Wish you were here

It sometimes is the case on this blog as is on the other one you get a follow up post sometime afterward and this weeks is no different in that we last touched on it in March 2018.
I've like the Pink Floyd for a very long time, long enough to have had recordings on various formats by them but while some artists recording frequently emerge on newer formats, theirs seldom do.
I mentioned last time the albatross around the neck which is Dark Side of the Moon that did originally come out on Super Audio cd in 2003 but in 2011 it and the follow up were issued very briefly on Super Audio cd in the form of a 'digipak' more like a small hardback book actually.
Recently December 30th last year to be exact, both got re-issued in this form by Analogue Productions of Kansas, U.S.A. which having missed out on Wish You Were Here which is a personal favourite I was keen on getting on sacd as my cd goes back to 1985!

This is the front of Digipak which is neither the UK or North American front cover  which is pretty understated.

 When you go to turn it over, on the inside left pocket you have a full set of postcards originally issued with the lp scaled down included which played on the title "Wish you were here" from the days people would send a postcard home with that phrase on it

 At the rear we have song writing and publishing credits and on the right a tray where the disc normally fits and which thankfully the teeth are tight so it doesn't fall out.

 Here is the actual disc itself made in Germany and one change that has happened since 2011 is the ownership of their recordings has moved from EMI Records to their own lable Pink Floyd Records that are distributed in the UK and Europe by the Parlophone division of Warner Bros and the US by Sony/Columbia.

 This is the rear of the digipak which indicates it has both a regular cd layer for normal cd playing equipment and the higher definition Super Audio layer.
That layer houses both the regular stereo mix and a 5.1 multichannel mix  where the lp and tape had a quadraphonic mix originally issued in limited numbers.
Much of this album thematically looks at the life of a rock group part influenced by the damage to band originator Syd Barratt, also at the corporate music business on how it stifles and controls art mocking record company executives in Have a Cigar who say how great they are but ask "And which one's Pink?" showing their ignorance that there's no performer called Pink in this band before trying to get them to change material to the latest fashion so they can sell more even if it's not what the band was formed for. 
Really all that matters to them is the profit not the idea of artistic and musical integrity and maximizing that is really what meeting the band was about.
Personally I feel this new version on the stereo Super Audio cd layer remastered by James Guthrie has more depth and springs forth from ones loudspeakers  more than any other version and so while it was expensive is nontheless worth getting.

Previous Pink Floyd on sacd entry:
The Dark Side of the Moon 

Chase

While there much political discourse going on with no signs of being that clear just how things will pan it, it reminds me so much of the early 1970's where it seems the UK was ungovernable.

This takes me round to on the last of the Vocalion Dutton releases of October that feature the work of Chase, a Jazz-Rock group formed by Bill Chase who went on the release three albums. Jim Peterik who was with Survivor for a period performs on this album.
This two on one super audio cd  contained the last album Pure Music and the first, Chase, whose style is more reminiscent of Terry Kath era Chicago than anything else I can think of with original compositions such as Open Up Wide and Close Up Tight and covers such as the Mike d'Abo song Handbags and Gladbags.
As with the whole series on a regular cd layer and the super audio layer you get the stereo mix and on the super audio cd layer for player that can read it, the original Quadraphonic mixes issued on SQ Quad lp and Q8 Quad 8 track "surround sound" mixes are present and have not been available for a exceedingly long time.
I managed oddly enough to get this for £9.99 including mailing which was a absolute steal.

Early 70's favourites

There's a post planned for next Friday which will be published even though by the time you see it I'll be on a train making my way back here.
Recently I had a couple of new discs arrive here - so new they've only been out for a week from announcement - and train comes into it for one act's title.
The Hues Corporation come into it as they were on Soul Train, the black music tv show a lot during the mid 70's during the soul and 'disco' explosion of the summer of 1974 when what was played and danced to in underground clubs broke out to clubs and as I remember vividly even the children's dances in seaside resorts.

