Talk:The Yellow Princess (album)

Release date

There is some differences regarding the release date. Allmusic states 1969 as does Unterberger in his notes to the reissue Of Rivers and Religion. The official Fahey site (www.johnfahey.com) has 1969 on the album's page, but under song notes says: "Repressed" gives the recording date as June 1968 but the release date as March 1969 – we believe that to be wrong. Recorded in Spring 1968, released summer 1968. See Notes on the songs. The text catalog there also states 1968. See: Fahey Catalog Anyone have an original Vanguard pressing? Airproofing (talk) 02:53, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, I bought the album when it was released. My copy was purchased in UK, so at bottom of album cover it reads: Distributed by Philips Records Ltd., Stanhope Place, London W2. However on label on disc it says (silver on black label) VANGUARD, and (P) 1968. Mick gold (talk) 18:23, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, Mick. Appreciate the response. I'm not sure about the (P) publishing relating to the release date. It could have been published prior to release I guess. Anyone with a US original pressing? Airproofing (talk) 23:02, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Not sure I understand. A record cannot be published prior to its release date. It is the same as the date a publisher places on the title page of a book: this indicates the date that the work was released to the public. If you look at an original pressing of Sgt. Pepper, it will say (P) 1967. Mick gold (talk) 06:48, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, that sounds good. We need a source though. Allmusic can be, and often is wrong. I don't know why the Fahey Files (official site I think) has 1969 on the album page but 1968 on the Song Notes page. Airproofing (talk) 03:01, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Just to chip in because it was I who changed the release year to 1969. Firstly, a record can most certainly be published before it is released...the word "published" in this case refers to the album being registered and copyrighted as a unique collection of songs. It is not uncommon to see albums that are released in the first couple of months of a year displaying a publishing date from the year before because these albums would've been registered once the track listing, cover artwork etc were finalized, but may've then been held over by the record company for a month or two. This is especially true of albums that have suffered an extended delay between recording and release, which it seems that The Yellow Princess had. So, you really can't go by the publishing date because it’s simply not the same thing as a release date.

I changed the release date to 1969, because it seemed to me that most sources, including Allmusic, the album page on Fahey's own website, and Peter Buckley's The Rough Guide to Rock, give 1969 as the year. However, there are also an awful lot of reliable sources that state that it came out in 1968. Interestingly, a review I found on the Dusted magazine website said the album was "originally released in either 1968 or 1969 depending on your sources." :-)

In short, I'm not sure which is correct and just to be clear, I'm not a big fan of Fahey or an expert on his music (I only came to this article because I was working on the Kevin Kelley page and he drummed on the album), so I'll bow to your superior knowledge on the subject. However, I've yet to see any evidence that proves the release year one way or the other. Of course, what would really clinch it would be a contemporary review in the music press. A look at the publication date of the music paper that was reviewing the album would prove the year of release, since the music press would only review an album around the week that it was released. --Kohoutek1138 (talk) 12:07, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Well, maybe it's fine to leave it as 1969 until a source is found. I did put in the text that the dates of recording and release are disputed in various sources. Thanks all for your contributions. Airproofing (talk) 13:47, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

OK, but if you're going to leave it as 1969 then that's going to effect the Fahey album chronology in the infoboxes of other albums. For example, The Yellow Princess article says that the next album is The New Possibility, but when you click on that article it says that the album was issued in 1968, which makes no sense if TYP came out in 1969. I tried having a go a restructuring Fahey's album discography on the John Fahey discography page to reflect a 1969 release for The Yellow Princess, but you may want to cast your critical eye over my changes. --Kohoutek1138 (talk) 01:28, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

I changed the date back to 1968. Will certainly support 1969 if more definite info found. Confusing... Airproofing (talk) 13:04, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks to Kohoutek1138 for comments. Since John Fahey discography and The New Possibility both give 1968 as release date of TNP, I've changed the date in info box of TYP. Notes in Fahey compilation The Return of the Repressed: The John Fahey Anthology says of TYP: Recorded June 1968, Released March 1969. John Fayhey website says:

Note on date: "Repressed" gives the recording date as June 1968 but the release date as March 1969 – we believe that to be wrong. Recorded in Spring 1968, released summer 1968.

For some reason, I believe 1968 to be correct but I'll keep searching for contemporaneous reviews. The Rolling Stone Cover To Cover DVDs have not provided any enlightenment. Mick gold (talk) 06:56, 26 June 2010 (UTC)