Parabolically Yours

As may now be coming clear, much work has been going on in the background regarding the eagerly-awaited Distractions retrospective.  Here, Neil Storey from Hidden Masters gives us the latest via this thread at the Steve Hoffman Music Forum:

Rumour and conjecture on The Distractions project has been fairly public for quite some while.  Here's what we can confirm right now.

The set – and it is a set, not just a reissue of 'Nobody's Perfect' – is now at a fairly advanced level of preparation.  Preparation...? Yep... we've been working on this for approximately two years now; 'cos to get 'em right takes time... a lot of time. 

Much of the analog / digital work is complete; although there is probably just another day, maybe two days worth of that still to do.  And, what remains are the live tape transfers.  Live tapes?  Oh yes... we've got desk tapes from places like The Venue and Dingwalls (in London); a show in Newcastle and others. 

A couple of things simply don't exist on analog reel(s).  They've either been lost, skipped or maybe even taped over.  Annoying, but hardly the first time this has occurred.  One example is the original reel that should contain the four tracks from 'You're Not Going Out Dressed Like That'.  The tape box exists and there is a 1/4" reel inside it, but what's on that reel doesn't correspond to... anything that it should.  There's just the one track on that reel and it isn't The Distractions.  Quite what happened (all those years back) is anyone's guess.  Perhaps one reel got substituted for another, who knows?  But, we do have a virgin vinyl copy and, if needs finally must, needs must.  We're still quite a ways away from mastering so, the missing reels may turn up in time... maybe. 

Oh... and IF anyone who comes by this page knows of where a copy of the one and only BBC session (three tracks / Autumn 1980) is, I really would like to know!  (It doesn't exist in the BBC archive and is presumed to have been taped over – grrrr). 

Anyhow, the artwork – as Mike Finney has confirmed elsewhere here – is now at an advanced stage.  And, yes the set will be titled 'Parabolically Yours'. 

The whole package will be contained in a 12" casebound hard-back volume and the inside booklet is currently running at 80 pages.  Substantial... yes!  Also, the first edition will also be strictly limited – 500 copies only, worldwide. 

Release date?  There is a strong possibility that we'll be starting the pre-order process on Pledge Music before [and just in time for] Christmas.  From which, my best guess right now is that we'll have finished copies probably May, or thereabouts, 2014.