SickthingsUK

Si wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 07, 2021 12:58 pm

While Heaven Wept wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 07, 2021 9:37 am

Apologies if this has been answered already. I've often wondered how the contract negotiations materialised between the ACG, AC solo and Warner? Did Alice effectively continue the existing deal that the band had with Warner or was it a new deal altogether? I remember reading somewhere that the band were compensated some how for being excluded from the deal?
And what was the specific reason for going with a different label for WTMN? Was that simply because they originally planned to continue releasing ACG records on Warner once the solo album was out of the way?

WTMN was released on a one off deal with Atlantic for a 'Soundtrack' album. A clause in the original Warners contract allowed for the band to record one soundtrack album for another label, and Alice/Shep used this clause to release WTMN away from Warners - hence the TV special.

I believe that between WTMN (the soundtrack option) and Greatest hits, this closed out the original band Warners contract, and the band were due to renegotiate a new one. Of course WTMN went big, and so that new contract was negotiated for Alice solo, starting from GTH.

I think it's been said that part of the reason for going with a different label for WTMN was to push the renegotiation with Warners to their advantage in some way. ie to show they had other options they could consider etc.

But I think effectively Alice went solo at the end of the band contract, which probably saved a lot of messing around legally.

I think that's approx how it goes anyway.

I have been listening a lot to WTMN the last few days and I must say after nearly 40 years of listening to this album it still is as great as the first time I heard it!

I'm even more impressed with the musicianship and playing on the album today even more than I was just a week ago. My God---there is some brilliant stuff going on in there! There is no comparing Hunter & Wagner to Bruce & Buxton. The latter two aren't even in the same league.

I can only imagine how Alice felt writing with Wagner--as Dick had such versatility and brought so much to the table as to what could be accomplished. I bet it was a breath of fresh air to move forward. There aren't enough words that can be written about the greatness of Steve Hunter!

Again--the people who actually PLAYED on B$B should be given due credit. I'm sure that WB will once again reissue B$B and when it decides to do so, the fans should cause a stink to have the proper people credited on the album, along with accurate descriptions of who played what on each song.

I agree that WTMN is great, but the next albums Alice did weren't good.

it hard to believe the man who wrote Caught in a Dream is the same man who wrote the songs for his solo album my own way. I not sure, if any one outside of Alice had any sort of a fan base. I have never seen any interviews contemporaneous to the band with anyone besides Alice. They had an extremely talented producer and lyricist in Alice, even before the band broke up they were bringing in a lot of outsiders.

Had they not broken up I don’t think the original band would have put out something better than WTMN.

You could take the best 8 songs from their body of solo or and they would not compare favorably worst song on WTMN.

Times change, what worked in 1973, would not work in the 80s

I think Dennis has released some very good material with DDP and Blue Coupe.

I'm rather surprised that Michael has not had much input into the "band" songs that have made it into the solo albums in recent years.