Arena

Arena, 2020. L-R: Kylan Amos, John Mitchell, Mick Pointer, Paul Manzi, and Clive Nolan.

Kajamera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Courtesy Verglas Music/Wikipedia.

 Arena are a band that I have been dabbling with for some time, but unlike some of the related bands, I may not be getting all of the CDs since it gets expensive to go after all these every time I bring someone new into my collection. Mick Pointer, late of Marillion, and Clive Nolan, also of Pendragon, started the band in 1994, and there have been several different lineups ever since, which have included John Jowitt, late of IQ and Jadis; John Mitchell of Frost*, It Bites, Fish, Lonely Planet, and now Asia; and former Landmarq and Threshold frontman, as well Headspace and Rick Wakeman band member Damian Wilson (his joining is what got me to buy their most recent studio album, The Theory of Molecular Inheritance). Unfortunately, other commitments will have him moving on by years end. Paul Manzi left in 2020 to join the Sweet of all people, which some may consider selling out, by going from a complex prog band to a latter day lineup of a glam band from the '70s. However, he will be back for good by next year. Now I know why I used an old photo (Manzi was originally supposed to be on the last album before the split was announced). Pointer still plays his old bands music on occasion in a side project with original bass player Cliff Orsi, proving that he's no Pete Best. Mitchell and Nolan have also worked the late John Wetton of Asia on his 2003 solo album Rock of Faith, and the former on the Wetton (Geoff) Downes Icon series.
 Arenas sometimes dark lyrics and layered sound design resonate with me and many listeners. The band have been independent from the start, managing themselves and running their own label. They have built up a cult following spanning over three decades. Like other artists with simplistic names, they get confused with obscure artists of the same name on Amazon, where I stream them, Spotify and maybe even indie specialists emusic. Look for the Verglas label, or at least what you know is the real Arena on these services, given the generic nature of the name. No word yet on the next studio album now that Manzi is poised to return in one years time. At least I can easily stream the band at home as I can on the go and at home, but that will be the next post, this being the first in 2026. I guess it comes from getting bored of the other bands and despising current mainstream rubbish. I may have even designed the next albums sleeve for them out of sigils, which current bass player and art director Kylan Amos could adapt, even though AI even knows his style. I drew them for something else while playing the band the other week..
    One more live album would be nice from the current lineup. Tracks like "Valley of the Kings" from the latest tour have not been officially recorded or filmed live with Wilson (or even original singer John Carson [no relation to Johnny Carson] for that matter from the first album and tour, if any, since there was little live activity with him, and he imitated Pointers former colleague Fish at times to where they had to play the old guard just to fill the set and seats at the same time). Bootlegs don't even seem to exist of Arena (pirates do, but we've been over that with other people), while shows of different lineups are on YouTube, including some of the oldest from early guitarist and seasoned session player Keith More, who is terminally ill and once worked with Paul and Linda McCartney, sharing an interest in animal rights and the environment. Increasing security at most venues these days make it much harder to film or record most shows, yet one survives from this past year on video (it wouldn't be worth it to try to copy the audio and spend all day trying to split up the tracks, which is why there should just be official soundboard recordings fans can buy, or even what the Grateful Dead allowed when they were still together with a taper section and trading recordings, yet Arena are indie and are more cult than the Bay Area icons by comparison, so it may not be feasible in the current climate).
    I hope to get more from Arena as I can afford. They have been upstaging everyone else, even those I know and love. I know I can build on this as I have for much of the collection I've accumulated.

AI of original album design for next album

George Harrison remasters and Dark Horse Records: 50 Years On

George Harrison at the Princes Trust appeal, 1987.

 George Harrisons family signed a deal last year with BMG to move distribution of his solo label Dark Horse Records and administration of his publishing. His old friend Bob Dylan started the trend (even though he outright sold his work). A few reissues have already come out, primarily on vinyl, such as the first two solo releases Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sound on limited edition picture disc, to straight reissues of the last couple Cloud Nine and Brainwashed. The newest is Living in the Material World 50th Anniversary (albeit a year and a half too late, but it can only "Be Here Now" [where oasis got the names of both that and "Wonderwall"]). Getting more praise now like his former colleague John Lennons solo album from 1973 Mind Games, expanded last year by their Sean, which was underrated when the elder Lennon and Harrison were both still alive ("You know how it is," the former would say).

