A little constructive criticism for JB

[Carmen Miranda]

I've been on the Buffett bus since Jimmy Carter was president and will continue to be for a long time, but I do have a couple of minor beefs with our boy.

-I received the Live in Hawaii CD last week and am very happy with the sound quality. Very crisp and mixed well. I also have the Auburn CD and its quality is pretty nice as well, but I'm not a fan of the way the songs are listed. It's kind of cool that Jimmy's handwritten set-list is included, but I wish they built some kind of a sleeve into the case so I would have a place to keep the damn thing. It falls out every time I open the case. I know sooner or later I'll lose it. I was expecting a similar set-list with the Hawaii CD, but to my surprise there was no list at all. Jeez...even that piece of paper from Auburn would've been better than nothing.

-Speaking of this live series, why not do like the Dead and make every show of the tour available for sale? Cincy, Vegas, Auburn, etc... are essationally all the same set. Only super hardcore Parrotheads are going to buy them all (Hell, I bought two). I'm sure he could sell more overall copies if he made every show on the tour available. The Dead and others have started this and it's worked well.

-Speaking of the Dead, keep covering their tunes. Uncle John's Band was terrific. I'm not enamored with Scarlet Begonias. I think it the music sounds great, but Jimmy's voice isn't suited to that tune very well. His voice really strains.

-Now back to live albums. How about releasing some older shows? Like the Dead's Dick's Picks series. I'd love to have some of these older shows.

-While he's at it, how about an updated "You Had to be There" re-issue? Feat did a great job with "Waiting for Columbus" by remastering it and adding a ton of extra songs. IMHO this is Jimmy's best live album ever. I'd love to hear even more from that tour.

-What was with the lack of lyrics and no song credit with L2C? I love the fact that I can go online and get this information, but it's kind of hard to do when I'm sitting on my deck with a Red Stripe in my hand, listening to Bubba and wondering who wrote "Sea of Heartbreak".

Enough negativity. Have a great Labor Day Weekend y'all and best of luck to our phriends along the Florida coast.

Carmen

[cartmill72]

I've been on the Buffett bus since Jimmy Carter was president

Me, too.

I wish they built some kind of a sleeve into the case so I would have a place to keep the damn thing. It falls out every time I open the case.

I agree. I have never been a fan of DigiPak cases. But even DigiPak makes cases with sleeves (a la LTC). However, I presume keeping the packaging to a minimum keeps the price down.

Speaking of this live series, why not do like the Dead and make every show of the tour available for sale?

Several bands are doing this. Personally, I think LivePhish.com (operated by Nugs.net) is the best example. Phish had their shows available on the net within 48 hours - without exception! You got the choice of MP3s for $10 or $11 (depending on the length of the show) or FLAC for $15. Buffett should sign on with Nugs and offer up the shows. To do this though, he's going to have to vary the set list a little more to make it appealing to folks. I would frequently buy 5 or more Phish shows from any given leg of a tour. From those shows, I'd have maybe two or three songs that would repeat. I realize Buffett's sets won't vary that much, but he could mix it up some.

And we don't always need physical CDs. Downloads are just fine. Release two or three shows per tour on CD with deluxe packaging and offer the rest as downloads.

- How about releasing some older shows? Like the Dead's Dick's Picks series. I'd love to have some of these older shows.

This, of course, would depend on if Buffett archived shows. Bands like the Dead and Phish had dedicated archivists. Their job was to assemble and preserve live show reels, video, etc. I would presume Buffett has someone in this capacity. But perhaps not until the last few years.

-While he's at it, how about an updated "You Had to be There" re-issue?

Won't happen. This album is in the hands of MCA and we all know what a wonderful job they've done with remasters and the updating of Jimmy's catalog.

-What was with the lack of lyrics and no song credit with L2C?

Doesn't everyone own an iPod? Who looks at album covers, song lyrics and credits these days? (I'm just kidding, by the way. But everyone should still own an iPod)

Enough negativity. Have a great Labor Day Weekend y'all and best of luck to our phriends along the Florida coast.

