| John S Stuart 09.03.2005 13:18 |
Before leaving your considered opinion - take a moment to read the review below. The debate is NOT about "Fleetwood Mac" or "Rumours", rather, should "Queen" follow suit with "A Night At The Opera" 30th anniversary edition - or go down the road of a ubiquitous "Beatles: Anthology" box-set? FLEETWOOD MAC - Rumours [2CD, 2004, Expanded & Remastered] Info: Amazon Three decades after Rumours established itself as one of rock's most ubiquitous, overarching successes, discussing Fleetwood Mac's heady 1977 monster (18 million sold and counting) might seem pointless; one might as well deconstruct a Big Mac. But this remastered, double-disc deluxe edition succeeds by offering up a generous, compelling portrait of that overly familiar musical triumph via 18 bonus tracks that include demos, outtakes, run-throughs, and studio jams. Stripping hits like "Don't Stop," "Go Your Own Way" and "Gold Dust Woman" down to their most bare-bones form reveals the sturdy, elemental framework that tellingly lies beneath all the pop perfection. But tracks like Lindsey Buckingham's ebullient instrumental "Brushes" (the basic tracks of "Never Going Back Again") also display a musician whose focused vision is informed by accomplished playing that's anything but simple. The two brief studio jams included aren't much more than noisy, disposable fun. But other outtakes of songs that didn't make the album (Stevie Nicks's "Think About It" and "Planets of the Universe"; Buckingham's "Doesn't Anything Last") help underscore the contention of Dave DiMartino's insightful new liner notes: This was a band on the cusp of triumph literally coming apart at its emotional seams, yet one which somehow channeled that personal turmoil into nothing short of epochal musical success. -- Jerry McCulley, Amazon Tracklist: CD1: 1. Second Hand News 2. Dreams 3. Never Going Back Again 4. Don't Stop 5. Go Your Own Way 6. Songbird 7. Silver Springs 8. The Chain 9. You Make Loving Fun 10. I Don't Want to Know 11. Oh Daddy 12. Gold Dust Woman CD2: 1. Second Hand News 2. Dreams 3. Brushes (Never Going Back Again) 4. Don't Stop 5. Go Your Own Way 6. Songbird 7. Silver Springs 8. You Make Loving Fun 9. Gold Dust Woman #1 10. Oh Daddy 11. Think About It 12. Never Going Back Again 13. Planets of the Universe 14. Butter Cookie (Keep Me There) 15. Gold Dust Woman 16. Doesn't Anything Last 17. Mic the Screecher 18. For Duster (The Blues) |
| wstüssyb 09.03.2005 13:31 |
I must get that....*drool* |
| Negative Creep 09.03.2005 13:40 |
Would that not fuck up the concept of an anthology? Surely thatd leave a gap in the boset. |
| Adam Baboolal 09.03.2005 15:07 |
Not a bad idea as Yes have done that with their albums as well. I'd welcome it, for sure. And no, it doesn't mess up the idea of box sets as shown by the FM boxset. There was a taster cd along with 2-3 albums and that was a good alternative for some. Of course, by mess things up you might mean that the surprise of that album is unmasked prior to a possible boxset? Probably. But still not a bad thing to some. Peace, Adam. |
| Lester Burnham 09.03.2005 17:33 |
Negative Creep wrote: Would that not fuck up the concept of an anthology? Surely thatd leave a gap in the boset.I would assume that if this 30th anniversary of A Night At The Opera actually did materialize, then the other albums would follow suit - thus negating the point of having the box sets. |
| John S Stuart 09.03.2005 17:36 |
Lester Burnham: "I would assume that if this 30th anniversary of A Night At The Opera actually did materialize, then the other albums would follow suit - thus negating the point of having the box sets." You are right Lester, but which would you prefer? Some hopeful all-in-one futuristic box-set, or, a special edition disc bit by bit - starting THIS year with "...Opera" and thereafter on a rolling basis? link |
| Negative Creep 09.03.2005 18:12 |
But how long would it take them to release every album in that format? I'd definitely prefer a boxset of the unreleased stuff than album re-isses with corresponding demos etc..... it would seem much grander and get more attention from music fans in boxset form.... i don't have the desire to buy every album again, repackaged, poorly remastered with bonus discs.... unless the 1st disc was of a new high-def remixes of each album like the new Teo Torriate mix. |
