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Topic: We Want More Rare Earth CD's

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JockoD
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We Want More Rare Earth CD's
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It seems to me that the one thing we are all in agreement to is the release and re-release of Rare Earth CD's by Motown. This definitly seems to be the case to me-BUT-What I don't see is enough participation. I see many views on threads containing the subject, but nowwhere's near the amount of posts to equal up to the view's. So come on people, don't be bashful, we are all in this together, so let's hear it from you, the fan. I hear all this talk of petitions and all, but if we have so little input right here on this very forum, the forum that was created just for us, The Rare Earth Fan, how in the world do we expect Motown to take us seriously. So come on people, get the rust out of those fingers and spread the word! Let's be heard! We waited far too long and it's right time we did something about it! JockoD

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UK Dave
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I agree. Enough of these collections that recycle the same songs. Rare Earth were big enough to warrant a bit more respect. I'm sure there must be a lot of unreleased stuff in the Motown vaults. Also, what about life after Ma?


Personally I won't be happy until I see a DVD of old footage of the band from the early 70s. They never visited our shores so I never had the priviledge of seeing them.


As for the current line-up, I look forward to a follow-up to Different World!!



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Jocko D
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UK Dave:: I was lucky enough to see the band live at least a dozen times or so over the past 35years. I enjoyed every one of their concerts no matter what line up was performing, and I've seen many different ones. I totally agree with you about some type of DVD retrospective, and I'm sure there is plenty out there from television shows they performed on. With the "Willie Remembers" line-up they appeared on the Midnight Special at least three times, Dick Clark's American Bandstand twice, and ABC's in concert "California Jam" show. And we can't forget the "Back to Earth" line-up performing the extended vesion of Get ready on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, as well as the "Different World" line-up that appeared on the Wolfman Jack show in the early 90's. And this is only what I have witnessed, there has to much more than that.


There is some question on how much-or-if any California Jam video footage exists, but I don't know if I buy into it. A good portion of Deep Purple, ELP, and Black Sabbath's performances from the Jam have been in circualation for years in one form or another. Where is the rest of that concert? The entire set of each band was recorded on video and audio tape and was then edited down for commercial television release.(The audio portion was also simulcasted in stereo on fm radio throughout the states) Rare Earth fans here in the states only got to see two songs from the jam due to editing, but at the time two songs were better than none. But that was then and this is now-And I believe now is as good of a time as any for the rest of that concert to released for all the fans of all the bands that were there.  JockoD



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john
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The opportunity for Motown re issues are endless.  Either as 2 on 1s or each individual album complete with unissued material from that same period in time would go down well.  Motown cannot say there is no unheard material as we know for a fact it is, and there is plenty of it! 


 



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UK Dave
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Great comments Jocko D. Great to hear that the later line ups lived up to expectations on stage. Its also encouraging to know that there must be old TV footage lying around somewhere.


I agree there must be some archive California Jam footage surviving somewhere. It would soon come out of the woodwork if there was some decent money to be earned from it, that's for sure.


As for Motown, they seem to dig out all sorts of unreleased stuff from other artists. They had a habit of trying out songs by recording them by two or three different acts and years later some of these unreleased versions have found their way onto Motown compilations. I'm sure Gil could enlighten us as to whether or not there is anything worthy of release.


By the way Gil, seeing as you read this forum, I just want to say what a pleasure its been to be a Rare Earth fan all of these years. I never got the chance to see my "favourite band" as they never toured the UK to my knowledge. The "In Concert" record must be my most played album of all time. One question though. I enjoyed Pete's book "Born to Wander" but this was clearly written from his perspective. Have you ever considered putting your memories into print? Good Luck with the new CD...I can't wait!



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JockoD
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Dave, I"m pretty sure you're correct with the fact the the band never played in the UK. In the late 80's and early 90's I believe they played in both Germany and Holland and a friend of mine from the UK finally got the chance to see them there. I really feel for you and the other fans all over the world who never had the chance to see how great a band they truly were in concert. JockoD

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Richard
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That's correct the band have never played a UK date, I have an advert from a music paper for a gig dated Thursday December 9th 1971 for the Royal Albert Hall in London where they were supporting C.C.S(Alexis Korners band),but for whatever reason that did not happen. They were also due to play at Dingwalls in  Camden London which also never happened, I went along on the night to find the venue closed with a poster saying that the gig had been canceled, and yes I did get to see them live twice in Amsterdam and they were both amazing nights which I will never forget. Seeing them live was one thing but chatting with the guys before and after the show was the icing on the cake.


