Lowdown

Today I got The Essential John Denver and a newly remastered reissue of Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees in the same package. Mercy! I got a chill pulling them out of the envelope. Denver and Scaggs together again! What kind of subtle coding was Sony/BMG sending by pairing this dynamic duo? The Seventies really did suck? We're out of ideas so here's two surefire golden oldies? If you thought the George Winston reissues were great then check out these two?

Actually, the two artists are a study in contrasts. Denver has been re-anthologized to death. It's to the point where someone needs to beg that they please let this poor ultralight aeroplane enthusiast who perpetually needed a real haircut rest in peace, not to mention spare us from yet another keening run through of "Sunshine On My Shoulder." My ex-girlfriend's father liked two kinds of music: show tunes and John Denver. That told me ALL I needed to know.

Boz, on the other hand, I have a soft spot for. And his catalog has not been given the royal reissue treatment, I hear, because the man himself doesn't want or care about it.

So let's compare. Denver's dead and he's being reissued until we beg for mercy (or Helen Reddy) and Scaggs, who's alive, isn't interested in milking the reissue market. There may be something to that whole thing about artists refusing to allow record labels to put out records they deem, "not up to their artistic standards." Course it wouldn't have killed Boz to have added just a few goodies. Seems to me that somewhere there must be more of the concert from which the three bonus cuts on the new Silk Degrees were taken? And what, no outtakes, alternate takes or unreleased tracks? The other side of this argument is that artists go too far in protecting the sanctity of their art.

Meanwhile though, Sony is busy working on the next jarring juxtaposition. The Essential Michael Bolton and Journey's Trial By Fire? No wait, they did that last year.

Record labels. We're gonna miss them when they're gone.

COMMENTS
Jay Valancy's picture

Not really a comment - just thought you would like this link to a legendary record store closing:http://www.villagemusic.com/

nina's picture

I am looking to buy LIFT system racks for CD storage. They are fixtures for retail stores. Will pick up and pay top dollar.

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