| Adam Unger (QueenVault.com) 09.03.2005 19:33 |
I think they could do both and I would still embrace it. A 30th Anniversary ANATO double disc CD would be good to hold us over until the box set came. I'm sure some things on the ANATO double disc would be repeated in the box set. It's not like Queen are opposed to releasing the same stuff over again. |
| YourValentine 09.03.2005 20:25 |
It's not a bad idea except for the one disadvantage: we would have to buy all the albums all over again. Also, I have not too much confidence in the regular release of one album after the other - based on our experience with the DVD-As and the bootlegs (not that I am interested in the bootllegs) But an ANATO luxury edition would be a treat, no doubt. |
| Lester Burnham 09.03.2005 20:45 |
When Hollywood Records reissued all the albums in the early 90s, they released them in groups. So, let's say they do ANATO this year first as a commemorative thing, and then follow every three months or so with groups of three or four albums each. Elvis Costello has done an amazing job with this over the past four years - I highly recommend all of his albums if only for the extra bonus disc of additional material. Plus, maybe we can get Brian and Roger to write amusing liners - Costello himself pens all the liners of his albums, often adding great information and amusing stories that no biographer could really trudge up. How many more times do we really need to read the legacy of 'Bohemian Rhapsody', anyway? I'd rather hear Brian recalling a story about John farting during a take of 'Bring Back That Leroy Brown' which influenced Freddie to go into a lower register or something. |
| Saint Jiub 10.03.2005 00:12 |
YourValentine wrote: It's not a bad idea except for the one disadvantage: we would have to buy all the albums all over again. Also, I have not too much confidence in the regular release of one album after the other - based on our experience with the DVD-As and the bootlegs (not that I am interested in the bootllegs) But an ANATO luxury edition would be a treat, no doubt.That is my worry too ... but at this point any mostly unrecycled item would be a blessing. |
| Richard Orchard 10.03.2005 05:16 |
bowie is doing the same thing. i am collecting them. |
| iGSM 10.03.2005 05:35 |
I think that's a darn tootin' idea. Tootin'! |
| Benn 10.03.2005 06:39 |
John - great thread. I'm a huge fan of the box set concept. The Who's "30 Years Of Maximum RnB" is possibly the greatest tribute to the history of the band (other than a live show, of course). However, in terms of the music, on a rolling basis, the Deluxe Editions that Polydor have given us (Live At Leeds, (the stunning!) My Generation, (the stunning!) Who's Next, Tommy and soon-to-be Quadrophenia) have given true perspective on the band at certain periods of time. I also recently purchased the 30th Anniversary (3CD) version of The Kinks "The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society" - stereo and mono original album mixes, unreleased tracks, stereo and mono singles (where they differ from the album versions) and alternate takes. An absolutely definitive guide to the album. I also bought "Blind Faith" Deluxe, but was disappointed in that the jams they included prove nothing more than Clapton was hugely self-indulgent by then. Queen's music would best be served in this way - obviously, we would probably have to put up with a disc containing the original album mixes (again!) and that would possibly put me off after upgrading to the mini-lp remasters this year, but, if the additional material is as comprehensive as that on The Kinks release, I would get involved without question. In terms of concept, I believe that live and studio material should not be mixed together ("Who's Next" a case in point where disc 2 was devoted to a stunning live show at the expense of other studio material from the era) as the presentation by the band is so vastly different. Personally, I like to have "as much as possible" on an archive release as opposed to "the best of the rest" in order to see the creative process in as much detail as possible and to try to