OT: Elvis Costello to fans: Don't buy my overpriced box set

[DirtyMartini]

http://www.elviscostello.com/news/steal-this-record/254

[Footnote added by me.]

Steal This Record

A Pastoral Address From The Right Reverend Jimmy Quickly

There was a time when the release of a new title by your favourite record artist was a cause for excitement and rejoicing but sadly no more.

6th December 2011 sees the issue of “The Return Of The Spectacular Spinning Songbook” by Elvis Costello and the Imposters.

This beautifully designed compendium contains all manner of whimsical scribblings, photographs and cartoons, together with some rock and roll music and vaudevillian ballads.

Tape and celluloid were rolling at the Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles in April this year and present a vivid snapshot of the early days of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook show on “The Revolver Tour” of 2011.

The live recording finds the Imposters in rare form, while the accompanying motion picture blueprints the wilder possibilities of the show, as it made its acclaimed progress across the United States throughout the year.

Unfortunately, we at http://www.elviscostello.com find ourselves unable to recommend this lovely item to you as the price appears to be either a misprint or a satire.*

All our attempts to have this number revised have been fruitless but rather than detain you with tedious arguments about morality, panache and book-keeping - when there are really bigger fish to filet these days - we are taking the following unusual step.

If you should really want to buy something special for your loved one at this time of seasonal giving, we can whole-heartedly recommend, “Ambassador Of Jazz” - a cute little imitation suitcase, covered in travel stickers and embossed with the name “Satchmo” but more importantly containing TEN re-mastered albums by one of the most beautiful and loving revolutionaries who ever lived – Louis Armstrong.

The box should be available for under one hundred and fifty American dollars and includes a number of other tricks and treats. Frankly, the music is vastly superior.

If on the other hand you should still want to hear and view the component parts of the above mentioned elaborate hoax, then those items will be available separately at a more affordable price in the New Year, assuming that you have not already obtained them by more unconventional means.

Tickets are currently on-sale for the Spectacular Spinning Songbook appearances in the U.S., U.K. and Europe during April, May and June in the Spring of 2012. More dates will be announced in the very near future.

* > $250 for 1 CD, 1 DVD, and 1 4-song LP, plus extras (see EQ's note 2 down).

[smax]

that is a beautiful thing for elvis to say, especially the 'buy satchmo's record" bit.......

i think of gordo's current boxset (£70 plus) and of U2's numerous (achtung baby £130 or £700 odd, 360 at £90).... it does make me despise the machine when you know that this 'stuff' is manufactured for literally a fraction of the cost at which they go on sale..... can't help but think "you money grabing bastards"... with all the press release bullshit about "giving the fans something really special, that they can cherish" etc etc etc.

[DirtyMartini]

[ETA real quick: I should've mentioned in OP that that's > $250 for 1 LP, 1 CD, and 1 four-song LP. Edited above.]

[TheEqualizer]

The price is for the limited edition that includes a tour book and photos that are exclusive to the set. And I think that either the tour book, the DVD, or CD is personally autographed by EC himself. There is also a small but working Spinning Wheel.

So sure the price is high, but its not like you are just getting a DVD, CD, and EP. It comes with a lot of cool extras in this limited production set that may be worth it for a number of fans. And for the fans that can't afford it or really don't want all the bells and whistles, the DVD and CD will be sold for normal prices without the bells and whistles.

I have heard the shows that are on the box set, and they are very worth getting if you are an EC fan.

[sockii]

So sure the price is high, but its not like you are just getting a DVD, CD, and EP. It comes with a lot of cool extras in this limited production set that may be worth it for a number of fans. And for the fans that can't afford it or really don't want all the bells and whistles, the DVD and CD will be sold for normal prices without the bells and whistles.

Indeed. It all depends on the market. The autograph and the limited edition extras are going to appeal to some collectors. I know Dr. D was one of the few willing to immediately buy Andy's limited edition version of "I'll Be Watching You" - he barely lets me touch the thing without gloves. And I'm happy to have it for the extra bells and whistles, the numbering, the autograph, etc. It all depends on the market. And that a version of the music and video of this EC set will be released later at a reduced price? I don't quite get the wank over it. Collectible boxed sets have their place - for those who are hardcore enough and have the money. I'd kill to be able to buy all three of the Pink Floyd Immersion sets right now having read enough about them but I just can't justify it financially, although I'm so close to doing it I don't know how long I can resist (I heard one of the alternative mixes of "Have a Cigar" and wanted. The box. Right now.)

One wonders if there isn't an element of hype involved in saying "don't buy this!" which might encourage some to do just that...either that or I'm a complete cynical bastard at this point.

[DirtyMartini]

The price is for the limited edition that includes a tour book and photos that are exclusive to the set. And I think that either the tour book, the DVD, or CD is personally autographed by EC himself. There is also a small but working Spinning Wheel.

