The end of a year is always a time of reflection on the past, which is why pretty much every music publication has been running some variant on the Best of 2018 for the last three weeks. A column dedicated to crowdfunding, by definition a forward-looking medium, doesn’t really lend itself to reminiscing. But I thought my first column of a new year was a good time to look at the one place crowdfunding does nod to the past: reissues. For this edition, I’ve got three very different campaigns based on past recordings. The first is a front-to-back re-recording of an underrated roots music gem with some high-profile talent. The second is a remastered vinyl box set with extras, and the third a movie and CD reissue by one of rock’s most innovative (and odd) creators.
Mercury Rev – Bobbie Gentry’s Delta Sweete Revisited
Some artists’ influence far outpaces their commercial success, and it’s hard to think of an artist in the roots music world that applies to more than Bobbie Gentry. After hitting No.1 with the instant classic “Ode to Billie Joe,” Gentry notched a few more hits before becoming country music’s version of JD Salinger and disappearing from the public eye in 1981. Despite that short career, you’d be hard-pressed to find a roots musician who doesn’t list Gentry as an influence. Now rockers Mercury Rev have decided to pay their own tribute to Gentry with a track for track re-recording of her under-appreciated 1968 concept album Delta Sweete. To bring this to life, the band called on an all-star lineup of female vocalists to sing on the album, including Margo Price, Norah Jones, Beth Orton, and Lucinda Williams, who will add her own version of “Ode to Billie Joe” to cap off the album. While the signed copies of the album sold out almost immediately, the PledgeMusic campaign still offers a preorder of the album on CD, vinyl, and digital download.
Yusuf/Cat Stevens – Back to Earth
When Cat Stevens found religion, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and chose to step away from the rock and roll spotlight, fans weren’t sure what to expect. What they got was the folk legend’s final album credited under the Cat Stevens name — and final rock album for nearly 30 years — Back to Earth. Now, in celebration of Back to Earth’s 40th birthday, Cat-O-Log Records/BMG is preparing a massive set of reissues that on the low end of the price scale includes the album, remastered at Abbey Road Studios, on CD and vinyl, and for the Cat Stevens superfan, a $222 multimedia box set that includes 5 CDs full of demos and unreleased tracks; two LPs including the UNICEF Year of the Child Concert; a DVD of that show; and extras like a tote bag, patch, and embroidered scarf.
Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer – 200 Motels
Frank Zappa, possibly more than any artist in music history, is impossible to shoehorn into a genre box. But one thing you can be sure of, everything he did was going to be weird. His 1971 film collaboration with Tony Palmer, 200 Motels, was no exception. The surrealist take on the life of a traveling musician starred Zappa, his Mothers of Invention, and Ringo Starr and included cameos from the likes of Keith Moon and Aynsley Dunbar. After years of DVD releases of varying quality, 200 Motels is getting a full box set treatment in 2019, including a print of the film from Palmer’s own masters, a disc of extras and outtakes, and a 2-CD soundtrack with bonus content. Those who preorder from PledgeMusic can get any of these signed by Tony Palmer, as well as extras like T-shirts and signed posters.
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