So the trend continues first Prince gave us his new album , then Ray Davies gave away his not to mention UB40 and simply red now we have Macca's newie Memory Almost Full, is it any good though I got the Prince one last year played it once,same with Ray Davies maybe twice , got the UB40 recently yet to play it.
Anybody heard this opus or read any good revues , I'll probably get a Sunday paper anyway so might as well be Mail on Sunday this week.
Any thoughts



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-18 11:57 by adotulipson.

sigh! i am troubled by this trend - the way it devalues music -
but i know that's the viewpoint of a dinosaur [turning up Jiving Sister Fanny way loud]

I have now been out and bought my Sunday paper and yes I did buy Mail on Sunday not my normal paper but £1.50 with a free Macca cd ,Why Not.
Well the album is not a classic but its quite listneable I didn't take it out of the cd player in the car , a bit light for my personal taste but OK for a bit of variety I suppose and at £1.50 I've paid much more money for much worse albums over the years.

It's not a bad album. Better than most of the stuff he did in the 80s and 90s. He's not trying to be overly commercially, there are no cloying songs about frogs, racial harmony or Scottish islands. He plays it a bit rough and it's more in keeping with his early career stuff. There's one standout track, the fairly psychedelic epic House Of Wax. In fact side two has a kind of side 2 of Abbey Road segue feel to it. Yup, his best album since Tug Of War I'd say. No excuses to not check it out as it's free.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-18 15:47 by Silver Dagger.

Remember waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back when ya use ta get fish&chips in news paper...



ROCKMAN

I thnk it's great that Prince and Macca are giving th albums out free but i cly g my had around the reasns why. Am i missing something here, how will he make any money? I know Macca he doesn't need it, is that the reason?

Buy the official release dont give money to The Mail, they are journalistic scum.

[profile.myspace.com]

Memory Almost Full is not as good as Chaos & Creation In The Backyard. It seems like it's songs he had left over. In that respect it resembles Bowie's Reality album. Memory is good, but not at all great.

JumpingKentFlash

Music has been undervalued for sometime with MP3s, downloads etc, this just continues the trend.

>> Am i missing something here, how will he make any money? <<

Prince was paid by the newspaper, and until further notice i'd assume McCartney has been too.
(what alarms me is the devaluation of the music from the consumers' perspective:
the giveaway supports a perception of recorded music as something one shouldn't have to pay for.
i grew up in an era & mindframe in which recorded music was a glorious world-changing revelation.
it's very hard to get comfortable with the way it seems to be heading for "flash in the pan" status.)

What's also scary is that this what newspapers have to do now to sell copy's. Better this than tawdry headlines.

One of the many ways to give your album a boost in the charts.. I remember Prince did it a while back by giving free albums to everyone that went to his shows. It's kind of a cool in a way.

Quote
with sssoul
>> Am i missing something here, how will he make any money? <<

Prince was paid by the newspaper, and until further notice i'd assume McCartney has been too.
(what alarms me is the devaluation of the music from the consumers' perspective:
the giveaway supports a perception of recorded music as something one shouldn't have to pay for.
i grew up in an era & mindframe in which recorded music was a glorious world-changing revelation.
it's very hard to get comfortable with the way it seems to be heading for "flash in the pan" status.)

SO true WS, it just makes music seem like fast food or something, not worth much, this is very sad..... it must be all the (free) downloading going on - kids think putting together some great music costs very little.... As Dylan said, EVERYTHING IS BROKEN....

fair play to McCartney, for putting his music out there, like this.

It will only be a good thing for his bank account, when he comes to putting tickets on sale, the next time he plays Uk dates.

he should stop annoyin people with bad hair and music

Quote
HelterSkelter
kids think putting together some great music costs very little....

Those darn kids nowadays.. seem to think Bentleys and their chauffeurs come cheap these days.

Just kidding ofcourse.. I kind of agree too. I could see a young band doing it to get their music about but why does Macca feel he has to do this kind of partnership? It's not very classy anyway.

Exactly Snakeman, if touring is the ONLY way bands are going to be able to make any money it's gonna be kinda scary.... I REALLY don't want the Eagles to come by every 4 months... 4 years is ALMOST too often as it stands now......

i agree with WSoul & HSkelter....it does seem to devalue the music.
when i was a kid ('70s) I had to mow 3 lawns to get enough $ to buy a $6 record.
...and it was worth every bead of sweat and every cent I paid for it.

