Rolf's Removal

[LMG]

For those of you that don't know, Kate Bush's remastered Aerial has removed the vocals that were provided by Rolf Harris on the original album (it's been remixed then hasn't it?)...

Remixed/altered in two known places. Two Hoffman board contributors (Rob Hughes and sendotsklin) came up with this:

Summary of known differences between Aerial versions

2.3 An Architect's Dream: 2005 Rolf Harris vocal replaced with Albert McIntosh vocal
2.4 The Painter's Link: 2005 Rolf Harris vocal replaced with Albert McIntosh vocal

The Painter's Link is the live version from Before the Dawn.

[LMG]

Did she remove the credit for Rolf's didgeridoo playing? That would make more sense than removing the music I think.

He does not get credit for didgeridoo on either The Dreaming or Aerial 2018 remasters.

[C]

Did she remove the credit for Rolf's didgeridoo playing? That would make more sense than removing the music I think.

He does not get credit for didgeridoo on either The Dreaming or Aerial 2018 remasters.

Chris-lad - Happy New Year!





x

[LMG]

One more catalog to add to the list of superior unremastered. I am keeping the old ones.

That seems a blanket judgement.

Even if you completely discount/disregard 2018 Kate Bush remasters which have been altered rather than only remastered, that still leaves the first four albums and the new 2018 remastering of The Red Shoes.

The 2018 mastering of The Dreaming is a huge improvement, in my view and those of others. Personally I will need to keep earlier editions of these:

- Never Forever - deteriorating tapes mean the 2018 version suffers from muffled sound in the tune 'Violins'
- Hounds of Love - original album found on first CD issue, EMI 1997 100 edition includes original version and six bonus tracks
- Aerial for those days when you just gotta hear Rolf Harris...

[Goat Boy]

The George Lucas approach.

She can do what she wants but personally I feel once an artist releases something then it doesn't belong to them anymore. It's out there, it belongs to the fans rather than the artist.

Of course Harris's crimes are so abhorrent that it's understandable Kate and others would feel uncomfortable about his voice being on there but I really don't like this approach to re-editing history. In this instance I would probably overlook it but some of the other changes mentioned just seem pointless and nitpicky.

[Charlie O.]

Another interesting example is that of Pete Townshend.

When pulled in for downloading (and storing?) kiddy porn images on his computer, Townshend argued he needed the images as research for a campaign about banks' colluding in child abuse.

While he didn't quite get off scot-free (he wound up on the sex offenders' register for five years), he has been able to continue his career pretty much as before.

Quite why anyone would need to access images of child abuse for such a campaign is something Townshend has never really attempted to justify (it gets about a page - maybe less - in his autobiography.)

Strangely, the campaign he was working on when arrested never seems to have appeared.

When comedian/actor/scriptwriter, Chris Langham, tried the same "research" defence not long afterwards, he ended up getting several months inside and has barely worked since.

My understanding (and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong) is that Townshend didn't actually download (let alone store) any images - hence him getting off relatively lightly. As for him curtailing his "campaign" (assuming there was such a thing), well, that may have been the smart thing to do under the circumstances.

[Bent Fabric]

As for him curtailing his "campaign" (assuming there was such a thing), well, that may have been the smart thing to do under the circumstances.

My read as well. The disincentive to "double down" on the thing that may potentially undo a lifetime of good will in seconds would be strong.

[HotRats]

I suspect she was trying to remove the mental connection to Rolf and his crimes which might be made every time one played the record. I can see her point. I would not want people thinking about that stuff whilst listening to my grand opus. The problem is if she had left him on, then it is probably all people would talk about.

Did she remove the credit for Rolf's didgeridoo playing? That would make more sense than removing the music I think.

For me, I actually think about his crimes MORE because he's not on the new release. Now I've heard the new version Bertie's voice just reminds me that Rolf isn't there, and why not.

When I hear the original I hardly notice Rolf.

[GoogaMooga]

One more catalog to add to the list of superior unremastered. I am keeping the old ones.

That seems a blanket judgement.

Even if you completely discount/disregard 2018 Kate Bush remasters which have been altered rather than only remastered, that still leaves the first four albums and the new 2018 remastering of The Red Shoes.

The 2018 mastering of The Dreaming is a huge improvement, in my view and those of others. Personally I will need to keep earlier editions of these:

- Never Forever - deteriorating tapes mean the 2018 version suffers from muffled sound in the tune 'Violins'
- Hounds of Love - original album found on first CD issue, EMI 1997 100 edition includes original version and six bonus tracks
- Aerial for those days when you just gotta hear Rolf Harris...

Very helpful, thanks for elaborating.

[GoogaMooga]

Okay, here's how I feel in general.

If the artist committed the crime after the recordings (much later), I would normally keep the recordings.
If the artist commits the crime around the time of the recordings, that is where I may draw the line, all depending on the nature and severity of the crime.

[Minnie the Minx]

I suspect she was trying to remove the mental connection to Rolf and his crimes which might be made every time one played the record. I can see her point. I would not want people thinking about that stuff whilst listening to my grand opus. The problem is if she had left him on, then it is probably all people would talk about.

Did she remove the credit for Rolf's didgeridoo playing? That would make more sense than removing the music I think.

For me, I actually think about his crimes MORE because he's not on the new release. Now I've heard the new version Bertie's voice just reminds me that Rolf isn't there, and why not.

When I hear the original I hardly notice Rolf.

That’s exactly how I feel!

