From: Bob Davis (earthjuice_at_prodigy.net)
Date: 2005-01-20 14:45:16
I know yall will remember this album???
Some of you out there even have a copy of it.
Here is where it currently ranks on Soul-Patrol.Net
22. Sonny Boy - Urban Misfit
http://www.soul-patrol.net//misfit.ram
<a href="http://www.soul-patrol.net//misfit.ram "> Listen To: Sonny Boy - Urban Misfit </a>
(Go ahead and listen to it if you have yet to do so)
Surprised that it shows up at all??
(I'm not...)
Well as you know, when we put a broadcast up on Soul-Patrol.Net Radio, we NEVER take it down.
That is something that we are able to do because we own our own server.
Disc space is relatively cheap (it's bandwidth that costs money), so we leave shows up for
people to enjoy.
And as you can see Sonny Boy - "Urban Misfit" (Soul-Patrol's 2002 pick for FUNK album of the
year) is currently sitting at #22 in our monthly survey for Jan/2005.
Go here and see what I said about this album back in 2002 when I reviewed it...
http://www.soul-patrol.com/funk/sonnyboy.htm
<a href="http://www.soul-patrol.com/funk/sonnyboy.htm"> Detailed CD Review of: Sonny Boy -
"Urban Misfit"</a>
How is it possible for so many people to be listening to this album in Jan/2005?
We certainly haven't done any promotion for this album in well over a year.
Sonny Boy hasn't been a sponsor of Soul-Patrol in a very long time...
In fact, I haven't even spoken to Sheldon Riser of Sonny Boy in a good six months, I know that
he is currently buried in making his next album.
The reality is that good music simply can't be kept down. True music fans will constantly seek
out great music and recognize it when they hear it. The other point to be made here speaks
volumes about the nature of music on the internet. (The concept of a "new release" simply
doesn't exist anymore, if you haven't heard it yet, then it's "new").
Of course we have seen this phenomena before.
We have discussed it quite a bit with respect to Victor Wooten's "Live In America"
(Soul-Patrol's 2002 pick for FUNK album of the year).
All of this is sort of akin to how an album attains LEGENDARY CULT STATUS over time. As time
goes by a GREAT album that didn't sell well initially and then disappears. However that album
is treasured so much by the people who originally brought it, that they simply can't stop
talking about it to other people that they might meet who they think might be able to
appreciate GREAT music, that they may never have heard of before. It is human nature to want
to turn somebody else on to some GREAT music. I love doing it, and I know that many of you out
there also love doing it. It's part of the reason why I started the site in the first place. I
wanted to tell other people about great music from the past (in this case the 1970's), that I
felt had been overlooked/underrated.
The classic case of a GREAT overlooked/underrated ("slept on") album that has lived on and
gained a "new life" with a new generation of music lovers many years after it's initial
release is "Inspiration Information" - Shuggie Otis. Another is "On The Corner" - Miles Davis.
We have discussed this many times in the past, so this is hardly a new phenomena.
The only difference today is that (because of Soul-Patrol.Net Radio) I have statistical data
that enables me to tell just how many people listened based on my recommendation, the
geographical location of those listeners and when they listened, etc.
The internet allows the artist to retain control over the marketing and distribution of the
work that they create, for as long as they want to. "Time" is no longer really a factor in
their ability to make what they create available to people who are truly seeking out good
music. The artist can control both the availability and the price without the interference of
culture bandits, record companies, radio stations or anyone else.
Sorry for this long winded message. I just thought I'd tell yall about some "market
intelligence" that I discovered, hidden deep within our server data. And to once again remind
you that if you want to OWN a GREAT piece of FUNK MUSIC, that you can turn others on to, you
to the following link...
http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_sonnyboy
<a href="http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_sonnyboy"> OFFICIAL SONNY BOY
WEBSITE</a>
Do it quickly and do it today.
It currently costs costs $11.99
The next time I speak with Sheldon Riser, I'm going to suggest that he seriously consider
raising the price of the album....
_________
Bob Davis
earthjuice_at_prodigy.net
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