Saturday Deluxe / 17 April 2021
Your SDE weekend supplement
SDE on Peter Cetera and Prince
Reissue producer Vinny Vero stopped by SDE earlier today to answer some SDE readers’ queries about the forthcoming Peter Cetera six-CD box set that he has worked on.
One of the questions about Love, Glory, Honor & Heart: The Complete Full Moon & Warner Bros. Recordings 1981-1992, in the comments section of the original post, concerned the omission of the song ‘No Explanation’, which had originally featured on the 1990 soundtrack to the film Pretty Woman. Vinny addressed this directly:
Having worked at EMI when the “Pretty Woman” soundtrack was in full swing, I knew going into the box set that there might be some contractual issues regarding ‘No Explanation’. But I figured 30 years could mean that it might not matter. Wrong! The agreement between Warner Bros. and EMI at the time stated that ‘No Explanation’ can be included on a Peter Cetera credited greatest hits, or singles collection, only. It is not available to be a part of a repackaged or reissued edition of any Peter Cetera studio album. It cannot be included as an extra track or B-side of any future Peter Cetera single. Since there is no term stated in the agreement, the legal eagles at the label determined that it is not available to license for inclusion on the box set. Personally, I think that’s a big mistake.
Vinny Vero
The song ‘Love Assistant’ is also not included in the new box and Vero revealed that “Peter simply did not want to include it despite several attempts to change his mind”.
After a few eyebrows had been raised by SDE readers about the cover art, Vinny was also kind enough to reveal an original cover art proposal that was ultimately rejected by Cetera, who preferred the out-of-focus shot that they’ve gone with.
And there’s more! Peter Cetera also decided he wanted the actual cover art amended. The revised version is the image you can see at the top of this post, which features repositioned typography and loses the clock imagery.
Love, Glory, Honor & Heart: The Complete Full Moon & Warner Bros. Recordings 1981-1992 will be released on the 28 May 2021.
Read more, about the Peter Cetera 6CD box set
Money Does Matter 2 Night
What on earth is going on at Sony’s Legacy Recordings outfit and the pricing strategy around the forthcoming Prince Welcome 2 America deluxe box set?
When this was announced last week, it took a while for the European prices to filter through, but when they finally did, the disparity between the cost of the product in Germany, France, Italy and the UK, and the price-tag in North America was unbelievable. Putting to one side the deal via Amazon France (now over), the cost of this 2LP+CD+blu-ray box on this side of the Atlantic was literally DOUBLE what it was stateside.
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NewsIf we get down to the nitty-gritty, on Amazon US, the price is $99, which is around £72, whereas in the UK Amazon are charging a whopping £149.99! And this isn’t just a weird Amazon anomaly either, because HMV in the UK are charging the same amount. Also, independent retailer Rough Trade in America can buy the box set from Sony at a wholesale price (or dealer price, as its known in the music industry) that allows them to sell it for $105, or around £76. Incredibly, the UK arm of the same business has to charge £174.99 for the same product, to make the margins required to keep the wheels turning on their business. That’s a cool £100 premium, for the same product! Even at the cheaper price, the set is arguably not great value, but doubling the cost makes it obscenely expensive and it’s very unfair to treat fans (and retailers) differently in this way. Never has the phrase ‘rip off Britain’ been so apt.
Just what exactly is going on? After some reasonably good and well-priced reissues – the Up All Nite With Prince 4CD+DVD box set gave you change from £30 – Sony appear to have really lost the plot with this Prince Welcome 2 America deluxe edition. They are, presumably, aware that we live in a global economy and consumers can see how much it is being sold for in other countries, but it appears as if they don’t care.
It’s absurd that in Britain, you can buy the deluxe edition of Welcome 2 America from Amazon in the USA, pay the ‘import fees deposit’ in advance, pay for shipping from America and the total cost is £94. That’s £56 cheaper than buying it locally.
What are your thoughts on this. Leave a comment!
Read more about the Prince Welcome 2 America release.
Compare prices and pre-order
Prince
Welcome 2 America - CD+2LP+blu-ray deluxe edition
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