One reviewer said that All Things Must Pass had been done enough. However, because of the new contract, one must consider that like Paul McCartneys solo and Wings output prior to 1975, it is no longer on Apple (although his first two had licenced it for new LP reissues for old times' sake). Back to Harrison, his triple smash could either do the same thing, or it would be like in 2001 less than a year before his passing when it was remastered with a new design and was neither on Apple or Dark Horse, but on a one-off vanity label called GnOM (you'd have to look it up, and it was the last solo reissue in his lifetime). The more recent edition would be out again with the new information, but Apple could be loaned out just like Parlophone is with Beatles proper reissues for up to 1967 since EMIs sale in 2013.

Late 1974s Dark Horse album may be next. Named to fill the void since Harrisons old deal wouldn't be done until January 1976. Rolling Stone slated the tour and he never lived it down. His voice was a state. I wonder if Peter Jacksons MAL AI technology could be used to do up a live show if a recording made by Harrison himself exists, coming after Get Back and "Now and Then", or if a decent bootleg is available since it technically can be claimed. Live albums used to have studio overdubs in those days, but this is something Live at the Star Club is reportedly getting (that'll be considered for a future post).

1981s Somewhere in England could have an expanded edition because a number of songs were declined by then-distributor Warner Bros./WEA (Warner Music Group), which were only available later as B-sides, remaster bonus tracks, on Sothebys-rare limited edition CD EPs that came with a book, or on bootlegs (the diehards get it). Their Dhani has his work cut out. There may be even more in the vaults.

Then there's the complication of compilations. The Best of George Harrison was supposed to be the best of both worlds (largely the old guard), but was just a sendoff by EMI to compete with Thirty-Three and a Third in November 1976. The Best of Dark Horse: 1976-1989 is the only one he approved of and is long out-of-print and has no Beatles tracks whatsoever. Let It Roll was a posthumous release. It would be having to licence Beatles tracks from Universal, Apple or Sony (Concert for Bangladesh versions outside North America because of Dylans [on Columbia US/then-CBS, yet on sister label Epic] return to the stage and industry policies at the time, as well as for pre-1968 publishing). Even a new collection could be considered.

Dark Horse in recent years returned to its original vision of signing other people. Joe Strummers estate (The Clash) and Billy Idol are two of the latest to join the fray. Reissues of past artists like Splinter, Henry McCullough (Wings), Keni Burke and Stairsteps, Attitudes and Ravi Shankar (we can't forget him, of course) should be explored, although some already are reissued, so I'm just catching up here.

Absolutely no ChatGPT was used. George would be very concerned about AI if he were still with us, I'm quite sure. He probably would have approved of it being to used to clean up the audio, but not to replicate voices and instruments, because that's what people are afraid of, and Ringo had to assure everyone that John wasn't being imitated by a bot, because it's not like the "new" Steve Marriott album (which is a mockery at a level even Yoko wouldn't stoop to, but we won't go there today). I just know that Harrisons legacy is in capable hands and will continue to bring in new generations of fans.

Retrospect Records: A Retrospective

 

Logo appears under fair use and label may no longer exist. Courtesy Discogs.

    Retrospect Records, an indie label and seller based in Las Vegas and St George, UT, seems to have gone out of business. They were once one of the biggest independent metal labels in the world. I also knew them for selling used CDs like anyone else. They offered bootlegs and Russian pirates, as well as artists not easily found in the US like Gary Moore and Magnum (which led me to write this). I've bought IQ, Pallas, Yes and solo Rick Wakeman for myself and Queensrÿche and maybe Billy Squier for Boris (I would've bought even more if money weren't an object!). Whether the pandemic or just the economy since did them in, it's an all too familiar scene these days across the board. As a label, they may not have had the resources that even other indies have. Fish and his label are one thing since there's no one else on it. Retrospect are another since they signed dozens of obscure artists like Mystery (not the French-Canadian band that I know, since generic names can mean two or more people with a conflict).

    Like a regular news outlet, I reached out to the owner for comment, something I don't typically do. I simply asked what happened as a past customer and not as a blogger. I haven't ordered from them in over ten years time and they haven't had anything new since at least April of last year. The owner told me that he stopped renewing his subscription to the host service, thinking it wasn't worth a bother anymore. Even a free service is not on. We'll just have to let this one go as there are plenty of other places to order from and there's nothing on the label even worth reselling if you ask me.