This wasn't negative...you said constructive. That's fair.

[Jahfin]

My biggest complaint with the Live In... series is that no setlist is listed on the outer cover of the discs so unless you have web access you have no idea what's on each one before buying it. I also don't know how the Vegas disc managed to get released with those 2 second gaps between songs. Thankfully someone picked up on that and corrected it for the rest of the albums (at least to my knowledge) released in the series.

I'd also love to see some vintage shows from the vault released but who knows what's in there and if the quality is up to par. At least we know an expanded edition of You Had To Be There is a possibility since there was a lot of material recorded that didn't make the final cut for that album. The version that's available now (along with the rest of his back catalog) is in dire need of remastering. I don't know about everyone else's copy of You Had To Be There but the volume is extremely low on mine.

Speaking of Buffett and the Feat, given the new record has a sorta Feat sound with Bill Payne and Sonny Landreth guesting I'd love to see him mix things up a bit by touring with them as his backing band.

[Carmen Miranda]

Great idea about Feat backing him up. Let's toss Sam Clayton into the gumbo as well! I loved the late 80's shows where Feat opened for JB.

Speaking of Feat (and since I just finished listening to "Feats at Five"), I saw them at the Bottle and Cork in Dewey Beach, DE two weeks ago. It's a great venue to see a band. I was able to talk to Fred Tackett and Paul B. after the show.

Carmen

[Parrot Monkey]

It’s not really constructive criticism for Mr. Buffett himself, it’s the marketing that’s the problem.

The handwritten set lists are a neat touch, but I have to agree about there not being a sleeve to keep it secure. Whenever I travel with these discs, I leave them behind as I know the chances of losing them is quite high.

Releasing old shows is definitely possible, as we know there are lots of shows in the archives as Radio Margaritaville’s archive shows display. One major thing that comes to concern is if they could get the sound quality up to what we have been accustomed to with CD quality.

Re-releasing YHTBT? Yes it needs to happen, but like Cartmill said, it’s in the hands of MCA, who seemed to initially issue all JB’s albums on CD in the 80s and then just forgot about them. Of course there were numerous other songs performed during those two shows, but we don’t know if they saved the masters they didn’t use. Even if they don’t add any additional tracks, a reissue should still be done. Not only is the volume set at a low level as Jahfin said, the booklet contained inside is quite skimpy and missing too many pictures from the original pressing (3 from the gatefold, all the pics on the inner sleeves as well as everything on the poster). I just don’t buy into the “they couldn’t fit it due to size constraints” crap.

The lack of songwriting credits and lyrics being included with LTC is most likely due to the fact that they did not have permission to reprint the information for the cover songs (which is the majority of the album). This is displayed on Radio Margaritaville’s LTC section where they are gradually getting permission to display the lyrics. They still don’t have Boats to Build up. If they were to wait to gain the rights to reprint the lyrics, LTC would still be delayed.

Although many would view this as negativity as it is complaining, it’s really just the opposite. It’s what’s best for Jimmy and his wonderful music.

[Havaña Dreamer]

Great idea about Feat backing him up. Let's toss Sam Clayton into the gumbo as well! I loved the late 80's shows where Feat opened for JB.

Speaking of Feat (and since I just finished listening to "Feats at Five"), I saw them at the Bottle and Cork in Dewey Beach, DE two weeks ago. It's a great venue to see a band. I was able to talk to Fred Tackett and Paul B. after the show.

Carmen

Please correct me if Im wrong... but didnt Sam Clayton use to be a Reefer?

[Carmen Miranda]

Yes Sam Clayton was. He joined while Feat was in hiatus in the 80's. I believe you can see him on the Live By The Bay video.
Carmen

[Havaña Dreamer]

You can also see him with Jimmy on Austin City Limits.

[Parrot Monkey]

I have a draft on my hard drive that I was going to bring the original “Reissue JB CD’s” thread back to post it, but I changed my mind and believe this is a good place to post it.

