Thrice has started to gain a reputation for cash grabs. And this release sheds some light on why the band is trending in that direction. Thrice is not the first band to do some of what they have done over the years; like a fee required fan club, anniversary tours and releases, and VIP ticket packages. They’re also not the first to re-record an album to get around legalities. Which is what they did with arguably their most popular album, The Artist In The Ambulance.
Officially, the band re-recorded the album because they wanted to give it a new interpretation; to put a new twist on it 20 years after it was first released . Unofficially, you can read between the lines to see that the main reason the band went back into the studio to re-record it was to circumvent the ownership rights of the album. The Artist In The Ambulance is Thrice’s major label debut, released by Island Records in 2003. While the band undoubtedly benefited from some promotional aspects a major label provided, for instance getting a song, “All That’s Left,” featured on the Madden 2004 video game. Most major label record deals ultimately leave the artists(s) with a financial burden. The contracts heavily favor the label, to the point where nine out of 10 times they own an artist’s music (however many releases put out on said label) forever and can do whatever they want with it.
Was a re-recorded version of The Artist In The Ambulance needed? As in were fans excited about it or clamoring for it? Absolutely not. A simple, straight forward 20th anniversary re-press would be better in most people’s opinions, even if they had no intention of buying another variant/pressing of the record. In my opinion, this re-recorded version does not hold a candle to the original version. It does a great album a disservice.
Sometimes, when a band is running towards the end of a contract, which most often stipulates a release or even album requirement to fulfill the contract, a mutual end to things means stuff like an acoustic or live release. The Artist In The Ambulance Revisited is not one of those circumstances. The band self released The Artist In The Ambulance Revisited. Going as far as recording it in guitarist Teppei Teranishi’s home studio, New Grass Studios. Don’t be confused by the terminology on the back of the jacket; “under exclusive license to Many Hats Endeavors.” Many Hats Endeavors is not a label, they are a distributor.
So the band cut out the middle man as much as possible with this release. Which is well within their right. But it came at the expense of quality. Which is painfully illustrated by the fact they had the printed dust sleeves printed up with the text being backwards. Basically, it was a mirror image of how it should be. These types of problems are not unheard of, but it’s still a very embarrassing outcome on a release where the band clearly wanted to control as many aspects as possible.
Look, mistakes happen. It’s why, as they say, pencils have erasers. Or in this case, why test pressings are made. But often times artwork and other aspects of the packaging get not just overlooked, but egregiously so. How nobody noticed the fact that the lyrics were printed backwards on the dust sleeve is beyond me. At some point the band caught wind of what happened and included a corrected dust sleeve with the variants they sold in their web store. So some people received two dust sleeves; one incorrect/misprint and one correct. But many of the other variants were SOL. How you are aware of a misprint and still allow thousands of copies out into the general public and not issue a recall is reprehensible. These records were done and in hand long before the release/ship date in March 2023. Everyone knows this because Banquet Records posted in February 2023 a picture of a copy of their exclusive variant; not a mock up image.
I just mentioned variants. The Artist In The Ambulance Revisited sold very well. The band did a whopping nine variants for the first pressing, with all them being exclusive to one place or another. Some of the variants were not announced till well after pre-orders initially went live. Pressing info has been somewhat officially released for all the variants. I say that because there are some discrepancies between what was announced and what actually appears on the hype stickers. What is important to note is that pressing info was not announced for many of the variants when pre-orders launched. So here is the pressing info I can confirm:
1500 copies on blue and cream “galaxy”/blue “galaxy,” 1,000 copies on clear w/ blue and yellow splatter, 300 copies on cloudy clear w/ cream, green, and blue splatter, 300 copies on blue, 300 copies on green/cream split, 1500 copies on green/olive green, 1500/1,000 copies on blue and cloudy clear/blue in cloudy clear. There is one outstanding variant without a confirmed number; black 180 gram.
The blue and cream “galaxy”/blue “galaxy” and cloudy clear w/ cream, green, and blue splatter were exclusive to Thrice’s web store. The blue was a Banquet Records (UK indie record store) exclusive. The blue and cloudy clear (web site description/blue in cloudy clear (hype sticker) is an Urban Outfitters exclusive. The green (band’s web store)/olive green (hype sticker) is a mass retail variant, which Thrice also sold in their web store. The on green/cream split, which a half and half split done vertically, is a Newbury Comics exclusive. The clear w/ blue and yellow splatter is a tour exclusive, and it’s one of the variants that was not known about when The Artist In The Ambulance Revisited was first announced. Some fool actually called this the “blockbuster variant; please be aware that is not the official name/description of the tour exclusive.
