Re: (TV) New boots? - TRIPLE PLAY 3 CD set

["Philip P. Obbard" <pobbard@yahoo.com>]

I saw it today. 3CDs, going for around $70 US. It's called TRIPLE PLAY.

Don't get exited. I don't think it's worth buying. It's an attempt to collect
every studio non-LP Television-related track out there, including:

- Neon Boys stuff;
- The first Patti Smith single (Verlaine plays guitar on the b-side, "Hey
Joe");
- "Little Johnny Jewel";
- all the 12" and 7" Elektra singles - mono, where available ("Ain't That
Nothing", "Marquee Moon", and Hell's "Blank Generation" all had mono mixes
made);
- "promo" versions of "Call Mr. Lee" and "In World";
etc.

I can't vouch for the sound, because I didn't buy it.

Here's the first problem: the set has MASSIVE repetition. 

What do I mean by massive repetition? Well, for example, you get the two Neon
Boys tracks that appeared on the Shake EP in 1980. Then, directly afterwards,
you get the three Neon Boys tracks that appeared on the 1991 Overground CD EP.
Problem? These contain the exact same two tracks, in the same mix, that
appeared on the Shake EP! Similarly: The CD includes "Little Johnny Jewel Pt.
1" and "Little Johnny Jewel Pt. 2" as taken from the original Ork 7" single.
Directly afterwards, it includes "Littly Johnny Jewel Pt. 1" and "Pt. 2" again,
only now it claims to be the "unfaded" version. I suspect this is just the
full-length track from the 12" 1979 single split into two tracks on CD, but
then later, that full-length version is included, too!

The second major problem is that the disc includes LOTS of 7" and 12" tracks
that don't differ from the LP versions one bit - "Careful", "Glory", "Venus",
etc. (The only exception is that it includes the mono and stereo mixes of
"Ain't That Nothin'", both of which significantly differ from the LP version -
although not from each other). Finally, it ends with "In World" and "Call Mr.
Lee" from the 1992 promo CDs - again, *identical* to the LP/CD versions of the
same tracks.

Even the handful of mono mixes are pointless. 1977 wasn't 1965; UK studios
weren't creating careful mono mixes for the UK market and then hastily rushing
stereo mixes for the US market, creating interesting alternate mixes
semi-inadvertantly (a la the Beatles, Pink Floyd, or Yardbirds pre 1968, for
example). As far as I can tell, the mono mix of "Ain't That Nothin'" is just a
straight reduction of the stereo mix - nothing particularly interesting to
listen to.

All in all, I wonder what the hell this bootlegger was thinking. 3 CDs is a lot
of production for a CD you could have made with one CD. Not only does he
include loads of superfluous material; he also omits essential stuff like the
1992 French promo EP.

If I had to make a Television RARE CD collecting *officially-released* rarites,
as this bootlegger did, it would look like this:

That's All I Know (Right Now) [Neon Boys]
Love Comes In Spurts [Neon Boys]
High Heeled Wheels [Neon Boys]
Hey Joe [Patti Smith b-side w/Verlaine on guitar]
Little Johnny Jewel [full-length version from Ork 12"]
Ain't That Nothin' [alt. mix from 7" single, stereo]
Little Johnny Jewel [live from Ork 12"]
The Revolution [1992 French CD EP]
Big Jo [1992 French CD EP]
Hoo [1992 French CD EP]

Yay! One CD - cheaper and more listenable than TRIPLE PLAY. I could even
include the mono mix of "Ain't That Nothin'" and the Richard Lloyd-penned "(I
Thought) You Wanted to Know" by the dB's just to keep the diehards happy...
would I be missing anything? Should I include "Break It Up" or something??

All in all... TRIPLE PLAY is a triple disappointment (har har).

--Philip

--- "Steven E. Rovner" <serovner@mindspring.com> wrote:
> Just reading the most recent Goldmine magazine, and saw an ad for:
> TELEVISION-Singles & Rarities#1,2,0-(Ltd.CDs Superb!) Each: $19.99 
> 
> Anyone know anything about these?  (not sure if it is 2 or 3 CD's).  


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