As it was the fantastic 70's, that wasn't all, these recording were issued in Quadraphonic 'surround' sound on SQ record and Q8 tape for tape players like Dad's in car one and this disc comprises of their second album Rockin' Soul that contained their smash hit Rock The Boat the title track of which was released in  November 74 as a 45 and Love Corporation, the 1975 follow up that apart from having the title track issued on 45, also contained tracks such as Follow The Spirit that reminds one of the O'Jay's.
The first album contained Freedom For The Stallion written by Allen Toussiant issued in 1973 which I associate more with Edward Bear who covered it in Canada,to  which I have ordered the regular cd in mini lp form. That album had the original version of Rock The Boat that was reworked for the 45 and featured on their second album.
Some artists start out as session musicians, some move to it from being in groups and in Rick Derringer's case he was a McCoy who had a big hit with Hang On Sloopy and a part of the group the Strangeloves who performed I Want Candy but by the early 70's was doing session work for Edgar Winter Group, Todd Rundgren and Steely Dan amongst others.
This lead on the back of that to be given a chance to do solo recording for Columbia.

All American boy was his first successful rock offering from 1973 that had Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo  written by him originally for Johnny Winter and included on their album and it's 1975 follow up Spring Fever whose lead off single was a reworking of Hang On Sloopy is included as like the other these are 2 on 1 re-issues.
Rick managed to get some great session folk playing on these albums  a number associated with to become Eagle Joe Walsh formally of James Gang, who in style this was a slightly more poppier version of which sold well and which I had the 8 track of as a kid.
The chance to get this on Super Audio cd as fan of early 70's rock was too much to miss especially as it too has the stereo and original Quadraphonic mixes we loved back then on the  sacd layer.
For £11.99 each with two albums in stereo and Quad on them they're a bargain.

A double helping of Art Garfunkel

Just after Easter here and after last weeks 'golly gosh Caro actually posted about cycling!!!' post, we're back on firmer territory albeit with a bit of a twist.

The last time I posted anything around Simon and Garfunkel was way back in April 2010 when after living with reissue lps and the odd tape I finally sorted out my recordings by them but that left the period after they split off.
Fast forward on to January 2018 and the small British company Vocalion announces it is to the release the first two Art Garfunkel albums recorded for Columbia/CBS in 1973 and 1975 which of itself wasn't so unusual as both got their UK cd debut in 1992 in the short lived Collectors Choice budget choice.
What was is that they were being issued on hybrid Super Audio cds like a few others I've commented on in the recent past on this blog that play on regular players and for improved quality on Super Audio cd players like my current one.
The twist being they included the original Quadraphonic four speaker surround sound mixes too that came out on SQ Quad record and Q8 discrete Quad 8 track tape for the first time ever.
This means those mixes much acclaimed are now available while tracks such as "Mary Was a Only Child", "I Shall Sing", "I Believe (when I fall in love it will be forever)", "Disney Girls" originally recorded by the Beach Boys and featuring BB member Bruce Johnston on this recording, "My Little Town", a Paul Simon Song where they duet and the British smash "I Only Have Eyes For You" have never sounded better being carefully remastered from the original mid 1970's analogue tapes.
If you lived through this period and liked more soothing performances you won't want to miss this as they sound the best ever in any format. Recommended especially as they're just £11.99 each delivered less than U.S. speciality companies charge.

Past entry:
Simon and Garfunkel: Simon and Garfunkel on cd

R.I.P David Bowie (1947-2016)

Like most of you I woke up, Monday (1/11/2016) around a quarter of Seven to the shock news that David Bowie had dead at the age of Sixty-Nine something the shocking for Blackstar, his last album had only been released Friday to glowing reviews. 