The black 180 gram is an Alliance exclusive, which is Thrice’s fee based fan club. Despite all the variants coming with a hype sticker that say how many copies that variant is limited to, I have yet to see a picture of the 180 gram black variant let alone the hype sticker for it.
I feel like I say this with every post, but I don’t put up rumored, as in unconfirmed pressing info. In the past I used to mention it. But at this point I don’t even say those said numbers. It’s easy enough to get pressing info. Either the band or label puts up the numbers with the item page in a merch store or via social media. There is no need to speculate. It just adds to unnecessary confusion. Especially when the band posts potentially incorrect info that conflicts with what is printed on the hype stickers.
Echoing the quality control issues, the band sold some variants on their Bandcamp page; the blue and cream “galaxy”/blue “galaxy” and the “ultra” clear. But for whatever reason they have the “galaxy” variant as being limited to 1600 copies, which is wrong according to the hype sticker affixed to all copies of this variant. But at the same time it also begs the question; did the band actually get 1600 copies of the “galaxy” variant due to an overrun? The math there is about right, as overruns can be as much as 10% of an order.
Another variant with some confusion surrounding it is the UO exclusive. When they first put up their pre-order (and still till this day as of posting) they listed it as being limited to 1,000 copies. I know this for a fact because I have a screenshot of it that was taken on February 1, 2023. Meanwhile the hype sticker for the UO exclusive says it’s limited to 1500 copies.
Another interesting tidbit about one of the variants revolves around the Newbury Comics exclusive, as it popped in and out of stock. For a bit, mainly around the time pre-orders were launched, it was listed as “out of stock,” but as of writing this in July 2023, Newbury magically has copies back up for sale. So it’s simply more shady sales tactics by Newbury, who have also shamelessly resorted to jacking up the price of some of their exclusives to even more absurd prices; like $65 before shipping and taxes (should either apply) for their exclusive variant of the most recent re-press of Alkaline Trio’s Remains and $109 for Operation Ivy’s full length.
Despite the first pressing still be readily available, the band decided to launch pre-orders for a second pressing at the same time as the first pressing. Literally the same day, but of course after they sold out of their web store exclusives. The second pressing, which comes with the properly printed dust sleeve sealed inside the jacket, is limited to 6,000 copies on “ultra clear.” Many of these copies were sent out to various retail outlets, but while Thrice’s web store sold copies on “ultra” clear, they quickly sold out of it as if by magic.
On that note, a third pressing has ben quietly in the works. It will apparently be on cream vinyl limited to an unknown amount, and it’s slated to come out in September 2023. There seems to be some minor confusion about how many pressings there are. The first and second pressings were both announced and out up for pre-order at the same time. The problem lies in the fact that the band failed to mention that the “ultra” clear variant is a second pressing. Which is based on the fact that it had a release/ship date well after all the variants from the first pressing. The first pressing was slated to ship in March 2023, while the “ultra” clear variant had a release/ship date of May 2023. As for the third pressing, I literally stumbled upon it when I went to buy a copy of The Artist In The Ambulance Revisited , discovering a cream variant/pressing listed for pre-order from the indie record store.
I also want to point out that it’s pathetic that the band’s web store goes as far as making the statement that “flipper orders will be cancelled” but they have a limit of two. So people could easily buy two copies with the sole intent to flip both, or buy an extra copy just to flip. Again, well within the band’s right to enact purchase limits, but it’s a bit hypocritical that they can circumvent the system for a cash grab release while wanting to restrict other people from making money.
I touched on some of these aspects. But all copies were pressed as a single LP instead of a double LP like every other pressing of The Artist In The Ambulance. How and why they managed to squeeze this album onto a single LP is ridiculous. Oh that’s right… this is a cash grab. As such, it should not come as a surprise that this record comes housed in a single pocket jacket.
An insert is included, which is a surprisingly nice touch for such a cash grab release. The insert has notes from all the band members about each song on the album. There is not a download card/code included (yet another greedy cost cutting move by the band). Each copy comes sealed with a similarly designed silver square/rectangle hype sticker that denoted the variant and how many copies it’s limited to. Some variants, kike the UO and Newbury Comics exclusives will come with their shameless self promotion exclusive variant hype sticker as well. Retail price on this ranges from $25 on up to $29 for the UO exclusive and an even more ridiculous $40 for the Newbury exclusive. So no wonder why those two variants some of the only ones from the first pressing not to be sold out as of posting this.
Stitches and Grooves 