www.billnelson.com

I've been staring at these for weeks, & my resolve finally broke:
http://www.amazon.com/Custom-Deluxe-BILL-NELSON/dp/B003FK782U/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1343352944&sr=8-5&keywords=bill+nelson+deluxe

I have no idea who the sellers are, btw. Another instance of Fort's "steam-engine time": three copies of the same CD, priced within a few pennies of each other, a little less than $32. I bought the most expensive, which will help keep the prices from getting jacked up automatically (yes, there are Amazon sellers who use 'bots), & that leaves two for others.

I was in the midst of preparing to move 1500 miles when Custom Deluxe was released, & it seemd like everyone was chattering quite excitedly about it, so now I have a chance to catch up with that gap in my life.

I have always enjoyed Custom Deluxe, Tony.

The appearance of a couple of copies of it and Neptune's Galaxy at a recent Nelsonica merch stall created quite the feeding frenzy.

Reminded me of the show Shark Wranglers 'Pod

I enjoy my copy quite a bit! Got it from a pretty cool guy!

Out of curiosity I checked out Amazon this morning after you posted this, and found the two remaining CD's there ging for USD 99.99 and the other one for 64+. They really jump...like mexican jumping beans...

Hm. For USA sales, looks like someone snagged one, leaving one at $37.46+$2.98. Dunno; maybe the site's trying to inflate the shipping to you?

It's not the most I've paid for a used BN disk, though close -- not cheap but not "collectible." And I might've thought twice (buying current SOS releases instead) if it weren't for that big 2002-2004 "bald patch" in my collection...

As I'm keen to avoid mowing the lawn, another find for fellow fans:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000008EET/ref=sr_1_80_up_1_main_olp?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1343501056&sr=1-80&condition=used

A delightful album, with some hard-to-find tracks. A few pennies over $16 -- last time I put a spare onto eBay, it sold for twice that. (Why would I have a spare of such an oddity? I'm still hoping to trip across the original Cocteau UK version with the YT track. No luck thus far.)

Back around 1996, when I was recently divorced & financially staggered, I would sometimes stop by a small downtown shop that made chocolates, & there I would purchase a single $4 bonbon: handmade, multi-layered, complex. I would take this back toward my home, to a coffee shop that dispensed an exquisite Kenya AA. There, I would carefully nip at the bonbon for an hour, repeatedly cutting the sweetness with the coffee. And eventually it would be gone, & I would sit back & enjoy the oddest melange of satisfaction & regret & melancholy & elation.

That's pretty much how I felt when I saw that the third $32 Custom Deluxe had gone.

Here's hoping they went to fans who're now waiting with the same quiet anticipation I feel.