The Jess Roden Anthology | The Final Countdown

And... here we now are, the countdown has begun. Pre-ordering for the JR Anthology is set to begin at high noon (hey...which bright spark suggested that...?! Its all far too Garry Cooper)... on Monday, November 12th. 

High noon or otherwise, we're underway. Someone (no names, no pack drill) asked the other day, "Bet you're thrilled now?' And was, I think, a bit flumoxed by the response... "Not really, I think I'm more relieved than anything. The thrill bit will probably... hopefully... come a bit later" 

For why? Well... we inhabited this bizarre nether-world for so long that there were times when it felt like no matter what, this bright idea of three and a bit years ago, conceived as it was in the womb of ideas over Korma heaven, a few Popadums and a couple of Kingfisher beers would result in such a lengthy birth that the chaps from the Guinness Book of Records would be knocking at the door and queuing round the block eager to document the labour pains.  

In any event, now that the log-jams are behind us we can proceed... and proceeding in a straight-ahead fashion we jolly well are. Am I thrilled – yes, whisper it... I am (rather a bit), 'cos there really were moments when this all seemed like it was stuck in a moment we simply couldn't get out of. But, that was then...

First up... I should make mention of the fact that this edition will be limited just as we've said all along plus it will be absolutely exclusive to PledgeMusic. 

And limited means limited... which means we're absolutely not going to be quietly manufacturing another X quantity in the background and then offering those via the back door. Exclusive has the same meaning; this edition is only ever going to be made available via PledgeMusic. 

Why PledgeMusic? Well... when we initially got underway we talked to a number of 'entities' (for want of a better word); they all loved what we were setting out to do but... quite honestly, they were all so steeped in the past that, as much as they liked our ideas, they couldn't see any logical way of making them happen without so many obstructions along the road that made the whole thing not just implausible but impossible. 

But, we were sticking to our guns. And one particular Howitzer in particular. IF we were gonna do this... it had to be as special as we could make it. 

And then... we met with the chaps at PledgeMusic – Malcolm Dunbar (their major-domo) is steeped in the traditions which we all learned at the Island coal-face which begin with thinking outside the box. He got it (in other words what we were planning) in a matter of peco-seconds... not only that, but he and his compadres positively welcomed our A4 sheet of ideas with a foolscap envelope choc-full of their own. You want to do this..? Sure, we can accommodate that.  You want to do that..? Of course... not a problem. And do this in that way? Yeah, we can make that happen too but we can also do this as well. Brilliant. Suddenly, we were able to channel the past by embracing the future and, it felt really rather good. 

Running through Hidden Masters' core (a bit like when you chomp your way through a stick of Brighton rock) – the JR Anthology gave its title to the name of the label by the way – is 'the end-user deserves the best'. 

And that phrase (even tho' the wording is pretty rubbish) applies to absolutely everything we do... so, by linking to the way the PledgeMusic methodology operates, this enables HM to deliver on that promise. 

Am I giving the game away, hinting at what is to come too much? Without furthering the tease any more, ALL of the details on exactly what the singer of songs + self have been beavering away on in the background these last few many-months will be announced very very soon. Promise. Honest injun.

In the meantime... should you wish... you can join the official pre-registration list via this link : > http://www.pledgemusic.com/widgets/5108< 

Its a very simple process... click on the download link... 

And... hey presto...  another box will pop open... 

Fill in the required fields... and not only will a free download of one tune from the forthcoming Anthology immediately land, as if by magic, on your desktop but... you'll also get an email alert just upfront of when the actual pre-ordering begins.

The download we've chosen is Song 3 – virtually the first tune unearthed when all of the archive research began – many, many moons ago! Although, naturally, once it is properly re-mastered, the version included on the actual Anthology is going to sound a whole heap better than an MP3!