Roger Taylor (Queen) - Fun On Earth / The Lot Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Benn Kempster, Aug 15, 2013.

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  1. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Today's Queen newsletter promotes a new Roger Taylor website, but the URL isn't loading for me. Are others having trouble getting this page to load?

    http://www.rogertaylorofficial.com/

    I'm not getting a 404 or similar error; the page is simply blank and the page's title reads simply "Roger Taylor Website." I'm trying with Firefox and Chrome browsers. Here's the very limited source code that loads:

    HTML:
    <!DOCTYPE html>
    <html class="home blog">
    <head>
    <!--<meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />-->
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, height=device-height, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=0, minimum-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0">
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
      
    <title>Roger Taylor Website</title>
    
    Craig.
     
  2. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR

    Appears to be working now. However, now that I'm in the office for the day, I'll have to wait to explore the site...

    Craig.
     
  3. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    This arrived in my inbox this morning from the Queen newsletter:

    I wish I knew what "rectify the problems" means, though.

    Does it mean the boxset I pre-ordered from ImportCDs will be the corrected version? Should I try to cancel my pre-order (today is the release date, so I may not have much time to take that action) and wait for an announcement of a corrected 2nd edition? Or should I buy the faulty 1st edition and contact the record label to have replacement discs and booklet sent to me when they're available?

    Craig.
     
  4. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Oh holy crap. I just noticed this November 12th message on Roger Taylor's Facebook page. Even worse than all the index errors, wrong mixes, and typos in the box set, some are receiving boxes with duplicate or missing discs:

    If that's how bad it's gotten, I guess they're not even focusing on fixing any of the "minor" errors that are listed in post #42 (as suggested by many of the comments on Facebook in response to the above message).

    Craig.
     
  5. pantofis

    pantofis Senior Member

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    For what it's worth, I spent some time last night comparing the Lot "Mad Bad" CD with my old CD.
    DR value of old CD: 13
    DR value of new CD: 8

    The new CD seems to have more bass overall, though after level-correcting it, it didn't seem so...
    Even though the dynamics are quite reduced, the new CD is actually quite enjoyable.

    I've uploaded a 2x30 sec. sample (downloadable) of the new and old CD, snippets from "Liar", level corrected:

    https://soundcloud.com/lovelite-soundboard/the-cross-liar-cd-comparison

    and here's one for "Power To Love" - aah, don't let those peaks breathe, will ya! Who needs early 90'es dynamics anyway?

    https://soundcloud.com/lovelite-soundboard/the-cross-power-to-love-cd




    And for the fans of waveforms, the picture in the attachment.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Nov 19, 2013
  6. Leigh Burne

    Leigh Burne Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I don't think that's the case. I think the duplicate or missing discs thing was just a generic statement they threw out, I haven't heard a single case of someone having problems like that.

    Word has it complete replacement sets are being offered for those with problems. We're supposed to contact [email protected]. I haven't yet myself, but I've heard from people who have and they're getting replacements sent out on December 11th, although that doesn't really tell us if these replacements are actually going to have corrected discs in them...
     
  7. Benn Kempster

    Benn Kempster Who else? Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tring, UK
    If I were you, I'd cancel my order and wait to see if the new set comes out with a new catalogue number. If not, then its the same scenario as with the stereo version of The Who's "A Quick One". No one will be able to spot the difference unless it is stickered and in the shops to reflect it - you buy on thenet and there's no telling what you'll end up getting.

    The re-release should be offered to those who have already purchased it for free and to those who have not for a reduced price.
     
  8. Leigh Burne

    Leigh Burne Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I'm in the UK, I got my copy of The Lot over a week ago (it arrived a few days ahead of the Nov 11th release date). But I'm going to contact them asking into these replacements.
     
  9. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    I got my copy of The Lot from Amazon UK today. Haven't had time to spin the discs yet but I didn't notice any of the typos in the book that were reported. I go through the discs tomorrow to see if the other issues were corrected! If in fact they have fixed the issues then this really is a nice package for the price. It is very similar to the Freddie Solo Collection and looks classy. Great bunch of hard to find tracks and promos!
     
  10. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    Looking over my package tonight it seems that they have addressed all of the reported text and track index errors. I notice none of the issues mentioned previously on the set I just received. No way these issues should have made the final product in the first place but kudos to Roger's people for fixing the issues very quickly and really putting together a great package!
     
  11. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Well, I finally placed an order for this Lot box set with Amazon Canada, for a total of about US$144 (including shipping and handling).

