Bad news re POB/Sony Germany

[HeyJude]

...more are being pressed, orders are being filled...and Grammy buzz is in full swing.

Jon, I'm sure it's early for this, but has it been looked into in terms of what grammy awards the POB reissue would be eligible for? I think there is a category for something along the lines of "Best Archival Historical Release"; I think the "Pet Sounds Sessions" boxed set may have been nominated in that category back in 1998 or whenever. So I think the POB reissue would probably qualify for that sort of category. But are there any other categories? I suppose the previously unreleased material is "new", and therefore could qualify for song of the year, best rock vocal and other awards for individual songs, but probably not in any of the main original album categories as POB was already issued in 1977, and thus the entire package is not new material. I suppose it might also qualify in some of the more technical categories like best engineering and whatnot, although again I don't know which if any of those type of awards pertain to releases with all "new" music.

[Jon Stebbins]

...more are being pressed, orders are being filled...and Grammy buzz is in full swing.

Jon, I'm sure it's early for this, but has it been looked into in terms of what grammy awards the POB reissue would be eligible for? I think there is a category for something along the lines of "Best Archival Historical Release"; I think the "Pet Sounds Sessions" boxed set may have been nominated in that category back in 1998 or whenever. So I think the POB reissue would probably qualify for that sort of category. But are there any other categories? I suppose the previously unreleased material is "new", and therefore could qualify for song of the year, best rock vocal and other awards for individual songs, but probably not in any of the main original album categories as POB was already issued in 1977, and thus the entire package is not new material. I suppose it might also qualify in some of the more technical categories like best engineering and whatnot, although again I don't know which if any of those type of awards pertain to releases with all "new" music.

My friend Howie Edelson tells me that besides the obvious "Reissue of the Year" it could also be eligible in many of the following categories...
BEST ROCK INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE
BEST SOLO ROCK VOCAL PERFORMANCE
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL
BEST INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITION
BEST INSTRUMENTAL ARRANGEMENT
BEST RECORDING PACKAGE
BEST BOXED OR SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE
BEST ALBUM NOTES
BEST ENGINEERED ALBUM, NON-CLASSICAL
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICAL
BEST REMIXED RECORDING, NON-CLASSICAL

[SG7]

AFTER American Idol has Dennis Wilson night...

WOW, that was such a disturbing image! 

[Awesoman]

Sony is not going to invest in a wide release of album no one has heard of.  I'm not knocking the album itself; it's just the nature of the business.  The fact that it got re-released at all is noteworthy.  You should be able to find it online.   

Take it you've managed to avoid seeing the dozens of stories and reviews of the album in both the UK and US press ? Not to mention the official website and the wonderful EPK on amazon ? Here in the UK there have been major features in daily newspapers, and that investment has been rewarded by a Top 20 album. Sony/Legacy have invested time and money making this a benchmark reissue. I'd be very surprised if it wasn't nominated for a Grammy.

Sure, the album has received much critical attention since it was originally released and deservingly so.  I'm certainly aware of all the recent press over this reissue.  But commercially speaking?  Pacific Ocean Blue originally peaked at the bottom of the Billboard chart and only lasted 8 weeks.  Which is why it doesn't surprise me that the average employee at a music store may never have heard of it.  I know Sony has done a fine job with the reissue and I *hope* it fairs better this time around.  I was just commenting on the original poster's impressions that most people are as aware of a reissue of a cult album from the 70's as they would be such tripe as Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" or U2-wannabes Coldplay. 

It's nice (although not that surprising) that POB is fairing well in the UK.  Not sure it will get quite the same attention in the States but here's hopin'. 

[Awesoman]

Us being huge BB fans see this bigger than stores like Wal-mart do.

Which is exactly the point I was trying to make.  It's best to keep your expectations of the album's success modest instead of over the moon.  Sure, I certainly *hope* the average music consumer will take note of this album and maybe the album will rocket to the top of the charts, win tons of Grammys and even turn out to be the cure for all forms of cancer.  But let's be a little more realistic.  :-)

[Awesoman]

I seriously don't get people posting here complaining that they can't buy it in [insert your local record emporium here]. You post here, ergo you have a PC and internet capability. So...