I'm feeling rather numb even now about this but in looking at his achievements, the first thing I would say is he seldom if ever repeated himself, sometimes to a fault, always reinventing himself and working with new ideas and exploring whole different genres.
His catalogue could never be described as being in anyway samey, indeed you find some fans have one period they major on although perhaps basic I have a more wider interest in music and music-making I'm not in that camp.
He broke new ground in the topics he sang and wrote about, brought new sounds to the mainstreams ears...and moved on to the next.
I could never just pick a half dozen of his albums although Hunky Dory, Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs Station to Station and Scary Monsters sure would feature.
The other area I'd say was outside of music, he was a proper actor who did star in three films not least The Man Who Fell To Earth and in several stage productions, did understand the importance of creating personas, costumes and staging  which in conjunction with the use of music videos which he was a pioneer of, provided the total package. It's quite probable that the American Hard Rockers Kiss were influence by aspects of his work, the story telling and that total package from Hunky Dory and Ziggy era.
The other area was in being open about his sexuality, exploring gender presentation together with  Lou Reed and to an extent Elton John collectively they opened up a conversation around what it means to have a sexual and gender identity, how we express it and how that differs for all of us. 
For anyone who was Lgbtqi in the 70's and 80's you don't need me to say just how being himself, David give us space and aided the greater toleration of difference. We owe him that regardless of our music tastes and I suspect for a good number of the depth of feeling we have in mourning him is influenced by that, it has a personal quality to it.
He also to his credit took on MTV in its lack of music of black origin in it's early days and even of the faces of People of Colour from its programming and got that changed.
Rest in Peace David.

Finding a decent Smokie compilation

It's been an odd week thinking through and dealing with emotional issues some of which I've commented upon at other places and that while running with an out with old and in with the new philosophy too.

But anyway, I've spent ages looking for a decent sounding Smokie compilation with hits like Living Next Door to Alice and It's Your Life as for some reason most either don't or feature re-recordings rather than the hits I remember.
I started off with this one but it was rather murky sounding.

So in 2011 I picked up a Music Club Deluxe double cd that came out in 2007 thinking this would be it as the selection was pretty generous and unlike some of their others this was a bit less of a random playlist and even featured a collaboration with Suzi Quatro.

That ticked all the boxes apart from quality as most the tracks sounded thin lack someone had shaved anything below 70hz off of them and a raspy in places too.
In the end I tracked a series of comments on various sites that suggested an earlier compilation from the early 1990's al;though I think it originally was issued in a different form in 1989.

That one, issued and pressed by BMG in Germany sounds so much better with bass and the vocals coming through in a rich clear way is it even though it only has 14 tracks, covers only up to 1978 and clocks just under 50  minutes like an lp of that era might.
I'm also going through and ditching a few other poorer sounding cds where I have better replacements as I think you can end up just keeping one of everything regardless.
Never mind the collector mentality, I'd rather have one good copy thanks.

Hold on tight

The Electric Light Orchestra and I go back in time buying the 45's back in the day and later on getting a good number of their albums on cd.
Like with a number of other artists, recently their has been an attempt to bypass some of restrictions of conventional cds, a technology that goes back the late 1970's by issuing in higher resolution 24 bit downloads and I obtained a number recently.
When it comes to compilations there's been a good number starting from 1979's Greatest Hits that in some ways is remains the perfect summary of the 1973-77 singles and double or even triple cd sets.
The one I remember getting in 1997 was Light Years a mid price British double which was jam packed full of material including edits, in no particular order and suffered from being too consistently loud and bright so I relented and got the original Greatest Hits album on a cheap cd.

That did leave missing a selection of the later hits as most miss off anything from the  Zanadu soundtrack that gave us three hit singles and to which the title song had been re-recoded in 1991 for the Flashback cd  box set that was criticized for it's sound quality and chopping off the very start and ends of a number of tracks.
The one pictured above most would consider the best of the bunch having most of the essential tracks including the very early tracks and was very well mastered by Vic Ansini in 1995 who did excellent work on a number of Columbia projects like the Simon & Garfunkel remasters.

It was only issued in North America and recently I've ordered a copy to fill those gaps and having the European Zanadu soundtrack, the missing tracks from it aren't so much of an issue with me.

Legends (Get it on)

Sat here, melting, drinking glass after glass of treated tap water in this weeks summer sun, thoughts roll back to hits from the past and that's what this short  entry is all about.

Its existence was met with some mirth at a certain music site where some patrons are incredibly elitist (you can only  like studio albums according to some and don't mention iTunes!) but it's a compilation with a difference for based upon a Time Life one, it makes a point of using the very best available sources so not only can I enjoy Schools Out that was (appropriately) a big hit during the summer vacation of '72 it also sounds terrific into the bargain. 

Ditto Manfred Mann Band's spirited version of the Springsteen song Blinded by the Light so by the time I'd past Freebird, not only was I hearing many of my favourite hits I was thinking back to those times.

