Thanks for the info. Only just yesterday, I was thinking about when we'd see the next batch of reissues. It would be quite a feat if they're released in just 2 weeks.
Interesting that MusicDirect shows the original pre-lawsuit cover with "The Bluenotes" name still intact.
I'm afraid it doesn't look like it. I suppose it's possible we get a box of the Geffen releases at some point but it looks like these few are going to miss out on being collected together. Also just to note, I searched some UK retailers this morning (still "unavailable" on Amazon) and noticed that the release date is now 31st Aug instead of 24th. I believe it's still the 24th in the US though.
So strange that Neil has zero mention of this new batch of releases on the Archives or his Greedy Hand store. Archives is becoming a huge snooze fest all of a sudden. This ain’t gonna get it done come subscription time.
The site is basically dormant. Optimistically, I'd say it's because they are working on the mobile app and other dynamic upgrades, but even if true, they're losing sight of any momentum they may have had. I'm about as die-hard a fan as there is (within reason), and a while back I realized I hadn't logged on to the site in weeks. After logging in, I saw the post about FB and then logged out. Since then, I've logged in two other times for a total of maybe three minutes--I just looked to see if there was anything new in the contrarian newsletter. I had no interest in scrolling the timeline, etc. If anything new has been added, I wouldn't know it because I didn't deem it important enough or fun enough to search for it... Hey, Archives Team: We need information and something/anything to keep us interested. Right now, it seems as if any momentum has been lost, and in the presence of no news, we will mostly all assume the worst news possible. Please consider this your wake-up call from a friend... NYF
Slow poke I'm going to run with you Wear your clothes and do what you do Slowpoke we got some things to find When I was faster I was always behind
Hey, just logged in to the archives site after writing my post. In the "contrarian" section there's some format change/reorganization and a new (I believe) Letters to the Editor section...with responses from Neil... NYF
The letters to the editor thing is pretty cool. As for complaining about the archives being dormant - it is an archives! It has all of neil's albums in fantastic quality in one place. I don't go to it daily, but if I feel like listening to some NY at work, it is my go to. I've listened to the new archives releases a bunch of times, and basically all the classic albums at least once or twice over the last couple months. It sounds great, is fun to open up and peruse, and I may end up listening to an album I didn't intend to just from scrolling around. I don't think it would be good if they just put 1,000 unreleased tracks on there all at once. I do think they should probably up the releases to at least once a quarter rather than the once a year or so schedule they're on now. I also think they should start putting live shows like springsteen does - this would allow for more volume of new material without being overwhelming or needing to live up to the standard of Hitchhiker or Roxy. Finally, I suggested to them to add a smart TV app - my tv is hooked up to my stereo through a nice DAC and the site would get used at least twice as much at my house, especially for movie night. I'm assuming a lot of people have home theatres and would also use the site in this manner. But even without any additional content - it's still the collected works of my all time favorite artist in one place, with photographs and supplemental materials. This summer I was able to get great tickets to two fantastic solo acoustic shows, and could have seen crazy horse if I had the $$$.
Pretty spot on. Overall, I just believe that leading up to a pay subscription model there should be something daily/weekly showing us that it is the platform we all need to be a part of. Even yesterday when I noticed the Letters to the Editor, etc, I wouldn't have noticed it just by checking the homepage. The "newspaper" wasn't updated to reflect there was something new... It's little (big) things like that seem somewhat problematic to me. I'm not saying that volumes of unreleased music needs to be released, but I am saying there needs to be a dynamism of some sort touting what exists, and/or what's new and/or what's coming. For now, I think the Hearse Theater should be up and running every day with some video content, and like with rust radio, there should always be a live audio concert playing from throughout the years. If old live shows were playing, I'd have the site on in the background every day.. NYF
That's a good idea, did you email them? They said they were working on the smart tv app and agreed it was a good platform to be on.
This Note and Reactor are both on Amazon UK for preorder now, £16.80, 31 Aug. No sign of Hawks but will probably appear later today.
Thanks, ordered Reactor and will also be getting Hawks & Doves, but will pass on This Note’s For You. A release in less than two weeks seems unlikely though.
I don’t know, I’ve been amazed this year how quickly reissues come out after being announced. I’ve preordered them both anyway so you’re guaranteed the best price. I’ve never owned any of these previously (have streamed them), so looking forward to playing them loud.
I hope Trans gets an Archives release too. It’s the only Geffen-era album I’d want from this reissue series. The good news is - Freedom and Ragged Glory are probably next.
All three of those are high on my list. I imagine we’re likely to get Trans to tie in with the movie release.
Do we know what's happening with the Toast era Horse recordings, or with the live gig from the Psychedelic Pill tour ?