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| From | "Jaimie Vernon" <bullseyecanada@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | Re: Klaatu - Sun Set |
| Date | Wed, 03 Aug 2005 21:34:08 -0400 |
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AT Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 14:46:06 Mike Hodges wrote:
>A while back, the conversation turned to the reason for staying in the
>music business in these times. Jaimie Vernon, if you did nothing else but
>release this Klaatu set, your position in my hall of fame would be assured.
> I can't do it justice with words. Because it is composed mostly of
>material seeing the light of day for the first time in 2005, it is at the
>top of my list for the best of 2005 and even a killer release from Redd
>Kross stands little chance of knocking it off its perch.
>
> Both sets of liner notes were fascinating and the music...I listened
>to the second half of disc one, starting with the unaltered vocal take of
>Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby and Little Neutrino through the complete orchestral
>Hope with headphones and got full body chills twice. The second disc
>confirms the quality of their later releases and is sequenced in such a way
>that it kept sounding fresh for the whole 80 minutes. As far as "Hope",
>one of my all-time favorite albums, has there been anything like it done by
>others? The complex orchestration and rock elements are unrivalled by
>anything I've been exposed to. I'm going to go back and re-listen to
>"Snow" by Spock's Beard but I doubt it will sound quite this grand. The
>only thing I'd place in it's league is "Dance With Me George" by Ambrosia.
>
> Jamie, great job. To anyone who has thought about picking up this set
>- DO IT! It is without >peer.
When I scanned across my Hotmail account and opened this email I assumed
that it was from the actual Klaatu mailing list. I was pleasantly surprised
to see these comments made, unsolicited, on Audities. Mike, I appreciate the
compliments. It was a painful, frustrating, but ultimately rewarding labour
of love. My only claim where the Sun Set is concerned is one of
perseverance. The decision to pursue the band to release this specific
rarities material was the singular reason I began working with them. From
the very first meeting I had with Terry Draper and graphic artist Ted Jones
until its release was 8 years and 8 months. That's a long pregnancy :-)
The story on how the boxed set came to be and how its creation inspired a
series of events that caused the band to reunite is truly their Epilogue.
One day the *real* Klaatu story will be written. As much as the 40 page
(compiled by Draper) and 20 page booklets (written by manager/confidante
Frank Davies) in the boxed set gives an insight into a lot of the internal
struggle the band dealt with, they deliberately left out the political and
inter-band dynamics that defined who they wanted to be, who they became and
what ultimately tore them apart.
A very big nod to fellow Audities members Mark Hershberger for tracking down
the big name players whose quotes populate the text and to Dave Bradley for
the thankless job of not only maintaining the band's official website but
salvaging, transferring and preserving dozens of original tapes in the
band's personal collections. It was Dee Long and Terry Draper's own
reference tapes that were used to win over third member John Woloschuk and
convinced him to dig through his own personal collection to flesh out the
body of the audio on the two CDs and the corresponding (but different) 12"
VINYL we just released.
Our only regret with the project was the inability to tap original producer
Terry Brown for his perspective and input on mastering the first three
albums worth of rarities (Brown won Canada's Juno Award for Engineer of the
Year in 1977 for the "Hope" album). I discussed plans with him over several
meetings, but he was detained from being involved with the boxed set and the
Klaatu Konvention due to his work on the latest Cirque Du Soleil soundtrack
to the Vegas live show.
We're not sitting on our laurels though.....next up is Bullseye's 20th
Anniversary boxed set including 4 CDs and a DVD this year, the entire BOMB
Records catalogue (Segarini, Twitch, David Quinton, Battered Wives, etc) and
a Klaatu DVD for next year.
Thanks for all the support!!!
Jaimie Vernon,
President, Bullseye Records
"Not Suing Our Customers Since 1985!!"
http://www.bullseyecanada.com
Author, Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/
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