I'm a sucker for a compilation well done just for that feeling - maybe you are too - and this is one I can recommend for the sound.

CSN Box set redux

It wasn't long after the introduction of cds that box sets started to emerge following on from those of the lp era covering typically a genre or whole artists career and a number of truly worthwhile releases came out from the late 1980's up to the mid 90's.
The common factor between these, the good and the sort you though "and just who is this for?" ones was the large boxes typically 14 x14 inches and equally large booklets as well as mouthwatering price tags.
Over the years some had become out of print as new titles and others repackaged in simpler typically cd sized packages with reduced prices reflecting both the period of time that had elapsed from issuing and that often they were not re-mastered which isn't necessary a bad thing given many how many contemporary poorly remastered cds have been put out.
Over the years Warners have been re-issuing a number and example of which I wrote about in the Rod Stewart entry a few years back and this is  one of two recently re-issued.
What this box set originally issued in 1991 comprises of  selections from all the studio albums Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young) issued including a number of alternative mixes and versions  plus a selection from their respective solo albums, so giving you a wide appreciation of their talent that if you chose to investigate it from scratch would set you back rather a lot. You see how the talents blended and equally what each themselves all having a group past prior to C, S, N, (and Y) brought to the table. Although mastered back in 1991 by Joe Gastwirt prior to the individual albums being remastered in 1994, the sound remains very clear with good dynamics. I should point out Audio Fidelity have done specialty remasters of the First CSN album and CSN (1977).
The booklet is substantially the same but rejigged to fit the cd case with a short history of the artists and track by track narration. It would either make a good bookend to a collection of CSN individual albums or serve well as a inspired selection of their output where their music and vision was apart of our lives. For approx £18 for four cds I'd highly recommend it.
Also reissued is the almost matching Buffalo Springfield box set from the same era.

You are in my system

Well, after last weeks shocking revelations regarding his recently remastered cds,  I decided to pick up this compilation originally issued in 1989 that takes in his work from 1978 to 1988 covering much of the period of his music I liked at the time.
Best of all it only set me back a penny!
Apart from his solo work, this does cover one song from his work with that side project of Duran Duran during 1985, Some Like It Hot as performed by Powerstation.
As sound goes it's a pretty decent compilation and in 1990 a follow up volume was issued giving you a nice rounded view into this British soul performer.
Also coming soon is Shaking The Tree, the 1989 Peter Gabriel compilation featuring such smashing songs as Biko, Salisbury Hill, Shock The Monkey and Sledgehammer.

Wings gold

The origins of this entry go back quite a number of years when pre internet you found out about new titles being issued either in magazines such as Hifi World or by visiting your local record or cd stores when we had them(!).

Generally there are two types of record companies, those who are large, issue titles to the mainstream generally with little special care about sound quality and sources and those who issue limited runs of titles where they do track down the best sounding copies of each album and carefully transfer it to record or as with these titles, cd.

Many early cds didn't sound too good through a combination of not being careful over sources and also the technology that takes analogue sound to digital didn't sound as smooth as the format was and is capable of. Its that that lead me to start getting these Gold cds by the now defunct company DCC classics from the early 1990's onward.

Way way back in the 1970's the albums (and 45's) by Paul McCartney first came to my attention and this album Band On The Run was a favourite of mine owning it on the awesomely clunky 8 track form and fittingly this album with it's hit 45's such as the title track, Jet and as on this  US edition only Helen Wheels was the first I bought.

Apart from having the U.S. extra track which oddly enough I do prefer as with the rest of the series it has a very smooth rich sound while not fooling me to say an lp issue, does at least sound less 'digital' to the ears.It also has a poster.

Arriving soon to me is Red Rose Speedway, the home of My Love a song that can be considered a 'standard' which will be a bit smoother than my 1987 UK edition and also has the reggae based b side to Hi Hi Hi,  C Moon, which inexplicably was left off the mainstream UK cds bonus tracks. It's a song I rather like. 

My copy will be missing the card slip cover but as it was a lot cheaper as many of these discs usually sell for over $100 I'm not complaining about that.

