MiC up for order on Amazon, August release

[Paulos]

I have no idea when my copy of MiC will arrive as amazon.co.uk are still insisting that it will be delivered by 30th August while at the same time stating that it isn't released until 2nd September. Way to drop the ball amazon.

[hypehat]

Well sometimes they try to deliver preordered things on the friday before - they did with my Nilsson set, for instance.

[Emdeeh]

I've just spotted a notice from Amazon US that my order is being prepared for shipping...

[bgas]

Will pick up my copy at the post office tomorrow. They tried to deliver it today, but I wasn't there. Finally, the long wait is almost over

Uh oh... i totally forgot it may require a signature - +1 waiting day for me as I never get home in time to make it to the P.O before they close.

Rats.

How will you EVER get it, if you can't get there to sign for it? 
Didn't have to sign for mine, the carrier just put it in my hands and kept on walking....

[Paulos]

Well sometimes they try to deliver preordered things on the friday before - they did with my Nilsson set, for instance.

I hope you're right Mr Hat, I'm getting all fidgety knowing that MiC is out there and I don't know when I'll have mine.

[Bean Bag]

The UPS guy brought MIC to my office today, as well as a deluxe copy of Dylan's Bootleg Series 10 (which is getting RAVE reviews by the way).  For some reason I started babbling about how important these archival releases are, and he started backing away.  He updated his hand held device and said, "Gotta run!"

Heh heh, back away from the Crazy Person!

(Unbelievably, the Dylan set, based on the Self Portrait and New Morning years, looks to be among the best of this series.  The "buzz" in this is about right.  It's a KILLER set!)

Heysaboda -- I'm curious about the Dylan set.  I don't know too much about Dylan, have a few early albums -- but what's the story with this bootleg series?  What's "another self-portrait?"

[alf wiedersehen]

The UPS guy brought MIC to my office today, as well as a deluxe copy of Dylan's Bootleg Series 10 (which is getting RAVE reviews by the way).  For some reason I started babbling about how important these archival releases are, and he started backing away.  He updated his hand held device and said, "Gotta run!"

Heh heh, back away from the Crazy Person!

(Unbelievably, the Dylan set, based on the Self Portrait and New Morning years, looks to be among the best of this series.  The "buzz" in this is about right.  It's a KILLER set!)

Heysaboda -- I'm curious about the Dylan set.  I don't know too much about Dylan, have a few early albums -- but what's the story with this bootleg series?  What's "another self-portrait?"

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,15950.0.html

[The Shift]

I'll probably be the last person to hear WIBNTLA...I'm holding out till by box comes!  Maybe I'm crazy...

You are not alone my son...

You are not alone in not being alone…

[leggo of my ego]

Will pick up my copy at the post office tomorrow. They tried to deliver it today, but I wasn't there. Finally, the long wait is almost over

Uh oh... i totally forgot it may require a signature - +1 waiting day for me as I never get home in time to make it to the P.O before they close.

Rats.

How will you EVER get it, if you can't get there to sign for it? 
Didn't have to sign for mine, the carrier just put it in my hands and kept on walking....

They will deliver it on a Saturday.

[The Shift]

I have no idea when my copy of MiC will arrive as amazon.co.uk are still insisting that it will be delivered by 30th August while at the same time stating that it isn't released until 2nd September. Way to drop the ball amazon.

Suspect this is a hangover from when the release date was put back very briefly. Mine's showing exactly the same… I can wait for something this good!

[Heysaboda]

The UPS guy brought MIC to my office today, as well as a deluxe copy of Dylan's Bootleg Series 10 (which is getting RAVE reviews by the way).  For some reason I started babbling about how important these archival releases are, and he started backing away.  He updated his hand held device and said, "Gotta run!"

Heh heh, back away from the Crazy Person!

(Unbelievably, the Dylan set, based on the Self Portrait and New Morning years, looks to be among the best of this series.  The "buzz" in this is about right.  It's a KILLER set!)

Heysaboda -- I'm curious about the Dylan set.  I don't know too much about Dylan, have a few early albums -- but what's the story with this bootleg series?  What's "another self-portrait?"

Hey Bean Bag!  Bubbly Waves posted some references.  Basically this is a set of recordings, demos, one off's that were done in the Self Portrait/New Morning era.  Also, in some cases, the overdubs on the Self Portrait versions have been removed.

drop dead GORGEOUS in every way

The simple lyric quality of these tunes comes through!  Each ONE of these tunes is a JEWEL and I can't believe that Bob left these off the actual album!  Get the 2 CD version.  The Deluxe package has the complete Isle of Wight concert 1969.

