Record Store Day - a winner (if you're an eBay seller)

Opinion on Record Store Day seems to be changing. What started as a noble enterprise intended to lure people back into independent record stores, has been taken over by members of the public trying to make a quick buck.

Record store day releases tend to be unique vinyl pressings that can only be acquired by physically visiting a record store. Shops are also banned from listing stock on the Internet for the following week thus adding to the exclusivity. As a consequence of these rules, people queue outside shops from the early hours of the morning. But some of these people are exploiting the rarity of the releases and are buying multiple copies solely with the intention of selling them on the Internet.

One example of this phenomenon is the Pet Shop Boys limited edition 12" of "Fluorescent" which was a UK record store day exclusive for 2014. This 12" carries 2 exclusive mixes of the title track and is limited to 1000 copies - it cost around £7. Before the day had ended, copies of the 12" were listed on eBay at ridiculous prices. There are currently over 40 listing for this record, all of which are selling for massively inflated prices (they seem to fetch anywhere between £40-90 currently).

I chose not to queue outside a record store and was content to take my chances later in the day. I did queue in 2010 to purchase the last Pet Shop Boys Record Store Day exclusive "Love Life". However the record wasn't particularly good and was soon available quite cheaply on the Internet (you can still buy it now for around £20). Thus I decided queueing wasn't worthwhile and stayed in bed.

Unfortunately my gamble didn't pay off. The single was sold out by the time I ventured to the shops. Looking at eBay I am convinced the reason I missed out was because people bought multiple copies of the single with the sole intention of selling them for a hefty profit. Releases are supposed to be limited to one per customer, but all you have to do is visit multiple shops or have a friend tag along (or both) and you can buy multiple copies of a release quite easily.

However, I am very lucky and live in a city with many independent record stores. I tracked down a retailer with copies of the single in stock and after an anxious wait over the bank holiday weekend, I visited them at 9am sharp Tuesday morning (I was not the only person with this idea). The eBay profiteers didn't beat me.

But many fellow Pet Shop Boys fans have missed out as they either don't live in the UK or couldn't make it to a store. For them, the only hope seems to be degrading themselves on Twitter or paying the prices asked on eBay. 

 

Yes, we live in a free world and there are no rules against buying multiple copies of a record and selling them. But I don't believe that is why Neil and Chris created this 12" and I believe it goes against the ethos of Record Store Day as a whole. The only remedy for this situation would be if Neil and Chris's management team were to announce that there was unsold stock and make them available on their website.

Yet, I fear that there is no excess stock lying around. The store I visited had received a box of singles with damaged covers. They were only bent or creased slightly, but the store had asked the distributor for replacements only to be told there were none.

So Record Store Day has become a cash cow for eBay and its users as well as independent record stores. Personally I would love to see what happened if there was a USA or Japan only Record Store Day Pet Shop Boys release. Seeing revenge being exacted upon these mercenary eBay sellers would be quite satisfying.

The Art of Remasters?

Listening through the Art of Noise tracks on my media player I can't help but notice a missed opportunity. ZZT seem to continually recycle the original early material from '83/'84 (and boy do they milk it) whilst China seem content to let the bulk of the bands back catalogue languish.

I only realised how little of the Art of Noise's music is still being issued when a box of my CD's was 'lost' during a house move some years ago. Trying to replace their albums via eBay became a surprisingly annoying and expensive chore (thankfully cut short by the idiot who took my CDs into "safekeeping" finding them some months later). Having just scanned eBay I can see only one copy of "In No Sense? Nonsense!" on CD and one exorbitantly priced copy of "Invisible Silence" listed.

So why don't Warner Bros or whoever own the rights reissue these albums? There is lots of additional/bonus material from 12" singles and b-sides hanging around and there are plenty of fans ready to buy shiny new masters of their favourite 80's albums. If ZZT can spin out one albums worth of material into a 2 CD retrospective, a 3 CD box set, 2 expanded reissues and a "Best of", why can't we get the 12" version of "Legs" on CD?

Less pops in my pop music please

As I sit listening to the remastered version of “No 1 in Heaven” by Sparks I can’t help but notice that some of the extra tracks are sourced from vinyl. I understand that 30 year old master tapes get lost and I can accept that sometimes this is the only source available. But what I don’t understand is why they are always so badly mastered.

If an enthusiast such as DJPaulT can master vinyl to sound immaculate for his excellent “Burning the Ground” website; why can’t professional engineers do the same? It doesn’t take long to remove pops and crackles from a digital recording and adjusting EQ isn’t too complicated if performed by someone with skill.

Either record companies need to start looking harder for master tapes or employ DJPaulT to master their vinyl. Take pride in your work like Paul or don't bother I say. Music is too important for half hearted efforts.

Jarre remastered?

Most of the artists I listen to have had their back catalogue remastered and released in some form or another. The first artists to do this were the Pet Shop Boys, followed more recently by Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, New Order, Mike Oldfield, The Beatles and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The list goes on and on. But why I asked myself have Jean Michel Jarre’s albums not been re-mastered?

Various Jarre CDs in my collection

Well the truth is I forgot it had already been done. It's been done more than once in fact. Dreyfus released tweaked versions of all Jarre’s albums in 1991. These CDs were not released in the UK and were only available for a short time. Thus I own only two of the discs and don’t remember them particularly well.

The second attempt at a reissue was made available when Jarre transferred to Epic in 1997. These CDs have clear trays and the name of the album written in the tray insert. They we all remastered by Scott Hull in New York.

However, both sets of reissues have one thing in common; they don't sound different from the original pressings. Yes, the live albums and compilations have different running orders or double albums have been shrunk into a single disc, but the music doesn't actually sound very different. Only with 2011's "Essentials and Rarities" did Jarre's old works receive what I would consider a true remastering.

