Well another year gone and all a bit older but after previous FINAL TOUR visits since 2017 we had the joy of another UK visit and a chance to enjoy Frankie Valli [with his music, singers and band]. A final chance to see him perhaps, but also a broadcast PBS show at Mohegan Sun [which many have seen] was also a treat for fans.
Our aim has, since 2018, been to get the 'Unreleased' tracks and the issued albums and singles out in the LIMITED EDITION Snapper Music Box Set. The delay to the issue from December to [we hope no later than] April was a big disappointment. The confirmation of the content [as finalised and approved with the late Bob Fisher and I] has not been updated on the web site either. We did it all to celebrate the work of Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio in the studio with Frankie Valli. We even found a LIVE studio recording of 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' for inclusion as the photo below illustrates them recording [Photo courtesy of George Schowerer - Sound Engineer: Mirasound Studios].
But with so much income for the labels and FSP from this £875,000 project, it makes it the biggest and clearly the best ever presentation of their career......and maybe amongst their last CD based release as the music industry boast a major growth in streaming access?. Check out some of the forecasts here.
https://victrola.com/blogs/articles/what-is-the-future-of-music-in-the-digital-age
Global News tells us........”There is something very, very wrong with today’s music. It just may not be very good.” This is NOT actually correct as there are some brilliant new voices and stylists around today, but taken generally they make a good point........“Current” music 'is becoming progressively less popular' when measured by the number of streams and sales. Whatever is being released today just isn’t resonating with the public the way it did in the past. People are showing a growing interest in listening to older music instead. And there’s still more to consider. Cast your mind back to 1962. Music that was thirty years old then 'sounded' old. Not only was modern pop music still developing, but we’d barely begun to use things like electric guitars and proper amps. Effects pedals hadn’t been invented yet nor had synthesizers. Recording studios were primitive things compared to today, capable of only producing material in mono [like 'Sherry'...ed.] But then starting sometime around 1969, the sonic quality of recordings reached new levels. A song recorded in 1972 sounds every bit as good as something recorded this year. (In fact, you can make an argument that because of over-production, digital technology, and too much compression, older records sound 'better' than what we have today.)” That is certainly true of the coming Motown Unreleased in the Snapper Music Box Set.
Though streaming may provide 82% of the Music Industry income, with the massive number of tracks needed to maintain growth, it has work to do. The Hype Magazine says that, less noticed, are .....“the shortcomings of the music streaming market. A less known effect is related to the pay for the artists. It seems that the division of the fee does not favour the artists, no matter how frequently their songs are played. The streaming channels, the major labels and the most famous artists are getting a higher percentage of the fee. Smaller and medium size artists, even though popular, come last. This is because the fans don’t have a say in the way fees get allocated.”
But CD Box Set releases are the in-style releases on line but generally because they sell between £25 and £50 for mini sets of up to 6 CDs. To those used to owning a disc or download, the forthcoming Box Set will provide the Four Seasons Partnership and the fans with a new set of masters rather than waiting for them to choose to 'stream' them sometime in the future. But whether we consume our FV/4S music as files or as streamed consumption we want it when we want it via instant access now. Our role as 'curators' of the 'Four Seasons History' has been revitalised by the research we were able to do for the Box Set and it opened up so much information to introduce new fans to the music and as a source to find out more. Although we haven't updated our web site since 2018, [www.seasonally.co.uk] it remains an essential source re discographies and reference articles....so it answers many needs and our two Facebook pages offer places to post videos and You Tube tracks as well as regular discussion, blogs and videocasts. We intend to keep this flow of information as a free resource for all fans and collectors.
In the 'Seasons On Saturday' videocasts we will continue to explore with our panel of expert collectors/fans/former Seasons the research we have done into the 'real story' of the Four Seasons MUSIC..[NOT the 'Jersey Boys' one.].. ...focussing on how it was created.....how it succeeded [or failed] in each decade of the last century since the 1950s. We as the 'curation network' are predominantly the BABY BOOMERS......and whilst we do not have an infinite 'value', we are 20% of the UK population...we are as old as we are and want the product we want......we are tech 'embracers'...so in the UK 13.6m of us love music and if only 50% know and love Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as they were 'enshrined ' as the Jersey Boys'.....then over 6m will be interested in a GOOD and INTERESTING product like the Snapper Music Box Set. Data showsthat boomers are active on social media, spending around one hour 48 minutes a day browsing Facebook and Instagram. They are 19% more likely to share content than any other generation, and 58% more likely than millennials to click through to a brand’s website from a social media post. and make up one of the wealthiest generations, with one in five classed as millionaires.[not in our network unfortunately....at the moment......well no-one is admitting to that!!!]