Marillion: Childhood Mysteries

 

The cover that was meant to be

    Marillion played Castle Donington in Leicestershire in August 1985 on an all-star bill that included ZZ Top (on their Afterburner tours Europe leg), Bon Jovi (not yet that big, promoting 7800° F), Metallica (between albums) and Magnum. Whether Marillions show was soundboard, radio or just the typical fan recording is likely one of the mysteries! It's when it made it onto bootleg is what leads us here. One early edition looked more like an early '70s head shop release with a cheap photocopy cover with what looks more like a drawing Peter Nicholls from IQ. Another looked like an apple of some sort. The most common is what may drawn intrigue for nearly four decades for diehards of both bands. The label probably tried to come up with something at short notice comparable to Mark Wilkinsons fantasy style, so they decided to steal another designers sleeve. Rodney Matthews drew the cover of Magnums 1983 release The Eleventh Hour! It was originally released on Jet Records, Ozzy Osbournes former solo label, and his estranged father-in-law the late Don Arden ran it and would have sorted out whoever nicked the sleeve if he knew! On one of the Facebook groups, a fan showed his copy of the LP that Fish signed. I had Bill Bruford sign a King Crimson pirate CD, but that's a bit different (we've done that).

    Magnums lead songwriter and guitarist Tony Clarkin, who passed on 7 January this year, didn't like his own band being bootlegged (most people wouldn't). The last thing he'd want is for the cover of one their studio albums being used for another artists bootleg. When I bought it a few years ago in my area at a great price, I didn't realise at first until it said so on Discogs. I had an earlier Marillion drawing combining elements of Script for a Jesters Tear, Misplaced Childhood, Brave and Marbles (the last two from the Steve Hogarth era), but the original disappeared a long time ago and I'd have to see if it's still online somewhere. I went to the charity shop and bought this bordered paper and coloured pencils, originally for a promotion next door at the coffee shop for St Valentines Day (they got one of my cats!). I also had some pastels for bits that couldn't be pencilled in. I was trying to make Robert Mead, the youngster on the Misplaced cover in the style of Loren Bouchard (Bobs Burgers/The Great North) because I don't draw people too often. He turns out similar to The Great Norths Moon since they'd be the same age and have the Will Byers (Stranger Things since it's that time period) look to boot!

    I have Magnum to get for Boris and I wouldn't have heard of them if not for the list. I may look into them myself. The Eleventh Hour! isn't on it, but he could get it for me since I may not find it on my own since little of theirs came out in North America in the old days. If part of the cover is missing when it comes, I'll just photocopy the bootleg and cover up Marillion parts with bits of scrap paper. Even band photos of the show would have worked better once it was on CD, although it'd be a matter of getting cameras past security (video ones even more so once they were more versatile for the consumer market long before mobile phones could do all this and the internet), yet several photos were taken and are available. One could hide tape machines somehow. They scan for such things and even have clear bag policies in some venues today, yet people can still get these made if they have the knowhow and connections. It was still the Wild West in the '80s, and more of a challenge by the '90s as artists and venues became more strict about this. At least I could put to bed this anomaly of a bootleg cover.

Here are the tracks anyway. No Kayleigh or Lavender.

A more original yet Ghibli AI cover

Apologies to Rodney Matthews and Studio Ghibli

AI images courtesy ChatGPT Open AI (created March-April 2025).

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.)

No more pirate CDs?

Just several I've gotten recently

 I may not be getting any more pirate CDs from Boris any time soon.  Between a lack of titles I want from the site he uses to the current situation (we don't need to get into it too much here as we're all against Mr P.), I think it's time for an indefinite pause until further notice.  Even picking a bunch of titles I could just trade in is not feasible as that would still cost money when the economy in Russia is suffering because of the elephant in the room.  Also, the post office won't allow anything to be sent there at this time due to lack of transport and continuing sanctions.

I still plan to send some CDs over to him when it is allowed again, but it likely won't happen for the foreseeable future.  It's also because of limited availability of albums in my own area and having to go on the road or online, which can add up either way and that's before I ship.  Customs on both ends may now be wary at this time as my incoming package has not had an update in a couple weeks.  The two have had their issues prior to this anyway.  It's become a waiting game and then some.  We've gone from the latter stages of the pandemic to far worse.  Also, after those CDs do come, I shouldn't get anything else from there for the time being, even if you can't tell by looking at it (clever lot, that).

Universal and Sony have closed their Moscow offices, and Warner might next, as have many international companies, so people there would rely on pirate CDs, although downloading has become more prominent in the past two decades anyway.  It's nothing compared to the petrol rises back here.

I've also done something similar with someone in Ukraine, but we haven't done that in a period because he could no longer get anything over the border and now everyone is in survival mode, so I'm just worried about him and everyone there.  He sent few pirates, and was more into providing bootlegs.

As for Boris, I may break it to him gently once I give him information about the package, knowing how delicate this will be.  He knows all too well about he who shan't be named.  I will miss doing this, but it'll be the least of our problems compared to everything else.  I will just support the artists and buy new when I can, particularly within days of release if I can't on the day (as with indie and lesser known artists).  Maybe I've spent too much all these years with this scheme, letting it go on for so long.

