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Underground > Radio & Music >

Can I Get a Re-Issue?

15:09 / 12.07.06

This thread is prompted by the fact that there are several bands and records I've heard about, such as Pop Group, Raincoats etc, thanks to Simon Reynolds' Rip-It Up and Start Again, whose music I would dearly love to investigate but can't because they are either only available on expensive Japanese import or simply aren't available at all.

I've enjoyed the recent wave of Fall re-issues and have been deighted to see that even more obscure groups like Os Mutantes are now being made available, yet other important records like 'Y' by the aforementioned Pop Group and Captain Beefheart's 'Lick My Decals Off, Baby' are thin on the ground (Perhaps if I was a bit more familiar with filesharing websites, it wouldn't be such a problem, but I've always preferred owning a CD rather than a CD-R).

Can anybody shed any light onto just why this is? If it simply is a case of public demand for a re-issue, then I guess I could always start kicking up more of a fuss about getting what I want, but I suspect that there is perhaps more too it than that. Legal wranglings? Boardroom politics? Could anyboy fill me in on just how much these factors affect a records re-issue?

Plus, seeing as we're on the subject, are there any records you happen to own and think should be given another shot in the public sphere? We could make the most parent infuriating music shopping list in the world with the suggestions.

17:11 / 12.07.06

ebay and amazon are often quite good for re-issues/ 2nd hand stuff.

I spent ages trying to get hold of The Stairs Mexican Rn B before winning it on ebay for about ten quid- a price i was willing to pay. There's always a ton of more basic 2nd hand shops that advertise stuff online- try googling the records your after and see what happens.

I started a thread with similar thoughts about a year ago here... but nobody replied

The Timaximus, The!

04:00 / 13.07.06

What immediately springs to mind for me is Eddie Hazel's Game, Dames, and Guitar Thangs, which was released as a limited edition on Rhino Handmade, but is long sold out, and going for upwards of $70 on Ebay. What about the post-Lou Velvet Underground's Squeeze? I've never heard it, and I was a pretty big Velvets fan before I even heard of it.

The Stooges' crazy-thorough Complete Fun House Sessions box, also on Rhino Handmade, also crazy expensive on Ebay is on Itunes, but where's the rest of the label? Itunes obviously doesn't need my help, but I'd think it, Emusic, and the rest could make a killing specializing in out of print records and high-quality bootlegs. Like phishhook or something, but less work for Mr. or Ms. Lazy.

If a limited edition sells out on a boutique label, shouldn't the rightsholder realize there's some money to be made and thus do something with it? Likewise maybe A&R guys should keep tabs on Ebay?

lord nuneaton savage

07:51 / 13.07.06

*Sound of hooves thundering closer*

The Eddie Hazel album is coming out on Collector's Choice next month. Hi-yo!!!

*Sound of hooves galloping into the distance*

08:56 / 13.07.06

Much of the SST Records back catalogue is long deleted. Maybe the master tapes were lost; maybe Greg Ginn just ran out of money and couldn't be bothered; maybe there are legal issues involved.

Some classic SST albums have been re-issued in recent years: the Meat Puppets, Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth all had records on SST that have been repackaged and/or remastered since the turn of the decade. And records by some of SST's bigger artists -- Husker Du, the Minutemen, and of course Black Flag -- are still available on the label through most channels, but at pretty high import prices.

Yet there are still plenty of classic albums that helped define the 'SST sound' which are criminally unavailable and underappreciated -- one of which is Saccharine Trust's 'Surviving You, Always'. I don't think it was ever released on CD; I got my CD-R copy from Jack Brewer himself.

lord nuneaton savage

09:27 / 13.07.06

From what I know of Gregg Ginn I would imagine that his somewhat, shall we say, erratic personality might be something of a problem when it comes to licensing.

Kiltartan Cross

11:25 / 13.07.06

Raissa Khan-Panni's Believer, which I can currently find only as an import (to the UK) and which is (according to a US poster on Amazon.co.uk) next to impossible to find in the States. The backing is nothing exceptional, but her vocals are great; a very distinctive laconic, smooth style. My personal favourite is the distorted Give Me Strength, at the end, but the tracks are quite varied.

lord nuneaton savage

11:52 / 13.07.06

Looks like "Believer" has been deleted, I'm afraid.

Which brings me nicely to my point; if anyone wants to know whether something is or ain't available over the next couple of days (my Boss is away) then just ask and I can check our World wide database at work. It isn't 100% infallible, but it'll give you an idea...

18:53 / 13.07.06

Why Do they Call Me Mister Happy? by NoMeansNo is a fantastic album. Sadly it's a little out of my price range as it starts, used, at $47.50 on Amazon. It is impossible to find this album new, which is a shame. Hell, I just checked, and I can't even find a torrent for this album!

21:24 / 13.07.06

Why Do they Call Me Mister Happy? by NoMeansNo is a fantastic album. Sadly it's a little out of my price range as it starts, used, at $47.50 on Amazon. It is impossible to find this album new, which is a shame. Hell, I just checked, and I can't even find a torrent for this album!

Looks like most of their back cat has been discontinuted by AT - presumably Jello's licensing deal with the band's own Wrong label has expired.

But a quick glance at Southern's catalogue shows that the band has started reissuing material themselves. Hopefully it'll be back in a couple of years (in the meantime, I'm sure I could burn you a copy sometime if you really need one).

21:58 / 13.07.06

I may just take yo up on that, MacDara. I've been loking for a copy of Mr. Happy sine '98 or so with nothing to show for my troubles but heartbreak.

The Timaximus, The!

02:18 / 14.07.06

*Sound of hooves thundering closer*

The Eddie Hazel album is coming out on Collector's Choice next month. Hi-yo!!!

*Sound of hooves galloping into the distance*

Thank you, masked man.

16:44 / 22.07.06

An article I read a few months ago was discussing the posibility that one day every single album ever issued could be available to buy online. Apparently,the major labels are all uploading thousands of long deleted albums from their back catalogues in the next couple of years, and there's no reason why smaller labels like SST couldn't do the same.

The Return Of Rothkoid

23:58 / 23.07.06

I know the online model makes it easier for stuff to be distributed... but damn, some of us like those small shiny things (or big black black shiny things) with our music too! Surely it's cheap enough to manufacture things, if it's proved there's a legitimate demand for it?

Hell, you could even go the whole CD-on-demand route that the Burning Shed (I think?) label (amongst others) did.

ONLY NICE THINGS

10:12 / 24.07.06

I know the online model makes it easier for stuff to be distributed... but damn, some of us like those small shiny things (or big black black shiny things) with our music too!

I don't see this as a problem. It would be pretty easy to distribute a "media pack" - jewel case specifications, inlay and CD print decals, that sort of thing - as a download in iTunes, or something to that effect. If you have a decent printer, get them made up there, if not go to your local printers, and bob's your uncle.

17:45 / 26.07.06

Apparently,the major labels are all uploading thousands of long deleted albums from their back catalogues in the next couple of years, and there's no reason why smaller labels like SST couldn't do the same.

In general I agree with you -- but in the specific case of SST, the vast majority of its output was only on vinyl or cassette, so if the master tapes are missing it'll be a difficult process (but not impossible -- Jack Brewer recalls the official CD version of Saccharine Trust's PaganIcons being mastered badly from an LP copy, not the original tapes).

If I won the lottery, I'd beg Ginn to sell SST to me so I could begin a comprehensive reissue programme and pretty much make it my life's work to restore the label's lustre. But that's just a pipe dream...