At The Speed of Sound should be with me by the time this entry goes live replacing a much loathed 1989 Capitol cd that masks much detail in the quieter parts in an attempt to eliminate tape hiss. I'm so looking forward to tossing that one across the sidewalk!

This album was the home of the hit singles Let 'Em In and Silly Love Songs as well as enjoyable numbers like Cook Of The House. It was this album Wings toured with on the tour captured on Wings Over America recently re-issued.

I've a sneaking feeling many of us who around back then had at least heard this album Venus And Mars before, one of the best in the Wings catalogue with it's singles Venus &Mars/Rock Show (the single edit is on Wingspan) and Listen To What The Man Said (single mix again on Wingspan). 

One issue with this album is some heavy handed compression was locked into the mixdown tapes but although it's not entirely cured what mastering engineer Steve Hoffman did was carefully balance Venus and Mars so it's quieter than the energetic Rock Show that it segue-ways into for better effect. 

Strangely on all the mainstream releases Rock Show is noticeably less loud! It too has the original poster as featured on the lp and three bonus tracks.

I also was recently able to McCartney, his first solo album  that featured the hit 45 Maybe I'm Amazed and Teddy Boy in addition to  Ram, featuring the 45 Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey and the pro population song Too Many People  on DCC too.

We have it taped!

How we stored music certainly has changed over the decades and this came back to me a few days ago
When I was little to store music you used a machine using magnetic tape and back then it was on reels of different sizes as well as lengths and the very first machine I had was a small portable recorder that took up to 3 and a quarter inch reels which were popular for taking out in the summer or sending voice recordings thru the mail with. Radio Shack did the tapes with mailers too.
It wasn't long though that I wanted something capable of better sound using a faster speed and necessitating larger reels so I acquired this:

Made by Tandberg of Norway, it was a part tube, part solid-state stereo recorder with a built in speaker for portable use that took the larger 7 inch reels.
For music I generally used the 19.1 cms (7 1/2 inches per second) speed setting for quality and as was my want this was a 'twin track' machine using just two tracks to record in stereo meaning you only could record on one side of the tape just like professional machines in studios do.
For the technically minded it gave you less noise, less bleedover between the tracks and critically made editing using a splicing block complete with splicing tape easy as you'd cut at 90 degrees without affecting anything else on the tape.
You set the record level using the ganged control of the  far left toward the front checking with the 'magic eye' indicators above the 'Stereo' logo they were not distorting.
I recorded radio concerts getting otherwise not on album performances as well as putting my favourite lps on tape to help preserve them from wear and damage by either two or four pawed life forms. I was using this until February 1997 when because of my severe disabilities, I was no longer able to use it and bought a digital MiniDisc recorder. 
Back then it was fairly easy to get tape and typically I paid around £5.99 for a 2,400 ft reel of Maxell UD that gave me an hours recording time at 7 1/2 I.P.S. in stereo where as today Maxell no longer make reels of tape and the limited numbers of people that do only supply the professional users such as studios charging over £20 per reel.

Going for the one

When it comes to specialty mastered cds there are two names that are heads above most others, Mobile Fidelity Labs  and Audio Fidelity, the company formed from the ashes of the former DCC label.  

Recently Audio Fidelity issued the second disc in a re-issue program by the Prog Rock group Yes following an agreement with the bands management and Wea who hold the rights to much of their catalogue.

This was one album I have strong memories of 1977 coinciding with the period I learned a lot about rock music from being in my early teens from shows such as Alan Freeman's Saturday afternoon show when he'd play an incredibly wide range of music including new releases which this album was one of.

Originally it was released on lp, cassette and 8 track cartridge which is one of the versions I had at the time and has had three previous cd issues of which the last one I bought was the 1994 remaster by Ted Jensen.

Musically it has 4 shorter tracks of which one, Wonderous Stories, was a 45 and a good showcase of Jon Anderson's voice and the much long piece Awaken that features Rick Wakeman's organ playing which was recorded separately in Switzerland.

The original recording and mix  is one dimensional and a bit shrill in high level high notes something that even the UK original lp didn't cure.

This re-master by Steve Hoffman is surprisingly effective for he managed to find the deep bass previously hidden to bring out the organ and to carefully reduce the shrillness without it sounding as if he'd removed all the high notes losing detail.

