As most of you are aware, Live At Massey Hall is now available for purchase on iTunes. Since being released at midnight the record is already #2 on the iTunes Canada store and #48 (which is a feat given that it has had no promoting in the United States whatsoever).

Regarding pre-sales, the records allotted for pre-sale sold out in two hours. We are currently working on getting more, so please check the online store for updates.

October 7, 2008 103 Comments

When it comes to live records, or at least those made back in the day when entering a studio afterwards and cleaning it up wasn’t an option, there are always intrigues and little tidbits of information that diehard fans find out and revel in.

Live At Massey Hall is no exception.

As I wrote in a previous entry, the recording is untouched – it is completely live. There was no re-tracking in a studio afterwards. But there is one interesting little turn that will be of interest to fans.

During the choruses of Everything Is Automatic I typically step away from the microphone and let the crowd sing them. On that night, the crowd mics crapped out, producing nothing more than a giant audio blur. Thankfully we were smart enough to record the show the night before in Peterborough, during which I did sing the choruses. Thus, the only alteration on the forthcoming album is that when you hear me sing the choruses of Everything Is Automatic (and just the choruses), the vocal was taken from the show recorded the night before.

There are obviously video clips of the song taken that night that clearly show me stepping away from the microphone, so someone would have figured it out sooner or later. Thus, to claim that the recording is completely taken from the Massey Hall show, and then to have such video clips discovered, would have raised some eyebrows. That would be why I’m writing about it, to inform those that will be purchasing the recording that that bit is still live, just that it was taken from the performance the night before – which is, I must admit, unfortunate, because it would have been cool to have captured the audience singing the choruses.

So there you have it. It’s still purely live, it’s just that the choruses of Everything Is Automatic come from the recording of the show the previous night.

Interesting Album Trivia

I have not heard the recording, nor do I plan on listening to it. I am, as those that know me well will tell you, a perfectionist. And while am I sure it is replete with the sorts of quirks and flaws that always end up being the best parts of live recordings, I just can’t bring myself to listen to it because I would, no doubt, tear it apart.

Seriously, Who Are They Trying to Kid?

You can vote on advertising content on Facebook now. You can label an advert misleading or uninteresting and so forth. That said, and as I mentioned last night, there is no way that the girls in those pictures are single – and if they are, they’re certainly not on the dating website that the pictures are promoting. How do I know this? That’s right, I fucking looked! Busted!

On a related note, I ended up watching You Don’t Mess With The Zoltan last night and if the girls on the beaches of Israel are that hot (and like to unabashedly disco) – I’m moving there.

August 28, 2008 65 Comments

For those of you that have been speculating as to whether or not a live album will be released – one is on the way. So make sure to check back in the weeks ahead for an announcement regarding a release date. One thing I can tell you is that initially the release will be an iTunes exclusive. Some time after that a limited double CD version of it will then be made available.

I’ll not lie, I haven’t heard a note of it, and it’s going to stay that way. I always swore that if I released a live album it wouldn’t be messed with, that I wouldn’t go into a studio and overdub anything that might sound suspect. The Who didn’t do it – Live At Leeds is untouched, and that’s something that I have always believed in when it comes to live albums. These days it’s far too easy to jump into a studio and overdub performances to make it sound dramatically different, as if you were listening to a normal CD. The reality is, live records don’t sound like polished releases, that’s why they’re referred to as ‘live records’. One can only imagine what would have been lost had Pete Townshend redone any of the guitar on Young Man Blues had he the ability to at the time. Not that this will come anywhere close to being in the same galaxy, mind you.

August 14, 2008 78 Comments