Unfortunately this set is cutting into my MIC time too!
Cheers Matey!

[Paulos]

I have no idea when my copy of MiC will arrive as amazon.co.uk are still insisting that it will be delivered by 30th August while at the same time stating that it isn't released until 2nd September. Way to drop the ball amazon.

Suspect this is a hangover from when the release date was put back very briefly. Mine's showing exactly the same… I can wait for something this good!

I must be patient, I've already allowed myself a listen or 2 of WIBNTLA but I feel I can just about wait for the rest. Maybe.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

I've already allowed myself a listen or 2 of WIBNTLA.

Whilst doing the Nuneaton stroke?

[Freddie French-Pounce]

I have no idea when my copy of MiC will arrive as amazon.co.uk are still insisting that it will be delivered by 30th August while at the same time stating that it isn't released until 2nd September. Way to drop the ball amazon.

Suspect this is a hangover from when the release date was put back very briefly. Mine's showing exactly the same… I can wait for something this good!

I must be patient, I've already allowed myself a listen or 2 of WIBNTLA but I feel I can just about wait for the rest. Maybe.

You're in the exact same boat as me.

[Matt Bielewicz]

I have no idea when my copy of MiC will arrive as amazon.co.uk are still insisting that it will be delivered by 30th August while at the same time stating that it isn't released until 2nd September. Way to drop the ball amazon.

Suspect this is a hangover from when the release date was put back very briefly. Mine's showing exactly the same… I can wait for something this good!

I must be patient, I've already allowed myself a listen or 2 of WIBNTLA but I feel I can just about wait for the rest. Maybe.

You're in the exact same boat as me.

This nonsense with the Amazon UK release date (I think Universal have REALLY dropped the ball here) is one of the reasons I didn't wait for Amazon UK in the end. My box turned up earlier today all the way from Amazon Germany, and I still paid less than the current Amazon UK price (£74.20 including shipping in the end). Whilst I'm obviously glad at how it's happened to work out for me, the situation is, objectively speaking, absolutely ridiculous. How is it that I can order a product from Germany for less than the same company sells it directly in the UK, and MUCH less than the same company sells it in the States, and receive my order well ahead of the same retailer selling the same product in the UK and US?

This kind of massaging and attempt to control release dates and pricing in different local territories is a hangover from the way record companies used to do things in pre-Internet days (and how film companies still try to 'regionalise' cinema and DVD releases and times), but they can't get away with it any more. It's even more crazy in continental Europe. On Amazon France the MiC set was being offered for over 120 Euros, in Italy it was 140 Euros. The price I paid at Amazon Germany was 84 Euros. In the Eurozone there's even less chance that people will stick to ordering from their local retailer when they can pay 40 percent less in the same currency to get the same product, with at most a delivery delay of just a couple of days. And I haven't even suffered that in the UK because Universal chose to absurdly delay the release date in the UK relative to everywhere else...

I also ended up choosing my least favourite way to buy a record. Being at the mercy of Amazon couriers sucks big time. If there's one thing I hate, it's staring at the letter box thinking 'Will my box come today? Who knows?', or thinking I can't go out to the shops because I might miss the box being delivered and have to wait in ANOTHER day for redelivery or pick it up from some depot miles away.

I would have preferred to buy from any retailer, but my favourite bricks-and-mortar stores, like the terrific Badlands in Cheltenham where I got the SMiLE Sessions, were either not planning to carry MiC or they weren't allowed to get it in until next week because of the UK September 2nd official release date. All the stores I called were going to be charging 75 pounds, so thanks to a combination of the absurdities of the Amazon situation and Universal's release date control-freakery I have ended up paying less for the set to come from further away and got it before I could have bought it through any UK shop.

This. Makes. No. Sense!

Still [deep breath] my coffee table has a big square book on it the colour of an orange. I can console myself with that...!

[jimmy1949]

My order has said "shipping soon" and "shipping now" since yesterday on Amazon USA..I emailed customer service and they got right on it, upgraded my shipping time for free and It will come Thursday with the Dylan box and remastered  Fleetwood Mac "Then Play On".

