Update 2: per Chad (commenting below) it's likely that not only the promo, but the original record was released w/out pedal steel on the 2 tracks. Curiouser and curiouser.
Update! My friend Chad has been kind enough to upload rip the first two albums + the promo S/T album! Ask and ye shall receive. On further exploration, this is what I've learned: yes, there is pedal steel on the standard mix of the record and none on the promo, but it's only two songs -- Every Kiss and All You Know. Might be a bit much to say that it's a better record w/out pedal steel on two songs. However, it's of some interest that the mixes of those two songs (which, I think, are lynchpins for the record) are better.
This made me curious. My circa 2004 CD lossy rip is sans pedal steel, suggesting it was a digital era master swap. I looked for my CD copy, but only found copies of If You Only Knew and I Guess I Would, which appear not to have jumped the streaming era divide. Seems a shame. ...Had an Acetone sticker on my guitar case for the better part of a decade I guess!
I sometimes miss CDs. In Butte, Montana you couldn’t find many punk fans, or punk CDs in stores, but there was a pawnshop near Montana Tech where the less scrupulous student DJs would pawn all of the promo discs, or old ones that they didn’t play.
I bought a lot of those fast/angry CDs in a seedy shop surrounded by guns and clearly stolen stereos--3 for $5 on Wednesdays. Sort of miss that feeling of grabbing a ton of music and having no idea what any of it was until getting home.
Great band. That 1992-2001 anthology is fascinating because it seems uninterested in showing the full breadth of their work – instead it chooses a particular mood, a specific thread through their discography, and makes a cohesive record out of that. Compilation as an act of actual recordmaking.
I was not previously familiar Acetone, working my way through it now. I noticed the “take a long walk with me” in Might As Well. Is the opening line of California One a nod to that song?
Hi Colin. Nice piece, and thank you for the kind words. If I remember correctly, the label was concerned that "All You Know" needed a little extra oomph to get it on the radio. They dragged a violinist into the studio, and after suffering through a couple hours of hearing that song turn into a Civil War dirge, we pulled the veto lever and suggested we try pedal steel instead. Greg Liesz came in and laid it down on "All You Know", and we were so stoked that we had him play on "Every Kiss" as well. At the time we were hoping to get a little more CCR feel on the latter, and the steel seemed to add a little grease in there. At this point the promos had already gone out, hence the mystery. I've always preferred the steel-less version of that one, but Greg's playing is so delightful on "All You Know" that I have to go with that version. Cheers, Mark
Interesting band. It's always nice to know what some of my favorite musicians and songwriters dig. . .
James McMurtry's 2nd LP, Candyland, has a similar advance story. I got an advance cassette from a local record store. Played it to death until the official release eventually surfaced. In this case, two songs were replaced altogether by the time it was actually released. There were probably some slightly different mixes as well. IMHO the advance version was better. Totally different artwork to boot...
If so, please consider clicking the above link and liking the Notes post—leave a comment or even share within your own community. Poetry lives on in the minds of hearts of writers, it breathes on the page.
Your voice can be heard among the starry illuminations, howling at the moon.
"Sneakily, however, my uploaded promo copy of this Acetone record has been transformed into the commercial copy (I have no idea how this works) and now there is a pedal steel part on a bunch of the songs."
How did this not make you see that once you upload something, it's not yours anymore? That it was just replaced with the "acceptable" version would annoy me to no end. I will never save anything I care about to "the cloud".
Yes!!! Acetone are legendary in my arsenal of go to listenings. Sadly, not very many people I come across know of them, so I am constantly introducing Acetone to new listeners. It's frustrating, because they are really hard to find on vinyl.....I have had York Blvd. (which is my favorite album of theirs) in my Discogs wantlist for ever; though I am considering breaking down and shelling out the $150 for the album.......their self-titled album is going for around $500.
There is an anthology album, 1992 - 2001, which came out, I believe, in 2017 or 2018, which is a must have. I place Richie Lee up there, in terms of lost too soon and wishing we could have more, with Mark Hollis, Mark Linkous and Scott Hutchison. Definitely music to the soundtrack of my life. And now I listen!
In your previous Q&A post, I posted a question about albums that you connect to in relation to albums you made. You wrote about Fisherman's Blues by the Waterboys and its significance to you personally, and as a musician creating an album. York Blvd. is like that for me.
There are times when I am composing music of my own where I am not so much trying to emulate any specific song by Acetone, so much as the feel of albums like York Blvd. and the self-titled album. I can't help to aspire to create something so thoroughly beautiful, that takes you on a journey each time. Dare to dream big.
Update 2: per Chad (commenting below) it's likely that not only the promo, but the original record was released w/out pedal steel on the 2 tracks. Curiouser and curiouser.
Update! My friend Chad has been kind enough to upload rip the first two albums + the promo S/T album! Ask and ye shall receive. On further exploration, this is what I've learned: yes, there is pedal steel on the standard mix of the record and none on the promo, but it's only two songs -- Every Kiss and All You Know. Might be a bit much to say that it's a better record w/out pedal steel on two songs. However, it's of some interest that the mixes of those two songs (which, I think, are lynchpins for the record) are better.
