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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.  
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Alan,

You make a lot of god points but I think you forgot the major point as to why a lot of us will not buy this.  A lot of us bought the individual shows from Nugs when they were released, so we already have them. There is nothing new in the box set.

We can put the individual shows in the player in the same order and we have the box set in all its glory. Regarding the artwork I may be wrong but I believe only the covers of the Box Set are new.  All the artwork inside is the same as when you purchased the individual live show.  Someone can correct me if I'm wrong about that.

____________________________________

The SPL Rocks!

Prego che tu stia danzando con San Pietro alle porte perlacee del cielo





Pulled up to my house today
Came and took my little girl away!
Giants Stadium 8/28/03



Oats

- I bought most of the individual shows also.  The CDRs are now gifted to a favorite younger cousin, lucky bastard.  



The collector agonizes over having already bought something once and then having to do it again because of tiny subtle differences, but Bruce’s kids could afford careers as equestrians and firemen because of how many of us just had to buy Dancing In The Dark 7” US, CN, JP, UK, NLD, FR, DEU, etc., etc., with the same picture sleeve but also ‘small hole vrs large hole’ or poster sleeve or double pack wrapped and on and on, and it’s the same damn songs and the same dammed records. The nuance of Printed In The UK or Printed In Ireland or an error in credits made a difference. Uber collectors the past 10 years are paying big money (not judging) for older 45s made in Venezuela, or Costa Rica, in poor condition as completists, just because.  Anyway, the Darkness sets sold out very quickly as well as did the solo boxes.  I don’t know the number that was minted.  It could be that retailers or resellers bought 2,850 out of a run of 3,000 to markup and resell expected roaring demand.  And hey - Letter To You has Euro and US different colored vinyls, as does BS.net besides the standard black LP, so (yes, them kiddies these days loves those colored and splash vinyl records cause the blue swirl sounds sooooo good when you copy it to an MP3) and so, and, but, but, but, but.....  



...and, also, yes, the solo empty boxes.  
No one anywhere is saying ‘but I bought the coooool box for my CDrs even though postage cost me as much as the &#£%@!! box = 1-1/2 holiday sale priced CDRs’.    I hear ants sneezing, the topic is that quiet.   There isn’t even whining.   Bruce Tramps ALWAYS whine.   “Why did Portugal get Back In Your Arms while all we got in Pittsburg was “A Good Man Is Hard To Find?”  

I mean, the first time I saw Springsteen, he debuted “Santa Claus” in place of “For You”.
I have NEVER forgiven him ....  🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨 Princess cards HE never sent ME !!!  That’s your proof of statement right there!!!!!

👍

… “”you sound just like a bunch of my friends here at the SPL.”””

Still getting mixed legal advice from a lawyer and a barrister as to that comment being libelous or laudatory.  

Opened my sealed copy of the Nugs 1978 box today.  Disappointed at how poorly planned the project was.  I get that it would be the same minimalistic  artwork, but was not expecting the individual disc packages to come without the clear resealable outer sleeves that individual shows come with.  (I am not familiar with other boxes, like MetLife).  One can add their own sleeves, but then the box height is not made to contain them without crushing.  Also I like to put the discs in thin Tyvek sleeves for protection against scratching.  (This translates as  “anal retentive pride of ownership”).  Nothing quite as enjoyable as dragging a CD across rough cardboard to see if the Miro like scratches it catches on the play surface more resemble the works of Dahli or Picasso.   Adding the micro thin sleeve protectors makes the sets too wide to fit all the shows into the box, unless one slaps bacon fat between the packs to make it possible to forcefully jam every one back into the box, and then mechanically retrieve one by using several needle point pliers and a bench clamp to wrench it out while damaging the contents.  Nice planning.

So bravo to the designer who spent 40 years coming up with a most minimalist, impractical and unimaginative container for something that could have been a sweet little jewel for the serious collector had any thought been given to adding a tiny millimeter or two to the box here or there.  

Happy to own the set in real pressed CDs.

Not pleased that someone other than myself was paid good money to screw up a nice simple project.  I could screw it up and far worse, for a much higher paycheck.  Then again, I could also do a far better job on design for very cheap money and just my love of the project.  😀😄😁😃☺️

"… “”you sound just like a bunch of my friends here at the SPL.””” "

"Still getting mixed legal advice from a lawyer and a barrister as to that comment being libelous or laudatory. "

Ahhh it's a thin line....

And it sounds like you are happy with the purchase in spite of its shortcomings.

In the end that's all that really matters.

ps: I have a few friends here at the SPL that wouldn't even take it out of the plastic wrap.  When they meet their maker and the kids unwrap Dad's collection, I hope it's  not Government Mule that starts playing at pop's funeral.

____________________________________

The SPL Rocks!

Prego che tu stia danzando con San Pietro alle porte perlacee del cielo





Pulled up to my house today
Came and took my little girl away!
Giants Stadium 8/28/03



Oats

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