Boxed Set of the Month: Jane's Addiction

I'm not the world's biggest fan of Jane's Addiction (far from it), but the Limited Edition of A Cabinet of Curiosities (Rhino) is so compelling visually that it draws me in, like C.S. Lewis's wardrobe. As such, it's a lock for our Boxed Set of the Month for April.

For starters, there's a lock  — er, metal latch — on the outside of the wooden box. Open the doors, and you'll find another set of doors that seem to have glass windows (they're plastic, actually, but never mind). Open again, and you'll find the contents: 3 CDs, 1 DVD, a booklet, and an envelope of curios.

At roughly 6 x 6 inches, it's a far cry from March's Boxed Set of the Month, the massive reissue of Pearl Jam's Ten (see entry). But this is a handsome cabinet indeed. And whereas the Ten set is listed at $200, this one is only $75, with Amazon.com selling it for just over $50.

Details . . .

Drummers can snare Miles

Do you think you know — or do you think you are — the drummer who has everything? Well, he/she/you will now have to make room for the Miles Davis Kind of Blue 50th Anniversary Snare Drum, offered by the Innovation Drum Company (in conjunction with Miles Davis Properties, LLC) via the Blue Drums name.

But you'd better act kind of fast, because this is a very small Limited Edition. How many snares will be made? Only 50, of course.

And how much will the drum cost? Only $50, of . . . kidding. There are two price options: $1,600 and $3,750. No freeloading here, Freddie!

Details about this (and another Miles product) below . . .

Beatles remasters: "Listen"

Verlyn Klinkenborg has done it again. Bitstream browsers will recall that, one week ago, I linked to his New York Times editorial on Maurice Jarre. Now, in today's paper, he has submitted a similarly rhapsodic piece on the coming CD remasters of the Beatles' catalog, under the simple title: "Listen."

Reminiscing, he writes: "Growing up . . . I owned a cheap portable record player with a volume knob, a single tone control, and a primitive needle. But when you hear 'Ticket to Ride' for the first time, all the fidelity you need is between your ears."

I can (and will, eventually) take issue with his assertion that the original Beatles CDs were a sonic "disaster," but never mind that now. Simply read his new editorial to help you once again take a trip down your own personal Penny Lane.

And stay tuned here for my follow-up piece on the Beatles remasters re: What They Got Right and What They Got Wrong, coming soon.

— Ken Richardson

Beatles CDs remastered. Finally.

That's right, the press release just arrived this morning at 9 o'clock on the dot. Here it is, in full. And stay tuned to our Bitstream blog in the coming days because, after I've had some time to mull over the press release myself, I'll be firing off a post or two on What They Got Right and What They Got Wrong.

— Ken Richardson

THE BEATLES’ ENTIRE ORIGINAL RECORDED CATALOG REMASTERED BY APPLE CORPS LTD. AND EMI MUSIC FOR WORLDWIDE RELEASE ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 (09-09-09)

London, England – April 7, 2009 – Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are delighted to announce the release of the original Beatles catalog, which has been digitally remastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (09-09-09), the same date as the release of the widely anticipated videogame The Beatles: Rock Band.

Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original U.K. album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.

The albums have been remastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in London over a 4-year period, utilizing state-of-the-art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analog recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalog has seen since its original release.

The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the U.K., and Magical Mystery Tour, which became part of the Beatles’ core catalog when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections Past Masters Vol. I and II are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on CD. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.

Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson: Superstar!

. . . or so you might surmise from the high-profile placements he's been getting in the press lately. As you know, we here at Sound & Vision have been longtime supporters of Steven Wilson and his modern progressive-rock band Porcupine Tree, especially owing to their interest in high-resolution reproduction and surround sound. (For a list of interviews, articles, and reviews, simply enter Porcupine Tree in our search window.) So it's especially gratifying to see Wilson popping up prominently in other magazines these days.

First, he's on the cover of the current issue (March 2009) of EM: Electronic Musician. Inside is a substantial interview focusing on Wilson's new solo album, Insurgentes. You can read the interview here. And after you finish the final screen, be sure to click on the "Extended Interview" link.

What's more, the current issue (April 4, 2009) of Billboard has Wilson's byline on an "Opinion" article called "The Album Is Alive." Subtitle: "Technology Doesn't Mean the End for Extended Work — or Artistic Packaging." You can read the editorial here.

Meanwhile, this year — like every year  — will continue to be a busy one for Wilson. First up: the initial pair of King Crimson reissues, Lizard and Red, which he has remixed in surround (more details to come). Next up: a new Porcupine Tree studio album, expected this fall, supported by a tour.

— Ken Richardson

Boxed Set of the Month: Pearl Jam's "Ten"

Let's see now . . . two CDs, one DVD, four LPs, a buncha other stuff, and a cassette! What, no 8-track? Despite that, the Collector's Edition of Pearl Jam's 1991 debut, Ten (Epic/Legacy), truly goes to Eleven — and as such, it's without question our Boxed Set of the Month for March.

In an increasingly non-physical-product Entertainment Age, this box, subtitled Pearl Jam 1990-1992, is the epitome of how record companies — when they do get physical — are pulling out all the stops for certain projects. I mean, just look at that thing above.

List price for the Collector's Edition: $199.98. Amazon.com is selling it here at $134.99.

Another thing that the box doesn't have, however, is — hello? HELLO?! — a surround mix of the album itself. Sigh.

