More and more, I think Dean is out of touch, and hasn't been a very good custodian of J&D's historical legacy.
DEAN: "Yeah, but those are the nut-jobs. That’s what Rhino was shooting for . . . Jan’s was made for the hardcore Jan fans that would buy just about anything he would do and/or those nut-jobs that absolutely love something that’s unreleased. Quite honestly , the reason why most things aren’t released is because it ain’t very good. They don’t see it that way."See, here's the thing. Aside from Dean's very limited self-released version of "Save For A Rainy Day" in '66, his own album remained commerically unreleased and unavailable to the masses for 30 years until 1996 . . . when the "nut-jobs" (as Dean calls the fans) were finally able to get it in a nice package. Artisically, both "Save For A Rainy Day" and "Carnival of Sound" have their pros and cons . . . but maybe Dean thinks the nut-jobs that bought "Rainy Day" are better than the nut-jobs who bought "Carnival."
DEAN:
"I just wish a real collection of old Jan & Dean hits catalog would come out in such a nice package. I’m always scratching my head. To me, almost everything is 180⁰ from where it should be. But I’ve learned to live with that. That’s been going on for 30-40 years. I’m used to it now. Why would you spend that much effort for that, when that effort could be hit for a real hits package? We’ve never had a box set. I’m too stubborn to go and try to force it down anyone’s throat because I’ll waste a bunch of time and it won’t happen anyway."Sure, "Carnival" got a better package, and better liner notes, than "Rainy Day." But I've been clamoring for a J&D Box Set for years now . . . and Dean hasn't exactly been supportive.
DEAN: "I made sure that everything in our merchandise section was one of a kind or very rare. Nothing is under $500. There’s a surf board for $3,500. So you sell 1 or 2 a year, that’s fine. Then the nut-jobs are very happy about that. Unfortunately, the nut-jobs don’t have a lot of money (laughs)."Dean, my friend . . . It's the nut-jobs who are going to buy a J&D Box Set . . . if there ever is one.
This whole situation frustrates me, because Dean won't meet me half way on a cool project like the Sessionography. He doesn't seem to have any interest in projects like this that will illuminate the pre-accident era — the original J&D era . . . the one that really matters — in a way never seen before. A project that will benefit their historical legacy.
I don't need Dean's participation to pull it off — it's well underway — but it would sure be damned nice to have it, on a number of levels. Not to mention the fans (I mean nut-jobs) appreciating it.
But I've ruffled Dean's feathers, and I can't live it down . . . Such is life