We are given to believe Yes band members are impressed with how this turned out.

As with most recordings he remasters, it has a wide dynamic range as unlike a number of remasters on mainstream labels he doesn't severely reduce it in the mistaken belief it brings out more in the mix by bring it forward.

I also acquired the earlier Close To The Edge issue Audio Fidelity put out which is a significant improvement on the 1994 and 2003 reissues.

Technically, it is a super audio cd giving higher resolution on sacd comfortable players such as many blu ray players or sacd audio players but also has a layer that plays on regular  players.

Segregated education

I'm not feeling that brilliant today to be honest but I felt like talking just a little around education policy today.
Education in the UK is something of a hodge podge between ownership (private, independent and local authority), structures (age ranges, selective or comprehensive admissions), specialisms (arts, IT, sport etc) and so on thanks to considerable parental choice and alternating national and local government ideologies support by pet theories.
One point of considerable and sometimes very bitter controversy is about how children with disabilities should be taught and with many things often their are agendas.
For a long period, certainly going back to the Victorian era in so much that education in general was considered back then if a child didn't fit in well with the school system then it either wasn't educated and maybe placed in some institution or send to a  'special school' such as schools for the blind to learn Braille and a skill.
Since 1945 a system of special schools was established in many authorities to cater for the needs of different groups of disabled people such as those with physical disabilities (70's no longer approved term Physically handicapped), what was then classed as Educational Subnormal (aka a 70's term 'mentally handicapped') and a loose category for what is termed emotional and behavioural needs that from the outset didn't exactly co-relate to prevailing definitions used by medical authorities and other arms of government.
In the 1970's increasingly the model of separate provision was questioned as for the most part the need for special schools for physical disabilities often had more to do   inaccessible buildings,  deliberate exclusion from any kind of pe never mind not in many instances being prepared and entered for regular national examinations in everyday school subjects.
Because you maybe lost a limbs function doesn't mean you lost your brain!
Equally it could be argued that differences in intelligence span are part of the human condition and that comprehensive intakes were supposed to take account of.
Not unsurprisingly the combination of opponents to special provision and those who often saw the budgets including the transportation budgets as money that could be better spent meant many schools were either shut down or had their categories for admission altered.
One area of considerable discussion is around the handling of children who exhibit behavioural and emotional difficulties as increasingly reports came out suggesting that the trend toward integration with such children in mainstream schools was causing difficulties when it came to holding efficient classes with incidents breaking out and high levels of support by classroom assistants for such children.
Recently the National Autistic Society has got involved in projects to establish 'free schools' specifically for those with Autism and Aspberger's syndrome one of which will be a few miles away from me in currently redundant 1970's Elementary school building where unlike schools in the 60's thru late 1980's children will follow a standard school curriculum but with a lot of work around understanding and relating to everyday social skills and structures.
It may be step away from total integration but if it helps to realize the gifts those with Autism/Aspberger's have and better enable them to use them in the so-called 'normal' world to everyone's advantage then maybe taking a step back from a theory can be step forward.

Head Games

Well the term "Head Games" sometimes covers the kind of games some folk play  it has been and may  even apply given just how long from announcement to issuing these discs have been.
You might recall the first two albums had been re-issued by the specialty label Mobile Fidelity in the form of super audio cds that also play on regular players from the 'original master tapes'.
Originally issued in 1979 on lp, cassette and 8 track (still have mine!) it was Foreigner's reaction to the criticism of their rock being too smooth and commercial and an answer to the English new wave being somewhat more edgier something hinted at in the cover that remains at least with me just a little disturbing

The album features the singles Head Games, Dirty White Boy which did produce some allegations of racism (misguided imho) and Love On The Telephone. One criticism of it is the sound where producer Roy Thomas Baker had a sound that involved getting a dirty feel featuring distorted drums so while this version is less harsh in part because digital mastering has improved over the years, it remains rough round the edges.

