Has anyone here bought/received the Nugs.net ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour 1978’ 8-show CD Box set? Nugs finally started sending them out this week after a 2 month Covid caused delay. I know there is a young generation who dismiss hard media platforms and only care about clouds, but for the generations that still enjoy hard copies - vinyl or CD - this is a pretty remarkable thing that many older fans have been hoping for, for over 40 years, - official releases of broadcasts on a hard media.
I am not looking to debate platform preferences, just curious who may have ordered and received it and their reviews on the packaging, their satisfaction or dissatisfaction, thoughts on their reasons for buying it - guilty pleasure, completist collector, investor, or just opportunity to finally have something real as opposed to all the $75 Crystal Cats or other boots that were great, but always just an expensive secondary substitute for the real thing. There are nuanced fans who consider burns inferior to pressings (CDRs vrs CDs) just like authorized vinyl vrs pretty colored counterfeit pressings and unauthorized pictures discs (and the reverse). And it’s an entire different thread between what one needs, what something is worth, and what is practically best to delve into MP3, ALAC, FLAC, ALAC HD, FLAC HD, MQA and DSD arguments. Not here, not now. I spent decades with the debate “Dolby or no Dolby encoded” and most of those second and third generation Maxell XS 90’s or whatever have long been tossed.
I am a bit surprised that this release doesn’t seem to be stirring more than just a very low murmur. My opinion is, had this been an official, exclusive Sony Japanese release, people would be all over it. Maybe it’s because it doesn’t come with the obligatory 135 page hard cover souvenir booklet to jack the price another $100.00, an OBI strip, and a further limited edition promo 7” of Bruce performing Wedding Bells from a soundcheck. Of course, had this been the first official release of these shows in any format, as opposed to this ‘repackaging’, that also has to have an effect.
I also understand the feelings of “spent $400 over the years on the bootlegs and I don’t need or care to upgrade” and “I woudda bought it 30 years ago but my first show was BITUSA or Tunnel or The Reunion Tour and 2 shows of that old Darkness stuff is enough for me”. Just trying to gage who did buy it, and how they feel about it.
Yes, I bought one. Have not opened it yet. Still petting it like it’s a shiny new teddy bear before I take it to bed to crush, drool and chew on and reduce my childlike handling of it to only VG- resale condition. As a ‘Bruce generation’ long time media collector, official releases of hard copies of shows (and outtakes) were always the dream. As a collector, it fills the kind of void felt when finding a Blinded US picture sleeve, an original copy of WIESS with the lyric insert, or a Dutch 7” of Dead Man Walking. Ain’t no gem-mint Script cover with all inserts and envelope, but damn, it feels good.
So, Bueller? Anyone? Bueller? Have it? Like it? Waddya think?
Waiting to hear from ... all 3 of you.