Trumtram

Comparing this to the HT20 set doesn't work (whataboutism in general is no answer). Much of the contents were out beforehand, yes, but most of it was LPU stuff which was never officially available to the wider public. Plus it was a celebration for the original album with new unseen DVDs, a couple new demos, first time LP release of HTEP etc. With "Stripped" I find it irritating to release some of these versions on different releases for "Amends" (or even in the 90s) and then make an EP from those. Of course with limited vinyl stuff and everything. "Amends" was crazy in this regard but at least it was a special release, so I could see past that. This feels like leftover/rehashing for a quick buck. Having it for free on streaming platforms doesn't absolve it because that is just natural and counts for ALL music releases. It just leaves a slightly sour taste, that's all. And just to be clear: I critizised many LP releases in the past, too. Having special editions for 100s of dollars felt excessive at times. This is no "my team is better than yours" kind of stuff. We should be better than that ;).

Oh wow, I never really went for the "cash grab" argument, but this is... something I suppose.

I listened to the original version quite a bit and it felt like the same song version sound-wise.

Isn't that basically the same version as the piano version from the 90s?

Reminds me of "Coal" a bit.

That was a great read. I enjoyed the style and had to go through the whole thing in one day. I never really had an opinion about Jeff and his time with the band. But I guess we all should thank him and his efforts because he was probably THE key factor of LP becoming the band we all came to love. His perspective felt sincere and self-reflecting, coming to terms with mistakes he made under immens pressure. But I totally get why especially Mike didn't take this situation so well. Still, without Jeff this band probably would have never happened in any familiar shape or form. Personally the book was everything I hoped for and it amazed me how much information we still missed through 20+ years of the band existing. Reliving those days from an inside perspective made me smile a lot.

Holy shit! Nice to see you again ! And yeah. I vividly remember both 2000 shows as being our holy grail back then (+ Modesto 2000 for me personally). It's so funny that Mike brought this on himself again by mentioning something we didn't know about. But I after HT20 I'm so content with everything, I don't feel the need to holy grail this one.

This is so great!

Holy fuck. PR 02 is incredible. Wasn't there talks about a live dvd that got scrapped? Because this looks like a fleshed out production. It's so interesting because it seems like "Live in Texas" was a concept that got tried before. It's basically LIT in 02 at a arena show. The sound is awesome, clear but with some rawness to it. The setlist is great with so many highlights (OSC had me laughing out loud!) and finally having this incredible "My Own Summer" video is a holy grail by itself. I never would've thought that Mike was so prominent on it and did in fact do a large chunk of lead vocals. Crazy! Oh, and "My December" <3! And so much more! The editing is a bit messy at times, but many songs feel like they could be a live music video which makes the whole thing even more enjoyable. The transitioning in between songs is weird, though. Probably has to do with some cutting back and forth between shows. Nevertheless, what a great show and a true gem to have. Next up: Frat Party 2

Joe specifically talks about the 4-track they had to use for recording but mentions it for the songs after the 3-song demo. There might be something to this which is funny considering how we thought with HT20 this early chapter of the band might find rest :D. Of course this might be the case of Joe mixing stuff up like Mike did in the past. But we should at least keep this on our radar. Maybe Joe mixed up "By Myself" with "Esaul" as that one was worked on with Mark besides "Rhinestone".

But he mentions this 3-song demo twice (in both his videos I think). At first I thought he got the Xero tape wrong because it's 4 songs and 1 1/2 made it on the album. But then he mentions it again that they started on the next batch of songs after the original show case 3-song tape which became the 4-song Xero tape (presumably). Never knew of that and I doubt there is a lot left from it after all this time (see the "Rhinestone" audition tape rip). I haven't listened to it yet, but "Dialate" might be one of those songs. Btw: The videos contain more little bits of information which is not in the written version.

So now we have a new holy grail with the three-song demo before the Xero tape? Boy oh boy...

Oh wow! I actually thought about this a couple days ago. How cool would it be to have all the HT era shows, especially with HT20 on the horizon. Looking forward to it

Seeing what they did with the other songs on "Amends" there are a lot of possibilities for a banger.

Hopefully my boy "Saturation" will get the treatment.

Oh, for sure. There was some ridiculous stuff in the past. I'm actually really happy that didn't go overboard this time around.

@hahninator Thank you for the long post. It just baffles my mind how anyone could call this a cash grab. There is so much stuff in there that 180ish currency units are an incredible price for value. It proves that you can do your very best and still people will try to call you out for it. This could've gone for a bit more and would still be a great package.

Compared to the Xero tape, I was shocked at how bad Mark sounded overall. Could hardly recognize him. But I have no real idea anymore on how the song went aside from the obvious melody we all knew before. Plus I think the version we are getting will sound a lot more clean and better produced. I imagine the difference being like between "Rhinestone" from the Xero tape and the "Forgotten" demo.

Meteora is probably one of their most well known albums which is considered by many to be a classic. After MTM they lost a lot of their earlier fans. The first two albums are often in the run for best LP album by more casual people. Plus I think it would make a great package overall because there was a lot more stuff during that era. Oh, and obviously "No Roads Left" with Chester would be on my top 2 list, too.

This one is it for me. Ever since I watched the LPTV episode for the very first time in... January(?) 2003 (imagine all the hype after so much time without any real new LP stuff!) I couldn't get it out of my head. To this day I catch myself humming the melody of this thing and I hope we'll get it with Meteora20 (which has to be a thing). For all I know it could be the same as "Thoughts That..." but however it may be, receiving this song will be a full circle kind of thing for me. Pretty much all my holy grails are from the HT and Meteora days. So one down, one more to go ;).

The only reason for "She Couldn't" sounding outdated today is because it is a demo from 1999. The song itself with a bit more polishing and better equipment would be a great song today by any standards. Im with "Qwerty18" on this one. Even in its current form the song creates a mesmerizing atmosphere. It's probably one of my favorites from the HT era.

An interview would be a great chance to close some of the gaps in the pre HT (album) days. You guys would be perfect for this and now is probably THE best time to do it.

Oh wow, I suspected that but hoped for more of a continuation from Ozzfest which was pretty much the end of Frat Party 1. We might even get the very first footage of some Reanimation work. The work for that started in 2001 and we know some people recorded vocals on the bus for example. So many possibilites :). I think PR 2002 is the only tour of which we have zero video sources, right? At least one of a very few. Makes it special by itself, as you said.

Just want to throw it out there: I bet Frat Party 2 will have easter eggs like the first one does. Who knows, maybe another home taped performance?

Oh, my statement wasn't adressed at you in particular. It all depends on what someone is looking for in this box set. It's our fault in the end that we always listened to everything that leaked in the last 20 years and therefore know most of the stuff. Still if you see this box set as the ultimate HT experience, there is not much to complain about from that point of view. Plus all the video content is really cool and special and the book will be a great addition, too. I'm just happy to be having all these songs and demos in one place. Still can't believe it to be honest :D.