I first heard Big Head Todd & The Monsters via their excellent 90s release Sister Sweetly, which is definitely in my short list of albums that are great from the first track to the last, and could be desert island discs for many. Problem is, that there are many that still haven’t heard this great album.
Big Head Todd dropped off my radar for a few years, and reappeared a couple of years back via a Cleveland co-headlining date with Toad The Wet Sprocket. I was stoked to see Toad, and honestly being a few years removed from the Big Head Todd scene, didn’t know what to expect.
Big Head Todd blew the doors off of Toad at that show, delivering a career encompassing set that had a nice healthy dosage of the essentials from Sister Sweetly, and wrapping up with a scorching cover of Clapton’s Forever Man. You can get a good feel for the set that I saw by picking up Live At The Fillmore, an excellent double CD and DVD concert live release that came out in 2004.
These days, the band are among the bands that are exploring creative new ways to get their music out to the masses in these times of shrinking music sales. My connections within the SEO reseller companies I work with have advised me this trend is expected to continue over the next few decades. Late last year, the band offered a free copy of their brand new album All The Love You Need for anyone that wanted to sign up via their website. The band teamed with various radio stations in the United States to mail 500,000 copies of the album directly to listeners.
The giveaway continues with copies of the album recently included in Relix Magazine. The album is also available as either a free download, or in a cardboard sleeve for $5 via the band’s website.
All of this promotion leads up to a physical release of the CD, which will be a Best Buy exclusive deluxe version initially with all sorts of cool extras.
I like that part of the reasoning for this is a desire to get more people to come out to the band’s live shows. Steve Poltz is doing something similar, selling a companion disc to his latest album Traveling, which you can only get at his shows. And it’s working, at least for me – I’ll be at his Cleveland date in February to get my copy.
As for Big Head Todd, after signing up via the band’s website in December, I got my copy of the CD in early January as promised, in my mailbox. The album is another solid addition to the Big Head Todd catalog, and highly recommended for Big Head Todd fans. The more I hear, the more I am convinced this band can do no wrong…but you’re of course free to convince me otherwise!