From: Level42-request @ worldmachine.com (Level42 Digest) Subject: Level42 Digest V97 #144 _ ____ _ ____ _ _ ___ // //__ // / //__ // /__// __// //__ //__ \\_/ //__ //__ // /__ D I G E S T Level42 Digest Volume 97 : Issue 144 495 subscribers Today's topics: bothered engineer MScore0696 Early Tapes cover N Collier Re:I Sleep... ebender Dashikis Brad Byers lock-outs/covers DonZipf ------------------------------ Subject: bothered engineer From: MScore0696 @ aol.com Date: Sat, 24 May 1997 08:27:48 -0400 (EDT) I have to say that I'm another engineer bothered by the incorrect design of the nut and bolt on the WM cover (the bolt is also too small for the opening in the nut)..but still my second favourite cover art and one of their best discs for sound quality. (best cover art=Levelbest) Question: Was the Family Edition (remixes) ever released on CD? I remember it being on Long Play record but never saw it in Canada on CD. If it was released on disc does anyone know how to get a copy? The Family Edition had "Can't Walk You Home" on it. TCOY Bonneville Mark Toronto, Canada ------------------------------ Subject: Early Tapes cover From: N Collier Date: Sat, 24 May 1997 15:12:37 +0100 > Early Tapes (Polydor) - one of the worst covers I ever seen - it's hardly a > cover 0 Take a minute to read the Early Tapes liner notes, think about the album's context - where it fits within the Level 42 story - and then try to imagine an alternative cover which represents all that consistently. I like the Early Tapes cover, the title suggests, as is partially the case, that this is not an 'album' in itself; it is a collection of tracks not recorded as part of a planned strategy (no pun intended) towards an end but the tracks are ends in themselves. There is a sense of innocence and freedom in the tracks because, arguably, the band did not have an album in mind when writing and playing them. Consequently, there are absolutely no constraints or preconceptions which producing tracks 'for an album' engenders. The cover art adds to the impression that this is a kind of 'proprietory' music which the band were playing before, or as, they 'became' Level 42. It was too early for the group to develop any 'culture' or ethos upon which to base artwork - nothing had gone before so there were no 'themes' to reference in the design of the cover. Returning to my first paragraph, if you spent time thinking carefully about the context of the album, would a really striking and stylised cover marry with the album's context and contents? It looks almost as if it's a demo tape the lads have had produced by some small, local studio. As a result there is a real exclusive "album for real fan's" feel about Early Tapes, it looks like a 'previously unheard material' sort of album which groups release at the height of their popularity for a small but committed fan base. Finally, as a kind of inverse logic, the plain, understated cover suggests that the album's music speaks for itself, those who are pure [L42] music fans will see it for what it is. (Remember in the last Indiana Jones movie that the Holy Grail appeared quite unremarkable?). Regards, Nigel "...friends all over the world, none in this country but all over the world" - Tony Hancock, The Radio Ham http://www.ncl.ac.uk/~nnac/ ------------------------------ Subject: Re:I Sleep... From: ebender Date: Sat, 24 May 1997 10:58:16 -0500 Can anyone give me a hint as to where I can find the import version of World Machine? I can only find the US version. I've got to hear I Sleep On My Heart! I heard it once about seven years ago and I need a fix. HELP!!! Ethan Bender ebender @ execpc.com [check out Audiophile Imports: http://www.cyboard.com/ent/ai/bass.html#JKL -Eric] ------------------------------ Subject: Dashikis From: bb007 @ webtv.net (Brad Byers) Date: Sat, 24 May 1997 09:42:14 -0700 I remember our high school jazz band in '76 wore dashikis, mainly because our director was a big Thad Jones and Mel Lewis fan. What a sight - pimply faced white kids with dashikis and afros doing Quincy Jones arrangements! It was cool. Best album cover: World Machine, hands down! I suspect most people in marketing and advertising would also agree. Some of the other covers look like a band in search of a label. ------------------------------ Subject: lock-outs/covers From: DonZipf @ aol.com Date: Sat, 24 May 1997 23:41:52 -0400 (EDT) Last time, Mark wrote.... << I also recall various people (press and digest) commenting that they might have rushed SATS (only 3 weeks recording time). For this I applaud the band. It really shouldn't take months to record an album if you know what you are doing. My philosophy is that you should turn up at a recording studio knowing what you are going to record - ie having practiced it. It seems obvious to me that they went in - did what they had to do, and didn't have to faff around.>> Can't say as I disagree, for the most part. Having engineered/produced quite a number of recording sessions, I always appreciated preparedness in that it made my job easier. On the other hand, lock-outs (booking a studio for a month or more at a time) are what keep the BIG studios in business. Overhead in major markets is humongous for studio-owners, and big-budget projects keep them profitable. As they're the ones who buy the big-ticket gear, we little guys benefit from the resulting trickle-down technology - there would be no Alesis without Lexicon, and no Lexicon without big recording budgets to fund the studios. It all works out. Also, most artists' home studios are great for composing, but for a whole band to work out complex arrangements, a nice studio - without pressure of time constraints - makes working easier, I'm sure. Album covers! I have to agree that the US Early Tapes (or whatever that is on the FTP site) looks awful. I have the Japanese version, which looks fairly cool. Pursuit of Accidents, likewise, looks awful; the band hated it too, according to the biography. True Colours is probably the worst in my collection. I love the Staring at the Sun packaging. My favorite is probably their first, Level 42, but I'm extremely fond of the original Forever Now cover (dig that lawn-chair webbing behind the cool, new logo). I HATE the Resurgence FN - they look like idiots and the lettering is amateurish! "Come on in and...cover me" Z.