Why the foda didn't you order it from Amazon ?? Huh, huh ??

I *did* order it from Amazon, along with Chicago's Stone Of Sisyphus release.  Both albums came out last week; I finally received them in the mail today.  That SUCKS.  Some people want their albums the day of release.  Even overnight shipping can't guarantee you'll get them.  Same thing happened to me last year when I ordered Paul McCartney's Memory Almost Full from Amazon and didn't get it in the mail until over a week later.  And that was with overnight shipping!

[elnombre]

I seriously don't get people posting here complaining that they can't buy it in [insert your local record emporium here]. You post here, ergo you have a PC and internet capability. So...

Why the foda didn't you order it from Amazon ?? Huh, huh ??

I'm sure no-one is intentionally denying themselves the CD. Some Amazon orders get delayed, some people may not have/use credit cards, some regions (the Netherlands for one) don't have their own Amazon store and importing from the U.S. store more often that not results in weeks of waiting and then paying import tax...

Its not a catch-all solution to everything.

[Pretty Funky]

I'm tempted to list a few real problems going on around the planet to put this 'Why am I waiting?' thread in to perspective!

[HeyJude]

...more are being pressed, orders are being filled...and Grammy buzz is in full swing.

Jon, I'm sure it's early for this, but has it been looked into in terms of what grammy awards the POB reissue would be eligible for? I think there is a category for something along the lines of "Best Archival Historical Release"; I think the "Pet Sounds Sessions" boxed set may have been nominated in that category back in 1998 or whenever. So I think the POB reissue would probably qualify for that sort of category. But are there any other categories? I suppose the previously unreleased material is "new", and therefore could qualify for song of the year, best rock vocal and other awards for individual songs, but probably not in any of the main original album categories as POB was already issued in 1977, and thus the entire package is not new material. I suppose it might also qualify in some of the more technical categories like best engineering and whatnot, although again I don't know which if any of those type of awards pertain to releases with all "new" music.

My friend Howie Edelson tells me that besides the obvious "Reissue of the Year" it could also be eligible in many of the following categories...
BEST ROCK INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE
BEST SOLO ROCK VOCAL PERFORMANCE
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL
BEST INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITION
BEST INSTRUMENTAL ARRANGEMENT
BEST RECORDING PACKAGE
BEST BOXED OR SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE
BEST ALBUM NOTES
BEST ENGINEERED ALBUM, NON-CLASSICAL
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICAL
BEST REMIXED RECORDING, NON-CLASSICAL

Interesting. I'm thinking it has a better chance at some of the latter categories on this list. I'm thinking there's probably too much "modern" competition for things like Solo Rock Vocal or Duo/Group Vocal (how would a Dennis release quality for that category? I suppose the track with him and Carl?). I could definitely see it competing in those latter categories, especially "Recording Package", "Boxed/Limited Edition", "Album Notes" , and whatever other sort of archival reissue-type awards are out there.

I'm thinking, doesn't the record label usually push/lobby/campaign for grammies on behalf of their releases? I'm thinking they may even have to be the ones to submit it for consideration? I'm not sure how that works, but since this release has done so well, I imagine Sony/Legacy would be more inclined to do those things if needed and helpful.

[Wilsonista]

Jon, I understand your excitement. However, Wal-Mart must be seeing this as a one time thing. A niche market if you will. I am keeping my eyes PEELED for a display for POB though. Us being huge BB fans see this bigger than stores like Wal-mart do. I imagine it has gotten HUGE reviews in every major music magazine.  I have it on the original LP, CD and now the remaster. I have suggested it to the Electronics department manager, and they say "Who?" 

If you are using the manager at your local Wal-Mart as the guage to whether this release is getting a fair shake or not...ummmm...I can't help you. Dennis Wilson won't register with Wal-Mart or most Wal-Mart shoppers until AFTER the Grammy, AFTER the feature on Access Hollywood, and AFTER River Song is a Shampoo commercial, AFTER Beyonce covers Dreamer ...AFTER American Idol has Dennis Wilson night...then Wal-Mart will get a few in stock.

Precisely.

If your sole source of CD purchases is Wal-Mart, then you're not trying very hard. This is where the Mom and Pop stores trump the Big Box stores.

