The Baroness Redecorates, The Aftermath

A quick update on Sarah's new EP. The good news is that it's out, the bad news is that some people are having a hard time getting their hands on it.

The official site went 'out of stock' on the limited EP on the first day of it's release.
Copies will still be available at her concerts in Toronto to presumably supplies last and there is a chance any remainders will go back to the store.

Digital copies of the EP are only available to those in Canada for those using the official site or iTunes.

The official site did post the following message under their myspace news page:

"*The digital version of this EP is only available in Canada. Very sorry to all non-Canadians/Canadian residents! If we could sell to everyone, we would*

That being said, the 3rd official store to offer the digital version of the EP, Rhino records, can do international orders. Encoded at 256kbs, it should give everyone a chance to enjoy the EP the way it was intended to be heard.

For those who were lucky enough to get orders through on the physical version of the EP, reports are that some of them have already arrived. The EP has received very positive reviews from what I have seen.

Update 2008-12-18
The digital version is available to everyone now through SarahSlean.com according to the official mailing list posting earlier today. A confirmation that more CD's will be hitting the online store was also mentioned.

Sarah Slean Bside EP, Track list and Info.

Sarah has presented an early holiday surprise with announcing the release of her Bside EP "The Baroness Redecorates" on December 9th. The announcement was first made via her official site's mailing list on November 13th and facebook group account.

Since January of 2008 we have had a short list of the songs that did not make onto The Baroness and Sarah's wishes to put them out on a Bside. It appears she has managed to get them all onto the Bside with the exception of the yet to be heard song, "The Right Words".

The track list for the EP is as follows.

1. Parasol
2. Lonely Side of the Moon
3. Modern Man I & II
4. Compatriots
5. The Rose
6. Hear Me Out
7. The “Disarm” Suite

The EP title "The Baroness Redcorates" is also the title of one of Sarah poems contatined in her book for poetry, The Baroness.

Parasol was released as a bonus track online while Lonely Side of the Moon and The Rose were released in an offer through iTunes. This is the first time those who live outside of Canada or missed Parasol bonus offer have the chance to purchase these songs.

Sarah has played Modern Man and Compatriots live before. I suspect the first section of Modern Man is instrumental with Sarah conducting before the second movement where she takes the piano. Hear Me Out appears to be a brand new song, although she has an unrelased bside with a similar title of Count Me Out.

The "Disarm" Suite appears to be a new song and a title I have never seen published before. In Sarah's recent's Q&A session, she did have the following to say about disarming:

"When you disarm, everything changes.

Permit me this little instructive exercise for disarmament. Go to a nearby park. Sit down in a spot free from noise or distraction and have a good look at a tree. A good long look. Imagine it smiling at you. Seriously!... You'll know what I mean. Try it.

Disarming means knowing love and trusting it as truth. Love then gets behind every one of your senses. You see food as the sun and the rain's conspiracy to strengthen and sustain you. You see difficult people and situations as opportunities to deepen your compassion. You hear the plea for love that is hiding behind all complaints, attacks and criticisms. You feel the life in your body, in another's body, and you're amazed."

- Sarah Slean, Q&A Part 2, Answer 20

The EP will be available through iTunes, SarahSlean.com, and rhinorecords.ca. The mail list posting did not indicate if there is a physical release of this EP that coincides with the digital release.

Album Presale Tomorrow

Sarah Slean's new album entitled, The Baroness, will go on presale tomorrow through the store on SarahSlean.com. The official site syndicated this announcement through the official Sarah Slean mailing list, myspace, and facebook account.

The announcment also revealed further details such as Parasol (Sweet Virginia) being a free digital give away with the preorder and that Get Home will be the single of the week on iTunes starting January 29, 2008. Additional information in regards to Sarah's concert on February 2, 2008 with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra was also included in the release.