--------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E G A R Y N U M A N D I G E S T (by subscription only - to unsubscribe, see bottom of this message) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (#2002-76) - Topics This Issue: 1) compilations 2) Dark Isolation (there's a good title) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 07 Feb 2002 11:09:57 +0000 From: Steve Webbon Subject: compilations Joey wrote.. OK, now that I've got all that out of my system, you can all start slanging me for helping out one of those dirty, rotten, stinking compilation labels. ;-) I'm certainly not going to blame Joey because this release would have = happened with or without him (and at least it's a good compilation) but = there are repercussions.=20 Check Amazon.co.uk and there are 57 varieties of Numan releases listed of = which, at a rough count, there are 20 compilations (and I bet 90% have = cars on them). And guess what suckers.. Receiver are reissuing their same = 50 tracks for the umpteenth time as 2 double CD's in March. Not bad fans...= 6 Numan CD's in 2002 so far. However, put yourself in the position of a new fan or the guy who orders = stock at the big (and for sales, very important) chainstores. Both have a = vague idea that Numan had some hits before they were born - Cars / Down In = The Park / I die, You Die etc. and hey - these tracks are on this new = compilation (and generally there is no indication that they aren't the = originals). OK, some are pretty good as they actually bother to get = someone who knows the music to help but others are 100% exploitations. The repercussions? Firstly, Beggars wanted to release I,Assassin and = Warriors early this year. However, when the guys at the big chains place = an order they simply check out how the last release sold. These guys have = limited space in their stores - they've already ordered 3 double albums = this year that haven't sold so well and are filling the rack space so a = couple more reissues (and they don't even have Cars on them) - No.. we'll = take a few for our biggest stores (evidently this Numan guy has a = dedicated following) but none for the other locations. The result - our = initial 'sell-in' is pretty pathetic and the fans wonder why they don't = see copies in their local stores (that's if they even know the albums have = been re-issued). Beggars' sales team get disillusioned - they're not going = to push these albums to stores who've already had 3 recent Numan releases. = The marketing department sees that the sell-in is a few hundred - well they= 're not going to put any money into advertising. So yes, eventually (= because you fans pester the stores, bless you) they'll order in a copy for = you though not an extra one to display and over 2 years the sales steadily = creep up to make it economical spending all the effort on remastering and = repackaging. Strangely, the albums do sell quite well, over a period of time, in the = big stores. So when someone comes in with a new Numan album the store sees = that the last one sold pretty well so they'll stock up on the new one... = why it's even got Cars and a few other of those old hits... on the = Receiver label and pretty cheap too... yes, we'll take lots of those. And the second repercussion... well Joey, you did mention that you were = second choice as a compiler and that's because the first choice was = planning something else. It's been 25 years and the only fitting = compilation this year would be one that covered his entire career. Beggars = were willing to co-operate and it would be a good way to start on a new = label. It's just a pity that all these other compilations create confusion = and seriously undermine any official releases. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2002 13:17:21 -0500 From: Michael Tressler Subject: Dark Isolation (there's a good title) Concerning Dark Wonders; Joey, your compilation was good, but it could have a been a little better. For instance, why suggest including a song like This Is Love (boring) but not the magnificent Absolution? Or Strange Charm (very, very average) instead of New Thing From London Town or I Can't Stop, both infinitely better songs? If it's because these songs already appeared on other discs like New Dreams For Old, then why include Berserker (a great song, yes) instead of the equally great This Is New Love? Child With The Ghost could have been dropped for something better, though it is an OK tune. It would have been cool to see a song like Soul Protection make it on the set. I guess you were going for the "darker" songs in general, so I suppose your picks are pretty much worthy of inclusion, 'cept for maybe Your Fascination. Antonio said last digest: "I stand by my statement that M&S is the worst Numan album and Love Isolation is a poor ballad BY NUMAN STANDARDS, I have to say hat the album is a good one and LI is a good ballad." I have a hard time deciding which is the "worst" Numan album. I think it's easy to point to M&S since it was the last in that long line of just-average albums (by Numan standards) and because of the Prince covers, but I agree it's a good album. I feel though that Love Isolation is a GREAT ballad, one of his best two or three in fact. To reference Dark Wonders again, I would have much rather seen this song included instead of This Is Love. Mike ------------------------------ End digest@garynuman.info Digest [02/07/2002 18:01] --------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E G A R Y N U M A N D I G E S T is produced, moderated, and distributed by Derek Langsford, Dave Datta, and Joey Lindstrom dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu, davdat@allmusic.com, Joey@GaryNuman.Info ------------------------------------------------------------------- To reply to the messages in this list, email: digest@garynuman.info If you want to be removed, or someone wants to be added, email: listserv@GaryNuman.info and include this line as the first line of your message body: SUBSCRIBE digest@garynuman.info (email address) or UNSUBSCRIBE digest@garynuman.info (email address) (email address is optional but useful if you have multiple addresses) If you want to switch between receiving Digests or individual posts, again send to listserv@GaryNuman.Info and include either of these in your message body: NORMAL digest@garynuman.info or DIGEST digest@garynuman.info ------------------------------------------------------------------ Please note: this mailing list is configured to automatically unsubscribe you if mail to your mailbox goes undeliverable for any reason. If you suddenly stop receiving this list, you should assume you've been automatically unsubscribed and should then manually resubscribe. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Gary Numan Digest is produced with the facilities of the Gary Numan Info Server and The Interocitor. All of the opinions in this digest belong to the respective authors and do not necessarily agree with those of the Digest Producers. This digest is published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is governed by all applicable Canadian laws. --------------------------------------------------------------------------