Caveat emptor

Raymond Scott fan Fernando saved an email I'd sent him years ago, in response to his curiosity about future reissues of vintage Scott recordings. He reminded me of this excerpt:

I don't know who owns rights to The Rock 'n Roll Symphony (a.k.a Amor) which I have never inquired about. It's my least favorite RS project. I hope it never gets reissued. I'll put a price on the head of anyone who attempts it.

Well, someone hasn't merely attempted to reissue R&RS—they've done it. Don't know whose idea it was, but a pox on their house, head, and genitals. Just for the record: no one connected with the Scott family or business interests—which includes me and anyone else whose name has been prominently connected with reviving Scott's legacy over the past 15 years—had any involvement with this turkey. All blameless.

I'm not saying that you (by which I mean YOU) won't like R&RS. I'm just saying that if YOU love Raymond Scott recordings which have been reissued on CD since 1992, then YOU won't like R&RS. It isn't "rock and roll," and it's not a "symphony." It contains no Scott compositions. It's a tepid bath of Mantovani-styled orchestral yawners. It's soulless, and its utility can be summed up in one word: landfill.

Of course, we are receptive to being convinced otherwise! Until then, R&RS is not recommended, and we'll post no purchase links. Yes, we could have ignored it rather than bring it to public attention. But it was considered worthy of ridicule.

UPDATE: Jeff Winner of RaymondScott.com dropped us a note:

I just remembered an email received years ago that read, "I recently bought a scratchy copy of Rock 'n Roll Symphony at a thrift store for 50 cents. Can you tell me how much this album might be worth?" I forwarded it to you, and you replied, "If I give you another 50 cents, would you scratch it up even more?" He came back, "But it has such a snappy cover! Are you saying the 50 cents I paid for it was too much?" And you shot back, "Original editions had a wooden dowel in the spine. Whittled down for toothpicks, they would justify the expenditure."