[Ghost of Harry Smith]

I suspect she was trying to remove the mental connection to Rolf and his crimes which might be made every time one played the record. I can see her point. I would not want people thinking about that stuff whilst listening to my grand opus. The problem is if she had left him on, then it is probably all people would talk about.

For me, I actually think about his crimes MORE because he's not on the new release. Now I've heard the new version Bertie's voice just reminds me that Rolf isn't there, and why not.

When I hear the original I hardly notice Rolf.

That’s exactly how I feel!

Me too but I’ve been asking myself if that is such a bad thing, in terms of reflecting on the evil that humans do? I worked with Rolf Harris a few times, he seemed to be a sweet and generous man. I actually felt defensive of him when I first heard the allegations, so I remember this to remind myself that I’m not always correct in my impressions of others. Monstrous things are done by ordinary people not monsters and this is important to reflect on from time to time, I think, without necessarily wallowing in the details.

Ultimately KB must have just wanted to remove RH from her art entirely, which is understandable from her perspective, whatever reaction it might provoke in the listener.

I think that’s a different decision from say the compilers of the Oh Yes We Can Love history of Glam Rock 4CD Box, as they left Gary Glitter off the tracklisting and removed him from the most thorough overview of the genre to have been compiled to that point. That seemed a bit Stalinist to me, I guess because a genre overview demands some kind of historical objectivity which is different from one artist’s personal decision to change a mix and the credits. I don’t know why you wouldnt have included the less-vocal ‘Rock and Roll pt2’, given some % of the song’s royalties to charity, and added details of his crime and sentence to the liner notes as a cautionary tale. But I can see that some people are simply revulsed and can’t have anything to do with such perpetrators.

[HotRats]

For me, I actually think about his crimes MORE because he's not on the new release. Now I've heard the new version Bertie's voice just reminds me that Rolf isn't there, and why not.

When I hear the original I hardly notice Rolf.

That’s exactly how I feel!

Me too but I’ve been asking myself if that is such a bad thing, in terms of reflecting on the evil that humans do? I worked with Rolf Harris a few times, he seemed to be a sweet and generous man. I actually felt defensive of him when I first heard the allegations, so I remember this to remind myself that I’m not always correct in my impressions of others. Monstrous things are done by ordinary people not monsters and this is important to reflect on from time to time, I think, without necessarily wallowing in the details.

Can't really argue with that. But Bertie though...

His contribution to the Before the Dawn shows stuck out like a sore thumb and I could really do without him.

But Kate seems to like him...

[bobzilla77]

Another interesting example is that of Pete Townshend.

When pulled in for downloading (and storing?) kiddy porn images on his computer, Townshend argued he needed the images as research for a campaign about banks' colluding in child abuse.

While he didn't quite get off scot-free (he wound up on the sex offenders' register for five years), he has been able to continue his career pretty much as before.

Quite why anyone would need to access images of child abuse for such a campaign is something Townshend has never really attempted to justify (it gets about a page - maybe less - in his autobiography.)

Strangely, the campaign he was working on when arrested never seems to have appeared.

When comedian/actor/scriptwriter, Chris Langham, tried the same "research" defence not long afterwards, he ended up getting several months inside and has barely worked since.

You should find the essay A Different Bomb, if you can. I read it at the time and thought his explanation was credible. I don't think he is an abuser being shielded from consequences by the industry.

[The Red Heifer]

Sadly enough, we still see good sales for wifebeaters like Chris Brown. Guess there's an imaginary line where criminals in various degrees still are allowed to prosper.

I suppose your shop would also have big XXXTentacion sales as well, and he was an absolutely repugnant human being he was, and had teenage girls queueing around the block to defend him in death. You'd think the current crop of teenagers would be more in tune with this stuff, and more willing to ostracise someone who commits violence against women, but with these two anyway they just don't care.

[Charlie O.]

You should find the essay A Different Bomb, if you can. I read it at the time and thought his explanation was credible. I don't think he is an abuser being shielded from consequences by the industry.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/822162/posts

First published in 2002, some months before PT was arrested.

[never/ever]

Sadly enough, we still see good sales for wifebeaters like Chris Brown. Guess there's an imaginary line where criminals in various degrees still are allowed to prosper.

I suppose your shop would also have big XXXTentacion sales as well, and he was an absolutely repugnant human being he was, and had teenage girls queueing around the block to defend him in death. You'd think the current crop of teenagers would be more in tune with this stuff, and more willing to ostracise someone who commits violence against women, but with these two anyway they just don't care.

I guess it's just a genre of music that is so rife with these kind of stories so that a lot of people are just willing to file most of it under either 'gangsta', 'fake news' or 'oblivion'.

Pleased to see the promoters canceling R Kelly's impending tour down under though.

[`]

You should find the essay A Different Bomb, if you can. I read it at the time and thought his explanation was credible. I don't think he is an abuser being shielded from consequences by the industry.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/822162/posts

First published in 2002, some months before PT was arrested.

Cheers for sharing that, CO and BZ for mentioning it.

Interesting piece - as are the attitudes of those who respond favourably and unfavourably to it.

[pcqgod]

I can't think of many examples where music has been improved by radical remixes. I imagine I would personally be very disappointed by this if I were a longtime fan of Kate Bush and the original album meant a lot to me (though I'm not any sort of fan of Kate Bush, as it turns out).

[Minnie the Minx]

Well, on most days it's my favourite album of all time, so... yeah, I have been scowling!