Richard


 



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UK Dave
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Interesting comments Richard rgarding the London dates that fell through. As for Amsterdam, I've been there so many times, even bought the "Different World" and "Live In Awitzerland" CDs there. What a sickener that I didn't time my visit to co-incide with one of their gigs


Talking of Amsterdam, I was wandering around the shops a few years ago and one of them was playing music that sounded like Rod Richards era Rare Earth. The likeness was uncanny. Maybe it could have been the "Dreams and Answers" album as this is the only album I've not heard (excluding Tight and Hot of course).



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Richard
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Dave. I thought you had Dreams and Answers?, if you want the original LP it turns up on Ebay all the time so you should have no problems getting a copy. Now theres an album Motown should  issue on CD, Universal do own the rights to the MGM/Verve stuff, but I live in the real world Dave and the chances of that happening are slim, prove me wrong Universal lol.


On the subject of sounding like Rare Earth I have been told that a band called The Pigeons(the very early Vanila Fudge) sounded so much like R.E, the person who told me( a record dealer I know)was amazed that I didnt have any of their stuff, perhaps thats who you heard.


Richard



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JockoD
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Dave, Just as Richard stated the "Dreams+Answers"LP could be found on e-bay quite easily for a fair price. An auction for it with an opening bid of $8.00 US just closed a day or so ago without getting a single bid. I already have a copy but I was curious to see what it would sell for so I watched the auction and I was surprised it didn't sell for that price. JockoD

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UK Dave
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Good suggestion Richard / Jocko D. I never even thought of looking on ebay for Dreams and Answers, yet I just bought "Road" on the Rare Earth label which was Rod Richards' post RE project. I have to say "Road" just didn't do much for me, but each to his own.


I recently stumbled on a website for Kenny James' current band and there are some mp3s on there. I can't recall the name of his new band but if anyone is interested I can presumably find the website again.



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Richard
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Dave. Kenny's group is The Bunch Band www.joebilardo.com is the site address


Richard.



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JockoD
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Just in case anyone is interested the same seller that had the "Dreams/Answers" LP on e-bay last week now has a Verve Records Rare Earth 45RPM single Mother Oats/Stop Where did our love go for $25.00 U.S. Buy-It-Now Option. The price seems a little high considering the same seller had the LP where these songs came from for only $8.00. I have no idea if this is a rare item or not but I decided to let others here on the forum know about it nevertheless just in case someone would like to add it to their collection.



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Richard
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JockoD. This single comes up for sale on Ebay quite often, just like the album and its nearly allways highly priced which amazes me is it is not that rare. The Land of Nod/Well One 45 on MGM as The Sunliners is not that hard to obtain either but again it seems to have a high price on it whenever it is up for sale.


Time and time again Rare Earth albums come up on Ebay with the magical word "rare" in the description which allways makes me chuckle, and they normaly refer to the common albums like Rareearth and Band Together. One seller has One world up for sale quite often and the description is hilarious, its described as "classic 60's psych", they must be talking about a different LP to the one I have ha ha. As for the so called "autographed" albums and their prices that turn up on Ebay, thats another story........


Richard


 



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JockoD
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Richard-I was watching this sellers auctions to see if he would re-list the Dreams/Answers LP in case UKDave or anyone else was interested when I came across the single. I found it odd that the single was priced three times more than the LP he had the week before. I was unaware that this single was also released under the Sunliners name too. It seems that everytime I come onto this forum I learn something new. JockoD 

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Richard
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JockoD. Yes its all great stuff  that the band recorded for MGM/Verve. I just wish that Universal would put all that stuff out, they own the rights to it all so I can't see the problem, they managed to include King of a Rainy Country on the Anthology 2 CD set, which I thought would have paved the way for the whole of the Dreams/Answers album to get a CD release.


What I would love to happen is for all the Sunliners stuff to come out on CD, the Hercules stuff, Golden World, and MGM/Verve, but thats just a dream. In an ideal world all the bands  13 Motown albums(that includes the Generation and Live in  Chicago albums),a double cd of all the unrealesed stuff that is in Motown/Universals vaults, of which we know exist, we all want to hear cuts such as  Bring back the Thrill, Dr Death, Aint to proud to beg, Spinning  Wheel (just 4 that spring to mind), perhaps Gil and Ray might like to tell us the story behind these tracks?. It might be a good idea to start a new thread on called "unreleased tracks"  and just see what comes up from band members and fans...And finaly going back my ideal world theory the Tight and Hot album should come out on CD.


Richard



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Bill Goss
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I would really like to see more Rare Earth "CD",s They were and are a substantial  American band.I particullarly like "One World" and miss the songs on it. If a CD was available, I would buy it. Some of the obscure tracks on other recording,s are quite good.Why not a "Boxed" set?

