I agree that "Gallows Pole" was fantastic.  Totally blew me away.  I must have listened to it ten times in a row.  I didn't know Sean could sing like that!!  I've always kind of thought of Alan as the "rock guy" and Sean as a the more traditional singer in the group.  That perception has certainly changed with this song.  Amazing job!!

"Belong" is beautiful.  Alan's tone is so pure.  Love it!

As for the pre-sale being out of stock, I found that odd, too, when Alaina told me about it.  Hopefully it will be cleared up soon so people can get their free downloads.  :) 
 

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I've had the time of my life and the life of my times in the Company of Fools!

I got the "out of stock" message too when just tried to order.  Bummer, heavy sigh! 

I sent a note to the store begging for more to become available.  This was my Mother's Day present to myself to hear those downloads today.  AARGH!!!!!!!!!!!

We apologize to anyone who was unable to take part in the presale this weekend. The issue has been resolved and the album plus downloads is back on sale! We promise that the album and downloads will continue to be available for the duration of the presale.

The presale cut-off dates remain the same: order by June 10 to ensure delivery on or around the release date of June 24; after June 24 the bonus tracks will no longer be available.

For general questions relating to the presale or new album, please e-mail help@GreatBigSea.com or post in this thread.

For questions specific to your order or download, please email store@GreatBigSea.com

Again, we're very sorry for any confusion this caused over the weekend, but the presale is back on!  

Chiarascura:

Completely agree with you, Helen - of course it's not a "typical" GBS song, but I love seeing them show off how well they can perform in other genres. They are so much more than just a trad band, or just a Celtic band, or "just" anything.

And personally - and I am ready for a storm of spitballs - I like this version even better than the original. There, I said it. *runs and hides*
 

 I definitely didn't mean to suggest they're just a trad band or just anything.  One of the (million) reasons they're my favorite band is because of their range -- much broader than that of a band like Gaelic Storm, whom I really like.  And I'm definitely not suggesting they shouldn't expand further -- I'm just, like AnneinPhilly, not too impressed with some of the new stuff -- although I really love WOTM, despite the bells and whistles in the recorded version.  Also enjoying the song they released today.  Like the chorus.  It's really nice of them to give us so many tastes of the new CD, so we don't die of anticipation before June 24.

I really like the live versions of the songs that I've heard better... but think the new sound is good as well... Just a little bit different from what we're used to.

But if you haven't had a chance to hear the songs live... then you'll be in for a definite treat!

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JennyB

~ At the end of the day, you've just got to say it's alright ~

Can I just pop my head in, and say a great big THANK YOU for letting us international fans participate in the presale for Fortune's Favour!

 

I'm now going to be counting down the days until the mailman visits me with that special little parcel, and enjoying the download in the meantime  

 

Teddy
 

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Teddy's Homepage
Great Big Sea UK
GBS Photos UK

Yipee!  My order went through.  LOVE the downloads. Come on June 24th!

I just paid for the pre-sale as well, and downloaded the 3 bonus tracks.

Is it just me, or are these terrible quality mp3s?

I thought I was getting something I could listen to, but these just hurt my ears. It certainly doesn't do justice to the songs at all. I'd say it outright ruins them.

If I didn't know I was supporting the band directly, I'd ask for my money back and pick the CD up in store.

Come on guys, what's with the poor encoding quality?

How do we get the high quality versions?

- Jeff 

It's not just you, they're horrible quality. Walk on the Moon sounds particularly bad.

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Ouch.  I have to concur.   Belong isn't too bad, very 'raw' sounding but listen-able.  However, Walk On The Moon sounds uneven and over-compressed, with a definite element of 'warbly' still in there.   Sounds a bit like a cassette that's about to bung up the deck.  Gallows Pole is better, but still over-compressed.

 

Maybe whatever encoding engine was used is removing a little too much ambience?  You don't seem to get the 'space' and sound variation in many of today's recordings that you used to back in the olden days.  When you compress those recordings further, things can get quite fuzzy.

 

Teddy 

 

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Teddy's Homepage
Great Big Sea UK
GBS Photos UK

I ordered from the presale a while back but haven't had time to download and listen to the bonus tracks.  When I went to my confirmation email to do so last night, the link didn't work. 

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In the social order, I accept the bottom rung, until the wine is pouring and the Lord commands a song!

Sharn,

Confirmation links usually only work for 24-48 hours or so. Give Nicopop a PM and explain. But then you'll need to check back soon after. Mine showed up the day after I ordered.

Anne

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And when the winds of change begin to blow,
I'll whisper, "You're my lighthouse" in case you didn't know.

Sons of Maxwell

visit my website!:
Anne's Philly Phan Site at http://www.gbsfanatic.com

I was quite disappointed by the quality of the .mp3s, too. Walk on the Moon is the worst, with the most noticable "warbling" as it was put above, but Belong has it a bit too and . . . well I haven't really listened to Gallow's Pole enough to notice (No offense to Sean, but I'm not a big fan of his voice). I even tried to re-download it to see if id somehow gotten a screwy file, but still the same.

Any chance of a higher-quality file being put up there any time soon, cause these really aren't good enough. 

I thought my files were fine, but I had only listened to them from my laptop. When I listened to Walk on the Moon on my Zune, I could hear the warbly-ness. (I haven't tried the others yet.)

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- Michele, from Long Island

The sound quality of my downloads is just fine and dandy, ie no warbly-ness.  I did get the link on the first day of the presale, but doubt that that makes any difference.

Kim

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live simply - love generously - care deeply - speak kindly - leave the rest to God