[HeyJude]

Jon, I understand your excitement. However, Wal-Mart must be seeing this as a one time thing. A niche market if you will. I am keeping my eyes PEELED for a display for POB though. Us being huge BB fans see this bigger than stores like Wal-mart do. I imagine it has gotten HUGE reviews in every major music magazine.  I have it on the original LP, CD and now the remaster. I have suggested it to the Electronics department manager, and they say "Who?" 

If you are using the manager at your local Wal-Mart as the guage to whether this release is getting a fair shake or not...ummmm...I can't help you. Dennis Wilson won't register with Wal-Mart or most Wal-Mart shoppers until AFTER the Grammy, AFTER the feature on Access Hollywood, and AFTER River Song is a Shampoo commercial, AFTER Beyonce covers Dreamer ...AFTER American Idol has Dennis Wilson night...then Wal-Mart will get a few in stock.

Precisely.

If your sole source of CD purchases is Wal-Mart, then you're not trying very hard. This is where the Mom and Pop stores trump the Big Box stores.

Well, some people simply don't live anywhere near a brick & mortar record store at all. For some, its either the big-box retailers or go to the internet. For most stuff unless it's super popular and mainstream (in which cases I rarely am interested in anyway), the big-gox retailers like Best Buy, Target, etc. aren't going to stock it at all, or will stock it in small numbers, perhaps only at certain locations. In the case of some of these stores, you can check in-store availability on the web, by the way. So sometimes you can check ahead without having to drive there if they don't have it.

In any event, I can understand someone's frustration with not being able to find a particular CD stocked at a particular store. However, if that person is frustrated, they should be frustrated with those retailers, not the record label in this case. I'm sure there are cases where labels do a bad job with promotion or distribution, but I would doubt this is the case with Sony/Legacy in the case of the POB set. I would imagine Sony/Legacy would be happy to ship as many copies to as many stores that are willing to order as many copies as possible. If the big-box retailers were putting in orders for thousands of copies of a title, Sony/Legacy would be happy to be able to ship out as much product as possible. The problem is that these non-record store big-box retailers just have a small selection of music, usually not much beyond the new popular releases and, if you're lucky, a small selection of back catalog for major artists. The big-box retailers used to be somewhat better with movies than music, but even the movie selection at those stores is getting to where it's harder and harder to find older back catalog stuff. They see it as only having a certain amount of shelf space, and they just stock the biggest sellers in big numbers.

[XY]

some regions (the Netherlands for one) don't have their own Amazon store and importing from the U.S. store

Perhaps not Amazon, but other online shops. In the Netherlands, it reached #67.
Here in Switzerland, it's available in all CD online shops I know and was available for preorder since months with audio samples, which is not always the case. And today, you order online if you want something the week it comes out. They can't stock all the CD stores around the world with POB.

[TonyW]

But to ignore entire western nations is that right? Just in this thread alone we know that Sony has not released POB in Germany, Canada and Australia. There are approximately 85 million potential customers in Germany, 35 million in Canada and 21 million in Australia - that's around 141 million people  - given that the population in the USA is just over 300 million people if we were to draw a line through the USA using the Mississippi River and told all the people to the right that they could go into there local record store and buy the album on the day of release but all the people to the left of the line you have to order through an online retailer and wait for a week to a month as the people in Germany, Canada and Australia have to, then would all you folk who live west of the Mississippi be happy? Would that be good business sense on behalf of the Sony distributors? Would Sony's head office be happy? Would YOU be happy?

And let's not forget that Germany, Canada and Australia have strong retail cultures that thrive on impulse purchases - the Joe Average consumer in those countries can't walk into a record store see the album on the shelf and say "Wow, I've heard its cool, I'll buy it" - cash (and plastic) burns deep holes in pockets - lost exposure and lost sales in key western retail markets. Product on the shelf sells more product at retail than reviews in magazines.

[XY]

I'm sure Sony/BMG will respond immediately if the demand is really that big. The people I know from Germany received their POBs. Let's not forget, this is a rerelease of an album that wasn't a big seller the first time around.
Perhaps the 500 interested heads in the US that didn't have their copies yet should import it from Switzerland, then it would be a #1 record here!

