The Ataris Re-Record “The Boys of Summer” Cover • Page 2

He doesn't appear to have any connection to them aside from being a Cleopatra artist.

 

Praying for a so long Astoria tour next year

 

This is going to backfire if that's the case since most people who would want to hear the song are still going to listen to the original recording. It could have been a good idea if the new version was listenable but it's not.

 

The story of Kris Roe just depresses me. I truly hope he's okay, but man, this just seems like another desperate grab at nostalgic relevancy.

 

I believe they're the parent company now to Kung-Fu Records

 

I don't think the average person seeking out this song is going to notice the production like the average user on this site would. THey'll go to Apple Music or Spotify, type in "The Ataris" and see this is the first song on the artist page, and play this version.

 

You're probably right.

 

Think it sounds fairly similar.

Poor kris though. I'm sure he hates playing this song live but he has to for the bills.

 

Yeah, Cleopatra’s been around since the early ‘90’s. It’s a pretty eclectic LA-based label. I think I dealt with them at my first law firm when they signed Puddle of Mudd to a deal, and again when they controlled a bunch of recordings from before 1972 that were relevant to a class action against Sirius XM I was running. Definitely not a vanity label.

 

Until recently I just assumed they were focused on industrial and goth. I thought they were mostly known for Skinny Puppy, Christian Death and stuff like that. But yeah, they've definitely been around for a very long time and are a parent company to quite a few other labels.

 

Looks like they are an indie label that acquired a lot of Kung Fu Records stuff. That's probably the basis of the relationship for releasing "new" records. Cleopatra Records - Wikipedia

 

I know it's cool to hate on Kris and the timing is pretty terrible, but this is something a lot of artists are doing (Silverstein, Senses Fail, Taylor Swift, just off the top of my head). The quality definitely leaves something to be desired though.

I think the entire post-2007 trajectory of the Ataris can be traced to the world not being ready for Welcome the Night. I'll champion that album as a masterpiece as long as I draw breath.

 

Welcome The Night is my favorite Ataris album.

Also, re-recording songs can be cool but I just see this as unnecessary since it's a cover and this version is only a shadow of the original. But that's just my opinion.

 

I also dig that album but I would argue also that the ATARIS were not ready for Welcome the Night.

After the huge success of So Long, Astoria, Kris basically engineered step for step how to self-sabotage your way from decent heat to complete irrelevance. I'm fascinated by it to this day, and I was a huge Ataris fan when I was a kid.

 

iirc he didn't want to release it under the ataris moniker, but coming off sla, there was pressure to keep the brand going. I haven't kept up with them/him in a looooong time, but I do remember some weirdness surrounding that record and the couple of years following

 

Cleopatra is the lowest of the low. All they do is put out shitty re-recordings,demos,bootlegs etc for for a couple bucks. I don’t know how this band fell off so hard

 

Can't say I blame him. I think artists should be paid more for their work than they are now and this is likely a label issue with the original. I understand people have reasons for wanting to dunk on the guy but I personally don't think this is "bad".

 

Not trying to come off rude, but did you like The Ataris before Welcome the Night/So Long, Astoria, or did you become a fan during that time? Just curious. I was a big fan of Blue Skies, Broken Hearts and End is Forever but dropped off after So Long, Astoria came out. I loved the first two albums but I just couldn't get into anything past that, and I tried.

 

I liked them before So Long, Astoria but I’m always into the “weird” albums. Like, I’ve been a Face To Face fan since Don’t Turn Away (I’m old) but Ignorance Is Bliss is my favorite album. Also, the only Suicide Machines album I liked was the self titled.

 

Just wanted to chime in as well that Welcome the Night is one of my all time favorite albums. Agreed.

 

I can only thing they need ownership of a recording or something cause it makes no sense