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Post by kds on Feb 3, 2022 15:54:58 GMT
Discussion about Feel Flows and the mid 1990s Beatles releases makes me think about archive releases in general. What are some favorites? This can include studio rarities, alternate cuts, remixes, live material from the vault, etc etc. Here are some of mine.
Queen - On Air (2016) - I first heard the eight song Queen at the Beeb (from two Queen BBC sessions in 1973) release in early 1993, and it blew my mind. It was my introduction to early Queen. I got my own copy a few years later when Hollywood Records re-released it as Queen at the BBC. Then, in 2016, came the two disc (there's also a six disc, but three discs are interviews, so I opted for with the compact edition), which included an unreleased session from 1973, and other sessions from 1974 and 1977.
The Beatles - Live at the BBC (1994) / Anthology (1995-96) / On Air (2013) - Lonelysummer mentioned the first BBC release, and I agree with his assessment that it busts the myth of The Beatles as a subpar live band. The BBC release, along with the live material on the Anthology sets show that The Beatles were indeed a very good live band. What can you really say about Anthology other than it's a brilliant mix of early pre Fab Beatles material, including Tony Sheridan and Decca audition highlights, live material, early takes, unreleased songs, etc. The mid 90s was quite a time to be a Beatles fan. A second BBC volume followed in 2013, and I feel like that one went a little under the radar, but it's quite good.
Iron Maiden - Eddie's Archive (2003) - I love a box set where you're not re-buying a ton of stuff you already own. This is one of my favorites as it includes BBC sessions, live material, and an almost complete collection of non album studio material. Released on a limited run, it's become a bit of a collectors item.
Pink Floyd - Early Years (2016) / Later Years (2019) - Since I'm a homeowner, I did not purchase either of these extensive boxes. But, I actually have purchased quite a bit of what's on the Early Year set in the bootleg market. I also have the "sampler" edition of both. And, thanks to Spotify, I can listen to these releases, and there's a wealth of great material, from early outtakes to an early demo of 1994's High Hopes.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 3, 2022 17:12:23 GMT
Good question/topic.
Queen at the BBC is one I got in the mid-90s, and agree it was really a good one.
Another BBC one I liked was Jimi Hendrix's Radio One, which I had on cassette back in the late 80s or early 90s. I really loved that one, and it included some versions of songs that I preferred to any other. They were great for having an energy similar to live performances (which of course they were), but recorded in much better circumstances, helping the final product quite a bit.
After that, I'm not sure. Some of the Beach Boys' were great, of course. Some Zappa ones, too.
Are we also considering greatest hits comps here, or just archival releases of unreleased/live/rare stuff?
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Post by kds on Feb 3, 2022 17:42:15 GMT
Good question/topic.
Queen at the BBC is one I got in the mid-90s, and agree it was really a good one.
Another BBC one I liked was Jimi Hendrix's Radio One, which I had on cassette back in the late 80s or early 90s. I really loved that one, and it included some versions of songs that I preferred to any other. They were great for having an energy similar to live performances (which of course they were), but recorded in much better circumstances, helping the final product quite a bit.
After that, I'm not sure. Some of the Beach Boys' were great, of course. Some Zappa ones, too.
Are we also considering greatest hits comps here, or just archival releases of unreleased/live/rare stuff?
I don't think I'd include greatest hits comps, unless said comp included a few rarities from the vaults. Led Zeppelin and The Who had some really good BBC releases in the late 1990s. Speaking of The Who, the expanded Live at Leeds, with the complete concert and performance of Tommy is a great live release. It's one of the few deluxe expanded reissues I feel is more essential than the original release.
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sockit
The Surfer Moon
Posts: 234
Likes: 181
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Post by sockit on Feb 6, 2022 1:25:11 GMT
Ya know I had to really think about this, and honestly I couldn't come up with anything outside of Beach Boys. The SMiLE Sessions, Feel Flows Box, and Sunshine Tomorrow are all-time top 3 for me followed by the rest.
The Who would probably be my next choice with their 30 Years of Max R&B box. But beyond that, I can't think of much. Even the Beatles' archival releases don't do much for me after an initial curiosity listen.
I'm not into live recordings, so that eliminates a lot right there.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 6, 2022 12:13:19 GMT
Ya know I had to really think about this, and honestly I couldn't come up with anything outside of Beach Boys. The SMiLE Sessions, Feel Flows Box, and Sunshine Tomorrow are all-time top 3 for me followed by the rest. The Who would probably be my next choice with their 30 Years of Max R&B box. But beyond that, I can't think of much. Even the Beatles' archival releases don't do much for me after an initial curiosity listen. I'm not into live recordings, so that eliminates a lot right there. I had a similar issue. Once you get past the couple I mentioned, I have Beatles ones and Zappa ones (actually Zappa turned the final near-decade of his career into more or less one big archival project ... and you could argue his whole career was an archival project) ... and not a lot else.