Some details:

SXSW 2009, Day 4: plum panels, Perfect Pants

It's Saturday, the last day of SXSW. And for me, it begins with three tech-oriented panels and ends with one more musical blast. (Shown above: Perfect Pants.)

Panel No. 1: "The Archival Restoration Preservation Society." From that title, I'm thinking that the Society actually exists — especially since two of the panelists are producers George Massenburg and Sandy Pearlman, longtime champions of good sound. But no, there's no such formal organization; the guys are just having fun with a certain Kinks album title. That said, they're dead serious about archival preservation, particularly for original analog recordings — which will require new forms of analog storage. As for sound quality itself? Says Massenburg: "No resolution is high enough." Which brings us to . . .

Panel No. 2: "Neil Young Archives." Volume 1 is finally coming, on June 2. (For details, see my previous Bitstream post.) "It's not a boxed set," says manager Elliot Roberts. "It's a biography. It's actually a life." Roberts is so enthusiastic about sharing a preview with the audience that when his cellphone rings — and it's Neil himself — he doesn't take the call! But, referencing the project's incarnation on Blu-ray Disc, Roberts does share with us Neil's motto: "Quality, whether you want it or not."

Panel No. 3: "Wax Attacks!" Vinyl resurgence? Only 15 people (including yours truly, Ken Richardson) attend this panel, which is moderated by John Kunz, owner and operator of Austin's landmark shop Waterloo Records. There's lots of talk about value-added bonuses (artwork, liner notes, posters), the social element of playing LPs, and even their "sex appeal." But the "superior sound quality of vinyl," as one panelist put it, is mentioned only once. I hope to post a rebuttal to that supposed superiority at some point soon.

And I also hope to give you more details on all of those panels in a future issue of the print magazine. In the meantime, however, there's one more night of SXSW music to be heard . . .

Neil Young Archives on Blu-ray: June 2

BREAKING NEWS: At a SXSW panel on the Neil Young Archives, manager Elliot Roberts announced that the first volume of the long, long-awaited project will indeed appear on June 2. Of course, previously announced release dates have come and gone — but this time, as they say, it's for real. In fact, actual packages (not mockups) were shown at the panel.

Roberts was joined by Larry Johnson, director of Neil's Shakey Films, and Ola Lutjens, creative director of MX Production, the San Francisco company that devised the Blu-ray platform for the Archives.

Yes, Vol. 1 — covering the years 1963 to 1972 — will be released on 10 Blu-ray Discs. It will also be available on 10 DVDs or as a set of 8 CDs.

But Blu-ray's the thing here, and at their SXSW panel, the trio of Roberts, Johnson, and Lutjens dazzled the audience with a preview of the set, playing discs on a PS3. The wealth of material is even more than we could have imagined. Trust me.

As of now, you can preorder Vol. 1 from neilyoung.com, where you'll also find a personal message from Neil on why you should buy the Blu-ray version.

S&V will have in-depth coverage of this important project in print and online, so stay tuned.

— Ken Richardson

The Beatles. Rock Band. 09-09-09.

Just received the official press release this morning. Here it is, in its entirety: Apple Corps Ltd., MTV, and Harmonix announce The Beatles: Rock Band, worldwide release set for 9/9/09

New York, NY - March 5, 2009 - Apple Corps Ltd., Harmonix, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom's MTV Networks, today announced the 9/9/09 worldwide release of The Beatles: Rock Band (thebeatlesrockband.com). The music-based videogame — an unprecedented, experiential progression through and celebration of the music and artistry of the Beatles — will be available simultaneously worldwide in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and other territories for the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation3 computer entertainment system from Sony, and the Wii home videogame console from Nintendo.

The Beatles: Rock Band will allow fans to pick up the guitar, bass, mike, or drums and experience the Beatles' extraordinary catalog of music through gameplay that takes players on a journey through the legacy and evolution of the band's legendary career. In addition, The Beatles: Rock Band will offer a limited number of new hardware offerings modeled after instruments used by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr throughout their career. 

The Beatles: Rock Band will be offered as standalone software and hardware as well as a limited-edition bundle. The game will be compatible with all Rock Band instrument controllers and other current music-based videogame peripherals.

Pylon's Randy Bewley: R.I.P.

"Randy who?" I can't blame you for asking. Randy Bewley was the guitarist for the legendary Georgia band Pylon. In the photo above, that's Randy to the left, playing at Hurrah's in 1979.

Pylon? "Legendary"? Yes, to wit:

"To me, Pylon was the best band to ever come out of Athens. It still is.” That's a comment yesterday from Fred Schneider of the B-52's.

"Pylon have always been an inspired catalyst to R.E.M. and the Athens music-and-art scene, and beyond. Randy’s guitar playing and attitude were intensely unique, and his influence integral and profound. We are so very saddened to hear the news of Randy’s passing. He will be greatly missed.” That's a statement yesterday from Michael Stipe.

And as Schneider added: "I'm in complete shock."

As are all of us Pylon fans, after hearing the news that Randy died on Wednesday at the age of 53. Two days earlier, he had suffered a heart attack while driving in Athens; his van went off the road and tipped over. It's unclear at this time whether the sole cause of death was heart-related, or whether the van accident contributed to it. But according to a Wikipedia entry, he was taken to Athens Regional Medical Center on Monday, where he lapsed into a coma. Then, yesterday, he was taken off life support at the hospital's cardiac intensive-care unit. One of his bandmates, singer Vanessa Hay, is a nurse at the hospital.

Why should we care?