    That is pretty close to the US$135 (including shipping and handling) it was going to cost via ImportCDs, had they ever actually filled my order originally placed January 21.

    I figure by now, any new stock from Amazon will be the corrected edition.

    Just canceled my dormant ImportCDs order.

    Craig.
     
  12. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Well, it looks like I got the corrected version of this box set when I ordered it back in April. As described in the quote above (thanks Benn Kempster for the detailed inventory of errors!), the initial version of this box set's book didn't include lyrics to the first four songs of Electric Fire, but they're included in the book of the box set I received.

    It ended up costing me US$134.98, which is higher than I wanted to pay, but now that I can see the packaging I am not complaining about the price. This is a more deluxe presentation than (for example) the Roxy Music box set.

    I've only listened to the first two CDs (as well as ripping them to MP3 for listening in the car), and I'm listening to The Cross disc now. Certainly, this box set isn't going to win any raves for mastering quality (like the Roxy Music box set, for example, which is f-ing amazing). But it's "acceptable" and could have been worse. (How's that for faint praise?) It is nice to have "everything" in one place, and to take a journey through Roger Taylor's solo and post-Queen years. Ah - hitting track 4 ("Heaven For Everyone") on The Cross ... so nice to hear Freddie's voice ... sigh. :-(

    I have a lot more to explore within this Roger Taylor box set, and right now it's competing with a stack of other unlistened-to discs, including:
    • Fisherman's Blues (Waterboys) 6CD box (purchased from ImportCDs for a reasonable US$39.54 including shipping/handling)
    • Rad Gumbo (Little Feat) 13CD box set (purchased from ImportCDs for a reasonable US$45.65 including shipping/handling)
    • Complete Studio Albums Collection (Leonard Cohen) 11CD box set (purchased from ImportCDs for a reasonable US$32.01 including shipping and handling)

    Did any of you do the math? Yep, I got three promising box sets, including 30 total CDs packed with great music, for less than I paid for this 12CD+1DVD box set. Of course none of those three box sets is physically as big (which is either a pro or con depending on how much you value storage space in your collection), none includes lyrics, only one (Waterboys) includes liner notes written specifically for the box, etc.

    Speaking of ImportCDs, I've tried three times so far (including this morning) to ask them to cancel my unfilled order of Roger Taylor The Lot. I doubt it will ever be filled (seems like this box set is rising in price and is out of stock in many places, including Amazon.com (though Amazon.ca appears to have "8 left in stock (more on the way)" as of this writing). But it's annoying to have an outstanding order that I can't get them to cancel. Glad Amazon.ca came through for me. This time (don't ask me about the increasingly-delayed Mellencamp box I pre-ordered from Amazon.ca back in January -- grrrr!).

    Back to the music: Way back when The Cross first came out, I was kind of let down and annoyed by the backwards references and musical connections to Queen. It felt like not only Roger Taylor but his new bandmates as well were lacking inspiration. But somehow now, with years of distance and more nostalgia perhaps for Queen and Roger Taylor's creativity, I am appreciating and enjoying stuff like Freddie's guest vocals, the "Machines (Or Back to Humans)" keyboards from The Works reappearing on track 6 ("Love On A Tightrope (Like An Animal)"), etc.

    Basically, The Cross is a more satisfying and enjoyable album than I recall it being back when it came out, and at the time I needed to go to a lot of trouble/effort to track down an import version of the CD, for a premium price.

    I hope the rest of this box set yields similar pleasures.

    Craig.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2014
    Juggsnelson likes this.
  13. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    The box set is very nice and contains a lot of great music. I also have been backlogged in getting around to listening to all of this! Hopefully I can delve into it further in the coming weeks and report my thoughts on the music as well.
     
  14. peterzac

    peterzac Forum Resident

    Location:
    burnaby bc canada
    People that have this, have you had enough time to listen and was it worth the expense to get this set and did they fix all the problems on the disk's?
    I see that this is being sold now on amazon.com as of a Nov.10/11 release date but seems very pricey.
    I had Fun in Space on album and did not get any other albums so would be all new to me, just listened to some Cross songs and some songs sound very dated as very generic 80's rock and some other songs sound a bit better.
    Not sure about this as doubt I would listen to these more than once or twice as to much other good music to check out, with fantastic 5.1 releases coming out this month(Tears for fears,Xtc,Yes,etc).

    peter
     
  15. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    The Cross songs are very generic 80's rock sounding. The rest of Roger's catalog is interesting stuff.....a lot like his songs for Queen, they can certainly be uneven or silly but on the whole the output is good listening for me (however I am a HUGE Queen fan!) The DVD and book are very nice as well. You can definitely live without this bit if you have the coin (and the time to get through it all) it is worth it IMHO.
     
    peterzac likes this.
  16. omom

    omom Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio, USA
    Those of you that Spotify can find The Lot there.
     