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Peter Rivera
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What all of you are saying is so good to hear with regards to more Rare Earth music. I know that there are quite a few songs in the vault that have various points of completion. I am so tired of seeing all the same songs re-packaged over and over again. I have tried to approach the company with a new slant on some new releases. They don't want to hear it.....but I've just had an idea! I won't say what it is, but it feels good to me right now. The only music I would like to see come out is the real Rare Earth music. That means to me that Gil,Rod,Kenny,Eddie,John,Mike,Mark,and Ray and myself are the only true members of Rare Earth.  This line up invented Rare Earth, and no-one since then in my opinion will ever be Rare Earth. I have been on the road for 38 years and have come across name bands that have 1 (and sometimes none) of the original members and they still use the original name. I know that everyone has to eat but come on, it's like saying a sports team has characteristics that date back many years, when none of the players are the same. It just doesn't make sense to me how it is just accepted that it's still the same team or same band. I would like to see the original musicians of the original Rare Earth line up release some vaulted material. Other than that, in my opinion there is no other Rare Earth. There are only 6 original members left on this earth and it's a shame but none of us play togeather any more.

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Mike
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Well said Peter.

I've recently strated transferring all of my Rare Earth vinyl. Why? Universal/Motown refuses to reissue the proper albums as well as unreleased material. It is indeed frustrating. Back in the mid 1980's Get Ready, Ecology and In Concert were issued on cd. Ma was issued on cd in 1994. Other than that, none of the other albums ever did hit cd. That's a shame. I've tried withot success to contact Harry Weinger @ Universal about the Rare Earth catalog being reissued on cd. If they ever do hit cd, the quality of the mastering for cd is my next worry. Bill Inglot who mastered Earth Tones, Anthology and Ma for cd should do it. He did an excellent job. If all goes well, I'll soon have a copy of the Live In Chicago album...fingers crossed folks! This would be the holy grail.

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Doogie
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Harry Weinger is not interested, end of story!furious  Get past him and you ain't got no worries with mastering etc!

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Martin G
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The Complete Motown Singles box-sets have reached 1966.

The schedule is for 3 box-sets to be released every year.

It seems to me that now would be the logical time for pressure to be put on Universal/Hip-oselect to release Rare Earth cd's to coincide with the 1969 box-set in a year's time.

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UK Dave
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Peter Rivera wrote:

There are only 6 original members left on this earth and it's a shame but none of us play togeather any more.


But could it ever happen, that's the question?
 
Rod and Ray (two lead guitars!!), Mike (bass guitar), Kenny (keyboards), Gil (sax, flute, vocals) and yourself (drums, lead vocals). If you weren't all busy with your other projects, and it was possible for you all to put aside any personal differences, that would make for an interesting re-union concert to celebrate 40th anniversary of the release of Get Ready. A big celebratory gig next year in Detroit where it all started and you could record it for release on DVD.

Naturally there would have to be a point in the show where tributes were paid to John, Eddie and Mark. In John's case it would be great to hear his song Any Man Can Be A Fool performed in his honour.

Now I'm not trying to put the cat among the pigeons because I know some of the guys haven't spoken for a long long time. But if such a concert did take place, what degree of interest do you think there would be in the States?

Anyone care to join the fantasy and suggest a set list?



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Gil live nearby me....
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I'd love to see all the "founding" members get back together but I got to to say that Randy deserves a place in the bands history and should be included.  Besides being talented, he's a nice guy who has really been the rock working well with Gil and a rotating cast of characters. 

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JP2
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What Pete said...

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Richard
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Peter

I read with great interest your coments regarding who you consider should be in the band, as they are completely at odds with what you wrote on page 180 of your Autobiography when refering to 1983, I quote.

So I said to him, "Gil, you and I were founders of this band. We hired all these guys and we can certainly fire all these guys if we have to. Then, we could go out and get ourselves some side men, pay 'em a base salary, and the two of us could split most of the profits. Whadya' think?"

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Peter Rivera
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At that time there was so much tention regarding money and the complaints of how there was never enough... in disgust I said that.... I had nothing else to say than that..... At the risk of sounding like I'm defending myself, I also have to say to you that....."you had to be there" ..... and at that time it seemed like the only way that their might be some satisfaction regarding the money..... It was said in desperation to quiet the complaining.....

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Peter Rivera
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None of this changes the way I feel as to who I regard as the development members of Rare Earth. Dreams/Answers thru Willie and Ma.....is where it stops for me..... 

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Doogie
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Peter gives an honest opinion and that is his right. its great to hear them.

If Universal said to me "Doogie, what do ya wanna put out big man" I would simply say....everything, lol.  But above anything I want to hear the material which has Rivera, Bridges, Persh, Guzman, Monette, Olson, Urso, Richards, James.  I have to say that La Croix played a fair part in between too!