Captain Beefheart's Grow Fins set from around 2000ish was another one that I really got into at the time. But I can't say I have spent any time on it in years.
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Post by kds on Feb 6, 2022 15:48:35 GMT
My list was relatively short too, despite owning several archival releases, they're not something I really revisit often.
But, there's a Floyd one I forgot to mention. In 2000, they released Is There Anybody Out There, a live release from the 1980-81 Wall Tour. Arguably, the live version is better than the studio album. For one, it actually features the whole band playing. The studio album has very limited participation from Richard Wright and Nick Mason. Sadly, an offical video document of this tour has yet to be released.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 6, 2022 15:57:35 GMT
My list was relatively short too, despite owning several archival releases, they're not something I really revisit often. Honestly it's why, with very few exceptions, I don't really care much about getting the massive box sets, the massive archival projects. More than nine times out of ten--probably more like 99 out of 100!--the final product is what's actually good, and pretty much what's actually interesting. Most unreleased songs are inferior to released songs, and often flat-out crap. Most demos are just the nuts and bolts of the eventually great songs, but aren't more than of passing interest, much less superior. Most remixes are pretty uninteresting. Most live recordings are either so similar to the studio versions as to be unnecessary, or inferior in performance, sound quality, or both.
It's why really other than the Beach Boys, I tend not to care. And even with the Beach Boys, the way and amount I care has changed over the years.
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Post by kds on Feb 6, 2022 17:27:46 GMT
Same here. The last big box I bought was MiC. Spotify has kinda spoiled me when it comes to such releases, its why I never box the 5 disc Feel Flows.
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
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Post by Emdeeh on Feb 6, 2022 18:47:12 GMT
My favorite non-BB archival releases are the Jethro Tull ones in the book format. Each package focuses on one album. They come with 5 discs or so, with the original album, bonus stuff, a live show, remixes, and the occasional concert video disc. The packaging is a hardback book, about the same height and width of a DVD box, but a lot thicker. The text takes a deep dive into the album in question and the band in that timeframe, with lots of photos. And they’re reasonably priced.
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Post by lonelysummer on Feb 7, 2022 7:10:51 GMT
I haven't bought all of the Dylan Bootleg Series releases, but I've heard nearly all of them. I seem to be drawn towards the ones spotlight less acclaimed work, like Another Self Portrait, and Trouble No More.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 7, 2022 12:45:35 GMT
I haven't bought all of the Dylan Bootleg Series releases, but I've heard nearly all of them. I seem to be drawn towards the ones spotlight less acclaimed work, like Another Self Portrait, and Trouble No More. Oh, I forgot about those entirely! And like you, while I don't have them all, I do have quite a few. As I was saying above about others, I tend to prefer the previously unreleased songs that appeared on some of the earlier series sets, but some alternate versions are also very interesting (and sometimes better than the eventually released versions).
As always, the live stuff has been least interesting to me, though between the Rolling Thunder tour and 1966 "Royal Albert Hall" show are exceptions.
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Post by lonelysummer on Feb 7, 2022 20:27:38 GMT
I haven't bought all of the Dylan Bootleg Series releases, but I've heard nearly all of them. I seem to be drawn towards the ones spotlight less acclaimed work, like Another Self Portrait, and Trouble No More. Oh, I forgot about those entirely! And like you, while I don't have them all, I do have quite a few. As I was saying above about others, I tend to prefer the previously unreleased songs that appeared on some of the earlier series sets, but some alternate versions are also very interesting (and sometimes better than the eventually released versions).
As always, the live stuff has been least interesting to me, though between the Rolling Thunder tour and 1966 "Royal Albert Hall" show are exceptions.
It was pretty interesting to hear the legendary "Royal Albert Hall" recording after reading about it for decades. It actually lived up to the hype, for the most part. I still haven't watched the Rolling Thunder Revue docudrama. Finding out that it was fictionalised was disappointing to me. If they wanted fiction, they should have just released Renaldo and Clara. I have it on a poor quality VHS. It may ramble, may seen directionless, but I'd still like to see it in good quality. I'd also like to see the Hard Rain tv special. No idea why these things aren't on dvd.
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