  17. fsutall

    fsutall Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    I just picked up a mint copy of the US pressing of The Lot box (on the Omnivore label) for $75.00. I'm not familiar with any of Roger's solo work but I enjoy most of his Queen songs, so figured I'd take the plunge. $75.00 is not a bad deal for 13 discs and a nice book.
     
    Juggsnelson likes this.
  18. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    That's a great deal! Nicely put together set and there are plenty of good songs to be found since you tend to like Roger's songwriting approach.
     
  19. cmi

    cmi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moscow, Russia
    Roger Taylor's solo albums "Fun in Space" and "Strange Frontier" have been expanded for reissue on March 24th in both CD and vinyl formats.

    The Fun in Space LP will be reissued on vinyl for the time since its 1981 release. The first run will be on clear vinyl (with black vinyl to follow) and contains a reproduction of the original album's full color inner sleeve with lyrics. The CD version, housed in a digipak, contains three bonus tracks: both sides of Taylor's 1977 solo offering ("I Wanna Testify" b/w "Turn on the TV") and the U.K. single version of the album's "My Country I & II" (issued as "My Country").

    Strange Frontier will be reissued on translucent red vinyl for the first pressing (black vinyl for future runs) with all original packaging elements replicated. The CD, contained in a digipak, features five bonus tracks: remixes of the album's singles "Man on Fire," "I Cry for You (Love, Hope and Confusion)" and "Strange Frontier." It also contains the B-side to the title cut, "Two Sharp Pencils (Get Bad)."

    With this material currently only available in the 10 CD/1 DVD collection The Lot, this is the first time versions of the individual albums will be offered outside of that package.

    Fun in Space:
    No Violins
    Laugh or Cry
    Future Management
    My Country I & II
    Good Times Are Now
    Magic Is Loose
    Interlude in Constantinople
    Airheads
    Fun in Space

    CD Bonus Tracks:
    I Wanna Testify
    Turn on the TV
    My Country (Single Version)

    Strange Frontier:
    Strange Frontier
    Beautiful Dreams
    Man on Fire
    Racing in the Street
    Masters of War
    Killing Time
    Abandonfire
    Young Love
    It's an Illusion
    I Cry for You

    CD bonus Tracks:
    Man on Fire (Extended Version)
    I Cry for You (Single Remix)
    Strange Frontier (Extended Remix)
    I Cry for You (Extended Remix)
    Two Sharp Pencils (Get Bad)

    More details to follow!

    www.queenonline.com
     
    KevinP likes this.
  20. Zephead2112

    Zephead2112 Forum Resident

    Thanks for the information. I have 'The Lot' (both versions ;)) but I'm very interested in the coloured vinyl of the first two albums. Will keep checking QOL.....I wonder when they'll be available for pre-order?
     
  21. lwh1

    lwh1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, England
    The big question is will 'Fun In Space' be remastered or will it be the version on 'The Lot' box set with tape speed and slippage issues?
     
    cmi likes this.
  22. Baron Von Talbot

    Baron Von Talbot Well-Known Member

    I am not interested in that box-set but I got the album FUN IN SPACE since a good while and was playing it a few days ago. I was deeply impressed how good his voice sounds and the overall quality of the material. Reminds me a bit of a mix between Rod steward's better songs and the funky wide range of Robert Palmer's late 80ies/early 90ies stuff. Good ingredients indeed ! The album got a good feel and a nice relaxed vibe- the flow of the songs, the running order gives it an even higher value. I give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars - definitely recommended and a big surprise for me.
     
    pantofis likes this.
  23. cmi

    cmi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moscow, Russia
    It will be a big surprise if they finally fix it for this release. But I'm 99% sure that it will be the same remaster as on The Lot.
    By the way, I think the best digital version of this album is on Japanese 1996 CD (not the same remastering as 1996 EU CD).
     
  24. cmi

    cmi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moscow, Russia
    Here are some photos of 2015 CD reissues...

    [​IMG]
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    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Photos by Viskar
     
  25. Carlox

    Carlox Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portugal
    Wow!!! Great paks!:righton:
    What about the sound?
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2015
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