[Rocky Raccoon]

Probably the first negative review I've read of the set is from Bret Wheadon of beachboys.com (not to be confused with the official site, thebeachboys.com).
http://www.beachboys.com/albumsIV.html#MIC

[Bean Bag]

The UPS guy brought MIC to my office today, as well as a deluxe copy of Dylan's Bootleg Series 10 (which is getting RAVE reviews by the way).  For some reason I started babbling about how important these archival releases are, and he started backing away.  He updated his hand held device and said, "Gotta run!"

Heh heh, back away from the Crazy Person!

(Unbelievably, the Dylan set, based on the Self Portrait and New Morning years, looks to be among the best of this series.  The "buzz" in this is about right.  It's a KILLER set!)

Heysaboda -- I'm curious about the Dylan set.  I don't know too much about Dylan, have a few early albums -- but what's the story with this bootleg series?  What's "another self-portrait?"

Hey Bean Bag!  Bubbly Waves posted some references.  Basically this is a set of recordings, demos, one off's that were done in the Self Portrait/New Morning era.  Also, in some cases, the overdubs on the Self Portrait versions have been removed.

drop dead GORGEOUS in every way

The simple lyric quality of these tunes comes through!  Each ONE of these tunes is a JEWEL and I can't believe that Bob left these off the actual album!  Get the 2 CD version.  The Deluxe package has the complete Isle of Wight concert 1969.

Unfortunately this set is cutting into my MIC time too!
Cheers Matey!

Right on!!  Thanks guys, for the info.  I listened/watched the video on Amazon's site -- WOW.  I'm definitely intrigued.

[Paulos]

Probably the first negative review I've read of the set is from Bret Wheadon of beachboys.com (not to be confused with the official site, thebeachboys.com).
http://www.beachboys.com/albumsIV.html#MIC

Whilst Wheadon's site is good his reviews aren't, the man hates Smiley Smile for one and has an irrational hatred of Jon Stebbins' work.

[Rocky Raccoon]

Probably the first negative review I've read of the set is from Bret Wheadon of beachboys.com (not to be confused with the official site, thebeachboys.com).
http://www.beachboys.com/albumsIV.html#MIC

Whilst Wheadon's site is good his reviews aren't, the man hates Smiley Smile for one and has an irrational hatred of Jon Stebbins' work.

To be fair, I think the gist of what he's saying is valid (it's overpriced, the album tracks don't need to be there) but I think he's definitely very bitter and he doesn't go into enough detail about what IS good about the set (which there is a lot) rather than talk about what's wrong with it.  It definitely is a flawed set and it could have been better but looking at it for what it is, it's excellent.  And I definitely don't agree with him about the live versions of Vega-Tables and Wonderful, I think those are great!

[Nicko1234]

Whilst Wheadon's site is good his reviews aren't, the man hates Smiley Smile for one and has an irrational hatred of Jon Stebbins' work.

I don't agree with many of his reviews (anybody who ranks GIOMH higher than Holland is not to be trusted) but he does have some valid points here. $130 surely is, 'pricier than what a casual fan will want to dish out' which means that Capitol are selling the same old stuff to the fans.

And I've said it before but the running order for the live tracks is wrong. To skip from 1975 to 1993 is bound to be jarring.

[Micha]

This nonsense with the Amazon UK release date (I think Universal have REALLY dropped the ball here) is one of the reasons I didn't wait for Amazon UK in the end. My box turned up earlier today all the way from Amazon Germany, and I still paid less than the current Amazon UK price (£74.20 including shipping in the end). Whilst I'm obviously glad at how it's happened to work out for me, the situation is, objectively speaking, absolutely ridiculous. How is it that I can order a product from Germany for less than the same company sells it directly in the UK, and MUCH less than the same company sells it in the States, and receive my order well ahead of the same retailer selling the same product in the UK and US?

This kind of massaging and attempt to control release dates and pricing in different local territories is a hangover from the way record companies used to do things in pre-Internet days (and how film companies still try to 'regionalise' cinema and DVD releases and times), but they can't get away with it any more. It's even more crazy in continental Europe. On Amazon France the MiC set was being offered for over 120 Euros, in Italy it was 140 Euros. The price I paid at Amazon Germany was 84 Euros. In the Eurozone there's even less chance that people will stick to ordering from their local retailer when they can pay 40 percent less in the same currency to get the same product, with at most a delivery delay of just a couple of days. And I haven't even suffered that in the UK because Universal chose to absurdly delay the release date in the UK relative to everywhere else...