UPDATE: My package is here now, but because it was sent before the war, it was probably still allowed, but another might not be until further notice.  Also, the website that he orders from hasn't has an update in a few months, so nothing new from there again until things settle down.

UPDATE 2: I've tried sending him another through a third-party service, but he has been surprisingly been uncooperative lately and won't respond to my e-mails anymore to provide information needed to proceed with the order. We all have lives no matter where we are in the world, but he usually writes back in a matter of days. Also, between the decreasing availability of titles on the list and having to deal my own life and expenses, I may not be able to do this anymore, even when everything's back to normal there. This has become too much, and I'll admit I haven't gotten back to him straightaway either in fairness, so I'm no better. Still, even the vast time zone difference hasn't been that much of a barrier. My inner Ann Landers tells me I should probably stop dealing with him, but I need closure first. I've spent too much time and money for over a decade doing all this. Now, it's more personal than external if he won't keep up his end. Even here, not everyone can be looked up online, let alone there. I think I'm done with him since I don't even listen to all of the CDs I have anymore, let alone need that many more. I had his whereabouts on paper or the plastic from the last shipment, but it was binned after I took everything out thinking I'd never need them. It's a wild goose chase and holy grail at this stage now. I won't use the term "ghosting" because that's b------s. I don't know what the problem is except that he's incommunicado, even though he's said before he gets busy, but don't we all? It takes a few minutes of your day to tell me where you live and where to ring you (I won't). Dr Phil says, "It's not an essay question" (and I wrote the essay, and then he'd say, "How's that workin' for ya?!" and "Don't invest more than you can afford to lose" [I don't watch that show anymore]). Boris, please answer me.

Boris update

Focus 3 featuring "Sylvia". Courtesy Red Bullet.

The list has been changed again.  Some of the A-listers and cult heroes I know won't be hard to find, while others remain a challenge.

A.................................................................................................................

Amenophis: Amenophis (1983)

Anyones Daughter: Adonis

                                Anyones Daughter (1980)

                                In Blau

                                Piktors Verwandlungen

Alcatrazz: No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll

                Dangerous Games

Amorphis: Elegy

                 Am Universum

Altered Images: Pinky Blue

Alphaville: Prostitute

                 Strange Attractor

Anaphema: Judgement

                   Eternity

Anglagard: Hybris

Ange: La Cimeterie

B..................................................................................................................

Graham Bonnet (Rainbow): Line Up

David Byron (Uriah Heep): Baby Faced Killer

Barclay James Harvest: Ring of Changes

                                     North

Biglietto Per L'Inferno: same (1974)

Black Sabbath: Born Again* (may have sent a pirate by mistake)

Blind Guardian: Tales from the Twilight World

               Somewhere Far Beyond

               Imaginations from the Other Side   

C..........................................................................................

Colosseum: Daughter of Time

Tony Carey (Planet P Project/Rainbow): Coldwar Kids (possible namesake of a band I know of)

                   I Won't Be Home Tonight

                   Bedtime Story

                   Boystown Tapes

City (DDR): Feuer Und Ice

Califfi: Fiore di Metallo

Celtic Frost: Vanity/Nemesis

Chameleons UK: What Does Anything Mean?

                           Script of the Bridge

                           Strange Times

                           The Fan and the Bellows

Cardiacs: A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window

               Songs for Ships and Irons

               Heaven Born and Ever Bright

               On Land and in the Sea

Hugh Cornwell (The Stranglers): Guilty (or Black Hair, Black Eyes, Black Suit)

                          Hi Fi

                          Nosferatu

Cirith Ungol: King of the Dead

                     Paradise Lost

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus

Creatures (Siouxsie and the Banshees spinoff): Hai!

Camel: Rain Dances

D.................................................................................................................

Deaf School: English Boys Working Girls

Dresden Dolls: Dresden Dolls

Dreamside: Lunar Nature

                  Mirror Moon

                  Spin Moon Magic

Dio: Strange Highways*/** (LP)

E.......................................................................................................................

England: Garden Shed

Eloy: Ra

         Eloy (first album)

electra (DDR): Die Sixtinische Madonna

Electric Family: Ice Cream Phoenix

                         Royal Hunt

Roky Erickson: The Evil One (or "I Think Of Demons")

                        Gremlins Have Pictures

Ekseption: Beggar Julias Time Trip

                 Ekseption 3

Earth & Fire: Song of the Marching Children

                     Atlantis

                     To the World of the Future

The Enid: Resurgency

Escape with Romeo: After the Future

                                Come Here White Light

                                Love Alchemy

                                Emotional Iceage

                                Samsara

F..............................................................................................................

