from these sets here and there, they are rare and are priced usually between $10 and $30 each or so. Complete sets of 25 discs are much rarer, and will cost hundreds of dollars. But if you’re a record collector with a turntable that can handle 78 rpm, the sets are gorgeous and probably worth the expense.

The recordings are taken from the original master tapes, and with the disc spinning so fast, the information is spread out over longer grooves. Plus of course there is only one song per side, so the grooves aren’t packed together. The sound quality on these should be fantastic. It sure is on "Pushin' Too Hard", judging by my copy, its spooky minor-key atmospherics popping like never before.

This 78 is one of the most difficult Sky Saxon-related releases to find nowadays but it’s just within the realms of possibility, with some patience and luck. It’s well worth the effort it will take to find a copy of this record.

See more