Annoying Trends: Are Rock Icons Losing Sight of What Fans Really Want?
Coverdale’s 6-CD Overkill and Mötley Crüe’s 12-Minute Vinyl—Who Asked for This?
Hey everyone, what’s up? Let’s talk about some of the most annoying trends in rock right now. There are plenty of contenders, but the one that gets to me the most right now is what Mötley Crüe and Whitesnake are doing.
So, both bands had releases this October. On the 25th, David Coverdale released a 6-CD box set called Into The Light. It includes his solo album Into The Light from 2000 and two early solo albums he recorded just after leaving Deep Purple—Whitesnake (1977) and Northwinds (1978). Altogether, that’s 91 songs, more than six hours of music across six CDs. And, sure enough, you’re not just getting the original tracks. Coverdale’s known for releasing every single version he can dig up: remasters, remixes, demos, unfinished demos, string-demos, ideas, “demos of the demos” and even “demos of the demos of the demos.” It’s his thing, but it’s also a lot to sift through. Who’s actually sitting down and listening to six hours of different cuts of the same material? And don’t even get me started on re-packaging this under the Whitesnake moniker all of a sudden. Because hey, brand vs. band, remember?
Yeah, I know what you’re going to say—nobody’s sitting for all six hours just listening to these CDs. But if you listen to one CD per day, that’s six days in a row, and you’ll be hearing the same songs over and over. Or even worse, if you’re listening on a streaming platform, it’s 91 songs in a single album! Imagine the algorithm catching up with this—after a few decent songs, it throws in the “demo of the demo of the demo” of some unfinished song Coverdale dug up. I assume the majority will just press – Skip! Immediately.
Now, on the other side, we have Mötley Crüe, who released an EP called Cancelled on October 4th. It has just three songs ( 3 songs ): “Dogs of War” (rumored to be AI-generated), a cover of “Fight for Your Right,” and the title track “Cancelled.” That’s it—three tracks, 12 minutes in total—and they’re putting this out not only on CD but on VINYL. Think about that: a vinyl with just three songs. Vinyl usually has two sides to accommodate longer albums. It basically means all three songs are on one side. But what are you supposed to do with the whole other side? Or is it divided into two—one song on one side and two on the other? Or is the middle song split between both sides? I don’t know, but you see the point here, right?
The whole thing drives me crazy. I remember when my band put three demo songs on a promo CD, and it felt lame even back then. You’d open the case, load up the CD, and, boom, 12 minutes later, you’re done, putting it back in the case. And on vinyl? Having to place the needle carefully for a mere 12 minutes of music—it’s just ridiculous. Why? Why would anyone do that? What’s the point here? Just to add it to your collection? For 399 NOK, that’s a bit too much, considering that other “normal” vinyls with 10 songs cost the same.
So, I don’t know which is more annoying: the bloated, endless box set(s) (yes, we get one every year) from Coverdale or Mötley Crüe’s lazy three-track release that somehow justified a full vinyl pressing. Personally, I’d rather explore what younger bands are putting out rather than supporting these ridiculous megalomaniac ego trips . This overkill approach by older bands is just exhausting. Are these bands loosing sight of what fans really want these days or I got it all totally wrong? And if we add the fact that these two are not the only one doing this… But hey, that’s just me—what do you all think?