This made me curious. My circa 2004 CD lossy rip is sans pedal steel, suggesting it was a digital era master swap. I looked for my CD copy, but only found copies of If You Only Knew and I Guess I Would, which appear not to have jumped the streaming era divide. Seems a shame. ...Had an Acetone sticker on my guitar case for the better part of a decade I guess!
I sometimes miss CDs. In Butte, Montana you couldn’t find many punk fans, or punk CDs in stores, but there was a pawnshop near Montana Tech where the less scrupulous student DJs would pawn all of the promo discs, or old ones that they didn’t play.
I bought a lot of those fast/angry CDs in a seedy shop surrounded by guns and clearly stolen stereos--3 for $5 on Wednesdays. Sort of miss that feeling of grabbing a ton of music and having no idea what any of it was until getting home.
Great band. That 1992-2001 anthology is fascinating because it seems uninterested in showing the full breadth of their work – instead it chooses a particular mood, a specific thread through their discography, and makes a cohesive record out of that. Compilation as an act of actual recordmaking.
I was not previously familiar Acetone, working my way through it now. I noticed the “take a long walk with me” in Might As Well. Is the opening line of California One a nod to that song?
huh! I never made that connection, but I can imagine it being some kind of sneaky influence...
Hi Colin. Nice piece, and thank you for the kind words. If I remember correctly, the label was concerned that "All You Know" needed a little extra oomph to get it on the radio. They dragged a violinist into the studio, and after suffering through a couple hours of hearing that song turn into a Civil War dirge, we pulled the veto lever and suggested we try pedal steel instead. Greg Liesz came in and laid it down on "All You Know", and we were so stoked that we had him play on "Every Kiss" as well. At the time we were hoping to get a little more CCR feel on the latter, and the steel seemed to add a little grease in there. At this point the promos had already gone out, hence the mystery. I've always preferred the steel-less version of that one, but Greg's playing is so delightful on "All You Know" that I have to go with that version. Cheers, Mark
Interesting band. It's always nice to know what some of my favorite musicians and songwriters dig. . .
James McMurtry's 2nd LP, Candyland, has a similar advance story. I got an advance cassette from a local record store. Played it to death until the official release eventually surfaced. In this case, two songs were replaced altogether by the time it was actually released. There were probably some slightly different mixes as well. IMHO the advance version was better. Totally different artwork to boot...
Fine writer and reader of Substack—we are starting a movement to get a poetry section added to the platform. Can I ask, are you with us?
https://substack.com/profile/10309929-david/note/c-15579327
If so, please consider clicking the above link and liking the Notes post—leave a comment or even share within your own community. Poetry lives on in the minds of hearts of writers, it breathes on the page.
Your voice can be heard among the starry illuminations, howling at the moon.
Thank you for your time and support.
Love and appreciation,
David
"Sneakily, however, my uploaded promo copy of this Acetone record has been transformed into the commercial copy (I have no idea how this works) and now there is a pedal steel part on a bunch of the songs."
How did this not make you see that once you upload something, it's not yours anymore? That it was just replaced with the "acceptable" version would annoy me to no end. I will never save anything I care about to "the cloud".
Very happy for this intro Acetone. This is right in the pocket.
Ok. Sampling right now. From the sound of it you'd have gotten kick of my college band ... ;)
Speaking of promos, is the any story with the Crane Wife, Hazards and Bridesmaid instrumental CDs that are floating around?
Yes!!! Acetone are legendary in my arsenal of go to listenings. Sadly, not very many people I come across know of them, so I am constantly introducing Acetone to new listeners. It's frustrating, because they are really hard to find on vinyl.....I have had York Blvd. (which is my favorite album of theirs) in my Discogs wantlist for ever; though I am considering breaking down and shelling out the $150 for the album.......their self-titled album is going for around $500.
There is an anthology album, 1992 - 2001, which came out, I believe, in 2017 or 2018, which is a must have. I place Richie Lee up there, in terms of lost too soon and wishing we could have more, with Mark Hollis, Mark Linkous and Scott Hutchison. Definitely music to the soundtrack of my life. And now I listen!
In your previous Q&A post, I posted a question about albums that you connect to in relation to albums you made. You wrote about Fisherman's Blues by the Waterboys and its significance to you personally, and as a musician creating an album. York Blvd. is like that for me.
There are times when I am composing music of my own where I am not so much trying to emulate any specific song by Acetone, so much as the feel of albums like York Blvd. and the self-titled album. I can't help to aspire to create something so thoroughly beautiful, that takes you on a journey each time. Dare to dream big.
Two vendors on Discogs claim to have the promo cd available. https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/6657342
Man, now I want to listen to the album WITHOUT the pedal steel! Like, really bad. I'm making it my mission.