As I go through my CD collection and compare the packaging on all my CDs, those 12 infamous CDs look so out of place and dated when lined up to the others. I’m not buying that whole “They Couldn’t Fit it”, “It would become unreadable” stuff anymore. (Not that I ever did).

Apologies in advance if anyone is really annoyed by this post, but remember, it’s the best for Bubba’s catalogue. From numerous responses in other threads, I can already predict the heavy amount of flak I will receive after posting this message. It seems many people here are giving MCA this excuse that the size difference between a vinyl record jacket and a CD jewel case is a good reason for them not to have to include the material. I just must ask why the majority believes this when it has been done so many times before with hundreds upon thousands of other albums that originated on vinyl record.

It’s amazing how many totally lost anything they had for album art when the transition from vinyl to CD was made. I mean, not only did the public apparently lose interest, but also to my knowledge there used to be a Grammy for album art. Who ever said the just because of a size difference albums can no longer have artwork? Sure, it will never be the same in the smaller size, but album art is still clearly there.

I know many people will say I have a “passion” or “obsession” for this, but I’m not going to testify against myself here anytime soon. This is something that happened to 12 of his albums. 12 albums were completely striped of the beautiful packing and acknowledgements they once had, and 2 were given skimpy art adapting jobs (YHTBT, Floridays) and omit much of the material the vinyl jackets and sleeves included. I don’t see how I could be obsessed with anything when the situation at hand is so drastic. It’s not like I’m complaining about a single picture or note being omitted on a single one of the albums.

Many will say I should appreciate the music of JB for what it is. I do. I still enjoy these CDs when I play them, although many have come to believe the omission of numerous packaging elements prohibits me from doing so. I appreciate the music so much, I think it deserves more. I think these 12 great musical creations by Mr. James Buffett that he worked hard to give us are gifts to the music world deserve higher quality digital reproductions than that “Compact Disc – Compact Price” moniker that MCA thought was such a good idea some 15 years ago.

You see, it appears the most think of packaging as bells and whistles that “decorate” the albums and are just there to make it look flashy or whatever. I don’t believe that and never have. I always saw the packaging as part of the album. Just because it’s not part of the audio program contained on the disc doesn’t by any means mean it’s not important.

A theory I have is to why the back catalogue is so neglected by MCA and non-PHs is because it’s enslaved by the first greatest hits compilation, Songs You Know By Heart. Granted that this has happened to the majority of artist’s catalogues in some way with greatest hits, it appears that with Buffett’s catalogue, the compilation had a larger effect then most others. I mean, take a look at other artist’s back catalogue. If you were to go and ask casual fans to name one album by an artist, they could probably name that one popular album the artist had. For example, Billy Joel – The Stranger, Carole King – Tapestry, Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road etc. But what recording would a casual listener mention when asked about Buffett’s back catalogue? SYKBH. While compilations represent artist’s catalogues on one or two discs, SYKBH dominates Jimmy’s. Something else to bring up here that has been mentioned recently, is the theory that Jimmy feels obligated to perform the majority of the songs that were included on SYKBH in concert. I’m going with that theory. Don’t get more wrong, I love the compellation as a beginners disc, I just don’t like the fact that millions stopped there and are missing out on so much more material that this man has put out that they are bound to love if they would hear it. Anyway, my point here is, if Jimmy had just one popular album back there, they would most likely would have re-mastered it with a complete artwork job by now. After that, they would most likely to be drived to re-release the other neighboring albums while their in the master tapes vaults, as that one album would look silly on the racks in re-mastered form alone. But, as it remains true that none of Buffett’s studio recordings were given their due praise in their original forms, there is no drive by the record company to re-master anytime soon.

I would understand if it was compact disc standard not to include the original album art and notes, but that’s not the way it is. I have been accustomed to getting liner notes and album art with all my CDs over the years myself, my brother and father have been buying. Maybe it was fine in the 1980s when the Compact Disc format was the huge craze, but in this day and age, they look substandard when placing them next to digitally re-mastered discs. CD jewel cases and their inserts were designed with the proportions of vinyl jackets in mind, and it appears that MCA just didn’t get it or didn’t care.

