Musify/Myzuka

Courtesy Round Hill Records

 By the cover art can be obtained from Round Hill Music / Zuma Rock Records., Fair use, Link

    It seems like sister pirate mp3 sites Myzuka.club and Musify.club have lost the plot. After uploading dozens of albums to both simultaneously (it's a package deal) for over a decade, it seems they don't want anymore from me. I uploaded two albums they don't have yet, The Messenger from Pallas and Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023 by Bush (pictured). For the latter, I worked around it by going to an unofficial compilation by updating tracks that had a lower bit rate and adding ones not already there. I had downloaded the new official one legally from amazon since I got it free when I bought the CD from them around the time of Gavin Rossdales birthday and the bands most recent show in my area last fall. Pallas on the other hand are more limited by comparison. Had to go to another site for them. Can't afford Bandcamp too. To boot, band leader and manager Graeme Murray is also a barrister (albeit in criminal law rather than civil), so it may be karma for both bands; also considering neo-prog contemporaries' IQ and Jadis' Martin Orfords war or piracy. Since I can't access Pallas' new album on Musify or amazon at this stage, I had to put those mp3s on my Google drive to stream them from my phone. I would rather have the CD anyway, and I'll get it when it's available affordably. I may have invested heavily in Jadis and Denny Laine due to their catalogues' scarcity, but that's for another post.

    It's too easy to download or stream these days. Vinyl is back (like it never left, but again, for another day). It's like trading in something at the shop. Even if it's something they don't have and not on every corner, they still may not want it. I'm not going to waste time, money or data trying to upload them again. I tried contacting them, but have not heard back. Anyone looking for either of these albums on those site are on their own. File-sharing networks (Warez) like the old Napster, Limewire, BitTorrent, Kazaa and the Pirate Bay aren't as common anymore and can still cause damage to your devices. I actually don't upload or download as much as I used to nowadays. I don't even stream much TV. As for those sites, if I upload one more album and they don't do a thing, they'll never get another from me again. No one makes one ruble from it anyhow, which proves a point. Most of my old files have been wiped or disappeared over the years. Some are off of CDs I still have, but I can't rip them like I used to. Better to cut my losses and lossy files and just move on. (UPDATE: The Pallas one was uploaded by another person already, yet is not recognised in the bands discography.)

Denny Laine 1944 - 2023

Denny Laine, 2016

 The music world is in shock over the death of Denny Laine after suffering from pneumonia for the past few months. It's another reminder that much of that generation is getting fewer by the day. It also brings up the fact that most of his solo catalogue is still out of print. I've brought this up when he was alive, and with others who are also gone now where some have theirs reissues and some not yet. It's too soon right now for his family to even consider that at this stage. Also, the rights lay with several different companies, mostly small labels. Most albums and CDs can have hefty prices and now that Laine is deceased, they will likely go up more. I managed to get 1988's Lonely Road at a doable price. I even settled for a US LP of Holly Days for pennies before we learned of his illness. His widow Elizabeth (like John and Lisa Wetton, they were only married a short time) said there was even a new album recorded that could be released in the new year when the time is right. I managed to get a reissue (there are too many, usually tagging Paul McCartneys name on) of Japanese Tears called In Flight signed in 2016 at BeatleCuse: The Deux Over in Syracuse (Beatles tribute concert, one of two he did that year).

Even Jim Diamonds catalogue remains unavailable several years after his passing, yet he's not as well known compared to Laine. Even some limited editions would be enough since having copies made en masse may not be feasible in this economy. Some reissues disappear when interest wanes on both major and indie labels. Streaming services are taking off programmes to cut costs, so it doesn't always bode well for niche artists like this. The demand has to be there before the work can be done as the Facebook group I help run has diehards asking for lesser known people in an age trying to compete with Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Laines work reminds us of a simpler time. There are also several compilations of the original Moody Blues available, sometimes combining with the later era (Mike Pinder is the last surviving founding member). I may now spend the next ten months trying to get everything. It'd be great if I won this competition for a $5,000 gift card for amazon.com so I could get the pricier ones from third party sellers that are there, while I'd have to win lottery tickets or even try my luck at local shops for other titles (they could be gone by the time I get there if there was ever anything left).

Downloading is never enough and Denny would turn in his new grave if we did that (from pirate sites, of course). We should suggest to the original or reissue labels that these albums need to come back and streaming them, even on a legal service is too easy and earns twopence for the estate. Get all this sorted by what would have been his 80th birthday on 29th October (now in the same boat as Peter Green).

Goodbye, Denny. It took a long time to forge your own path and I tried to catch up for thirty years. Hope you and the other original Moodies, Jimmy (McColluch) and Linda can play together now. RIP.