(additional thoughts)
Maybe the artists (PM etc...) figure that a huge percentage of their
potential audience has already purchased the album...and that
receiving payment from a newspaper in exchange for distibuting
their music is simply gravy.....and they might reach a new audience that
never intended to listen to it or purchase it.

...and don't forget, the newspapers need to do whatever they can
to sell the "dead tree edition" (PAPER)...as subscriptions have significantly
decreased due to ease of viewing News on internet & 24/7 news channels.
(not to mention poor "journalism")

...and since the big money is made from touring and not record sales...being
paid by a newspaper to allow them to distribute their cd advertises the
artist and might possibly interest them in attending a show.

...makes me have a little less sympathy when they complain about
sharing music & free downloads etc....

imo the next 5-1o yrs we'll see even more drastic changes in the music
industry...in the ways artists get paid, get marketed and get distributed...
...a massive restructuring.


IORR............but I like it!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-18 21:02 by sweet neo con.

Well I guess maybe because there's no Wal-Marts in the UK and Europe yet?

I'm guessing but I think the reason he did it is for one thing - attention.

And it worked.

Quote
King Snake
One of the many ways to give your album a boost in the charts.. I remember Prince did it a while back by giving free albums to everyone that went to his shows. It's kind of a cool in a way.

Prince's album didnt chart because it was given away with a newspaper or with tickets for his shows.

To answer the question as to what there is in it for the artist to do this....

Prince's previous album sold something like 25,000 copies in the UK (I;m sure someone can give a more accurate tally). He was paid something like £300,000 by the Mail on Sunday for the rights to exclsuively distribute "Planet Earth". The newspaper sold something like 2 million copies that weekend (a bit more than it usually does) at £1.50 a copy. Quite obvious to see that both Prince and the newspaper benefitted financially from the arrangement - and it was great publicity for his 21-night stand at the 02 a few weeks later.

"Memory Almost Full" has been out for almost a year. It was also sold in Starbucks (which didnt count towards its chart position) and there has been a deluxe edition with a DVD. Its not as if its a fresh product. It's shelf-life has long past so its a good way of keeping the public aware of it's existence.

It also gives the concert-going public no excuse for not knowing the artist's new material. Might be something worth reflecting on for certain other artists.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-18 21:12 by Gazza.

remember when they used to put hit singles on cereal boxes?
you literally used a scissors to cut the disk off cardboard box.
it WAS the cardboard box! made me eat my cereal REAL fast...mom
wouldn't let me cut it out before the box was empty or remove the
liner early. I remember The Monkees & Bobby Sherman on my ALPHA-BITS boxes.

Not to mention...Jackson 5, The Archies and others....



IORR............but I like it!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-18 23:30 by sweet neo con.

Prince did TWENTY ONE shows at the O2? In a row? Did he take some nights off? Did they sell out?

That is crazy.

Not in a row - it was from early August to late September. Other artists (including the Stones) played shows there on the nights he wasnt playing

The tickets were priced at £31.21 (the title of his previous album '3121') and when entering the 02 with your ticket you were given a copy of the new album 'Planet Earth' as part of your purchase. There were a few pricier tickets sold as part of a special package but the vast majority were £31.21. The shows were pretty much sell outs or at least very close to it.

There were also club gigs at the Indigo2 an hour or so after each of the 21 02 shows. I think the tickets cost £25. Basically, it featured his band jamming, often with some of the acts who were the opening act at that nights show or various other people. More often that not Prince would show up...sometimes it might be for ten minutes, other nights it could be almost two hours. On the final night, Amy Winehouse played with him.

I went to the 02 show on August 24th when I was in town for the 3 Stones shows that week. I also went to the Indigo2 show afterwards hoping he'd show up. The show began at about 12.30, Prince came on after ten minutes and played for about an hour and a half (more playing than singing). Excellent though the main show was, the club gig blew it out of the water. One of the best nights I've ever had at a gig.

One night. Two shows. Almost four hours of music with not a single song repeated over the course of the evening. For £56.