According to a report published in The Financial Times, it’s estimated that of every £1 of household wealth in the UK, boomers own 36 pence. Brands that offer high-quality products or services will win the hearts of baby boomers and will turn them into brand advocates. There’s already a whole host of baby boomers smashing stereotypes on Instagram, showing people they can be who they want and dress as they like at any age. Baby boomers believe their glory days are still ahead of them. Therefore, marketers must tap into these desires to effectively sell their services and products. Boomers are influencers.
BUT a 'lethargy' has developed in the Music Industry and it has stopped the Record Business!. For example majors like Universal Motown are taking several years to get projects to the Record Companies for their issue [and doing none internally] and so everything has ground to a halt. The Music Business 'Big Three'.....[Universal/Sony/Warner] only want mega video and sound projects selling millions of copies and short term revenue. The laws of the universe will change this as it is a short term fix to get annual revenues. It can't last. We see the big picture and what we have achieved in the last 12 years. Artists need to take control of their catalogue and copyrights.......and if it costs money then please invest.
We as a network of 'curators' have enabled Snapper Music to create the most in-depth representation of a 'brand' from the Four Seasons in 1962 to Frankie Valli up to 2010, in a unique and very comprehensive catalogue of music/pictures/memorabilia and stories, ..although the music will remain the same...just the original mixes [but so much more of it] will be re-mastered... in a CLASSIC ANTHOLOGY The FSUKAS world- wide network want to be 'influencers' with a knowledge base better than any through their career. We are continuing to push for more visionary 'projects' to bring what we know is unheard and unreleased music from the past into all futures. The Motown Tapes remain the biggest [and only known] set of 'session tapes' and mixes, but we know that other sources....including Bob and Frankie have unreleased music stored. Universal and the other two 'majors' are finding the costs of recovery and digitally re-mastering the stored 'unreleased' tracks even by classic established artists like Frankie Valli difficult to deliver due to the costs of extraction, mixing and re-mastering. It is unclear just how many of the Motown session tapes Bob Gaudio has been sent? We will keep asking to be told and have our research verified [as the Box Set shows] or proved wrong. We will not accept otherwise. BUT....The Snapper Music Box Set is coming out next year, after 4 years...... it is too close to GO!!! Collect your Box Set here.!!!!....the full catalogue.
With our own 're-mixing' efforts using AI we hope to deliver new ways to hear what exists on tape/disc and we will generate more Digitally Extracted Stereo [DES] mixes in the future. We don't do 'cover groups/versions' in our FB groups but are happy to hear previously unheard or live tracks including the creation of different ways to hear the original...[we hope to have the 'Dawn' and 'Rag Doll' albums in full and balanced DES next year]...... 'That Four Seasons Sound'...will live on and get stronger as more younger people want to know more re how this amazing music was made. Our focus remains on discussion/research and sharing the information and making sure all the very best 'mixes' are preserved and available. And we have the backing of one of the world’s TOP RESTORATION SOUND ENGINEERS willing to help us find ways to research and deliver new projects. It is an offer we can't refuse.
This is the essence of 'curation' in the 21st Century, via the expert network we have developed. But as has become obvious from the Snapper Music Project, “the artists and followers will need to have a much closer and mutual interaction. They will be able to influence each other for the benefit of good quality music.”.....Hopefully Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli are listening. The days of'Alexa …..play me Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons Rare and Unreleased?' are coming........!
Next year our Seasons On Saturday videocasts will cover the Motown period in the early 1970s and the second 'hit making' iteration of Frankie and the group through to 1980. How a misguided Berry Gordy lost control of his move to LA, to create the West Coast Sound of pop......or soul.....but created a 'goldmine of productions the world is demanding we should hear. We will keep 'Campaigning' for their release. Our message to Bob Gaudio is 'If you want to maximise profit?....Join the Record Companies, and wait for years”......but if you want to recognise 'art'.......join the 'Curators'. You know where we are. We can help you develop your own approach.....and maybe this is it?
So it has been a good year and hopefully next year’s release will be as 'big' as many of the long term collectors believe. A real platform for Volume 2 of the Music Detective work we want to help lead.
Our audience is growing and when they see and hear the results in the Snapper Box Set, the next phase will launch, as the fans will want more.
Here is one of our best DES mixes from 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpXHrDxcpM0
And the group's accapella version from 1992
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIfif0KOe7c
And this new DES Mix works so well with centered vocals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4QMPFAZ5-c
Join us on Facebook for news of rare recordings and the research......
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1049892628364291
and to catch recordings of LIVE concert clips from Carlos and Carmine visit the OFFICIAL 'fanzone' at.....
https://www.facebook.com/groups/frankievallifans
Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year to all readers and contributors via our Facebook pages.....from Spain.........Ken Charmer
Recent Comments