Fischer Z:World Salad

               Fish's Head

               Destination Paradise

               Kamikaze Shirt

Faust: Faust Tapes

Fruup: Prince of Heavens Eye

           Modern Masquerades

Focus: In and Out of Focus

           Focus 3 (pictured)

           Hamburger Concerto

Robert Fripp (King Crimson): League of Gentlemen 

Flaming Lips: Oh My Gawd!!!

                      Telepathic Surgery

Freedom Call: Stairway to Fairyland

             Crystal Empire

             Eternity

             Beyond

G..................................................................................................................

Greenslade: Spyglass Guest

Gong: Time is the Key

          Downwind

Grobschnitt: Grobschnitt

                     Ballerman

                     Jumbo

                     Rockpommels Land

                     Solar Music. Parts I, II & III

(Ian) Gillan (Deep Purple): Mr Universe

Gamma Ray:  Power Plant

                      No World Order

                      Empire of the Undead

Goblin: Roller

Gryphon: Red Queen to Gryphon Three

H.............................................................................................................................

Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep): Proud Words on the Dusty Shelf

                     Free Spirit

                     Faster

                     Running Blind

                     My Book of Answers

                     Blood on the Highway

Helloween:  Keeper of the 7 Keys-III (The Legacy)

Heavens Gate: In Control

                       Living in Hysteria

Human League: Reproduction

Peter Hammill (van der Graaf Generator): Nadirs Big Chance

                        In Camera

                        PH7

                        A Black Box

Hypnos 69: Legacy

I.............................................................................................................................

Iron Saviour: Unification

Impellitteri: Stand in Line

Idle Race: Birthday Party

                Idle Race (1969)

           or  Back to the Story (both albums on 1 CD)

IQ: Ever*

J..............................................................................................................

Jethro Tull: Thick as a Brick, Part II (solo Ian Anderson)

Jane: Here We Are

          Lady

          Between Heaven and Hell

          Age of Madness

          Sign #9

J.E.T.: Fede Speraza Carita

Japan: Adolescent Sex

            Obscure Alternatives

K.....................................................................................................................

King Diamond (Mercyful Fate): Give Me Your Soul...Please

Keats: Keats (1984)

Karat (DDR): Karat (1978)

                    Uber Sieben Brucke

                    Die Sieben Wunder Der Welt

Karussell (DDR): Entweder Oder

                          Das Einzige Lieben

L.....................................................................................................................

Lake of Tears: Ominous

                       Forever Autumn

                       The Neonai

                       Black Brick Road

                       Moons and Mushrooms

                       Crimson Cosmos

Lacrimosa: Sehnsucht

                 Elodia

                 Revolution

                 Hofnung

Le Orme:Uomo di Pezza

               Storia o Leggenda

               Florian

               Verita Nascoste

Lightshine:Feeling

Lift (DDR): Lift (1977)

                Meeresfahrt (or Lift 2)

         (or both albums on one CD)

                               

M............................................................................................................

The Move: The Move (1968)

          Shazam

          Looking On

Mad Max: Rollin' Thunder

Manowar: Gods of War

                The Lord of Steel

                Into Glory Ride

Magnum: Chase the Dragon*

               Sleepwalking*

               Brand New Morning*

               Into the Valley of the Moonking*

               On the 13th Day*

               Princess Alice & the Broken Arrow**

               Kingdom of Madness*

Manfred Manns Earth Band: Watch (feat. Trevor Rabin)

                                        Masque

Metamorfosi: E Fu Il Sesto Giorno

The Mission UK: Brightest Light

              Another Fall from Grace

Mamas Boys: Power and Passion

Peter Murphy (Bauhaus): Unshattered

                        Ninth 

Mercury Rev: The Light in You

Michael Schenker Group: MSG (1981)

Gary Moore: Dirty Fingers

N..................................................................................................................

New Trolls: Concerto Grosso #1

Novalis: Banished Bridge

             Novalis (1975)

             Brandung

             Vielleicht Bist Du Ein Clown

             Augenblicke

Gary Numan: Berserker

Nits: Alankomaat                     

Nash the Slash: Children of the Night

                           And You Thought You Were Normal

                       (any of two or both on one CD)

Nazareth: The Catch

                Cinema

                Snakes and Ladders

O..................................................................................................................

Hazel O'Connor: Breaking Glass

                          Sons and Lovers

Ric Ocasek (The Cars): Troublising

Octopus: An Ocean of Rocks

Osibisa: Woyaya

Osiris: Osiris (1981)

           Myths & Legends

The Orchestra (ELO): No Rewind

OMD: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1980)

Mike Oldfield: Man on the Rocks

P............................................................................................................