Brilliant.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-18 21:25 by Gazza.

Well, it's a good idea to give away those pressings of an album that are left over from not meeting expected sales with a paper. I'm not saying that this was the case with the Memory Almost Full album, but I guess it shows that I don't like it that much, to be honest. The two opening tracks, "Dance Tonight" and "Ever Present Past" are quite good tunes, and "Only Mama Knows" is a very Wings-ish art rocker, which is quite different from his 90s era output, but the album sort of drags on from there, which is at least in part down to the lack of subtleties caused by the overly loud mastering. I've never heard a foot stomp louder before than that of Paul on "Dance Tonight". "Gratitude" is nice, and "Feet in the Clouds" would be, too, but by now, "I find it very very hard" to listen to. And that after only a year. It's obviously not my favourite McCartney album, and I guess he will do better next time around.
If you considered buying it in the 1st place, but then didn't, for one reason or another, I'd recommend the "paper" version. It's good value for the money.

This album was released commercially a year ago so Mail On Sunday readers aren't getting anything new. I imagine that there were no more sales to be obtained from the album after that period of time.

Is it any good? Yes, but not as good as Chaos and Creation In The Backyard. It is my understanding that Memory was started before Chaos and finished after it. Memory Almost Full does contain some great tracks - Vintage Clothes, Mr Bellamy, House of Wax and there's nothing that really stinks. Certainly at the top end of the table in terms of his solo albums.

Quote
sweet neo con
remember when they used to put hit singles on cereal boxes?
you literally used a scissors to cut the disk off cardboard box.
it WAS the cardboard box! made me eat my cereal REAL fast...mom
wouldn't let me cut it out before the box was empty or remove the
liner early. I remember The Monkees & Bobby Sherman on my ALPHA-BITS boxes.

I remember that. I haven't thought about that in years. That's too funny SNC.

ah so - i thought this was some *new* "latest McCartney album". if it's the year-old one
then it's just a variant on the "bargain bin", i guess - a fairly tacky variant



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-18 23:26 by with sssoul.

Quote
Gazza
Not in a row - it was from early August to late September. Other artists (including the Stones) played shows there on the nights he wasnt playing

The tickets were priced at £31.21 (the title of his previous album '3121') and when entering the 02 with your ticket you were given a copy of the new album 'Planet Earth' as part of your purchase. There were a few pricier tickets sold as part of a special package but the vast majority were £31.21. The shows were pretty much sell outs or at least very close to it.

There were also club gigs at the Indigo2 an hour or so after each of the 21 02 shows. I think the tickets cost £25. Basically, it featured his band jamming, often with some of the acts who were the opening act at that nights show or various other people. More often that not Prince would show up...sometimes it might be for ten minutes, other nights it could be almost two hours. On the final night, Amy Winehouse played with him.

I went to the 02 show on August 24th when I was in town for the 3 Stones shows that week. I also went to the Indigo2 show afterwards hoping he'd show up. The show began at about 12.30, Prince came on after ten minutes and played for about an hour and a half (more playing than singing). Excellent though the main show was, the club gig blew it out of the water. One of the best nights I've ever had at a gig.

One night. Two shows. Almost four hours of music with not a single song repeated over the course of the evening. For £56.

Brilliant.

I do remember you telling about it in London. He went to the Indogo2 and just played a selection of favourites right? You were pretty psyched about it. And I'll never forget your comment when I said that he was an amazing guitarist: "Aye. Name me one better".

JumpingKentFlash

I cant even remember half of what he played to be honest. There wasnt even that many Prince songs. Lots of funk stuff for the most part and a few covers. The guy who was the opening act at the 02 show that night (cant even remember his name as I missed his set - a rapper...his name begins with "C" - maybe Nikolai or someone knows) did a lot of the vocals and was excellent. While a lot of it was probably improvised, the band sounded like they were joined at the hip. I was there with SweetVirginia and Meg and the 3 of us were literally laughing at how good it was. Simply outrageous to have played a terrfic main show in front of about 15,000 people and then just turn up at a club a couple of hours later and pull off something that was even more brilliant.

You seemed to have enjoyed it.
So what do you say? See you in London 2009?

JumpingKentFlash