Even though I probably couldn't afford it,if the Europe '72 concerts came out on vinyl,I'd buy it.Unreleased material is different.

Roger

--- On Thu, 1/27/11, Matt Sohn <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Matt Sohn <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Interesting discussion topic for a Monday
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Thursday, January 27, 2011, 10:57 PM

> If you think that's nutty,then what about people who spend $150 and up,for the latest vinyl remasters,of stuff like The Rolling Stones,or The Grateful Dead,that's been continually in print in one form or another.
> 
> It's no wonder critics use the term "audiophools".Like a broken clock,they can be right sometime.
> 
> Roger
> 

The Grateful Dead recently announced a box set of their Europe '72 tour. 22 Concerts, 60 CDs in a custom-personalized "steamer trunk" for $450. Limited edition of 7200. It won't be ready until Sepetember, as they are still mixing the 16-track tapes, and if they don't get at least 3000 pre-orders by April 1, the whole thing gets cancelled.
I have signed up for 2 copies, one for me, and one to pay for my copy.
The Dead released a limited edition 10-CD box set of a certain run of Fillmore shows (in their entirety) 10,000 copies at $100 a pop. It sold out before the release date and the day it was released, copies were selling for well over $1000.
I bought one. I wish I'd bought two.
I did a quick E-bay search, and found one pristine copy in the "Completed Auctions" that had a reserve of $2000 and a high bid of $700.

On the other end of the spectrum, The Firesign Theater have jsut released a compilation called "Duke of Madness Motors", which is a collection of original radio broadcasts from 1970-1972. 60 hours of MP3s (224 kbps) on one DVD, with a very nice book/Track listing for $45. A quick Ebay search shows one copy available for $59.95...

I will note that (most) all of the material from these two releases are previously unreleased material from two of my very favorite groups.
I don't buy any of these overpriced, meticulously produced collector re-releases of stuff I already have, but I did recently get a 3-LP set by Guided by voices of a live show from the '90s for $33.33 on gorgeous pastel colored vinyl.
I don't buy records much at all anymore, except on National Record Store Day, (last year I beefed up my Savoy Brown catalog significantly) and when I do, it has to be something I really want that I can't get in a cheaper form.

On the "Cult" side, I recently bought a re-release of a very rare Michael Hurley album ("Blue Navigator"), which I already have on vinyl (scored in a used record store for $2.99 20 years ago). This release was limited to 50 copies and came on ... 8-Track.
That one isn't coming out of the shrink-wrap...

-Matt Sohn