Planet P Project:  Go Out Dancing, Part 2: Levittown

                           Go Out Dancing, Part 3: Out in the Rain

                           Steeltown 

Prinzip (DDR): Feuer Rock

Anthony Phillips (Genesis): The Geese and the Ghost*/** (CD)

Iggy Pop and James Williamson (Stooges): Kill City  

Pell Mell: Rhapsody

               Moldau

               Marburg

Parliament: Motor Booty Affair

                   Gloryhallastoopid

                   The Clones of Dr Funkenstein

                   Funkentelechy vs The Placebo Syndrome

                   Trombipulation

P.R.W.L.: Tales from Outer Space

              God Has Failed

Procol Harum: Norum

      Gary Brooker: Lead Me to the Water (replacement)

Alan Parsons: Time Machine

                     A Valid Path

                     The Secret

R.................................................................................................................

Rockets: Galaxy

             Atomic

Rhapsody: Rain of a Thousand Flames

                 Power of the Dragonflame

                 Dawn of Victory

                 Symphony of Enchanted Lands, Part I

                 Legendary Tales 

                 From Chaos to Eternity

                 Rebirth and Evolution

                 Tales from Emerald World Sage

Rational Youth: Heredity

                         Cold War Night Life

                         Future Past Tense

Ramses: La Leyla

             Eternity Rise

Rousseau: Flower in Asphalt

Running Wild: Brotherhood

Reform (DDR) :Reform (1979)

                      Der Lowenzahn

S................................................................................................................

Scorpions: In Trance

Sweet: Off the Record

           Waters Edge

Stratovarius: Elements, Part 2

                    Episode

                    Visions

                    Infinite

Seventh Avenue: Southgate

                           Eternals

                           Between the Worlds

                           Terium

                           Rainbowland

                           Tales of Tales 

Sieges Even: Uneven

                    Steps

                    Sense of Change

Stranglers: Dreamtime (2001 edition)

Billy Squier: The Tale of the Tape

Siouxie & The Banshees: Juju

                                        Downside Up

Siouxsie Sioux (solo album): Mantaray

Space: Deliverance (latest edition)

Solar Project: Ghost Lights

                      Five

Space: Deliverance (latest edition)

Sparks: Hippopotamus

            Gratiutuous Sex & Senseless Violins

Semiramis: Dedicato a Frazz

Strawbs: From the Witchwood

               Dragon Fly

               Ghosts

Sad Lovers and Giants: Epic Garden Music

                                     Feeling the Flame

Skids: Days in Europa

          The Absolute Game

           Scared to Dance 

Spear of Destiny: Outland

                           Volunteers

Second Movement: Blindmans Mirror

                              Movements (1981)

The Sound: From the Lions Mouth

                   All Fall Down

                   Heads and Hearts

Lee Saunders: A Promise of Peace

Saga: Saga (1978)

Styx: Styx (1971) (first album)

Sisters of Mercy: Floodland

Rod Stewart: Foolish Behaviour

The Smiths: Meat is Murder

T...............................................................................................................

10cc: Look Hear

         Ten Out of 10

         Windows in the Jungle

TV Smith:  Immortal Rich

                 In the Arms of the Enemy

Toyah: Kneeling at the Shrine (or Sunday All Over the World)

           Minx

           In the Court of the Crimson Queen (reference to husband Robert Fripp)

           Dreamchild

           Ophelias Shadow

           Mayhem

Trace: Birds

Twelfth of Never:  Blowing Bubbles Through Broken Windows

                            Things That Were

Tranzit (DDR): Tranzit (1980)

                      Bernsteinhexe

U..................................................................................................................

Midge Ure (Ultravox): Fragile

                  Pure

                  Move Me

Unheilig: Puppenspiel

              Von Mensch zu Mensch

              Gipfelsturmer

              Grosse Freiheit 

Ultravox: Brilliant

UFO: Obsession

V..................................................................................................................

Viva: Dealers of the Night

Virgin Steele: Invictus

                      The House of Atreus (Act I & II)

                      Visions of Eden

                      Black Light Bacchanalia 

                      Nocturnes of Hellfire & Damnation

van der Graaf Generator: Trisector

                                         A Grounding in Numbers

                                         Do Not Disturb

W...................................................................................................................

