Out This Week / on 25 September 2020

Well, I broke the promise I made on another thread – I’ve ordered ‘SOTT’ from Amazon Australia.

*prepares for disappointment*

My ImportCDs order got cancelled (problem with my credit card) but when I tried to re-order, they said they weren’t shipping it to Australia anymore. :( That annoyed me because it was my cheapest option by $40 (AUD)!

I still had my JPC order, but I decided to cancel that – I thought if there’s a problem, it would be much easier/cheaper to return locally than to send all the way back to Germany.

But I now notice the Amazon Au listing only offers it from Amazon US. When it was still a pre-order, it was coming from Amazon Au at a cheaper price. I decided to change it to a 3rd party order from MplusL.

I’ve never used MplusL before. Good? Bad?

I don’t know where they are, but the estimated delivery date is late NOVEMBER so I’m assuming they’re not in Australia.

Also out this week is ‘Between a Breath and a Breath’ by Dyble Longdon. It’s the final album by Judy Dyble, (ex Fairport Convention, Trader Horne & solo career) who sadly passed away recently, in collaboration with David Longdon of Prog band Big Big Train.

Picked up my SOTT CD box this afternoon from LOVE MUSIC in Glasgow.
Be warned folks:-
1. Wash your hands before opening the book. Most pages are black and show up the slightest of fingerprints.
2. Peach text on black pages is not the easiest combination to read so make sure you’ve had your eyes tested recently!
3. Most importantly – get the discs out as carefully as you can from the pockets in the book as it’s very difficult. First disc I extracted already has scuff marks. I’ll put them all in a couple of spare multi-disc jewel cases (as I normally do with box sets when I’m going be playing them a lot). I certainly won’t be putting them back into the book. I happen to have been playing the Police – Message in a Box (e-a-r book version) recently. The four discs are contained inside the front cover on four ‘buttons’ with the thick cardboard slightly recessed so playing surfaces of the discs are not in contact with the inside of the book cover. The ‘Simply…Dusty’ book/set I have is similar. A perfect design that should have become standard for these book style box sets.

Apart from these moans (and the not so slight matter of those missing tracks that should have been included) this is still an essential purchase. The thick packaging cardboard has the SOTT symbol on it. The book containing the discs is contained within a slip case which is slimmer than I expected it to be. The shrink rap can easily be trimmed to remain intact with the stickers in place on the front and to keep the separate backing sheet containing track listing attached to the rear.
Happy listening all. Looking forward to seeing your unboxing video Paul and to hear your opinion.

108 songs from the SotT SDE dumped on YouTube today, so you can listen to those if your delivery is delayed like mine is.

Just got shipment confirmation of the Prince super deluxe! For US fans without an order in yet, I went to importcds.com – had no issues with them in the past despite the site’s lackluster appearance. $113 and change plus shipping :)

Prince box just arrived from the SDE shop a day before release!!! Thank you soooooo much Paul. The box alone is a work of art. Almost a shame to open it. :) I have though and the content inside is phenomenal!! And in perfect condition. Dont mess about…. order from the SDE shop if you want the BEST service!! One VERY happy customer here.

Preordered the Prince deluxe cd box from Amazon Italy a long time ago but it still hasn’t shipped and expected delivery is now October 5th. This is not the first time Amazon Italy offered the best preorder price but fail to deliver on release day. The last time I preordered from them my order was endlessly delayed and ended up being cancelled (Go-Betweens vinyl box). I give up and will cancel my order. The Prince deluxe cd box is in stock at one of my local stores and I will happily pay the £35 extra to have it on release day.

Hi paul do you send out emails when orders have been dispatched as I have not had one yet for my prince box set

Has anyone who ordered Bruce Cockburn True North from Am.fr or anywhere else got a despatch update or any kind of delivery estimate?

Nothing for me from France, just “we’ll let you know” on my account page.

I just received the expected email from Amazon to say that the SOTT super deluxe set is now expected on October 9th. Surprised much ???

Kevin Rowland My Beauty really cannot wait for the vinyl to arrive. Never understood people’s dislike of this album. Really like this album and find that it is Kevin at his rawest. Even all these years later, people cannot look past the cover. Strange world, brilliant album and an all-time classic.
On the note of CD v Vinyl, i have recently played I Trawl the Megahertz on CD. Nothing wrong with the vinyl just had to keep my head down and get work out the door so i couldn’t stop every 20 minutes. On listening to the CD, i think this is an album that is so much more cohesive on CD and flows. Strange but true, not often I find albums I like better on CD.
Thanks again Paul for the website.

