Now Playing: Koobas
Topic: Entry data revision
I don't intend or pretend to keep track of all new reissues that poureth forth from all corners of the world, but once in a while there may be a quick survey of what's going on. Like right now.
First off is the unexpected repro of TODD's immortal "With Love From Me To You", originally self-released in 100 copies in Indiana 1979. It's been said that Todd sells more t-shirts than records (I have two snazzy Todd tees, for instance), but the back story and significant artefact status of Todd justifies this repro from Swan Fungus, an American label. The modern producers generously provided a photo of Todd in a joyous moment reminiscent of his moment of triumph at the high school prom, where according to legend he became a John Hughes '80s teen movie type underdog/hero after the jocks tried to make fun of him and the other kids rallied to support him. 
It was snidely predicted back then that Todd would "still be selling his record 20 years from now" and guess what--the bullies were right, but not in the way they intended! Apparently Todd likes to think that his current status is due to the excellence of his music and nothing else, so buy the rekkid and decide for yourself.
Way off at the other end of the scale, or maybe on another scale altogether, is a brand new reissue of the hallowed debut LP from MU, featuring Merrel Fankhauser and Jeff Cotton. No mind games on this Guerssen reissue, just the classic LP in the original '71 sleeve, with insert liner notes by, well, me. It was great to connect with the Fank, who remembers every aspect of his career well, and given his multitude of projects there was quite a bit to write about. I think this may be the most accurate and complete piece fact-wise for the 1969-72 period so far. The LP is great and now ready to be contemplated by another generation.
Almost as unlikely as Todd is the reissue of MISTY HUSH REVIVAL also on Guerssen. This one's been out for a while but still has me surprised each time I see it listed. It's enjoyable as a time capsule with a sound and vibe you never find on a 'real' label release, but it's also so extremely obscure (for a long while, only one copy was known to exist) that I never thought it would be reissued. Of course, I thought the same about HEITKOTTER, and then a 1000-copy reissue popped up from Time-Lag, so I guess anything is possible these days. When is the Cincinnati Joe & Mad Lydia repro due?
Finally on Guerssen is a record whose qualities are in your face and not in need of ironic analysis, meaning T-KAIL's "Somewhere Sometime" (or whatever--I have an orig here but am too lazy to check), which comes with band story from my Acid Archives colleague Aaron Milenski, esq. Aaron is a major fan of this record since long, which you can see from his review in the Acid Archives. I think it's pretty damn good too, and recommended to fans of Titus Oates, Galaxy and maybe even Anonymous. Watch for the disco track on side 2 though!
In the first version of this post I forgot to mention yet another unlikely reissue of recent making, meaning the extremely obscure METZ album from mid'70s Texas. You can find a review of the album in the Acid Archives 2nd Edition, but basically it's an energetic urban glam-rock sound that is quite unusual for the region. The back story has some interesting angles--the first (presumably) copy was found by the Rockadelic guys back in the 1980s, but one of them managed to break it when demonstrating the flexibility of the thin vinyl! They patched it together enough so it could be spot played, and realized that it kicked ass. After that nothing was heard about Metz for 20 years, until a copy popped up in one of the Pokora books, while a collector in New Orleans simultaneously found another copy.
Metz sleeve as seen in Pokora book, sorry for poor scan
A funny thing about the new reissue from the US Ossining label is that the front cover isn't "real"--the Metz LP was most likely sleeve-less, and what is being recycled is a home-made, modern design drawn by the Austrian (T.U.T) collector who owned the copy shown in the Pokora book, and who reportedly had a habit of creating new sleeves for the sleeve-less items in his collection. This is more of a fun curiosity than a problem, not least since the design is nice and fits the record. Observe the reversed 'Z'.
