King Crimson - "Starless - Live in Europe" box set confirmed

You are joking! Look at The Road To Red. Still full price on Burning Shed but I paid half of that price a few months ago. The day when they don't even allow price competition on these very expensive boxsets is the day I stop buying them.

 

I most certainly am not joking! This is the version of the band that the overwhelming majority of Crimson fans cling to. As I said (and this should be obvious), with such a small print run, they could have sold out on these easily by only selling it themselves. I suspect there's a little bit of hedging going on on their part here. If you think distributors are in the business for making the consumer happy, you are sadly mistaken. They are calling the shots. If you don't believe that, note that even powerhouses like Amazon have to now succumb to the distributors' inane return restrictions. Also, know that the profit margin on CDs and other physical media is razor thin. Also, know this: the low retail price on the RtR box sold by Deep Discount last year ONLY happened because someone circumvented the rules. Is that really your idea of "fair trade"? It's all cool as long as it benefits me?

 

I don't know.... I thought that competition was good. You are from the land of the free market at all costs but believe that having a single distribution channel is going to be beneficial to the customer?!?! I am surprised!
I don't even know what circumvented rules you are talking about. I thought that for a producer of a limited edition item the concern should be that not all stock ends up with one channel (that can then make more profit than the producer) rather than the other way around.
The last two sentences of your post verge on the offensive. I am not buying the item from a sweatshop manager, or something fallen from the back of a lorry. I choose to buy where it is cheaper. So now there is something immoral in choosing the best price?

 

Oh man, you're just not getting what I'm trying to say, are you? Competition is good for the consumer, of course. Who says that the manufacturer has to care about that? I can tell you that the distributor is not concerned about that premise at all, and generally speaking, takes a larger chunk of the pie than most consider to be fair. That being said, don't you believe that the artist has every right to profit the most from his/her work? Have you not seen a trend in music today where more and more artists are selling their stuff themselves and taking all the profit? I'd agree that some need the other feeders in the supply chain. But those producing small print runs for a niche release they know will sell, don't necessarily need the other feeders to exist. And really, where exactly are you getting the idea that a manufacturer of anything needs to make sure that the buyers of its product have choices on where to buy that product. If you sell something yourself, those interested will surely know where to find you. So it's really not a matter of making more channels available so that people are aware. The fans of this band are already aware without needing to be slammed over their heads. This is as perfect an example of a slam dunk as exists in the music industry today.

 

Can anyone who already has the set confirm whether or not there is music missing on the LoMD 1>Mincer>LoMD 2 sequence on Disc 4? It seems weird that they would try and "complete" this piece while leaving gaps that could easily be filled with the audience recording...

 

Plastic People, oh baby, now you're such a drag

Thanks for the memory

 

Yes, I demand less posts about distribution issues and more about the content of the box

 

OK so I have just said that I am happy that, for whatever reason, these boxsets are available in more than one place and I would not buy one at full price of £130+perhaps another £10 in delivery fees [$224.00 in total] if Burning Shed was the only option for a UK customer.
The band can do whatever they want with this market survey statistic of one sample!

 

Apparently for this release they decided to separate multitracks/soundboards from bootlegs:

-"LoMD 1>Mincer>LoMD 2" is in one form on Disc 4, and another version (I guess more complete) of "LoMD 1>Mincer>LoMD 2" on one of the bonus disc, but this time taken from a bootleg (with a lesser good sound).

-The Italian concert is spread in two: the first part of the concert is only available on a bootleg, so it's on one of the bonus discs, while the second part, which is on one of the Blue Tapes, is on Disc 7.

 

Thanks for the info! It seems a well crafted and organized box set.

 

Does anyone know the actual number of units produced and whether it's greater or lesser than the previous two big boxes?

 

They sell, you buy OR not. Simple and to the point. You don't have to be happy with anything. If you want the music enough to pay the price at which it's offered, you do so. Nobody owes you or us or even the artist anything. It really is that simple. Where you or anyone gets into trouble is when you feel you've been cheated, even though you've agreed implicitly to take part.

 

7000 each and every time.

 

Interesting approach, seems logical. I get the feeling the completist in me will re-sequence Disc 4 to include the bootleg-patched version and graft the audience recording of Udine onto the beginning of the first Blue Tapes reel to create a "full concert experience." It's hard work being a KC obsessive, I tell ya.

 

So why are we having this discussion? I haven't said anywhere that I feel I have been cheated nor do I want to deny Robert Fripp the right to put whatever price tag and choose whatever distribution model for his product.
I have only said that I would not spend £140 for it.

 

First of all, you decided to respond to a post I made by opening with "You are joking". So you kinda forced ME into having to explain myself and into having this discussion with you. It's your right to find the price unreasonable; I never made a statement on its reasonability or even came close to saying that everybody should just be happy with the price. I am ust trying to explain the realities of the situation in today's marketplace, as I see them.

If you find the price unreasonable, all should become clear to you. Don't buy it. Simple.

 

I have bought it because I found it at a price that I considered reasonable, thanks to the fact that it was available somewhere else. So that closes the circle.

 

Well, then consider yourself lucky.

 

Even luckier Mr Fripp who got my money (or some of it).

 

That's the type of comment that I find to be misguided. Do you actually believe that you're lucky that your employer is willing to pay you for work that you do for him? Fripp has every right to get paid by anyone who appreciates his work. Being a musician is a job like any other.

 

So why did you say that I was lucky? I had made a decision not to spend more than a certain amount on each of these boxsets and I bought them only when I had the opportunity to do so. What has luck got to do with it? You seem to blame me for such decision as if I am stealing from someone so I am going to leave you the last word on this silly discussion and will not reply anymore.

 

I know that I will do exactly the same

 

If I understand correctly the second BluRay has a subset of the Amsterdam concert in 5.1 and stereo mixed by SW while the first BluRay has the full version on the same concert in the same SW stereo mix.

The Amsterdam concert occupies 2 CDs for the SW mix. Then there is another CD with the old 1974 mix. Then the first BluRay has the SW stereo mix, the old 1974 mix and the "Night Watch" mix. Then the second BluRay has the 5.1 mix which is also in the second DVD-A.
Then of course the Amsterdam concert is also used in parts of the SABB album proper which is on one CD, one DVD-A and one BluRay in its SW mix and original mix.

Maybe the name of the boxset should be "live in Amsterdam" instead of "live in Europe"! :-D

I have also noticed the usual appreciation for Italian audiences and promoters, which is a recurrent theme for Robert Fripp.

 

I feel like I just ate a whole box of popsicles in less than a minute.

 

Got a shipping notice from Inner Knot today.