George Harrison - The Apple Years Box Set (Pt3)

Right, I get that, but there's nothing else for the Harrison estate to release now, right? So - this is probably a dumb question - wouldn't EMI/Universal realise that it would be in their best interest to keep up the momentum of George releases and get out a rarities box set as soon as possible? I agree that there is an audience for archival Harrison material, and I think that if they wanted to get the most money out of that audience, the next few years (if not now) would be the best time to release something big.

 

Yea, they really do need to get on with it. The clock is ticking and none of us are getting any younger. Moreover, perhaps they need to consider other lower-cost distribution models to leverage the perhaps-narrow-but-intense base that would snap up any archival material. This could be physical media w online bonus material, some kind of subscription, or even full-out online distribution. The point is, they need to be thinking - imo - about a business model that gives a shrinking base what it wants, minimizes cost / risk, while maximizing the return on the finite materials in the vault.

(The Dead, for example, have created a great model that minimizes costs while regularly delivering 5+ issues each year. I'm not saying their model directly applies, but they found a way to fund releases to an intense core fan base of 10-15,000, while minimizing investment risk with minimal ongoing inventory. I can't see why the GH Estate couldn't think a bit out of the box and come up with a way to deliver the goods we all want, and generate revenue for the estate or the foundation or whatever.

 

How about a 6 cd full immersion set of ATMP?

 

If anything, I would have been a bit unhappy if a potential rarities box came before these remasters. I think the legacy needs to be preserved before it's expanded on. I've been waiting for DH and ET since LITMW came out! But now that priority number one is out of the way, let it roll!

 

the way things are looking, that sounds slightly less impossible now than I would have thought.

 

Me too. Before this announcement I saw countless threads on here full of people wondering if DH and ET would ever see the light of day again, and many people didn't believe they would. So I'm staying hopeful!

 

I would only disagree to say that there are, in fact, buckets upon buckets upon buckets of money to be made from Harrison's archival releases IF Universal cared about this important artist, which they don't, and IF Universal knew what to do, which they don't.

 

Yes, agree strongly - there is money to be made, but a program needs to be built around niche marketing, rather than the more traditional broad-based approaches used for Beatles product.

 

Can't remember if anyone posted this, but the Amazon listings have descriptions now..
(Open quote to read them all, didn't want to take up the whole page)

 

"The new release adds a remix of the single version of 'Bangla Desh,'"
So it's being remixed.. Is this new info or am I just behind on my info?

 

It kind of sounds like they're saying it was remixed in 1976 for The Best of George Harrison, but I've never heard that before.

 

The Amazon notes clear up one mystery. This is what they say about the 1992 version of 'This Guitar':

More than ten years later, the track received overdubs by Ringo Starr on drums, Dhani Harrison on guitar, and vocalist Kara DioGuardi.

 

Is this box a real limited edition or no?

 

And isn't that the crux of the matter? If you're going to the trouble of releasing a pricey box set of Harrison's work, surely the most basic organizational principle should be: "This needs to be a set that existing George Harrison fans HAVE to own. Even if they've bought all these albums before, they're going to be enthusiastic about buying them again." That's the captive market, and it's a no-brainer to try and bring them and their wallets on board from the get-go. And it's incredibly easily done with two things: good mastering and substantial exclusive content. Luring in the casual buyer is always going to be a crap shoot, but it's not as if anybody, anywhere, at any time has ever said, "I'd buy this expensive box set if only there were less music on it."

I'm continually flabbergasted that so many record companies get the simple algebra of motivating potential purchasers who are falling over themselves to be motivated so wrong.

 

I believe you are way overestimating the market for anything Harrison.
I think Ray's comment reflects a much more likely reality.

What do you suggest that Universal do to make those buckets and buckets of money?
How should they market to make buyers out of those hoards of people who don't visit the Steve Hoffman Forums.

 

And yesterday today was tomorrow........and tomorrow ........today will be yesterday.......

 

"The DVD contains a brand new, never before seen video which has been painstakingly overseen by Olivia Harrison"

With the emphasis on "a".

That would be hilarious if it weren't true. The dvd in this set is a real middle
finger to the fans who have purchased all the previous deluxe editions, and for this
set they simply cobble together everything from those previously already skimpy
dvd's.

Thanks, but i'll pass and wait for the promo clip of Dark Horse to turn up on Youtube.

Living in the material world .. indeed.

 

It does repeat the contents of the Living in the Material World bonus DVD from 2006. But what else was cobbled together from "previous deluxe editions"?

 

georgeharrison.com is counting down

 

The relative lack of bonus content and the high price are letdowns to be sure, but I still am psyched about this release. The most recent remasters for All Things Must Pass and Living in the Material World sounded great (and I confused as to why the powers that be think there is a need to remaster them yet again), and I am happy to hear the other albums treated in a similar way. I think that Dark Horse and Extra Texture have that sort of mid-70's over-produced and muddy sound quality. Hopefully, a mastering engineer with a good ear (and judicious, strategic EQ) could bring those LP's to life.

 

It has the seven minute blink and you'll miss it ATMP epk from 2001.

The Dark Horse years dvd was pretty cool, and even warrented it's own
release, the Apple years dvd is a travesty.

 

Have the contents of the new DVD been released?

 

But which "previous deluxe edition" included it on a DVD? The 2001 All Things Must Pass did not have a DVD.

 

http://www.georgeharrison.com/

 

I think we should treat this release similar to the 2009 Beatles remasters. We are likely getting all of George's solo albums remastered (hopefully with overall better sound) with improved packaging - available separately or included in box sets. The idea is more about freshening up his solo catalog and generating some new interest than to fulfill wishes of old time fans. As The Beatles continue to draw new generations (as they would've from the millions of remastered albums sold since 2009), it is very likely that many of them would want to explore the solo catalogs at some point and this release makes them available in best form yet on CD as well as on iTunes.

Now the GH estate and Universal clearly don't want to lose sales from old timers and hence the inclusion of bonus tracks and the DVD. In this regard, I agree they've done a poor job. Hopefully there are more plans in the pipeline and other special projects (such as deluxe ATMP or Rarities box) will emerge in the future. In hindsight, I feel they should've released these box sets in 2012 to cash in on any renewed interest from the Scorsesse film but maybe they just wanted the Universal takeover of EMI to be completed first.