Hi folkz,
As a mate of Ken's I wanted to post a quick message on IDM regarding this
whole compilation issue, because I keep reading a lot of stuff from people
and I think they should know a bit more about it before attacking Ken or Ed
or Andy.
I got an e-mail from Ken when he first heard of the compilation via the Warp
site, he was really upset to hear the original material was being taken
apart and released in a totally different format, track listing and so on.
Ed & Andy hadn't made any attempt to contact him about it and discuss it, he
only found out about it by accident...
I know that Ken would have been happy for the entire back catalogue to be
released on CD, providing it's with the same track listing and the same
artwork etc. But, instead, the "Plaid" tracks are being surgically removed
so that they can add them to their compilation (which, of course, means more
money for them). GPR are still around, and they must own the (c) to the
Black Dog material released on GPR, so I guess Warp have already licensed it
from them? Rising High are no more, as far as I know?
Personally I want to own the old material, but I must admit I'd rather buy a
CD with all the EP's on, in the same format, with the three original band
members working their magic together. I like Plaid, and I like The Black
Dog (Ken) but together they were unique, and taking tracks out of context
seems like a sad thing to do, it also "feels" a little bitter, under the
circumstances.
I wouldn't want to own Bytes or Spanners without Ken or Ed'n'Andy, can you
imagine?! In a perfect world, I think that GPR should release the original
10 EP's on one double CD or something, and a vinyl triple pack, or whatever.
Ken would have been totally OK with that. Even if it does mean less money
for Ed'n'Andy's pockets, isn't that a more honourable thing to do? If
something's perfect, why mess with it? Ed and Andy can easily write a new
album, as can Ken. And I hope they all do!
Somebody also mentioned Ken dissing Bjork, and I know for a *fact* that he
considers her an amazingly talented artist (he did the early Black Dog
remixes for her). He just prefers "Bjork" as "Bjork" and without too much
dilution (I agree, I still listen to Debut more than her recent stuff, and
the Sugarcubes stuff is utterly brilliant, natch). Ken's always rated Bjork
as a great artist and songwriter, but feels she knows her talent better than
anyone else. So do I (and I can't wait to see her in Lars Von Trier's new
movie) and I wish Ken would work with her again in the future.
Oh, and it might really surprise people to read that Ken has often mentioned
to me how much respect he has for Ed's talent, and that he considers both Ed
and Andy great artists. Just, at the moment, better artists than people.
Let's get back to the music!!
Laters,
Dan
(a fan of The Black Dog, and Marilyn Manson - yes, it is possible!).
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