The 3 key releases out this week I have on pre-order are the Prince SOTT CD SDE from Amazon Italy (when it comes, it comes)…new Bob Mould “Blue Hearts” (out in advance of the big box) & new one from Outlaw Country/Rock & Roll band Reckless Kelly, a double album called “American Jackpot/American Girls”…saw them for the first time a year & a half ago on my first Outlaw Country Cruise #4 and blew me away…they were like a great hybrid of Neil Young/Crazy Horse, Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band & Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, but also wholly original, great songwriting and kick-ass live rocking band…and they’ve been around almost 30 years…

Got an email from my local independent record store today to inform me the all SOTT box sets have arrived and all orders covered . SDE kindly despatched my Peach 2lp version yesterday evening and should be with me shortly and The Official Prince Store delivered the 7 inch box set mid August.
I think the issue maybe with Amazon. They emailed me regarding Tears For Fear Seeds of Love box will be delayed shipping by a week and the same with U2 reissue so I’m switching back to SDE and Local store for future orders.

hi paul. i hope everything is alright with you and your family. united kingdom is in the second covid19 wave now and other countries are also more than high. let prudence and good music guide us throuh this forthcoming hard and challenging winter ! daniel

Fleet Foxes have issued a new full album today called Shore it is available for streaming at their site. Physical copies due in Feb 2021. And it is simply gorgeous

It’s interesting to observe the amount of comment and strong feelings about the Kevin rowland cover. Including those by Kevin himself in that important guardian article.(linked below)
Over time, Dexys and Kevin’s cover art has contributed towards my overall appreciation of their/his work. The arrogance, the poise, the moodiness, the style. As I stated earlier, I struggled with the my beauty cover, that’s part of my journey as a human and I’d go so far as to credit this Kevin cover and Philippa York with helping me on my journey towards simple acceptance. Ta Kevin, ta Philippa.

Moving on slightly, Why I wonder hasn’t there been any comparitive noise about the slade cover? Slade are rightly considered one of the greatest live bands, and lyrically they are up there with the best. yet I am not alone in considering their album covers weak and unrepresentative of the greatness of their music.
Have some of their four faces/people and no particular mood covers had a negative impact on their legacy sales and their presence in record collections. I think it’s possible.

Does the Prince Sign O The Times double Peach vinyl come with a download code?

Pre-ordered SOTT (US$113) already shipping from Import CDs.

I have just had an email from the shop I pre-ordered the SotT SDE from here in N.Z. Apparently the stock designated to be shipped to N.Z. has “issues” and will not be available on release date. Further, there will be up to a 2 week delay getting the problem sorted. They do not state whether that this is a global problem but, if there is something wrong with the manufacturing, that could be likely.

Good to see that the new Hackers soundtrack is going to be on CD with seven score tracks that are not on the vinyl. That’s a compulsory purchase for me.

However, the official description is not quite correct. One of the nine “unreleased” score tracks – Diskette (2m 4s) – was previously released on the “Hackers 3” CD.

Oddly, that 1999 release also included a Simon Boswell score track “Launch DiVinci” which is not listed on the new Hackers CD. However, it might have been retitled and/or incorporated into a longer track.

Incidentally I had the pleasure to chat with Simon Boswell and the film’s director Iain Softley after a special screening at London’s Prince Charles theatre. Lovely guys. I just wish I’d taken my Burn Cycle soundtrack CD for Mr Boswell to sign!

kevin rowlands much debated cover is fabulous…he is cute, with a cute body, wearing what he wants…i will be listening to it on the way home, as I have never seen this album until today…i did read the guardian article that was posted somewhere in the comments…it is so funny when people get so bent out of shape…it also makes me sad that they are so ill at ease with themselves that they take it out on others

I’m nervous about my SOTT pre-order with Amazon. I ordered the day it was announced, and my order status is still saying they’ll email me when they have a delivery estimate. I was really counting on getting it this week. Now I’m worried I might not get it at all if they’ve messed up their orders.

What a week this isgonna be, I’m expecting:

Steel Wheels S.E. box
Bruce Cockburn box, if Am. Fr. keep their promise.
Lou Reed S.E box – mixing LPs & CDs is OK by me I collet both
Mercury Rev 5CD box plus the Hell Blackbird LP
The Big Country box
Steve Hackett – Selling England/Spectral Mornings 2CD/Bluray
Pretty Things – Bare As Bone, Bright As Blood, The Pretties final studio album (LP & CD
Ray Thomas – Words And Music

Those are on top of what’s been a busy September, the thing is October is gonna be crazier………
……and now Shakey’s announced Archives 2 for November!

Paul any idea when we will get to see your SOTT unboxing video?

Anyone have any information on the k.d. lang All You Can Eat vinyl reissue? It was supposed to come out this summer but was pushed back to 25 September. Some sellers were considering it a Record Store Day release, which it’s not officially. Now Amazon moved the release back to January 2021, but I’m not seeing this date everywhere. Is it an indie exclusive first? Is it only being released in UK/Europe?