I also ended up choosing my least favourite way to buy a record. Being at the mercy of Amazon couriers sucks big time. If there's one thing I hate, it's staring at the letter box thinking 'Will my box come today? Who knows?', or thinking I can't go out to the shops because I might miss the box being delivered and have to wait in ANOTHER day for redelivery or pick it up from some depot miles away.

I would have preferred to buy from any retailer, but my favourite bricks-and-mortar stores, like the terrific Badlands in Cheltenham where I got the SMiLE Sessions, were either not planning to carry MiC or they weren't allowed to get it in until next week because of the UK September 2nd official release date. All the stores I called were going to be charging 75 pounds, so thanks to a combination of the absurdities of the Amazon situation and Universal's release date control-freakery I have ended up paying less for the set to come from further away and got it before I could have bought it through any UK shop.

This. Makes. No. Sense!

Still [deep breath] my coffee table has a big square book on it the colour of an orange. I can console myself with that...!

In 2011 I ordered TSS from my favorite record store, and I ended up paying one third more than I would have on Amazon. The owner said they don't take new boxes in stock any more because Amazon is so much cheaper that nobody buys it in the shops anymore. I will still buy regular stuff in that shop, because I like that due to being way older than Amazon , but I ordered MIC over Amazon just to check if they manage to deliver on release day. They did. Still I will avoid Amazon whenever possible. You know German workers at Amazon frequently went on strike the past months due to their bad pay and working conditions?

[bgas]

This nonsense with the Amazon UK release date (I think Universal have REALLY dropped the ball here) is one of the reasons I didn't wait for Amazon UK in the end. My box turned up earlier today all the way from Amazon Germany, and I still paid less than the current Amazon UK price (£74.20 including shipping in the end). Whilst I'm obviously glad at how it's happened to work out for me, the situation is, objectively speaking, absolutely ridiculous. How is it that I can order a product from Germany for less than the same company sells it directly in the UK, and MUCH less than the same company sells it in the States, and receive my order well ahead of the same retailer selling the same product in the UK and US?

This kind of massaging and attempt to control release dates and pricing in different local territories is a hangover from the way record companies used to do things in pre-Internet days (and how film companies still try to 'regionalise' cinema and DVD releases and times), but they can't get away with it any more. It's even more crazy in continental Europe. On Amazon France the MiC set was being offered for over 120 Euros, in Italy it was 140 Euros. The price I paid at Amazon Germany was 84 Euros. In the Eurozone there's even less chance that people will stick to ordering from their local retailer when they can pay 40 percent less in the same currency to get the same product, with at most a delivery delay of just a couple of days. And I haven't even suffered that in the UK because Universal chose to absurdly delay the release date in the UK relative to everywhere else...

I also ended up choosing my least favourite way to buy a record. Being at the mercy of Amazon couriers sucks big time. If there's one thing I hate, it's staring at the letter box thinking 'Will my box come today? Who knows?', or thinking I can't go out to the shops because I might miss the box being delivered and have to wait in ANOTHER day for redelivery or pick it up from some depot miles away.

I would have preferred to buy from any retailer, but my favourite bricks-and-mortar stores, like the terrific Badlands in Cheltenham where I got the SMiLE Sessions, were either not planning to carry MiC or they weren't allowed to get it in until next week because of the UK September 2nd official release date. All the stores I called were going to be charging 75 pounds, so thanks to a combination of the absurdities of the Amazon situation and Universal's release date control-freakery I have ended up paying less for the set to come from further away and got it before I could have bought it through any UK shop.

This. Makes. No. Sense!

Still [deep breath] my coffee table has a big square book on it the colour of an orange. I can console myself with that...!

In 2011 I ordered TSS from my favorite record store, and I ended up paying one third more than I would have on Amazon. The owner said they don't take new boxes in stock any more because Amazon is so much cheaper that nobody buys it in the shops anymore. I will still buy regular stuff in that shop, because I like that due to being way older than Amazon , but I ordered MIC over Amazon just to check if they manage to deliver on release day. They did. Still I will avoid Amazon whenever possible. You know German workers at Amazon frequently went on strike the past months due to their bad pay and working conditions?

Maybe you should send your box back, and ask them to donate the $$ you paid to the workers...

[Micha]

Maybe you should send your box back, and ask them to donate the $$ you paid to the workers...

I'll paint them a protest sign for free. And record a song "Amazon Workers Demonstration Time".

[hypehat]

'Next time there's a boxset, you'd best stay out of sight'?