Elbow Unreleased debut album on island 1997 for sale on ebay

Bright Grey wrote:

Quote :

Another small flaw with this cd: Island Records was not under Universal Music Group in 1997

The CD has no date - it's only the seller's description which only came from the internet...

I believe that was the point ukkonen was making - that the seller is making an incorrect claim about this item (even if - and it's becoming more unlikely given the circumstances - it's a genuine item). The fact that he also claims that it "predates the Noisebox EP" in light of this timeline if it is indeed accurate makes it even more suspicious.

Hi guys, my info i supplied on the auction is a combination of things that i have read on the internet maybe there is some flaws in what i have said and will change them on the auction asap, i bought the cd from vinyl exchange music shop in manchester, and they gave me their word it is a genuine item, i have since got in touch with them, to find out where the cd came from, and i am currently awaiting a reply, also how can i put clips of the tracks on here? must i edit them first for them to be clips, thanks

here is the link its eil other site but i cannot access the page at the moment http://991.com/buy/productinformation.aspx?StockNumber=262848 maybe some else can have some luck but you can see what it says in the title

Hello, ive just taught myself how to do this, from scratch so here is a clip of powder blue
http://www.soundupload.com/audio/remt1cv4csrteo95

thanks

The plot thickens... that clip is totally different from either the Noisebox version or the one on AITB!

I'm intrigued now... but I still can't afford it

That sounds fantastic. This has piqued my interest now. Though not to the tune of £56!

Hi guys, ive added another clip this time its bitten by the tail fly ive also taken a picture from the sound clipping thing i am using and shows the difference between the newborn ep version and this one, i hope this helps more, the bottom one is the newborn ep version, thanks

http://www.soundupload.com/audio/kjd1xixc9a8l8r1w

Thank you for doing that. This is really surprising. At least we were able to unearth some information for you and you can determine it was during the small time period of them being on Island records and not pre-Noisebox. It's still a mystery as to why the actual CD is so flawed, but that version of Powder Blue isn't something I've heard before. However, that version of Bitten By The Tailfly appears on the Newborn EP but your version seems slightly louder than the quieter version. I believe it's still the same recording, though. I am sure some of the songs will be the same on the EPs, but not all. I wasn't doubting the authenticity of you as a seller, but rather questioning the CD and the possibility of it being fake since there's not a lot of information about what was recorded during that time period.

I understand and as i am not 100% on everything like you say there is nt alot of info about this on the net, but leaset pieces are coming together abit more now, the one that i saw on 991.com/eil.com was the same exact cd but since the page wont come up any more i cannot show anybody else this, which is quite frustraiting, but the version i have tailfly is quieter than the newborn version not the other way around, but thanks anyway and least peoplecan hear abit of the other tracks too

Oh, is it? For some reason it sounded louder to me, but I will take your word for it that it is quieter.

Thank you very much for uploading the clips. I apologise for taking issue with a lot of details in all this but having dealt with suspicious offers on eBay before, it's somewhat necessary to in order to prevent being ripped off. There are still some things that don't sit right but I'd be willing to say that's more a case of you being misinformed by the person you received this from as opposed to deliberately misleading.

If this is in fact genuine does anyone think that it's probably from an enterprising person (an Island employee? Someone who worked with the band in the studio?) who kept these demo versions on CD? Going by the Island/Universal copyright print it could have been made after Elbow left the label. So probably not an official promo pressed for reviewing purposes that would have normally been officially catalogued, perhaps?

As for the sound clips: I'm very interested in the fact that Powder Blue appears to be different, but as others have said, unless there are more noticeable differences this might only be a worthy purchase for completist purposes.

There is a possibility to what you are saying as, i am soley basing what i know on what info i recieved when ioriginally purchased it, like i said before i am awaiting a confirmation on where it actaully came from and the link i sent for the other one i found doesnt allow you too acess it now, but when i was was doing my research it did, so maybe i accessed a page i wasnt meant to see, and also like i said i find this very frustratin, when trying to make my point, ive uploaded one more for today which is any day now with a longer intro than the asleep at the back version,

http://www.soundupload.com/audio/ybs5xa4uxuah70vv

Hello again ive just had the confirmation about the cd from the shop:

' Hi, It's always difficult to fully prove the authenticity of promo CD-Rs, especially when they are labelled (as this one was) with adhesive labels. However, we always buy promos from industry sources and not just anybody, so I can guarantee that it came from an official source of one sort or another. The item you bought is one of only two copies we've had of this unreleased album (and probably ever will have), and it was bought some time ago from either a journalist or someone who worked for the record label at the time. I can't be too sure about this now as the CD (along with the other copy we had) was on a shelf for at least 2 years before being rediscovered and listed recently. To be honest I wasn't entirely sure about what it was until I checked the recordings against the final album 'Asleep In The Back' and did some reading up on the whole Island records thing. The other promo had an almost identical label on the disc though the track listing differed slightly (see below): 01 - any day now02 - powder blue03 - bitten by the tail-fly04 - red05 - about time06 - george lassos the moon07 - suffer08 - new born09 - can't stop10 - scattered black and whites Presumably this was because they ran promos off with provisional track lists that were subject to being changed at the time. I can also say that the stickered paper label also matches similar ones we've seen before on New Born promos from back then. I hope this helps, any further questions please ask. Regards'

I hope this helps guys

Thanks for the samples.

ukkonen wrote:

It's still a mystery as to why the actual CD is so flawed

How is the CD flawed?

The sample of Bitten looks and sounds identical to the Newborn EP version to me too, the only difference is that on the Island promo it looks to be unmastered.

I found a problem with my timeline, in the Noisebox release date - elbow.co.uk has it down as 01/01/98, but the artwork states "recorded from May - June 1998"... my guess is that having been selected to play at In The City, the band decided to record a demo so they would have something they could give out. So the actual release has to be somewhere between late June - September.

Also I found an archive of John Peel show tracklists and while I think there are a few shows missing, the earliest I can find an Elbow play is 15 September 1998, whch is around the same time they played In The City, and I'd guess that's when John Peel first heard of them/saw them and ties in with when Noisebox would actually have been available.

I posted in the music section where I think most of these tracks ended-up - it seems that most of them have actually been released on the early EPs, album and b-sides, leaving only Any Day Now, Red, Powder Blue and Scattered still unreleased. Someone posted on the Elbowfans Yahoogroup that Red sounds like the Noisebox EP but it's not clear whether it's the same recording or new but with a similar arrangement.

If anyone would like anymore info about the tracks do not hesistate to ask,
Thanks

I've got a few questions:

1 - when did you buy this from Vinyl Exchange in Manchester? I ask because I bought a seemingly identical CD from them, via eBay, in August 2008.

2 - what's the sound quality like on your copy? My CD looks and plays like it's 10+ years old, in fact, it sounds scratchy and poppy, like poorly maintained vinyl. (I'll check the audio you recently posted shortly to compare/contrast with my copy.)

Another note - here's the "artwork" and image of the CD label for mine:
http://flickr.com/photos/24461791@N00/sets/72157608663949103/show/ You'll notice that the font for the band name is different, but that mine, too, carries the Universal Island labeling.


UPDATE: I've listened to the posted clips and they sound just like the tracks I have (minus the vinyl scratch and pop mentioned above).

Ok, this makes sense as i recently contacted them and they told me there was another copy which they unearthed a few months back so thats your copy i bought mine recently, without the cd cover, just housed in a plain white sleeve. The cd does have marks on it also but seems to play normally on the computer, as i dont own a cd player, as i do know some cd players can pick up these marks if its sensitive, so have you tried via a computer or cd player?? The guys at the shop did say in his mail that the cd had a different cover to this one, and its a high possibility that these are the only two in existence, the link i did post for the one i found on 991.com was identical to my one in the way the sleeve was so possibility it was the same cd ?? , but now the link doesnt work, if you dont mind me asking how much you paid for your copy? thanks for posting too

I actually paid a little less than the current bid of GBP 67.00, but then that was before they won the Mercury!

Ok thanks, its cool to know where the other cd has gone and too know that we own possibly the only 2 copies of these versions, like the chap said from vinyl exchange i notivced the different tracklisting on your one to mine, its interesting to see this and also that its the same style of the labelling, the guy also said that alot of thier early promos were done like this, eg. that you could see the cdr label underneath, thanks for posting with your one too

Hi, the cd did not meet its reserve so if anybody is interested still in the cd i am open to offers, thanks

Relisted on ebay if anybody is interested, i also have 2 signed items for which i have had since 2000 when i saw them play at cardiff virgin megastore to a crowd of about 20 people the items are: red 7" and asleep in the back cd both fully signed, any offers let me know

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200274108341&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling