Scott, I for one absolutely enjoy and appreciate hearing about all the trials and tribulations of your business dealings. Fingers crossed for the TPE releases. And thank you for creating the recent Visage vinyl, both copies sound great and are virtually perfect pressings.
I enjoy reading these posts very much, even though they are chronicling your difficulties in getting product out that no one else seems to want to bother with. But it's good for folks to know the work that goes into something like this. No good deed and all that. Hope to be able to purchase the TPE albums soon.
Well I'd be more than willing to take the c.d.'s off your hands....wink wink!I really hope you prevail though scott!
Well, UMG US contacting you on a holiday has terrific optics. Here's hoping the band is just blowing hot air.
Yes, I was surprised, as I wasn't expecting any sort of response until today. But it doesn't appear I will be getting a final word today. The US have confirmed the UK are currently investigating the situation and have suggested I put the projects on hold, which I've already done. It's after business hours in the UK now and my US contacts are three hours behind my time zone, so it's a matter of reviewing messages across time zones and territories, so not much chance in a quick back-and-forth message string while this is resolved, which I hope is sooner than later.
Looks like I didn't have to wait too long on Berlin's "Information" on CD. [since this thread started…it's been 20 years since I found out about the LP, of course] August Day Too bad it's August Day and not Scott who mastered it! For an informative study in contrasts, play their release of Visage's "Tar [1979]" next to the Rubellan Remaster!
Yeah, the band probably decided to just put it out and see what happens. I'm sure it's not from tapes either. Probably the best it will get for some.
Oingo Boingo - Nothing To Fear LP repress now in stock and available to pre-order! https://rubellanremasters.com/online-store
My friend confirmed who told me about that confirmed that John Crawford said the tapes were lost so this was mastered from vinyl. I wonder if it's as good as mine? My LP was not abused. I've got no complaints…other than yeah, manufactured disc.
The August Day label should have loaded up the early-Berlin album Information with the 6 era-appropriate John Crawford "Fahrenheit" recordings (The Enemy/No One Left/Tonight/Liquid Danger/The Letter/Dancing In Berlin) -- especially if they could have been upgrades from the mp3 versions that Crawford put on his website long ago. My reasoning is that "Fahrenheit" sounds more like the Berlin that we came to know, even if Crawford's vocals are male. There was enough room. The entire Information album, plus the "French Raggae" b-side which August Day has forgotten about, plus the 27 min of Fahrenheit songs would have been 67 min total. Maybe they're saving Crawford's tracks for a future Berlin box. Or didn't want to mix different royalty payments together onto one disc. But in any case it's a lost opportunity.
There was also a "Matter Of Time" b/w "Overload" 7" the band put out earlier that was a DMM disc that is also m.i.a. It featured the two songs from the album that was released later but with Teri Nunn singing lead vocals instead of Toni Childs, who replaced her on the Information" album while Terri gave acting one last try.
Well, as much as I would have preferred the TPE drama to be resolved by now, it isn't. From what I can gather by the minimal communication this week, it does sound as if the band may have the approval clause in their contract and the UK somehow missed it. I was asked if I'd be willing to release without bonus tracks if the band disapprove and I said no way, it would be pointless. Not to mention one CD is already manufactured before I put things on hold. The manager also sent me an unprovoked message further expressing his offense at my reissues. I don't think he really understood how this whole mess got started but I felt like I was being scolded and ridiculed. I responded and let him know the blame is placed squarely on the person who failed to do their due diligence with the contract review. It's been very frustrating, and to say I've been pissed off would not be an understatement. I frankly asked Universal what are the options at this point because I'm losing my patience with this unanticipated drama. If they're going to be cancelled, then fine. I provided them an itemized list of expenses so far. No surprise, no response. I'm at that point again in which I'm questioning why I do this to myself, that it's getting harder and harder to see the pros over the cons. I did send in two cancellations today, old projects from 2020 that I've lost interest in for various reasons. I think it's an indication of my waning interest. Earlier today, I thought back to my earliest dramas with the label, even before a release happened, and then some - cancelled releases, artwork for two CD's that was lost, an entire batch of CD's rejected because of a manufacturing defect and the fight to get them to redo it (not too dissimilar to the recent Boingo LP debacle), etc, etc, etc... And if I actually sat down and created a list of all of the big pains that have plagued the last five years, I'm sure I'd want to smack myself for being such a masochist. Something definite with TPE needs to be determined at some point next week. I don't know how long I'm expected to stay in limbo of have that much money spent and left in the wind waiting to see where it will land.
