You've all seen it. The new cd by Madonna or Mariah Carey comes out, only to be followed within a few months by a new updated - BETTER!- version of the same cd. What it is, is the same cd with a couple of songs added. I always thought this was a shameful process to get the real fans of these singers to shell out more money to buy the same cd again.
Still it didn't bother me all that much. I'm not a fan of most of these singers. But yesterday Bruce Springsteen did the same thing. A few months ago he came out with The Seeger Sessions. I think it's one of his best pieces of work, even if it's cover songs. This is a great cd and even better live. I won't go on about his Jazz Fest appearance doing these songs, just to say it was perhaps the best concert I have ever seen. So yesterday Springsteen released The Seeger Sessions with five new songs added.
Now I'm a big enough fan of Springsteen that I want those five new songs. Especially an offical release of "How Can A Poor Man?" My gripe is with the format. Used to be when a performer wanted to put out four or five songs they would release it as ep. Now this was back in the old days when albums actually came out on vinyl and they were different sizes and speeds. An ep was normally a size between a 45 and an actual album itself. With cds all being the same size today, the physical difference between a 45, ep and album are kind of mote, but they still use the terms and still release the format. CD singles are out there. CD eps are out there....Theresa Anderson's latest release was such and I consider it her best work yet.
So why not put these five new songs on an ep? Charge seven or eight dollars for it. Instead they put it on the same cd that his fans have already purchased and most stores that I have seen are charging more than the normal rate for a cd because of the extra songs. Most new cds go on sale for ten dollars. The lowest I've seen this cd on sale for is 14 dollars, a lot of places are asking twenty dollars for it.
Yes, I bought it. I'm that big a Springsteen fan. And that's what he's counting on. His fans are just that...fanatic about his music. So he knows that most of them will but the cd...again.
When other performers do this it doesn't get me all the worked up. With Springsteen, rightly or wrongly, there is a sort of trust between the singer and his fans. We look at him as more than just some guy getting up there singing songs for a buck. And I guess that's why this act feels almost like a sense of betrayal. No, I'm not saying he shouldn't try to make as much money as he can. But not at the expense of his fans, and that's what this feels like he's doing.
I enjoy his new music on the cd, but someone tell me why he couldn't have released them as an ep?
2 comments:
You're right as far as that goes, I didn't have to buy it. But I'm one of those geeks that buy things like that as soon as they come out. And yes, even though I made a big thing about the price, it was more than the price. I still think he should have released it as an ep. Releasing it again just didn't seem the right thing to do. And I guess I'm use to thinking of Springsteen as doing the right thing. If I wasn't such a fan of his and didn't think so highly of him this wouldn't be such a big deal to me.
No I dont have Milano Nights. The last concert cd I got was the Jazz Fest appearance. I was there for his show and I have to tell you, it was probably the best show I have ever seen. During City of Ruins he had the entire crowd in tears. It was really more than a show.
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