understand the decisions that the band made. Packaging doesn'tnecessarily need to be reflective of the original, but it does need to be as high a quality as possible, with comprehensive essays, track notes, recording session details and contemporary photographs (not live ones). Who puts together a set like this? Certainly not anyone connected with the band. I don't believe that they can be objective enough or relaxed enough about just going for it and getting aas much as possible into the market. A team of dedicated fans who have a high appreciation of the audiophile side of things needs to be put together in order to ensure that the archive is represented, sonically, in the pest possible way. Clearly, some liason with the band needs to be happening, but I believe that it should be right at the very end. IE: "Here's what we have put together - this is what we believe to be the best representation of Queen and the creation of ANATO in the best possible quality and using the highest quality production values available. This a gift from Queen fans to Queen". "Yes we approve" Or: "Hang on, have a look at it again for x reasons". That's what this kind of release represents - the fruits of labour. It also serves as a celebration of a point in time when creativity was at it's highest. Why not use this as an opportunity to be creative again? Conclusion - DEFINATELY better than a box set. |
| isolar2 10.03.2005 08:42 |
Richard Orchard wrote: bowie is doing the same thing. i am collecting them.A simple question for you: do you think these new issues present good value for money? Personally I think these issues are a big rip-off (especially the Diamond Dogs 30th anniversary set), Stage lacks 3 songs... Most bonus tracks were already avaliable on the Ryko label in the early 1990s. (Yes, I do collect them all because I am a huge Bowie admirer - but that does not mean I am satisfied with the anniversary sets. However, my guess is that Bowie will - one day - release a sort of Anthology set. Simply because there is so much more available on bootleg.) Well, there's always something to complain about as far as it's Bowie concerned :-) Lester Burnham wrote: Elvis Costello has done an amazing job with this over the past four years - I highly recommend all of his albums if only for the extra bonus disc of additional material. Plus, maybe we can get Brian and Roger to write amusing liners - Costello himself pens all the liners of his albums, often adding great information and amusing stories that no biographer could really trudge up.Now, that's a good start. There's nothing I want to add to this comment, except for the fact that the Elvis Costello issues are THE way to represent the fans good value for money. A good remastering job, entertaining booklets, splendid bonus material. What more can one ask for? Personally I'd prefer a Queen boxed set over 2cd editions of ANATO or ADATR. On the other hand, if Queen decide to re-release all albums on SACD with bonus tracks I'd definately be one of the first to buy the complete cataloque (over again). |
| iGSM 10.03.2005 08:53 |
< A tuppin' cup of tea. |
| Serry... 10.03.2005 10:46 |
Good idea. But only for that particular album 'cause it's one of their best ones. But I'm not gonna wait 'till 2021 for the 30th anniversary of Innuendo release of bonus disk! :) |
| Benn 10.03.2005 10:56 |
Serry, You've waited *all this time* for nothing so far, why not another 16 years? |
| John S Stuart 10.03.2005 14:39 |
link |
| John S Stuart 10.03.2005 18:54 |
link |
| YourValentine 10.03.2005 19:00 |
Hmm, I wanted to buy the Japanese remasters on QOL . The only reason I haven't done it yet, is because the server breaks down each time. Should I save my money? |
| John S Stuart 10.03.2005 19:03 |
link |
| YourValentine 10.03.2005 19:13 |
I just saved 70 euros for the Cologne ticket:) |
| wstüssyb 10.03.2005 19:23 |
be nice...only if they would hurry and fucking do it finally I dont wanna be 50 freaking years old to finally hear this stuff. |
| Serry... 11.03.2005 08:49 |
I've saved 200 USD - hope it would be enough... |
| The Real Wizard 11.03.2005 22:41 |
YourValentine wrote: Hmm, I wanted to buy the Japanese remasters on QOLAha, so now we know why they were on sale 2 for 1... |