Apologies, EQ, you are absolutely right. In my haste I was only thinking in terms of major media (e.g., as compared to the 10 or so discs in the new U2 box) and granting any extra stuff as given; unsurprisingly, no one else was in my head with me. (Unlike in Elvis's thoughts, mine was a misprint, not a satire.) Editing to clarify better this time.

[smax]

[quote="TheEqualizer"] There is also a small but working Spinning Wheel.[quote]

WOW!!! i didn't know about that. I'll get two.... i dunno what i was thinking, £250 is a bargain.


autographs and locks of hair, fingernails and spnning wheels are all good but i do object to the inflated pricing.... the stuff is only limited edition because 'they' decide to make few and charge more, the opposite of pile 'em high and flog 'em cheap.

especially for gordo, casual fans have had numerous chances to buy a greatest hits and so didn't rush out to buy "25 years" but they may have bought one of the delux versions if had been cheaper. As it was the standard version of the album flew into the charts at number 27 and then disappeared.... i guess more units should be sold when he starts playing over here next year and if he does any tv promotion with it, something he only really last did with the jon dowland project.

apparently the recent Gordo iphone app apparently cost more than a million dollars to produce (costs covered by his sponsors American Express and Chevrolet) and yet was given away free!!! although maybe that's where the record sales went...that does kinda ruins my view about fan-fleecing, although it was paid for by the sponsors and i'm sure gordo was pleasantly rewarded.

[TheEqualizer]

I speculate that this post by Costello was prompted by the EC fan community on his fan forum. There is a lengthy thread where the EC faithful just blast him for this over priced set that began right when the set was first announced. I was quite surprised that the EC fanboys would have such a negative reaction, but they sure did.

PS For anyone who cares, I consider myself an EC uberfan, but I will not be buying the special limited edition and will be content with the standard DVD and CD when it comes out.

[Divemistress of the Dark]

I thought about buying the thing as well and may still find it in my stocking come Xmas morn. I'd just about buy it for the tourbook alone. It was a great show, out of many great Elvis shows, but still.

[TheEqualizer]

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showt ... ost7206885

I put in a pre-order of this on Amazon to get price protection, in case it went lower than expected, and it shipped the other day. I did end up paying $205.00, so I let it ship. I figured I would let it come and then decide to either return it or keep it.

So it shows up today and I open it up. Definitely not worth $200.00, and anyone paying more than this - I don't know. I know I'm stating it's worth prior to actually listening or watching the contents, but just the quality of the box and materials itself are really worth no more than $100.00.

Yeah, I know it has a card, which is securely fixed to the inside cover of the hardbound book, that is signed by Elvis himself. I received "number 1,207 of One Thousand Five Hundred Only".

I also has a working cardboard spinning wheel with songs and selections that mirror the wheel exactly as I saw on the tour. I can see, if this thing isn't handled with care, the wheel coming off at some point in the future.

The book looks nice, if not overly long, and it does have information about every stop on the initial run of the tour from 5/7 to 7/31/11.

The CD and DVD are housed in two flimsy slip-pockets in a page in the book. There is a postcard and poster housed in another page in the book, and the 10" vinyl is also housed in another page in the book.

I guess the reason the price is so high, regardless of what Elvis might say... since he obviously had a lot to do with this collectible (he wrote the liner notes and notes about every stop on the tour re: the dates I mentioned), is because it is personally signed? Why else would something that shouldn't cost more than $100.00, actually list for over $300.00? Maybe Mr. Costello does truly believe the set shouldn't cost more than $150.00 (I have to believe he means what he posts on his site), so either Universal thought they could get that much selling this personally signed item (well they got me at $205.00), or there will be a bunch left for a while in the pipeline and the price will drop to get them sold.

Do I feel totally ripped off.. no, since I knew I was paying $205.00 - I wouldn't have paid more though.. but I do feel a bit let down in what I received for that sum of money.

Maybe once I listen and watch, I will feel the money was spent well? I don't know.

[sockii]

Thanks for the review, EQ. Whenever it comes to any of these specialty boxes, I always want to hear from a diehard fan what they thought of the product and if it was worth it or not. I'm not much of an EC fan so this isn't on my list, but I'd say it was a lot of the reviews of the Floyd Immersions sets that have had me push them to the top of my Wish List at the moment (I'm not indulging myself yet, however, as I've got an upcoming trip to pay for first!)

[TheEqualizer]

To clarify, the above is not my personal review, but just a review I found at a fan site.

[sockii]

To clarify, the above is not my personal review, but just a review I found at a fan site.

My bad, read without clicking on the link!

[luddite lady]

I love EC. That is all.

[TheEqualizer]

So I got the CD and DVD in the non-special edition version. I've heard a lot of hard core Costello fans really bitch and moan about the release. "Too many songs are cut out." "There is no dynamic range." "Costello's voice is shot." "They are just walking through the motions."

My opinion? I love the CD and DVD. They are far from perfect and some of the comments had a considerable amount of validity to them, but I still love the DVD and CD. Maybe I am too big of a fan to be objective. Keep in mind. I also like the Don't Stand So Close to Me remake.