After a lineup change, in 1981 the band issued 4 which is a play on the fact it was their fourth album and it was one of several top selling hard rock albums of 1981/2 sitting aside Reo Speedwagon's Hi Infidelity, Journey's Escape and AC/DC's For Those About To Rock
It also sold extremely well in the UK aided by the popularity of  the 45 "Waiting For  A Girl Like You" although Juke Box Hero also was a big worldwide seller.
1981 also was a format transition year so while it was issued on lp and cassette it was briefly issued on 8 track and also in Europe the original cassette was re-issued with a higher quality Chrome dioxide issue as people started to buy more tapes for car and walkman usage.
It also was one of the first cds I bought in 1986 with a period green 'target' crosshair pattern on the top layer.
This new super audio cd is a bit better sounding although a friend of mine informed me the High Resolution files from HDTracks recently put out sound better.
Both discs come in a gatefold mini lp style presentation with full insert featuring lyrics with the disc held in a lint free pouch

The ethics of free downloading

Humble apologies here at Caroline's place  but I do feel a rant (not a grnat!) coming on today.
Every so often you'll find on most forums a set of individuals posting a series of highly pious comments on a topic that has not one hint of grey between the black and white rigidity of their take.
Take downloading for instance.
No one can dispute if you take something currently available for free, you are depriving the owners -the record company- and artists money potentially although you may well recall taping your friends albums and if you liked it, then you'd buy your own copy in the days of lps and tape recorders.
But when it gets more complex is when a recording (or version) isn't actually available new because if you bought a used cd then the label and artist still are not getting anything  from the sale  and if you downloaded it for free at that level regardless of what the law may in certain territories say, it's the same outcome. The only person who makes any money from selling a used cd is the vendor.
What then if there is no cd out of a title but someone has 'digitized' the old tape or lp version that is out of print. Is there anything wrong with downloading that to listen on your iPod or replace a unavailable new damaged copy?
I wouldn't encourage people to download for free everything but the picture isn't so clear cut especially as many labels sit on catalogues that they show on balance sheets as assets and yet only issue a tiny fraction of them yet they will take  a person to court alleging they lost $***** amount of sales from it! If you have to download for free something, please consider attending a show or buying authorized merchandise so you share some love with your favourite musics creator.

What It Is?

I'm not too good this week but one thing that has always bugged me was not being able to replace my original 1972 pre-recorded cassette of The Temptations Solid Rock with a much better cd version as this title only briefly came out in the 1980's and currently has an asking price of up to $500 used when you see one.
As an album goes its a transitional one issued just after Eddie Kendrick left his sole contribution on this album is 'It's Summer' as he felt the Psychedelic Soul producer Norman Whitfield was having them record wasn't the old style R&B with ballads they had been previously known for and to which also they felt they were guesting on his albums.
It does however capture that feel of social consciousnesses prevalent back then rather well  in 'Stop The War, Now' a meditation begging  the end to the Vietnam War with its many destroyed lives (a topic that resonates with me regarding the Afghanistan War today), 'Superstar', in part a dig at former Temptations and call to arms to those who ride on the tails of their peers getting to the top and then disowning them and their needs, plus  'Take a Look Around' inviting people to see the poverty of the Inner City.
This was issued as a download mid January 2013 but only in the US which isn't much use as I don't live there but fortunately I had a friend who was able to get it for me from US iTunes and move it in my computers general direction by the wonders of the Internet.
It sounds much much better than my ancient tape which was very compressed, hissy because back the EMI who issued Tamla Motown titles didn't use dolby noise reduction on the tape and the tape quality was such that on the loud passages the high notes no longer existed.
I also got the download of Psychedelic Soul a very good 2 cd set covering this period of the Temptations with two extended remixes.

Dancing on a Saturday Night

For some people seeing something like that record above would trigger of a lot of memories so I might just add for the timeline it's 1973 and volume 33 in the Hallmark/Pickwick Top of The Pops series.
Borrowing the title from the then BBC TV show of the time, they'd have session musicians including some household names go in the studio and re-record the hit 45's of the day to avoid paying for the rights from the artists own record companies but on the plus side you had full versions and it was cheaper than buying a bunch of 45's back then.
Some of the versions were actually better than the originals and I liked most of the songs on this album as I had some bought for me at the time! They were sold in places like Woolworths and discount stores.
The series faded out by the late 70's and 80's as record companies licensed the originals for compilations on KTel and Ronco Records and in the UK the Now! series from December 1983

Nipper has lost his bark!

