The Velvet Forum

From http://www.spincds.com:

Nico - 'The Marble Index' (Expanded)
Another remastered and expanded set from Rhino. 'The Marble Index' is due on February 19th for only ?6.99. More details when we have them.


Scheduled date is 19/2/07!

Interesting news. Marble Index is, for me, the Nico album.

The original is one of those extremely short classic LPs at around 30 minutes. We already have two extra tracks on the current CD re-issue which runs at around 37 minutes. As the current CD is so short if there were any more worthwhile recordings I would have thought that they would have put them on the first re-issue. Also, I wonder, if there are more songs whether Cale would have been brought in again to mix them as he was in 1990? My guess is that they will simply re-master the current version using up-to-date technology.

Can we hope that the CD re-issue has the extra tracks on a separate CD? Not for that price, I guess. Am I the only person who hates re-mastered re-issues with extra material tagged onto the end of otherwise perfect albums?

iaredatsun wrote:Am I the only person who hates re-mastered re-issues with extra material tagged onto the end of otherwise perfect albums?

I gotta go with "Yes" here. I get your point, that the extras take away from the unity and balance of a perfect album, but for me, for those "magic records," I'll take everything they want to throw my way.

For example, they've just released an expanded, remastered A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi. This is one of my huge albums, I put it up there with Pet Sounds in terms of emotional depth. The bonus tracks, to me, aren't really all that illuminating or different, they're just alternate takes with a few little twists, but I love the fact that I get a brand new angle, a little glimpse deeper into what went into creating music I love so much. The expanded Forever Changes, too, has a bunch of repetitive false starts and alternate takes. No matter, I love that music way too much to not want to hear and know all about it.

And hey, who among us wouldn't die for an expanded White Light/White Heat? Too bad the Dolph acetate didn't surface until after the Deluxe edtion of the first album came out. You could really do up a beautiful box set for that record with what's available now. The album in mono & stereo, the Dolph acetate, the singles and flexis, the Warhol Tapes, A Symphony Of Sound, the Valleydale show...

Chance wrote:A Charlie Brown Christmas [/i]by Vince Guaraldi.

And hey, who among us wouldn't die for an expanded White Light/White Heat

A Charlie Brown Christmas?
Sounds intriguing!

Don't get me wrong - the CD of Forever Changes is great and I'd love to hear the other mix of 'I Heard Her Call My Name', and anything else WLWH, if it exists. And I'd gladly suffer having it all on one CD than not at all.

I thought it was an alt take of I Heard Her Call My Name that is pictured on the WL/WH tape box..

ChrisM wrote:I thought it was an alt take of I Heard Her Call My Name that is pictured on the WL/WH tape box..

Maybe you're right but they're both the same length and I remember the story about other members being unhappy with the mix Reed has chosen where he had turned up his guitar levels and buried Morrison's in the mix.

The Nico CD has now been firmly been announced (this from The Wire) as coming out Feb 19th. It's called 'The Frozen Borderline: 1968-1970 ' and rather than being a Marble Index Deluxe is a double CD containing Desert Shore and Marble Index plus extra tracks.

And looking on Amazon there are a great many extra tracks. Some 11 on Marble Index and 7 on Desert Shore. The Desert Shore tracks are demos but the Marble Index has new songs (I think!): Sagen Die Gelehren, Reve Reveiller and Roses In The Snow (also on the 1991 CD); a harmonium version of Nibelungen and alternate versions of all the other songs on the original LP

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showt ... ost2257074

As this is a project I've been producing over the last few months, allow me to give you the straight dope:

Nico - The Frozen Borderline: 1968-1970 is a 2CD package.

Disc 1: The Marble Index remastered, plus 11 bonus tracks. Four of those 11 are songs not included on the original album (Two of those have never been heard before [full-on Cale arrangements; quite astonishing.]) The other two--"Roses In The Snow" and "Niebelungen"--did appear on the 1990 edition, but the versions here are different ones. Most dramatically: the version of "Niebelungen" issued in 1990 was a capella; the version here is the complete take with Nico on harmonium). The remaining seven tracks are alternate versions of each song on the album (except "Prelude").

Disc 2: Desertshore remastered, plus 6 solo demo versions recorded in 1969.

The remastering was done by the very wonderful--and twice-Grammy-nominated this year--Dave Schultz at Digiprep (with me sitting there kibitzing). As is generally the case with any of the reissue projects I produce, it's "Hoffman Forum-friendly," with no maximization or added digital gunk....just a concerted effort to match the sound and dynamics of the original vinyl.

Here's a technical note that will undoubtedly interest some of you: Because Jac Holzman was always ahead of the technological curve, "The Marble Index" (like other Elektra titles of the period) was one of the earliest albums recorded with Dolby. As fate would have it, Digiprep is the current owner of Elektra's old Dolby rig, so we were actually able to play the master tape of
"Marble Index" back through the exact same piece of equipment it was originally recorded with 39 years ago!

I'm not sure if the February 19 release date is 100% correct, but it should be pretty close to that.

This is a UK/European release only. There's no US release planned, as far as I'm aware.

So there you go. Hope you guys like it...

-Andy Zax

I was always wondering why there's no anniversary edition of "Chelsea Girls". This is what REALLY should be an interesting one....
Anyway, I will buy the Frozen Borderline set....

Spin Cds in the uk will have the Frozen Borderline cd on the 19th of February. Use the following to see all the details, including tracklisting...

http://www.spincds.com/product.asp?id=9009439