Originally Posted by
maelje
OK, here's the story on Mr. Alexander Jero:
Up till this point, he's mostly been involved in releasing discs related to the classical field. I say "related" because, even in these cases, his actions have been questionable to say the least. Basically, all these 7.1 mixes he's been releasing are seriously flawed. Example: I bought his Gershwin "Rhapsody in Blue" disc featuring pianists Yuki and Tomuko Mack, who sell most of their music through CD Baby. In addition to being a very mediocre disc musically, the damned thing wouldn't even play properly in my BD player, and several other people who've bought this disc through amazon have had EXACTLY the same experience.
In addition, the disc and the artwork on this "release" appear to have been homemade, most likely on Jero's own computer.
Fortunately for me, I contacted the seller of this disc and, after explaining the problems with it, was given a full refund. (Amusing side note: Before I even offered to return it, the seller instructed me to keep it or destroy it, whichever I preferred.)
Several other discs produced and/or played and released by Mr. Jero have had similar problems -- very shoddy quality when it comes to art and disc, and serious problems with the disc's playability. Here's an excerpt from an amazon review of Jero's version of Beethoven's Ninth, the subtitle of which, by the way, Jero has taken upon himself to rechristen, "Ode to JEWISH Freedom":
"I cannot believe how utterly amateurish is the packaging and presentation for this expensive product. When I opened the Amazon package I initially thought that I must have been sent a cheap and dodgy bootleg product. (This) is a recordable (burned) DVD disc with an inkjet printed label - and there is no booklet or liner note information, just the 5 chapter descriptions and the instruction "for more information about this recording please visit www.music-blu-ray.com" (and from that site there are no details of the musicians, or the methodology of the recording)."
Well-said. As for the odd "Ode to Jewish Freedom" designation of Beethoven's Ninth: One of Mr. Jero's tactics, apparently, is to accuse anyone who dares to criticize him of being anti-Semitic. Mere hours after I contributed to an amazon customer discussion expressing skepticism about the Floyd disc, Mr. Jero revised the credit on the disc from "Alexander Jero Custom Audiophile Presentation [7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Disc] [Blu-ray Audio] ( Alexander Jero)" to "Alexander Jero Custom Audiophile Presentation [7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Disc] [Blu-ray Audio] ( Alexander Jero/ Roger Waters Fight Against Antisemitizm Contribution)."
For those who are not fans of Pink Floyd: Roger Waters was accused a few years back of anti-Semitism and was forced to defend himself (which he did, rather eloquently in my opinion). How Mr. Jero thought referencing this would help his case, I don't know. For those who are not classical fans: Beethoven's Ninth includes words from a poem, "Ode to Joy," composed by Friedrich Schiller. On his 1989 recording of the Ninth, recorded in connection with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein did tag the resulting product "Ode to Freedom," owing to the occasion. But how this became "Ode to Jewish Freedom" in Mr. Jero's mind is not clear to me. What is clear is this: Again, his favorite tactics appear to include evasion and, when he views himself as being under attack, wild, nonsensical allegations of anti-Semitic speech or behavior toward him.
Also, from what admittedly little research I have done, from what I can see, NONE of Mr. Jero's discs have been authorized in any way by the original artists.
Till now, he has been careful to choose things that are either in the public domain or have a lower profile. But when he chose to release this Pink Floyd disc, he apparently went too far. Several people, including myself, tried to question the legitimacy of this disc. Mr. Jero, on several threads and websites, gave evasive answers, but did appear to indicate that Pink Floyd knew of and approved of what he was doing. Yet there was NOTHING official on the Floyd's web site, and several of the big Floyd fan sites expressed skepticism that this was a Pink Floyd release or was authorized in any way by the surviving band members.
As of this writing, amazon has pulled the disc from its product listings, and apparently has pulled ALL Jero releases planned for this release date, of which there were several. I'm assuming amazon has refunded purchasers for any order that was in progress related to the Floyd discs or any other of Mr. Jero's discs that were set for the Nov. 29 release date.
Based on the above facts: In my opinion, Mr. Jero is a con artist of the worst kind. He clearly, intentionally tried to persuade users of amazon's web site that his "Best of Pink Floyd" was authorized by the band, when in fact it was not. He responded to queries about his activities with accusations that, because of their serious nature yet total LACK of evidence or grounding, constitute some awful, vicious slurs themselves. His dishonesty and hostility toward his "audience" is matched only by his amateurish, even incompetent, productions.
Quite a number of bands and solo artists have become frustrated in recent years with traditional record companies and music distribution channels. Some of them have responded by acting professionally and releasing their music on their own terms. Unfortunately, Mr. Alexander Jero is not one of those people. Rather, he is the kind of "artist" who gives independent musicians, songwriters and producers a very, very bad name.
I do have some sympathy for Mr. Jero. Based on his actions and comments, it's my view that he may actually believe Pink Floyd authorized him to release this disc, though that clearly was not the case. His throwing around of these anti-Semitism accusations is much more problematic and harder to forgive; anyone who makes such statements without some reasonable substantiation is guilty of recklessness at the very least. Perhaps, in this case, they, too, are the product of a disordered mind, or persecution complex. In any case, this is an individual who deserves more pity than contempt.
Re: The Best of Pink Floyd Blu-ray coming november 29
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