After last week, she said trying desperately not to come over all smug, it's finally happened, music retailing has moved from the high street.  Poor ol' Nipper.

Well okay, I know that's Birmingham Bull Ring, not Broad Street, but you know what I mean -our town and city centres - with the shock announcement late last night the national music and video retailer HMV was planning on going into administration following poor Christmas sales.
Sounds familiar,eh? And rather like with Jessops they also were being bankrolled by the suppliers who provided much of the January 25% off "Blue Cross" sales stock as did two state owned banks who to put things with my usually matter of factness, want their money back.
Some other similarities include high rents, failure to capitalize on online sales, poor in store stocks (I mean just seven studio albums by the Stones in the branch in a large city branch near me???), uncompetitive online store pricing (Amazon often cheaper).
HMV potentially could of gotten into downloading but after a brief messy store attempt, partnered up with 7Digital who run that for them which would be fine except 7Digital are a big brand in their own right so most would of gone straight to them.
As much as I feel for for all the staff I'm expecting nearly all the branches to go simply because it seems to me you can't run a big chain anymore because of the overheads and also your immediate best sellers, new albums, are stocked by both supermarkets such as ASDA and Tesco cheaply and the likes of Amazon for those who want cds but many more  prefer to download and these can obtained cheaply from the big three Amazon, iTunes and 7Digital.
You can do niche cd selling from a small side street location with an internet presence backed by a warehouse.
Hmv failed also to capitalize on the "Vinyl revival" by stocking few new and re-issue titles that many who like a physical album buy which was the tipping point for me becoming fed  up of having to order run of the mill cd titles only to return later at my expense to collect, getting an account at Amazon  ordering from them. I guess I wasn't alone in that!
I get the nostalgia many are feeling, remembering the first time I visited HMV Oxford Street London and the Manchester store still having those records and the many BritPop vinyl  titles on 7" and 12" lp I bought new that are most collectible.
I just feel by years end the high street will be that much the poorer.

Charred past

11 followers at Daytime Office Girl Crisis and only a tiny handful of you even know the history of this unique blog! It was underground for quite a period when I was avoiding places I felt rather uncomfortable at but now it's back out in the open.
If you clever people were wondering what this weeks title is referring to, unless you were on Mars, I'm talking about a major public scandal in the UK (that strange place that gave us English) that centres around the deceased disc jockey and tv presenter Sir Jimmy Saville who worked for a long time at a veritable UK institution, The BBC.
If you'd been in the UK for over 15 years, you'd of know of him presenting such shows as the pop music show Top of the Pops, radio shows like Saville's Time Travels, the Old record club, his past as a club MC in Leeds, Yorkshire and his charitable works and he did raise an awful lot for places like the  spinal injuries unit at Stoke Mandiville.
No one would dispute his achievements as an entertainer, indeed many of us us watched and listened to his shows.
There is no nice way to say this - and I wish I didn't have to - but he had another side a very hidden one from the public and it was he enjoyed having sex relations with children  15 or under something general morality aside, is against the law.
Some of these at least were clearly 'forced', they involved boys as well as girls, either on BBC property or in accommodation provided for his charitable work.
A good number were invited backstage from shows such as Jim'll fix it or Top of the Pops to his dressing room arguable with some knowledge from associates where they were abused; in others they were taken from Hospitals or Corrective Schools. It also has been said he attempted to interfere with some during the filmed dancing at Top of the Pops when he was on the show.
If this wasn't enough earlier this week I read a harrowing account of how even a niece at 13 and 15 of his was molested and abused.  I cried reading it.
I can't presume to speak for everyone that may be reading this blog, but there are a couple of things that come to mind of which the first is I feel a part of my past has been sullen not least for seeing people on a show and then finding out what happened later to them.
The other is why it was he was allowed unaccompanied access to minors to the point even of being given a key to one hospital that he kept with him. Thinking back as a 13 or 14 year old, at the time I'd loved to met my idols and gotten their autograph but you'd of expected someone to be over that person you were seeing not least for their own protection.
It also appears a number of people were aware of his 'interest' in minors but didn't act. Was this because he was viewed as too important to the BBC and various charities to tackle?