[Mooger Fooger]

Actually Jasper, that's not a bad idea. It would be great to have an obscure CD #1 in Switzerland!

As for my OP, I was puzzled by the fact that the major retailers who pride themselves on obtaining every weird and wonderful CD release you can imagine (I can't tell you how many variants of Knebworth I have seen in one shop alone!) don't carry POB. Doesn't anyone else find it odd that a place that stocks BWPS German/US/Japan issues neglects to carry POB?

I don't expect the Red Sea to part and have POB on the other side lit up like a beacon, I just would like to see the thing physically available in shop which claims on its entrance poster "The largets selections of CDs in the World". Call me weird, but I thought that's the whole point of CD shops.

[STE]

For what is worth, POB cannot yet be found in local record stores (small or chains) in Finland and Italy where I live. 
Obviously I haven't checked in every single shop of the countries, but it really seems POB didn't get to large parts of Europe yet.

Not too much of a problem for me as I pre-ordered it on-line, although I'm still waiting...   

STE

[Jon Stebbins]

Despite all of this neglect and bad strategy...Sony managed to virtually sell out of the first pressing of POB on the second day of its release. You might say, well they underestimated it, and they didn't pre-press enough copies...but for this day and age the number they pressed was pretty big, especially in that deluxe package. I'm the biggest DW optimist anywhere and I was thinking they might sell half that number if they were lucky...as it turns out sales projections are now double the first pressing and more...the album is #16 in the UK and looks like a hit here in the U.S.(we'll know tomorrow what the charts say). Seems to me Sony knew what they were doing and made this thing a success by promoting the hell out of it. I do feel for those fans who have had trouble landing a copy thus far...hopefully you'll have it soon.

[Rich Panteluk]

Yeah Jon,
I hear what you are saying.  I am sad that I still don't have it yet, but I know that one of the many copies that I have ordered will arrive soon.  I just wanted to make sure that I got a deluxe package before they run out, and perhaps go to a version with less bells and whistles.

More importantly, it is a joy that Dennis is receiving a great amount of attention and that the POB / Bambu set was assembled with the same kind of love and care that Dennis himself put into making the music.  My thanks go out to all who helped make this happen.

I will be checking my mailbox and all of my local cd shops anxiously awaiting it's arrival.

Go Dennis!

[Andrew G. Doe]

Just to reiterate - #16 in the UK.

Let's have some context: what was the last BB album to chart that high in the UK that wasn't a compilation ?  Surf's Up, over 36 years ago.  Has any other BB solo album done better ?  Only one. BWPS at #7 in 2004.

[alanjames]

I'm from Brazil, and Sony/BMG didn't released POB here, so I bought it from Amazon and I'm still waiting the 2 copies that I ordered: one for me, and one for my girlfriend (she's a fan of Dennis because I played POB to her, and she loved it, especially You and I). I ordered the triple lp today from Sundazed's site, and will be delivered in July.
And now, because of POB Legacy Edition, I'm showing the record to my friends, and my family.
Last Saturday I played it to my dad and he liked POB, so...maybe I'll buy one more copy for him.

[Shady]

It entered the Norway charts at 5,

How random!!

[XY]

It entered the Norway charts at 5,

Amazing!


In Ireland it's #71

[TdHabib]

It'll be interesting, since this is selling pretty-well, if it sells in good numbers in the US, POB sold near 300,000 in the 70s, if it sells 200,000 more in the US, we'll have a gold album. Sorry, just wishful thinking.

[Mooger Fooger]

Well I hope beyond hope that I am forced to sheepishly acknowledge mass chart activity in Germany. 

[roll plymouth rock]

So I checked the following stores on the day of release (and I live in a fairly large city of well over a million people in Canada):
HMV (several locations)
Play
Megatunes
Wal-mart
Best Buy
Future Shop
A & B Sound

No store in my city had it.  I was told a bunch of promising things though.  Most of these stores have it on order and that people have been asking about it.  That is great (I mean that sincerely) but I still don't have the cd and none of the stores could give me a definitive date that the cd would be in.

Are you from Calgary too? I tried to buy a copy here on the 17th with no luck...I just downloaded it instead  (while patiently awaiting my LP copy, of course)