Metamatic Forums John Foxx John Foxx Best Of...

Yeah, I'm curious about this 'Best Of John and Louis" compilation.

One big part of me says "excellent idea" and the time is right for it, lots of material to chose from etc etc

But, there is another little voice that asks the questions like:-
Would I buy it? and why?
Given that the core of fans would have it all and could easily make their own (as we are already doing...)
What ELSE will have to be on it? etc.
Packaging will be quite important - re: Metal Beat thread etc

If there is an intention to sell to a wider audience (seems logical?) then a better and wider distribution and promotion campaign would have to be set up as well to give it a higher profile.
MAybe reaction to the current tour is an important factor? Many people will be going to see Metamatic because of its place in their lives etc, not as fans of Foxx. They may not even have heard of 'Louis Gordon' or realise that John is still recording!
Hopefully this won't be seen as a 'comeback' tour, but I think that is an inevitable element of it.

It will be interesting to see this thread develop

Totally agree Martin,

It needs to have the thought that went into Assembly (sleeve Notes, remastering and artwork – all by John) with the accessibility that went with Modern Art (track-list for beginners and exclusives for the obsessive fanboy…er, hello)

The fanboy in me wants it to be exclusively Foxx/Gordon material, but the realist in me recognises that it’ll need to have ‘all the hits’ so to speak on it to bring in the casual listener.

A compilation album overseen by John, with his strong images and flair for writing could really bring the general public up to speed with his music. If a deluxe 2CD edition of Metamatic can retail at £7.99 imagine what a 2CD Assembly-type compilation could do?

Regarding promotion: dare I suggest a remix album or covers album like the ‘Random’ album for Numan. That re-invigorated Numan’s career with a rocket and he’s done well ever since.

Aphex Twin and Autechre mixes of ‘20th Century’? Could happen!

I think Modern Art did a good job of getting John Foxx back on the shelves. I still see copies in Virgin and HMV. Sad to see the £6 sticker on them, but there he is.

Back in 2001 we got Modern Art, which re-introduced Foxx (and introduced his work to me), followed by the Edsel reissues. I had such a great time, discovering his work, chronologically, album by album. For me Modern Art was essential - if I hadn't liked what was on it, I might never have ventured further.

But at the end of the day is is a singles collection, with a taster of new stuff thrown in at the end.

I think a new 'best of' – now, is it a 'best of' or a 'greatest hits'... well I guess if it was a greatest hits, it would only consist of a couple of tracks!!! But in my opinion, with John's body of work; solo albums and recent output with Louis, a "best of" needs to reflect what they regard as their best work.

This would obviously consist of the singles released from the early part of his career as well as carefully selected album tracks that John feels are important or his best work. Likewise for his later work. I would say just one or two tracks from each album with Louis, plus a couple of tracks from the various Cathedral Oceans albums and his collaborations with Harold Budd.

Maybe it could work as a 2-disc set.... have a selection of instrumentals on one disc (CO, TCM etc) and the 'vocal' tracks on the main disc... but in either case, the running order would have to be carefully thought out.

I like chronology. So it would be logical to put the tracks in chronological order.

It must be a difficult job though to pick just one or maybe two tracks from each album that are both a strong track, and something that perhaps represents the overall album. In that case maybe the selected tracks have to favour general appeal over artist's taste.

Would I buy it? No, not if it didn't contain anything new or exclusive. What would be the point? I may be something of a completist but I draw the line with sensibility which equates to money spent and CD storage space etc. Something like that I would just never play, since I generally listen to John on my iPod Shuffle anyway. That's just a personal thing though.

I always view best of compilations as marketing tool to get the attention of new fans. that's how it happened for me. If you like what's on the best of, you'll investigate the albums.

See the interview I did with Steve:

Alex Storer : The Random and Hybrid album projects were hugely successful for Gary Numan. Have you ever been tempted to suggest anything similar to John?

Steve Malins : Yes, we've talked over a couple of ideas. The financing is always a problem and to be fair John is collaborating with a lot of different people at the moment anyway.

I would rather see something like Hybrid than Random for John. Collaborative reworks rather than remixes/covers. But both could work.

I concur, but therein lies the essence of the problem.
Modern Art works well in that respect but is still fairly widely available and inexpensive.
Why would Joe Bloggs casual listener want another version of the same thing? He wouldn't care for technically better sound quality...

That's why I think it has to be 'John and Louis' ONLY, otherwise a career spanning package would really have to be THREE discs and then costs significantly more to make and thence to buy.
Oooh, but imagine the artwork/packaging opportunities.
See then I'd be keen.

A "Lullabies to Violaine". 4 discs, loving packaged, new artwork, some Quiet man texts.
Nice But retailing for £30? Hmmm...

But then if its John and Louis only (which I feel is more relevant) - then where's the wider market?
How long can 'Underpass' really be used to sell more recent material?

Oooh, tis a dilemma indeed.

I agree with you Martin with the idea of a "Best of John and Louis" compilation.

Shifting City was a rebirth for John, albeit to a more underground scene. In one sense it's like a second career which began then, so a best of Foxx & Gordon compilation would go a long way.

A lot of their work may have been commercially overlooked and something like that (providing all albums are subsequently available) is an ideal starting point for a new fan.

Their work certainly deserves such a spotlight.

Plus, if you want to get really anal about it, then a "Best of John Foxx" would only cover his first 4 albums plus CO and TCM!

That's a good point... but then isn't that the way of it?
Foxx has never sought (and indeed often backed away from) that 'spotlight' which I suspect he is unlikely to re-consider now.
And also what about where John and Louis are individually, from a career point of view?
Great 'starting point' for Louis to develop and 'launch himself' - (deservedly so) but Foxx has 'been there, done that'

I'm enjoying this thread :

It's fair to say that Foxx/Gordon albums are generally referred to as John Foxx albums. Even with Louis' name stamped on the front, I still see them as John's albums, I guess because he's the main driving force. But none of those albums would exist if it weren't for Louis' contribution.

A best of Cd of their work as a duo would hopefully do wonders for Louis, as he isn't really known outside of these circles as a solo artist - I don't think!

That's a topic for a whole new thread I think!

IF John and Louis nad never met, I don't think John would have re-emerged as a musician at least when he did.

At the risk of monopolising this thread I think you're right.

The obvious question that has to be addressed FIRST by the powers that be is "WHY?"

Simple business 'strategic analyst' question

Why do a 'best of' album?
What are you hoping to achieve by its release?

This will then dictate content, packaging, marketing, timing of release etc etc

I'll shut up now.