Now Suuz if you would of mailed in the paper sales sheet it would off arrived by now. Saying that, I have filled in the sheet at this end and Luton has been mailed. But please a reminder to everyone you MUST mail in the paper sheets as we process from those. (no exceptions). We always send a confirmation email to you when your sheet arrives (providing we can read your email address).

A third batch of LUTONS arrive over the next week for the new orders, as soon as we get these we will mail the latest copies out.
Gryph

Damn, damn and damn. Mine evidently got lost in the post after being mailed at the start of November. PG has lodged a claim with Oz Post, so I guess I wait (and wait) until they deal with it. Next year maybe. Hope whoever got my package is enjoying it.

I love Luton! What a great band Split Enz was. Tim was really a fine vocalist. Too bad the world was never ready (then or now) for this stuff. Thanks to whomever is responsible for Luton seeing the light of day!

Hi: I'm a new member (USA) and would love to get a copy of the 2cd Luton version--how do I go about doing that from here?

It's only available by mail order to paid-up members of the Frenz of the Enz club - you need to use the order sheet posted out with the newsletter.

You need to email Peter Green and join the fan club and then ask Peter about Luton. However, the office is closed and Peter won't be receiving email until after January 12th. After that you can reach him at Peter@Frenz.com.

After many many many listens of Luton, one thing that struck me is how badly the piano is recorded. Pianos aren't the easiest things to mic, so was it bad mic placement, or was it just a crappy piano? Just wondering...

I've got odds on it being an old and worn-out piano, IMO though it give Late In Rome in particular some extra feeling and character to it, especially compared to the soul-less B-side I think it was to 1983 Next Exit?

Serge was never released, it was going to be a Neil FInn solo record. I quite like that version with the strings.

quote:

Originally posted by Camus:
Serge was never released, it was going to be a Neil FInn solo record. I quite like that version with the strings.

True. Maybe Greatfox was thinking of Remember When, a b-side for Next Exit which was also on Luton? I like the version with the strings too, for what it's worth.

I agree with Greatfox that the string version of Serge sounds a bit soulless. I much prefer the Luton version, even though it isn't perfect, I think it's the way the song was meant to sound. Just Neil at the piano without any strings or drum machines.

Our 4th batch of LUTON (2 cd) will arrive in just over 2 weeks time.

We have about 12 orders outstanding and YES club members can still order LUTON (2 cd) through the club.

I'd say about 70% of the pressing has been gobbled up by Frenz members already.

Glad so many are enjoying this.
Gryph.

I am coming late to this party, having only just received my copy of the Rootin Tootin Luton Tapes (the 15-track edition, that is). But I'm thrilled and surprised to discover how good the album is. I was always much more partial to Split Enz's pre-True Colours output; still, I'd assumed the phantom Luton tapes would be little more than a drunken lo-fi mess by a band at its lowest ebb. It's great to be proven wrong. I think this is as good as anything they did in the harlequin-suit and face-paint years when Phil Judd was in and out of the band (and then in and out again). I actually prefer it to Dizrythmia and Frenzy for its consistency and its sheer hair-standing-on-the-back-of-the-neck raw energy.

And though I'd always liked Serge (aka Late In Rome) far more than Neil's later hits with Split Enz, I'd never realized just how consistently good his earliest output was. And is. Carried Away, Holy Smoke, and Evelyn -- damn!! what superb songs. I can hear the germ of Crowded House in these tunes, but there's so much more edge and spike to them.

Tim's songs are also consistently strong. I love the Kinks-y feel of Creature Comforts. And though the band were in England throughout '78, I can hear some uncanny affinities between Tim's songs -- esp. Hypnotised -- and some of the wild and wonderful music being made back in NZ at the same time by Toy Love (Chris Knox's band, which also briefly hosted Phil Judd before he became a Suburban Reptile and then a Swinger).

Sublime stuff. Thanks so much for making it happen.

This is an absolute gem!
Tim's new-wave opener if brilliant and Neil's songs are very fine.

The only thing that would make it better is if it had more tracks.

one thing I've noticed after continuous and close listening to Luton, is an aspect of Famous People.
To me, Tim's vocal sounds heavily compressed, like a low-quality download, in comparison to the rest of the album, including the original mix of Semi-Detached. Has anyone picked up on this too??

That was one of the problems Eddie had to deal with on the original multi-track. The vocals on this track and some others have a thin sound with a bit of a squeak to them. A "gnarly" sound, as Eddie put it. When listening to old original mixes I'd previously put it down to oxide shedding from the tape. Maybe it was a bad mic or the bias not set correctly at the recording stage (that's also one of the theories behind the bad audio quality on the "Frenzy" album).

You mentioned compression. On the whole, while I think the mixes on the new Luton CD are very good, especially when you take the difficulties that Adrian and Eddie were presented with on the 8-track tape (like a main vocal sharing its track with another instrument), I don't like the excessive compression and clipping distortion throughout. It's the sound of the 21st century, I suppose.

don't get me wrong, what Eddie and Adrian have done to an 8 track tape is amazing! that one song just stood out of the rest, thanks for your answer Jaffa

The final club order for LUTON (2 cd) has now gone in, and stock will arrive in the next 10 days.

Thanks to those last batch of club members who ordered and have waited patiently. Being the final order we had to be exact.

For those people after single CD copies, most JB stores in Australia do have the single copy.

Gryph

Famous People is one of the original mixes isn't it? Like Semi Detached the multi track is missing and it couldn't be remixed?

Finally the last club order of these arrives next week from Warner-Mushroom, I'd say Wednesday seeing Monday is a holiday it will slow the process down a bit....

We'll get all the cd mailer boxes ready this weekend though, so they can all go out as soon as stock arrives. Thanks for being patient with this last batch.

Gryph