Rick Wakeman (Yes): Living Tree (w/Jon Anderson)*

                         Out There*

Roy Wood: Mustard

Robert Wyatt: EP's (on single CD) (this is an album)

                      Rock Bottom

Wallenstein: Blitzkrieg

                    Cosmic Century

                    Stories Songs & Symphonies

                    Mother Universe

                    No More Love

John Watts: The Iceberg Model

                   Quick Quick Slow

Wire: Chairs Missing

         154

         Send

         Object 47

Wuthering Heights: To Travel for Evermore

                               Far from the Madding Crowd

                               The Shadow Cabinet 

                               Salt

                               Within

Wintersun: Wintersun (2004)

                 Time I

Roger Waters: The Therapeutic Experience of Being Suspended (bootleg)**

Y............................................................................................................

Yachts: Yachts (1979)

Yes: Keystudio**

.........................................................................................................

*I have these myself.

**I need these as well.

Plixid.com

Plixid.net

Plixid was another pirate blog that had the latest releases.  It has been offline several months, and may not come back.  Another one like it is also gone.  Over two decades after Napster, IFPI, RIAA and DMCA have been trying to stop sites like these.

UPDATE: It is now on Plixid.net

The Beatles on Stargrove

Photo taken in 1963 by Bob Freeman (RIP)

An indie budget label in the Toronto area called Stargrove Entertainment released something too good to be true: cheap budget Beatles compilations. You'd think with ironclad rights, it'd be legally impossible?  However, in Canada, copyrights for older recordings expire after fifty years or so.  A fan club in Québec have a similar release that came out last year, and more releases have been put out in Europe to boot as rights run out there as well.  The Stargrove CDs were mainly sold in Walmart, where I bought three in Niagara Falls, ONT.  Recently, I found a couple more for a dollar each from the bargain bin at FYE in the Mohawk Valley (now owned by Canadian chain Sunrise Records, which I once visited in eastern Ontario, seeing how alike they were).  The Fab Four of all people reduced to this?  Makes what little that they put on their original US label Vee-Jay look fresh (classic David and Goliath story there).  It's only material from 1962-64 which I have anyway.  More for completist and novelty value, I guess.  I had room to spare if not as much cash when I found them.

Universals solicitors however did what they could to put a stop to these poor mans releases.  The sound quality isn't quite what you'd find from the official CDs, sounding like unnecessary needle drops.  I listen to these once since I heard it all a hundred times before and prefer to play it from LPs nowadays like it used to be done.  Other classic artists from the same era also have these cash grab items.

If they put out CDs of bootlegs recorded at the time, that would be a little more imaginative, as a number of different labels have gotten away with CDs of other people in the past several years sold new at small businesses, Amazon and a few chains alike, largely of radio shows from later decades, though a Pink Floyd bootleg LP (only the second one I got so far) says those alone are public domain after a point in the UK.  More on bootlegs another day as that's a world all its own.

I suppose you could call these grey area releases, much like interview discs that are exempt from the contract.  I sent a couple to someone out of state.  If I get back to Canada, I could buy and ship more, but maybe Stargrove could try to reissue material that's been out of print instead worth a bother instead of doing what's been done with Elton John, The Moody Blues, Shirley Bassey (lesser known in North America) and other classic artists who've been recycled to the hilt.  I've talked about who doesn't have these yet, but this is the other end of the spectrum.  It's nothing new, as I have a couple similar EU collections from the '80s or '90s with the same old songs.  As for these newer CDs, neither Walmart Canada or FYE have them on their sites, although Discogs sellers do, some at high prices (not worth it when you can just get the original albums as well as those of the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan or George Jones).  I just know I got there at the right time before they were extortionately priced where I may as well get a butcher cover or early white album pressing.

Discogs

There is no rival.

Recently, Discogs have taken off buy links for most bootleg and pirate releases, possibly under pressure from artists, labels, RIAA, IFPI, PRS and other organisations.  Some still remain as it'd take forever to get them all.  I know I bought some pirates from there when I had the chance (I can't remember buying bootlegs online except in trade from Ukraine).  Seldom do they find their way in brick and mortars in the west that I've seen lately.  I still get them my usual way when I can.
I use Discogs to keep track of my entire collection and it has gone to over 2,000 items, enough to open a shop!  I can't add or edit releases there anymore, but I check to see if there's a match once in a while for something I have that they didn't.

AC/DC - 1979-10-18 - Rockville "Age Of Giants" (bootleg) · Rock and Pop Bootlegs

AC/DC - 1979-10-18 - Rockville <br><u> "Age Of Giants"</u> (bootleg) · Rock and Pop Bootlegs

PROGRESSIVE ROCK - GENESISMARILLION: Marillion - Haunters Having Lots Of Fun 1980/81

PROGRESSIVE ROCK - GENESISMARILLION: Marillion - Haunters Having Lots Of Fun 1980/81

Myzuka.ru / Myzuka.org

No translation necessary!

