Red Mosquito

I hope Tom Waits tombstone says “Real gone” and a guy plays taps on a trumpet as his funeral

In his book Eric Idle says his tombstone will read:

Say no more!

That's funny. Could also say: always look on the bright side of death

The problem I have with the Real Gone situation on Spotify is that it feels like rewriting history. I of course know there's a very much different original version but how should a new casual fan know that? When I discover a new band and listen to them on Spotify and it only says "Remastered" I don't assume it's a complete remix. I only assume they remastered it to be a bit louder. If I then think the album sucks I won't go out of my way to find an original version. In the case of a normal remaster I probably won't change my mind about the album by finding the original so I won't do that.
Spotify is the most common way people listen and discover new music nowadays. Most people will not go out of their way to find out that an album that is listed as a remaster is actually a complete remix. It's just a really weird decision to replace the original version of an album on the most popular music platform which is the most popular way to listen to music overall. Replacing an album with a remaster (and not a remix) is something I can accept and only annoys me a little bit but this is something different.

If someone likes Real Gone that much, they will eventually learn there is another version of it. It will feel like christmas.

That is one possibility. The other is that they dont like it (because it's worse than the original) and dont bother. It's just weird and there's nothing good about the choice they (the label probably?) made

I think for a legacy artist like Tom, if you listen to Real Gone and like or dont like and learn there is another version, you will dive into it.

I remember having this discussion a few years ago with Lost Dogs and the re worked versions of some songs.

Musicnerds like us might find out. I think most people understandably don't bother that much, though. Most of the time I probably would not bother, either. I think you overestimate people's willingness to research such things.
If I listen to an album I have not listened by an artist I like I just put it on in Spotify and don't assume it might be a remix.

what i was saying is that if you came to like someone as Tom Waits, you will probably find your way to the other version.

I can see that. Someone listening to Real Gone has a higher than usual chance of being someone who seeks out more information.

Spoiler: show

It's still stupid

Mike wrote:The problem I have with the Real Gone situation on Spotify is that it feels like rewriting history. I of course know there's a very much different original version but how should a new casual fan know that? When I discover a new band and listen to them on Spotify and it only says "Remastered" I don't assume it's a complete remix. I only assume they remastered it to be a bit louder. If I then think the album sucks I won't go out of my way to find an original version. In the case of a normal remaster I probably won't change my mind about the album by finding the original so I won't do that.
Spotify is the most common way people listen and discover new music nowadays. Most people will not go out of their way to find out that an album that is listed as a remaster is actually a complete remix. It's just a really weird decision to replace the original version of an album on the most popular music platform which is the most popular way to listen to music overall. Replacing an album with a remaster (and not a remix) is something I can accept and only annoys me a little bit but this is something different.

Youtube will have what Spotify does not.

Mike wrote:I can see that. Someone listening to Real Gone has a higher than usual chance of being someone who seeks out more information.

Spoiler: show

It's still stupid

This is why is so important to still hold on to your old cds or vinyls sometimes.

The Real Gone remix is a crime

surfndestroy wrote:Youtube will have what Spotify does not.

This is not necessarily true

McParadigm wrote:The Real Gone remix is a crime

I listen to it quite a bit because Spotify through my soundbar is how I listen to a lot of music these days. So, I'm fairly used to it now. But every time I put on the original vinyl my mind kind of explodes all over again. The original mix/master is just so fucking great.

A lot of talk for an album that ranks in the basement of his discography canon

Spoiler: show

bodysnatcher wrote:A lot of talk for an album that ranks in the basement of his discography canon

Spoiler: show

Mike wrote:The problem I have with the Real Gone situation on Spotify is that it feels like rewriting history. I of course know there's a very much different original version but how should a new casual fan know that? When I discover a new band and listen to them on Spotify and it only says "Remastered" I don't assume it's a complete remix. I only assume they remastered it to be a bit louder. If I then think the album sucks I won't go out of my way to find an original version. In the case of a normal remaster I probably won't change my mind about the album by finding the original so I won't do that.
Spotify is the most common way people listen and discover new music nowadays. Most people will not go out of their way to find out that an album that is listed as a remaster is actually a complete remix. It's just a really weird decision to replace the original version of an album on the most popular music platform which is the most popular way to listen to music overall. Replacing an album with a remaster (and not a remix) is something I can accept and only annoys me a little bit but this is something different.

I agree with all of this. When I was getting into The Who in the late '90's, I just bought the circulating CD versions at the time, and I am pretty sure they were/are complete remixes. That music is totally etched on my brain that way now. I love all those albums so I can't say it was inherently detrimental to my experience of the music, but it definitely produced the effect you describe -- I certainly didn't hear those albums and think, "Uh oh, these aren't the originals -- I need to seek out the 'real' versions of these immediately!"

I will say, though, this only bothers when I am already a fan of the artist and I see this kind of canonical shakeup happening in real time. If I get into something new and then find out later that I've been snowed by some kind of new-and-improved bastardized version, I rarely care (though if I like the artist enough I do enjoy going back and hearing the original versions). Which I suppose kind of proves the point above...

I know John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band were a Springsteen rip but they have a handful of songs that I really love.

bada wrote:I know John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band were a Springsteen rip but they have a handful of songs that I really love.

Too bad the proper original soundtrack is so hard to find.