BOC: Incorrect Expectations of WOTT\

[John A Swartz]

O.K., I'm going to make a few points about WOTT one more time
because apparently some may not have heard the first time and
are dissappointed that the CD set is something that it was never
intended to be.  Whether one likes it or not, one should be clear
as to what the product was suppossed to be - you wouldn't buy a
car expecting it do your laundry, would you?

1.  WOTT was always touted to be a BOC "Greatest Hits" package.

2.  WOTT is NOT the "new BOC album" that Bloom refers to -- BOC
are still trying to get a deal for a new studio album, but Sony's
release of WOTT was NEVER intended to be that album.  A new BOC
studio album may very likely come on a new label.  WOTT is Sony
releasing music that it has legal rights to (i.e. Sony owns the
rights to Columbia, under which all the stuff on WOTT was recorded
by BOC).  Also, Bloom has made it clear (at least to me) at concerts
that BOC would have a new studio album out some time "in the future"
(which would include "See You In Black", as well as probably "Still
Burnin'", "Harvest Moon", "The Cold Grey Light of Dawn", and "The
Power Underneath Despair"), and that Sony was releasing a new BOC
album -- but those 2 albums were seperate.

3.  Sony never intended on putting SFG/SWU stuff on WOTT -- well,
maybe I don't know that for a fact; but I'm sure that once the 2 CD
format was decided upon (which has been known for some time -- I
believe Al Bouchard first informed us of this probably 8 or 9 months
ago), that only BOC's greatest hits would be on there.  Yes, there
was a blurb in ICE magazine that had hinted of the SFG recordings,
but it was stated there that that material was for a *future*
release (i.e. beyond WOTT), and that negotiations with BOC were
necessary to make that a reality.  It has also been my (and other
BOC-L'ers, as well as Bolle's) inference that future BOC releases
by Sony will only happen if WOTT turns out to be financially
successful -- that is I believe WOTT is Sony's way of spending
little money (re-releasing stuff they already have) to see if there
is still any chances for profit off of BOC.

4.  For those who have asked, "Wings of Mercury" was at one time
under consideration for *Club Ninja*, but apparently the band
decided it wasn't right for the album - some may have felt it was
too basic in it's lyrical content (yeah, I know some of the stuff
we've heard since Club Ninja would fall in that category too).
I personally liked the song, but since the band hasn't done it since
'86, it probably isn't a candidate for any future BOC release (if
you can't find a live tape with it, check out the *Into The Crypts
of Rays* "import").

5.  WOTT was NOT aimed at "hardcore" BOC fans - any "greatest hits"
compilation couldn't be for hardcore fans.  Why?  Because we've already
got all that stuff.  Why would any hardcore BOC fan want songs like,
"The Reaper", "Godzilla", and "Burnin' For You" on any future release?
Unless there's something unique about it, we don't need it because
we've already got probably 3 or 4 other CDs, and maybe numerous live
tapes with these songs on them already.

The bottom line is this:  WOTT is the best BOC compilation available on
CD -- it has most of best songs (as allowable on 2 CDs - I've already
talked about some of the sins of omission, so I won't repeat for now),
better sound quality than some of the original recordings, some not-
readily-available stuff, and is probably an ideal introduction of BOC
to a potential new fan, or as a CD set for an older fan that hasn't
got the whole BOC catalog on CD.  If you aren't one of these people,
then WOTT probably isn't for you (and if Sony really intended it to
be as such, then of course they are very stupid indeed), and I wouldn't
recommend you buy it.  Except, I DO recommend you buy it -- because it
is MY personal belief that if WOTT does not sell well enough to
convince Sony that BOC may be viable commercially to them, then none
of the SWU/SFG stuff will be released in the future.

End of sermon - you can wake up now,

John