I'd really like to see Rev-Ola come out with the legit version of Farewell Aldabaraan that was due until Radioactive usurped it with a distinctly inferior version. Think they were rescheduling it after Radioactive went bellyup. Would like to hear it remastered properly since its on my walkman & tracks come up everyday(got it on random).
Haven't got anything on Fallout, semi boycotting them because of the Radioactive connection. Did hear packaging & mastering had improved on them but they're still Radioactive ain't they?
Which leads me onto something I'm uncomfortable about. It looks like there's an umbrella organisation including Fallout, Sunbeam & The Bevis Frond's label the name of which escapes me right now. It puzzled me for ages why Fallout ads would almost universally appear on the same page of Record Collector as Sunbeam. This became clearer when the Bevis' label was added and the side of the page had a single website address covering all 3. A lot of discussion about Sunbeam has gone on with the continual assurance that they're legit. They try to contact & pay artists plus you find rarities added to most of their cds, normally sourced frrom the artists. I've only met with one artist personally selling Sunbeam releases of their material so far, Wizz Jones had some of their cds at the gig at the start of the year. I think most of the artists concerned are very happy with things though.
I did hear that the birth of Sunbeam came out of a split with Radioactive over COB's Moyshe Mcstiff which the main Sunbeam guy had augered.
He was trying to make sure everything was above board, the record was remastered , liner noted & the artists got payed. At the last minute Plummer refused the royalty aspect, Sunbeam guy had enough split & Sunbeam was born. Still not separating oneself from the umbrella organisation looks like an invite to get tarred with the same brush unfortunately. I don't know what financial dealings go on there & what limitations that imposes. Looking at it from outside I'd prefer to see Sunbeam distance themselves from any ties. How possible that is I don't know.
Record Collector's psychedelic column continually extols the virtues of Fallout product much as it had done with Radioactive beforehand. I really don't like the writer of that column's writing style, I find it pretty clumsy & vacuous. I would rather see somebody with some actual facility as a writer doing it. Thankfully most of the individual reviews of psych artists in that zine are done by other people. But the main point is that whatever releases on that label appear seem to have a predicted/prescribed favourable review. Since the label is a bit dodgy to say the least that's not a good thing is it? Would hope an established magazine like that would join in trying to get things done above board as much as possible.
I don't think I see that many other bootlegs getting legitimising reviews in there.
Stevo
Np John Mclaughlin & The One Truth Band 29/9/78 Sanctuary
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