By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
August 21, 2001
The album Christina Aguilera doesn’t want you to hear will be in stores today.
No, we’re not talking about the new Britney Spears.
For years, Aguilera had tried to prevent the release of “Just Be Free,” a collection of recordings Aguilera made when she was 14 and 15 years old. The diva-in-training, now 20, recently settled with Warlock Records on the condition that the album would contain a message that says in part: “I made the recordings as a possible stepping stone to a career in music, which is my ultimate passion. They were made just so that I could get my foot in the door of the music business. I did not intend that the recordings would be widely released, especially after I signed with a major record label.
“I have not updated or finished the versions recorded in my childhood and they are being released ‘as is,’ although I tried to prevent the release for several years. The recordings do not in any way reflect my current musical taste and where I am as an artist.”
Aguilera’s fans have rallied to her side. One supporter posted on Amazon’s Web site: ” ‘Just Be Free’ ain’t for me. This CD is unwanted rubbish. Even the singer doesn’t want it out. This could ruin Christina’s career because some no-name group didn’t want to miss out on easy ‘cash.’ … I respect Ms. Aguilera’s decision. … You should, too!”
The Cowboy Junkies can certainly sympathize. The Canadian rockers are encouraging fans not to purchase the compilation “Best of Cowboy Junkies,” in stores today.
According to a posting on their Web site, www.cowboyjunkies.com, the Junkies weren’t contacted about the album’s tracklisting or artwork. “We have absolutely nothing to do with this release,” they say. “This release is a huge insult to us and we ask that if you are a fan of the band that you please don’t buy it.”
The group is suggesting that fans who want the songs on the compilation purchase previous albums through the Web site.
“If you must have the specific tracks in this specific order then: Find them on the Internet, download them for free and burn them on to a CD,” the band says. “You have our blessing.”
One observer believes the unauthorized disc may be a blessing in disguise. “It’s not like the Cowboy Junkies are at their career peak,” says Geoff Mayfield, Billboard magazine’s director of charts. “If anything, they’ll probably get more promotion from this than they’ve had in a long time.”
Artists and record companies wrestling for creative control is nothing new. Struggling musicians jump at the opportunity to record in a studio. Sometimes this may result in instant success, such as Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time.” But more than likely, it’ll be a cliched clunker such as Tori Amos’ “Y Kan’t Tori Read?” or a pre-angst Alanis Morissette sounding mighty chirpy on “Fate Stay With Me,” an album she recorded when she was 11.
When these ingenues hit a certain level of fame, few want their early embarrassments to reach the public.
Then, too, there are artists who battle with labels over contractual obligations. Unhappy with the way his “Black Album” turned out, Prince asked Warner Bros. Records to destroy it in 1987. The album was released seven years later, much to his dissatisfaction.
And earlier this year, country star LeAnn Rimes was using her Web site to apologize to fans for her album “I Need You.”
“This album was made without my creative input,” the 18-year-old wrote. “It consists largely of unfinished material and songs that didn’t make other albums. I want to make abundantly clear to you that this album is not a reflection of myself as an artist, but is solely the conception of Curb Records, and for that I am truly and deeply sorry.”
Lest you think that the British are more genteel about creative control, the former members of the Smiths asked their fans to ignore “The Very Best of the Smiths,” which was released in June in the United Kingdom.
“The band were not asked for their approval on this record and consequently it is a disgrace,” guitarist Johnny Marr wrote on his Web site. “It has the worst cover I’ve ever seen and has been re-mastered poorly. I believe [vocalist-songwriter] Morrissey is less than pleased about this album, but I can only speak for myself when I say that it should be ignored by fans.”
Sometimes artists do prevail.
In June, Bruce Springsteen showed who was boss when he won a legal battle against Pony Express Records, which lost a court fight to keep copyright control over an album of his early recordings. A federal judge in Newark, N.J., ordered the label to destroy the recordings and ruled that Springsteen retained the copyright for the songs on “Before the Fame.” The label has been forbidden from selling any more copies of album.
