I bought the 2-CD set (not the extra-fancy deluxe package) at HMV for $7.99. The cashier was a very chatty type, he saw what I was buying and said, "Yeah, this is basically all you need of theirs." I just furrowed my brow, and he went on, "I was thinking of going to see their tour...but they've had so many personnel changes, I'm not sure I'm interested."
cratch:
Yep, that's the Hip all right, an endlessly rotating cast, like Duran Duran.
I told him Gord Downie was always worth seeing (although I'm not bothering with this tour myself) and made my escape.
The concert is a lot of fun. Downie is quite witty on it. I think, in musical terms, that I prefer "Live Between Us," but it's still a nifty document.
The "remaster" doesn't seem like much of an upgrade on the previous CD release, at least to me. The sound is still essentially as it was, 1980s-style foregrounded drums and all. The two 'bonus' tracks are interesting, but the fact is that the band made the right choice in leaving them out on the first go-round. 'So Hard Done By' cannot compare to the DFN version.
It's a classic and a very good record, but it was never my favourite Hip album -
Day for Night all the way, in my book - and I'm slightly disappointed that it seems to have gone down as THE Hip record among Hip records.
How are sales going, both for the CD and the tour? I have this thing where, for some reason, I fret about the Hip's commercial profile becoming so bad that the band just gives up the ghost.