Happily Jarre has begun work on a set of new masters which are to be reissued by Sony sometime on the near future. Zoolook seems to have been the first to have the fairy dust sprinkled upon it and whilst nothing has been announced officially, it seems all of his back catalogue is to receive the same treatment. Let's hope there will be new vinyl as well as CDs. New remastered vinyl would help banish the memories of the terrible reissues of his fist 3 albums from 2011.

Pet Shop Boys - Electric Box

It's that time of year again when I pay through the nose for a massively over priced Pet Shop Boys box set. "The Electric Box" is a limited edition of 350 signed copies that sold for an eye watering £500 each. Not only was it extortionately expensive, it was also 2 months later than promised (seemingly routine for Vinyl Factory releases) and massively disappointing. So lets see what £500 gets you...

The box was delayed for an additional 2 days thanks to DHL, but it was at least intact

Inside was a second box with the warning "PLEASE OPEN WITH EXTREME CARE" Gulp...

Once inside, a pair of white cotton gloves and instructions on how to assemble your box set are seen

Under this there is a folded piece of paper with the credits, an envelope with 5 PVC sleeves and the vinyl records

Then there is the gaudy perspex box which is almost identical to the one from the "Yes" box set but is transparent and has grooves inside to hold the records in place.

 

The coloured12" singles are shipped in 'transport' sleeves and are intended to be placed in the transparent PVC sleeves and then slotted into the box (hence the cotton gloves). One of the records is single sided and is signed and numbered on the label.

However, you wont be seeing my box assembled anytime soon. The PVC sleeves are not actually big enough to hold the records comfortably. To get the records into them involves a great deal of praying and squeezing. The vinyl makes horrible noises as the edges are dragged against the PVC to the extent that I thought "This cost £500; I'm not risking breaking it" and gave up on the first 12". For a product so delayed, one would think they would be able to create sleeves big enough to hold the records.

My confidence wasn't boosted by the fact that the instructions were taped to the top of the box with double sided sticky tape. This tape was applied in a very haphazard fashion and was stuck to the box, the envelope containing the sleeves and the records themselves. The whole idea of having to provide assembly instructions on a £500 box set seems like a complete anathema to me (The Vinyl Factory "hand craft" it and then I have to assemble it myself?) but to then stick tape all over the contents seems crazy.

The piece of paper with the credits feels like an after thought and adds nothing. It looks like it was rushed out on an inkjet printer and is superfluous. The whole package leaves you a bit underwhelmed: it just doesn't seem special enough when you consider the price. However, I shouldn't rush to judgement as I haven't even seen it put together. Maybe I should grow a pair and actually put it together before I condemn it too heavily.

I would never try to justify this purchase in terms of value for money. I have bought it as a collector, I feel a compulsion to own it. Nobody put a gun against my head and made me buy it. But as an object, it is rather disappointing; especially when compared to one of its predecessors. Not only was the "Yes" box set £200 cheaper, it contained exclusive mixes, signed artwork, was packaged in a much more stylish box and had over double the amount of vinyl. I never really fell in love with any of these box sets, but the original "Yes" set is much more special and now feels like a bargain when compared to "The Electric Box".

Erasure for Christmas?

When I found out Erasure were recording a Christmas album, I have to admit, I wasn’t very excited. In fact I was anticipating it being as bad as “Other People’s Songs”. Yet, as a sucker for a limited edition (I even subscribe to @sdedition twitter feed) I couldn’t help but order the deluxe box set of “Snow Globe” and boy am I glad I did. Not only is the box set one of the most thoughtful I’ve ever bought but the music is quite brilliant.

Firstly we should look at the music. Why does (what on paper) looks a terrible concept, work so well in execution? Well firstly Andy has truly found his inner choir boy. Tracks like “Silent Night” and “Silver Bells” work specifically because Andy sings them so well. Vince’s sparse arrangements seem to extenuate the beauty of the vocals yet remain imaginative and unique. Christmas related music makes up 75% of the album with the remainder taken up by fantastic new tracks such as “Loving Man” and “There’ll be no Tomorrow”. From first listen this album was good enough to even make this Scrooge feel Christmassy in November. The box set also features a second disc with remixes, acoustic versions and oddities plus a  third disc with a 'Radio Show'.

As you might expect, the 3000 box sets were only available for pre-order and are sold out. 

 

Losing my edge

Sometime in 2005 I was going to work on a night shift and for some inexplicable reason I tuned my car stereo to BBC Radio 1. This was strange as I never listened to this station normally and frankly, I haven’t listened to it since. But as I drove along that night, I heard a track titled “Daft Punk is Playing at My House” that was both weird and glorious; I loved it instantly. I bought LCD Soundsystem’s eponymously titled debut album as soon as I got access to Google and Amazon.

Over the next few years I bought “45:33” and “Sound of Silver” and found LCD Soundsystem were increasingly brilliant. By the time the glorious “This is Happening” was released I was truly engrossed by Mr Murphy’s music as it was a cunning mix of the sombre and the facile.

However, it became apparent that this was to be the last LCD Soundsystem album and by the time I went to see them live in the spring of 2010 we knew it was soon going to be over. I followed the break up of the group via their website with a mixture of disbelief and ambivalence.

Yet it is only when I watch “Shut up and play the hits” that I realise what a loss LCD Soundsystem are to the music world. Yes, we have the music and the memories, but to think a talent like James Murphy no longer has an output is quite sad. He says touring was ageing him and he wanted to get on with his life. Fine, stop touring if you have to, but please Mr Murphy, make some music. You’re too good not to.