Amazon dropped me a note to let me know that my SOTT SDE would be in my hands 4 days later. AAARGH! First World Problems.

Mercury Rev’s SDE of All Is Dream came out the same week as Prince’s 1999 SDE and now The Secret Migration comes out the same week as SOTT. Coincidence?

Please excuse the diversion, however as we have another Record Store Day “drop” coming up, this inspired me to compose some lyrics (or is it a poem?) on the topic, which I hope you will humour me by publishing in the comments…

“Vinyl Flippers”
Vinyl’s back in a massive way
Thanks in part, to Record Store Day
Queuing up at four in the morning
Outside a record store when the day is dawning

Got my list of LPs that I need
Will the shop have copies? One has to believe!
But I’ll have to wait, and I’ll have to see
‘Cos there’s already twelve punters ahead of me

I trawl the shelves of the rare releases
But they’ve sold out leaving me defeated
So I trudge back home – might go back to bed
But I log on and search for vinyl instead

The air turns blue and bad words I say
When the record that I need is there on eBay
It’s being flogged by some bloke called Sid
He’s got on a ‘Buy It Now’ at two-hundred quid

So am I buying it? Am I heck!
The missus she would surely wring my neck
But when she’s out and with low morale
I grit my teeth and log into Paypal

These bloody flippers they are the worst
They make you feel sour as you empty your purse
Oh some may claim that its supply and demand
But they charge the Earth, and so they should be damned

Oh I really covet picture discs released by Bis
But the extortionate re-sale prices take the piss
So will I try again? Well, that just depends
Oh look, it’s Record Store Day – here again!

(I might look into getting the track recorded, and then released for one day only – possibly via mail order and with no CD edition, in a run of 250 invisible 12″ singles, priced at £59.99 each. Any takers (?))

Slade vinyl ordered!

I’m getting a bit nervous about my Amazon (Italy) order of SOTT. Not only delayed to next week but now no longer showing as available on their website. Hoping they don’t have stock issues :-(

Looking forward to My Beauty getting a reissue. My promo cassette including Thunder Road is finally rendered obsolete. Sad to have missed out on a signed copy as I have a lot of love for this record, and Kevin in general.

The reissue of the Kevin Rowland album is a real surprise to me. I remember working in a major UK music retailer when it came out and it was widely derided as a massive vanity project. The cover was one topic of conversation but the music wasn’t exactly well received either if I remember correctly. I don’t think we sold any copies and it was considered one of the worst selling albums ever at the time.

The Wikipedia entry states “It has been reported that the album was one of Creation’s lowest-selling albums, shifting only 500 copies, but in fact the album actually sold over 20,000 worldwide”. Even 20,000 worldwide isn’t great to be honest but if that’s true what is the thinking here for a reissue? Is it a real cult piece now?

What’s next? A reissue of Steve Coogan as Tony Ferrino?

Paul can you do an interview with Kevin Rowland re this album cover please? I wanna know all the conversations with the record company about it. Thanks

Also out this week : Big country – Out beyond the river, the Compulsion years 5cd+dvd box and Fish releases his final studio album Weltschmertz on CD, vinyl and deluxe edition exclusively from his website fishmusic.scot

All in all a remarkable week!

Looking forward to the Mercury Rev, that was a nice surprise when it was announced. Also out Thurston Moore’s new album By the Fire.

Blimey, that Canadian price is good for the Bob Marley. What have they got against the Spanish?!

Nice to see Kevin rowlands great covers cd getting a reissue. One of the best covers of concrete and clay.

Now, let’s see a decent reissue of don’t stand me down.

Anyone who hasn’t enjoyed this is what she’s like is in for a very big treat.

what an ugly cover of “my beauty” ! i must take a break from my dinner. urrgh! it seems that he must do everything to get some attention. or is this the new style of men and i am too old-fashioned? i saw some bad front pages this year, but this is the top of disgusting covers !

Paul you may be interested to know that they have discovered the issue with the Richard And Linda Thompson box.The problem is that most of the discs are warped.Whether you can get them to play or rip depends on how bad the warp is and the error correction system of what you are trying to play it on.The problems can occur on any of the 8 discs in the box.
On other forums people are coming up with a variety of home remedies to get rid of the warping including baking the discs in an oven and boiling them in water.You would have to be brave to try this stuff.
As far as I know Universal have not acknowledged the problem.You mentioned last week that you were going to try and get in touch with someone there and I know that both the sets producer and various retailers have as well.
The only solution is disc replacement.

I received the Elliott Smith CD from Amazon a couple of weeks ago.

I am very much looking forward to SOTT and G’N’R. An expensive month.