Topic: Third Man / Paramount Box Set Sale

[Stuart]

If you've been sitting on the fence and have a spare five bills, now might be the moment:

http://thirdmanstore.com/reissues/paramount-records/the-rise-and-fall-of-paramount-records-volume-1-volume-2-bundle

[Blues Vintage]

Is it worth the money? For those who have it.

[Gilgamesh]

Worth taking the risk, I guess. I ordered them last year. Vol. 2 arrived with no vinyls or posters. They did send replacements after I emailed them, but to pay that much for a product they can't be bothered to package correctly is not encouraging. The music is good and I like the "radio" software that comes with it (it plays songs from the box at random).

The book to Vol. 1 will amaze you. Vol. 2 is a lesser effort.

[Stuart]

$500 for 1600 songs comes out to .3125 a song, which is reasonable when compared to individual or CD download prices. There are probably cases where downloads and/or CD tracks are cheaper, for example the JSP sets, but it's apples vs. oranges as the Third Man sets are limited to Paramount tracks. Plus, there are the extras included in the sets.

I think it's a matter of what one's budget allows and one's level of interest. If you have the bucks and you find the music compelling, then why not? On the other hand, if money's tight, then one has to be more selective and disciplined--and there's always YouTube for what's available there.

[TenBrook]

If you're a fan of full aesthetic experiences (images, textures, fonts, words, sounds, ineffable others) I highly recommend both volumes. The notes are wonderful, the books are extremely well done both graphically and literarily. The LPs are great and the access to all the many many tracks and images through the computer interface is a really wonderful way to explore not just the history of Paramount but the history of the wide ranging sounds that were waxed in the 1920s and 30s. It's obviously expensive but to me immersing myself in the world they created in those sets was worth the price. But then again I've got a slight money spending problem.

[Blues Vintage]

I was about to order volume 1 but got scared away buy the shipping rate (europe) 112 dollars?!

[TenBrook]

harry,
That's a bummer though I will say the set is very heavy and comes in a very large box so that may actually (sadly) be a reasonable shipping charge.

It looks like there are some copies of the set available from European sellers on Discogs though maybe not at the discounted price Third Man is now offering.

https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/5120181?ev=rb

[Stuart]

Hi Harry:

You could contact Third Man directly to see if there are other options--but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Unfortunately in the U.S. shipping options to many countries have become limited. The United States Postal Service surface mail option disappeared several years ago. Now it's either a relatively expensive air mail service for packages through USPS--or via one of the other carriers, like UPS or FedEx, neither of which is cheap. 

[Lcgrady]

I was traveling through Nashville last week and stopped by the Third Man Records store. They are selling copies of the two books that come with Volume 2 of the "Rise and Fall of Paramount" as a bundle for $25. One book is a "field manual" to the recordings - basically an encyclopedia of artists with their biographies, Paramount discographies (1928-1932), and selected track commentary (~400 pages). The other book is a history of Paramount (at least the post-1927 part) with photos, original artwork, and reproductions of documents (~250 pages). I'm not sure what kind of supply they have. There were at least a couple more sets there after I bought my copies.

Incidentally, they are still offering the two complete box sets as a bundle for $650, both in-store and on their website: https://thirdmanstore.com/reissues/paramount-records/the-rise-and-fall-of-paramount-records-volume-1-volume-2-bundle

Lee

[DerZauberer]

I knew they were probably too expensive, but I'm happy I have both sets. To be honest, I tend to treat them as collector's pieces which they clearly aren't given there's still a lot of supply this later after the project was launched. So I open the boxes from time to time, flip through the notes, read a bit here and there, etc etc.

However - I absolutely do NOT regret purchasing the sets simply because of the songs that come with it. Don't care that much for the vinyl (did listen to them just to make sure they're all right, but that's about it), but that little USB drive contains just sooo much great stuff.

To be honest, Vol. I is a little harder to listen to due to many early recordings with not-so-great quality (and that says something considering we're talking Paramount), but still gives a great overview of the depth of their catalogue. Also turned me onto some other artists outside of the Blues genre that I really enjoy.

Volume II has all the greats, all the classics, in really good to very good transfers/remasters. I like the sound of many tracks very much indeed. The American Epic stuff sounds better and has more variety regarding artists, but unless you're called Tefteller or Bussard these sets are probably your best bet trying to get a very decent Paramount Records collection...

[Rivers]

...that little USB drive contains just sooo much great stuff

I posted about the importance of having a backup of that USB stick based on recent experience, and Stuart joined in. Since it's a subject worthy of discussion, and I didn't want to take this thread off-topic, I split it out to a new thread in Jam session: https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=11744.0