I'm sorry Scott, that incredibly frustrating. Has Chemicrazy ever been reissued? They should be thrilled that a label cares enough to get it out there again.
Have most of these artists really been hard done by by their original labels-or is it sour grapes that they signed deals that weren’t advantageous in the long run? The seeming bitterness is a shame because as artists I would hope they’d be in favour of respectful, and legal, re-issues.
Yikes, that sucks. Well, I hope you are able and willing to stick with the Rubellan Remasters project whatever happens with this. I certainly appreciate the work you've done so far. Your release of Ric Ocasek's Beatitude is the best that album has ever sounded and I'm really glad to have it.
I have roughly half of all the remasters Rubellan has put out, and would very much love to have the label continue. I'm appalled about how much resistance has been put up against getting albums re-released!
Slow Children sounds excellent! You always deliver with the artwork, and the flip front is a nice touch.
Of the two Slow Children releases I am enjoying Mad About Town musically a little bit more than its predecessor (based on the original album alone, not the bonus tracks). Seems a bit more variety in tempos and moods. I alternate my listening between the two albums, so as not to wear out one quicker than the other. The debut Slow Children cover photo is a bit odd, why is Pal staring into her hand? With the books on the table I thought she was studying for an exam and wrote the answers on her palm. Then, flip it over, and there's a surrealist image of what is actually there. The album cover is recreated for the "Talk About Horses" music video. I love the alternate Mapplethorpe photo (very classy), and love that its printed as an option to flip over as a cover. I think the original, as strange as it is, captures the spirit of the off-kilter tunes contained within. For The Passions I use the alt cover. In this case, its simply a better design, imho.
Sorry to hear of all of the grief you're having over the That Petrol Emotion reissues Scott. As a fan, it's disappointing to see this kind of quality project get held up or worse, but I appreciate that for you, the impact is far more detrimental. Hope it's able to get resolved in a positive way, and I'm sorry it's having such an understandably negative effect on your enthusiasm for this.
I got another message from the manager this morning. He's clearly frustrated about how the label has handled the situation, and has his general disapproval of the big labels overall, but he is still coming at me as some sort of exploitational wrongdoer. Universal have provided them my artwork layouts and track listings, along with projected sales and wholesale costs, and he referred to my layouts as "bastardised" and that I'm just trying to "make money" off of this catalog, and that my claim of being a "fan" means nothing because that's what all reissue labels claim. (Deep breath...) I replied again and told him I don't appreciate the hostility and it's best directed at Universal, I had good intentions and am a fan of these albums, and this whole thing is threatening my further involvement with any of this reissue nonsense. I think it comes down to control, he's angry they were not consulted at the start and that my artwork and track listings were approved before they were made aware. OK, I get it, but I had NO idea about a band approval clause, and had Universal UK noticed that bit then I would have been informed and it all would have gone through the band BEFORE I received a clearance. But now it's all a major cluster and I have no idea what's going to happen. He said the band all have the details and they are reviewing everything. He clearly sees absolutely no positive side to my desire to reissue the albums, and in his view I'm just another part of the record industry monster doing the artist wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if this stupid mistake of someone not handling the contract as written results in some sort of new restriction or requirements, similar to Sony or Warner, that will just finally encourage me to say "that's it" and be done with it all. And that's fine, I'll let the sales of the final products and pressings roll in over the next year or two and just settle into early retirement.
What an absolute shower. The egos and stupidity, not to mention short-sightedness, of these people is staggering. EG.
The manager did respond to my earlier reply assuring me his hostility is not directed at me. Hopefully, it's just one of those easy cases of phrases that could have been worded better, but I do think through our exchanges he is perhaps understanding, at least somewhat, that I am not the bad guy here.
