The Ananova account is self-contradictory, but Jarvis Cocker intimated that Pulp will be back.

To the left: the UK edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In the centre, the UK cover for the adult edition, since J.K. Rowling’s British publishers realised that accomodating adults who might like to read the books in this series could only be a good idea. (These editions are also issued the same way in Canada.) To the right, the US edition with the Mary GrandPré illustrations, which remind me of Rich Uncle Pennybags in Monopoly. (Arthur A. Levine is probably the one to blame.)

A Christmas gift to ourselves was Network’s DVD set of the 1968 ITC series Strange Report.

A coproduction with Arena Productions (e.g. Norman Felton from The Man From U.N.C.L.E.), the series aired on NBC, though with only 16 episodes, I’m not aware that it was ever syndicated—I’d never seen it until viewing the teaser episode appearing on Umbrella’s Return of The Saint set. Basically, the premise is CSI: 1968: Anthony Quayle plays criminologist/consultant Adam Strange, who untangles criminal situations with assistance from an American archeologist/pathologist, Ham Gynt (Kas Garas) and his neighbour, (artist/model) Evelyn McLean (Anneke Wills).

CBS would only need to replace Roger Webb’s theme with “I Can See For Miles” and it would be a perfect fit with CSI: (although the irony is that Pete Townshend’s father-in-law, Edwin Astley, was usually the author of the ITC theme songs). (Not that the Webb score is in any way lacking; I walk around with the theme in my head for days every time we watch an episode. One of the many bonus features on the set is the 26-minute master tape of Webb’s soundtrack recordings.)

The restoration the picture and audio quality is absolutely beyond criticism. The series is simply too cool for words. Those who own multistandard DVD players with a thing for Britain in the 1960s shouldn’t hesitate.

Speaking of Fiona Apple, here is a brief list from memory of LPs and singles that are famously unreleased. (I didn’t qualify LPs that were later reconfigured under the same title.)

Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine
Completed 2003-2004.
Probably art directed.
Tracks leaked.

Badfinger, Head First
Completed 1975.
Cover photo shot taken but subsequently lost.
Finally released in 2000 based on a tape copy of Phil McDonald’s mix.

The Beach Boys, SMiLE
Not completed, 1966-1967.
Art directed and covers/booklets printed.
Recreated by Brian Wilson, 2004.

The Beatles, Get Back
Completed 1969.
Art directed.
Superseded by Let It Be, 1970.

Victoria Beckham, Come Together
Completed 2004.
Art directed.
Promo copies issued.
Notorious second solo album produced by Damon Dash.

Danielle Brisebois, Portable Life
Completed 2000.
Art directed.
Promo copies issued.
Cancelled.

Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan In Concert
Recorded 1963.
Art directed.
Cancelled.

Bob Dylan, The Basement Tapes
Recorded 1967.
Released 1975.

John Fogerty, Hoodoo
Completed.
Art directed.
Acetates and test pressing created; acetates and master tape destroyed by John Fogerty.

Jimi Hendrix
First Rays of the New Rising Sun
Tentatively sequenced.
Released per artist’s original intentions, 1997.

Paul McCartney
Cold Cuts
Compilation of previously unreleased material, 1978/1980.
Never issued.

Monty Python
Hastily Cobbled Together For A Fast Buck
1987 compilation by André Jacquemin of previously unreleased material.
Never past the proposal stage.

Prince and the Revolution, Dream Factory
Completed 1986.
Mastered and art-directed according to Alex Hahn’s Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince.
Abandoned when the group split.

Prince, Crystal Ball
Completed 1986.
Mastered.
Rejected by Warner Bros. for its length. Superseded by Sign ‘O’ The Times.

Prince, The Black Album
Completed 1987.
Mastered and art-directed. Promo copies pressed.
Finally released 1994.

The Rolling Stones, Necrophilia
1972 compilation of previously unreleased material.
Art-directed.
Sort of became Metamorphosis.

The Rolling Stones, “Cocksucker Blues”
To this day, the last Rolling Stones single remains unreleased (it is absent from the contents of Singles 1968-1971). It was incendiary enough for Decca to have rejected its release (after insisting the group owed one more single to fulfill its contract) then, and maybe even now.

Sheryl Crow, Sheryl Crow
Completed 1992.
Promo cassette distributed.
Release cancelled.

XTC, “Wrapped In Grey” single
Art directed and pressed as 7” and CD, both of which included previously unavailable demo tracks.
Withdrawn by Virgin Records. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back; XTC refused to record anything else for Virgin, who eventually released them from their contract.

Frank Zappa, Läther
Completed and mastered, 1976/1977.
Finally released as intended 1996.

Dave Allen has passed away. I had been curious why Dave Allen At Large, which had been syndicated in America in the late 1970s/early 1980s, had never reappeared—the BBC story indicates he refused to allow it to be rebroadcast, which is kind of a shame—but I greatly admire his protectiveness.