FOTE digital releases?

I doubt very much that this would happen due to the fact that the record company had issues with the fan club selling the live CDs, that's why they ceased producing more of them.

Even though it states on the back sleeves "Thanks to EMI", it does not necessarily mean that EMI gave the fan club permission to release the live material due to EMI holding some rights (or all) over the material that was used. That is why they are regarded as bootleg CDs.

They are highly sought after CDs. Releasing them digitally will also have a major impact on the value $$$. I have the full collection of all the Live Recordings that were issued by the fan club (in Near Mint Condition) & I will eventually sell them but not for what I paid for them.

IIRC, there was an agreement between EMI and the fan club that the club could release a very specific number of live CDs. That's why they are only something like 500 copies of each.

I think a website of digital live albums would be incredible, but it seems unlikely that the demand is there to support it. Crowded House really should put out some more live material in an official capacity. They were just as good live as they were in the studio and it's a shame that we only have the Recurring Dream bonus disc and Farewell to the World to celebrate that fact.

Yeah, any re-release would need record company permission. After all, they're the ones who own the rights to the recordings. I very much doubt they'd allow that. It's amazing really that they allowed the fan club to do it. I strongly suspect that that's why the club always stipulated they could only be sold on to other fan club members and at face value and why the clamped down on eBay auctions etc.

It really is a shame because they're a treasure trove of fabulous performances. My biggest complaint about them is that, because they were recorded for the band's own use, they didn't mike the audiences. As a result, we hear these storming, intense performances followed by near silence, as if they were either playing in an empty room, or the crowd were utterly unenthused which, of course, we all know was nonsense.

The fan club live releases are a really valuable resource of the band's live output covering all of the early tours that aren't represented much elsewhere, certainly not officially beyond select b-side tracks.
One drawback is that they have been edited to facilitate a single disc release so are frustratingly incomplete.
While the Recurring Dream bonus disc (a compilation of performances) and the Farewell To The World release (also an incomplete performance) remain the only live releases put out by record companies - it's worth remembering that the late Brady Lahr at Kufala Recordings orchestrated the release of 30 shows from the 2007 North American Time On Earth Tour (one in Saratoga, California was truncated by the venue curfew) with one added bonus show from the 2007 Australian tour, and then 33 complete shows from the North American Intriguer tour in 2010.
Also, five of the 2007 Time On Earth shows in the UK were issued complete on CD available to attendees, and the three night run at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on the Intriguer tour in 2010 were all sold on USB sticks - which was also how many of the 2010 North American shows were initially sold.
Crowded House are well represented with high quality live releases far beyond the two record company ones but those releases are gravitated toward the 2007-2010 reformed era of the band.
An archival release of complete shows covering the band's entire history (Debut Album tour to Together Alone tour) a-la the Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band archival releases would be sheer joy! We can only hope.

Some interesting posts in this thread!

Great memory with all the live material released @The Ligature. Those 2007 and 2010 boxed sets were a godsend, even with all the delays, printing errors and flimsy 2007 physical box.

I also grabbed those three USBs Apollo shows at the time, although I'm still missing two of the five Live on Earth CDs (Birmingham and London).

Live in Philadelphia '87 was since issued on CD in 2016, although this might only be considered semi-official. An official (or semi-official) digital version of this show was also released as This Is Massive in 2015. These were from the First American Tour and recorded at Trocadero Theatre on 24th March 1987.

We also have the 11-track Live from North American Tour, which was released as a bonus CD to Time on Earth in November 2007. This was a compilation from various shows. (If anyone knows the dates let me know!)

Then there's Upstairs at Home, released as a bonus disc to Intriguer in June 2010. This had 8 tracks and was recorded live in the studio in Auckland on 10th April 2010.

Apart from that I can't think of much else that was officially released or easily accessible. Don't get me wrong, I have many bootlegs, fanclub CDs and other recordings, so I'm not complaining, but it would be nice if something like Live at the Town & Country Club got an official double CD release. Or something from the Together Alone tour. Hell, even Encore could have gotten an official release.

Paul H posted:

My biggest complaint about them (the fanclub CDs) is that, because they were recorded for the band's own use, they didn't mike the audiences. As a result, we hear these storming, intense performances followed by near silence, as if they were either playing in an empty room, or the crowd were utterly unenthused which, of course, we all know was nonsense.

I never really thought of that. I just assumed they were recorded that way on purpose. You can definitely hear the audience, but like you said, not all that well. To make a counter argument are the songs not a bit clearer without the audience? I'm no audio engineer, but to me they sound as well recorded as they possibly could have been. Totally get your point though!

If I have any complaints it's that many of them were compilations made up from various shows. Although Homebrew was gold. Also would have liked them to be spread across two CDs and not truncated. But how can I really complain when so much amazing material was released? The fact we got any was amazing.