I know John has mentioned some unissued tracks so maybe he has some more info, seems maybe that could be the case?

If I had a magic wand, classic Rare Earth would get together, differences put aside as you guys go back a long way. Gil. Peter, Ray, Kenny, Mike or Randy!

Back to reality and the cd's ...........I wanna hear this stuff!  

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Jocko D
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A Rare Earth reunion show or tour with the alumni mentioned would be a dream come true for many of us here on the forum. I know Eddie is gone and can never be replaced but does any here feel if this reunion ever did come about should there be a lone sideman playing congas and timbales to try and capture the original double percussion sound of Rare Earth.
I've been attending Rare Earth concerts since 1970 and the last time I caught the band in 2005 the performance was excellent but I have to say Eddie's percussion was definitely missed.  I've also attended over one dozen CRAS shows and each and every show I have been to has been awesome.
I recently checked out the promo video for Peter's "Celebrate" project and I immediately noticed the added percussion of the congas and to me the sound had Rare Earth written all over it. Just a thought. Jocko D


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John
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Peter,

In your celebrate set you are playing Can I Get A Witness which brings me back to the unissued material laying in the vaults..........This track is among the unissued Rare Earth?  Do you remember this one Peter or was it the band when you were away with HUB.  Also was any of the HUB material considered for Earth following MA?

Jocko
I totally agree with you , the congas and percussion are so important!



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UK Dave
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If a re-union were to happen, it would be essential to include a sideman on percussion. Eddie was a massive part of Rare Earth's sound...and as Ray once said, he was a better player than some of those big name Motown session percussionists. It would be a nice touch to invite Eddie's daughter Marissa to contribute some backing vocals too.

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UK Dave
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Peter

I'm relieved that you didn't dismiss the idea of a re-union concert out of hand. I can imagine it would be difficult to put together and obviously it couldn't happen unless everyone agreed. Stranger things have happened though, and with the exception of Mike, I know the rest of you are still actively performing.

It would also be interesting to see Rod and Ray jamming together on Get Ready!!



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Mike
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It would be a real treat to see a RE reunion of sorts. I have to concur with the previous comments about the percussion. The congas and timbales are essential.

Stranger things have happened...if Pete, Gil, Ray, Mike, Kenny and Rod (along with a percussionist) were to do some sort of reunion all I'd need to know is: where and when!

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Jocko D
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Peter, I would really love to catch a "Celebrate" show somewhere within the USA. Is the "Celebrate" project actually doing shows or is it still in the early stages of production?
I'm hoping to catch up with you at a CRAS show next month in New Jersey. I haven't been able to get to any All Stars shows over the last few years and I really miss seeing you guys. You would know who I am once you saw me. I used to attend shows with Glenn M and his sister Donna but I've lost touch with those two over the past few years. See you next month in Jersey. Jocko D


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Mike
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I need to catch the CRAS as well. I've always wanted to see them as far back as 1994 and I've yet to do it as well as snag the 2 cd set. In 1995 I got to do the next best thing...I got to talk to Pete on the phone about Rare Earth. I now forget how that all came about. But it was a thrill. Pete, I don't know if you remember it but that call made my day. I recall you saying you had to head off to a studio to cut a song for a Fox TV promo...the "Cool Like Us" song. I need to check the tour dates for any shows in Iowa.

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allen pamplin
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Soon to come: www.californiajamfanclub.com... this site will have all four shows of the 1974 california jam broadcasted by ABC in 1974. I have all four shows in stunning high quality color, with some of the highest sound quality to date. The fan club will also feature stereo reels from the show, bootlegs, unpublished photos, and a library with over 2000 document from the planning and production of the show, including contracts etc... sincerely, allen pamplin

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Steve
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Glad to hear this news, Allen. We wondered what happened to your videos.

All of us look forward to seeing them, again.  Thanks so much for letting us know!

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AL from CANADA
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I agree with what Jocko D said back in March, we need more RARE EARTH CDs. We the fans will have to move Motown by sheer will of force if need be. I don't care if it as single CDs or as a box set, hell what difference does it make as long we can hear the MUSIC! Listen Jocko D, your comments are right on target, the amount of fans just in this forum are world wide. From CANADA, UNITED STATES. ENGLAND, CHILE, and this is only the countries I know that some of the forum people are from. Speak up let everyone know where your from, we are of ONE WORLD to coin a pharse no one and I MEAN NO ONE CAN STAND AGAINST US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. We have a saying here GET THE LEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS!!!! That is what we the people of RARE EARTH WORLD have got to do!   AL, proudly a RARE EARTH fan from CANADA!!!!

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