Please understand I am not obligating anyone to start caring about this. As much as it stuns me that so many could care less here, you are entitled to do what you desire.

Again, I know I will probably get on many people’s nerves with this post. I don’t believe I am breaking and forum rules in the context of any of my posts, and unless an administrator or moderator directs me to do so, I believe I am entitled to post about this subject here at the Buffett News message board.

And yes, I know I have mentioned this many times before and it may be considered lobbying upon many other things. While this comes off as negativity, it’s most certainly not. Remember, it’s what’s best for Bubba’s catalogue. Take it or leave it.

[Cap't Morgan]

I don't get tired of you bringing this up because I agree with you 100%.

Buffett deserves to have all the albums from White Sport Coat to Floridays
reissued with all the original artwork & liner notes.

I'm afraid this might be one situation where MCA (or whoever owns the label
now) just doesn't get it, just like Apple doesn't get it with the Beatles
catalog. Their CD's all issued in 87 are so ripe for a sonic upgrade it's
pathetic given todays technology.

My guess is the back catalog still sells well enough that it's money in the bank
so why bother with the upgrade or it doesn't sell enough to justify spending
the cash.Who knows??

I think the more attention LTC gets maybe someone at MCA will get the idea
his back catalog deserves some serious attention.Granted the box set covers a lot of this material except for YHTBT, these CD's could be so
much more with bonus tracks, extra photos and updated liner notes
from Jimmy.

This is one parrothead who does care and would buy all these albums
again if they were reissued correctly.

One has to hope......

[Cubbie Bear]

And whats up with Jimmy yelling the last word of song lines this year. I have been going (yes, since Carter) Chicago '78 and I do not remember this annoying last word of a line yell thing like he has been doing every show this year.

Other than that and the sound quality, Pittsburgh was a great set list

[Parrot Monkey]

Buffett deserves to have all the albums from White Sport Coat to Floridays
reissued with all the original artwork & liner notes.

Although nothing wrong with the packaging, Hot Water and Off to See the Lizard could use remasters.

I'm afraid this might be one situation where MCA (or whoever owns the label
now) just doesn't get it, just like Apple doesn't get it with the Beatles
catalog. Their CD's all issued in 87 are so ripe for a sonic upgrade it's
pathetic given todays technology.

I can't help but think that someone somewhere at the record company would see how Buffett's CDs have been issued and immediatly take some form of action. I know to many this is a minor issue, but I fail to see just what is so small about it.

I'm hearing now the Capitol plans to re-issue the Beatles albums on CD in a few years, but than again, the rumor has been going for years now. These CDs also have some catalogue art directiong flaws that go unnoticed, such as Revolver's back cover photo being split into four sperate pieces of the insert. Although the Beatles' master tapes, to my knowledge, were prepared for compact disc my a mastering engineer, the technology today can get so much more out of the tapes.

My guess is the back catalog still sells well enough that it's money in the bank
so why bother with the upgrade or it doesn't sell enough to justify spending
the cash.Who knows??

This has been debated and many say it won't happen because the catalog sells just fine. While I agree to a point, I just don't get it as it has happened with to many other artist's works.

I think the more attention LTC gets maybe someone at MCA will get the idea
his back catalog deserves some serious attention.Granted the box set covers a lot of this material except for YHTBT, these CD's could be so
much more with bonus tracks, extra photos and updated liner notes
from Jimmy.

I doubt anyone at MCA sees his catalogue as anything segnificant. They all see the albums as products of MCA/Universal, not works by Jimmy Buffett. I know record companies' views will never change, but can they at least make these albums in question LOOK like works from Jimmy (not products from MCA)? I say this because of the ads and junk they put on the back of the inserts that benifts the label, and hurts the artist's masterpiece.