As Swedens The Pirate Bay walks the plank, another Russian mp3 site is in proverbial purgatory itself.  Myzuka.ru hasn't been running in the past few weeks.  Either the servers crashed or IFPI made them pull the plug whichever came first.  Like rival site musicmp3 one could upload mp3s (though musicmp3 are not taking submissions now either).  I found myzuka last year while looking up a Roger Hodgson bootleg and I recognised the cover I drew as someone else downloaded it from here or somewhere else.  I keep getting a 403 but it may as well be a 404 or 500.  IQ founding ex-member Martin Orford, the Mary Whitehouse of piracy, will be relieved that both these sites are taken off (he already slated the torrent site).  No ones knows what happened here.  An e-mail to the site has not been answered.  Could be the end of the road for places like this as the industry fights back.

UPDATE: Site is back online after a months time; now a .fm.

T.U.B.E.: Yes - 1980-20-11 - Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK (AUD/FLAC)

T.U.B.E.: Yes - 1980-20-11 - Birmingham, UK (AUD/FLAC): (Audience FLAC) Fly From There Drama Tour Birmingham Odeon Birmingham, UK Audience Recording Quality B- Artwork Included Re See...

World Of Beatles Bootlegs: Paul McCartney live in Philadelphia 2005 - 2CD - S...

AI photo of Paul McCartney and a husky

World Of Beatles Bootlegs: Paul McCartney live in Philadelphia 2005 - 2CD - S...: Paul McCartney 22/09/05 Wachovia Centre; Philadelphia, PA; A Jerseyboy Recording Disk 1 01 - intro 02 - Magical Mystery Tour 03 - Flami...

fishoutofwater: wembley 1992

fishoutofwater: wembley 1992: tracklist: holidays in eden (04:39) waiting to happen (04:56) the party (07:21) easter (05:45) incommunicado (04:36) no one can (04:53...

PINK FLOYD: BOOTLEG: Pink Floyd - 1970 - Bytes Of The Talisman - Live at Paris-

PINK FLOYD: BOOTLEG: Pink Floyd - 1970 - Bytes Of The Talisman - Live at Paris-

Pink Floyd - Live in Adelaide 11/2/88

The track listing is as follows: Side 1: Shine On You Crazy Diamond Pt 1-5, Signs of Life, Learning to Fly, Side 2: Yet Another Movie, A New Machine Pt 1, Terminal Frost, A New Machine Pt. 2, Sorrow, Side 3: Dogs of War, On the Turning Away, One of These Days, Side 4: Time, On the Run, Wish You Were Here, Welcome to the Machine, Side 5: Us & Them, Money, Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2, Side 6: Comfortably Numb, One Slip, Run Like Helll

CD 1
CD 2

Piracy close to home

The infamous Beatles compilation Alpha Omega.

First original post of the year.  For the past few years I have seen this stall at a car boot sale section of a motor show I've grown up going to in a small county town over 20 miles away that sells not only pirate CDs, but CD-Rs with inserts printed off a computer.  Original Oldies I think they're called.  They are wrapped in cellophane like official new CDs.  Even in a one-horse town like this some poor devil can get away with it in broad daylight every September!  He has The Beatles (the album shown above that led to the red and blue albums), Black Sabbath (I gave it away after finding legal Israeli and EU imports), and for all I know Johnny Mathis (I mainly recall seeing country and granny [as Lennon would call it] music for sale).  I used to see even cruder CD-R copies sold at flea markets and cornershops in Syracuse in a manner similar to downstate and Russian street vendors but not anymore (so-called mix CDs of rubbish are still available in some spots).  These obvious knockoffs make even early Eastern European imports look like they were sold at Sothebys!  All the downloading has made CD-Rs and even DVD-Rs almost obsolete though recent bootlegs at record shows can appear on these now.  I don't buy those often as they can be a bit naff and expensive at the same time.  I bought ΑΩ because it would practically be an import as CD-Rs are usually made in Taiwan or mainland China.  I had to do a bit of research on this as the seller apparently buys them in bulk.  I wanna find out who he is but I don't want it to go too far so I'll just look for him again next time.  Another tent or two had real CDs (some from Canada so there's some legitimacy after all).  As for this so and so, I wonder where else he sets up shop the rest of the year if not from his home.  He had some people buying from him yet even the layman can tell that he's not the next Sam Goody!

Blog Stoned: Rick Wakeman - A Unique Journey

Blog Stoned: Rick Wakeman - A Unique Journey: Rick Wakeman - A Unique Journey Le Théâtre Du Parc Champlain Trois-Rivières Québec Canada 06/30/2001 Mp3 VBR~320kbps - Soundboard Disc One 0...