Holding the Music in Your Hands ®
Congratulations go to Tom Nagle, Ken Marshall, Graeme “G Man” Atkinson, Adrian Barrett and Paul Johnston, who have all been randomly selected as WINNERS of the ZTT Organization of Pop CD and T-shirt bundles. You should all be receiving an email from us shortly.
Thanks to everybody who took the time to enter and to ZTT Records and Razor & Tie in the USA for supplying these great prizes.
Full track listings for Edsel’s second wave of Everything But The Girl reissues are now available, and as promised they a large amount of bonus material including unreleased demos, live tracks and remixes.
The Tommy LiPuma produced The Language Of Life (1990) adds remixes of the two singles – two of Driving and four of Womack and Womack’s Take Me. A new song, Will The Roof Fall In, is amongst five previously unreleased demos on the bonus disc.
Continue reading “Everything But The Girl / 2CD deluxe edition reissue track listings”
Suede‘s 11LP Vinyl Collection box set is released today, and we can bring you some exclusive photos of the box.
All of the band’s studio albums are presented on vinyl, in a sturdy white outer box with the classic suede logo spot varnished with album artwork inset.
This collection includes two gatefold LPs – Dog Man Star and Bloodsports – although only the former is actually a double album. Head Music is another double, while the B-side compilation Sci-Fi Lullabies is spread over 3LPs. All the albums are on 180g heavyweight vinyl, with the exception of Bloodsports which is pressed on what you might call ‘medium weight’ 140g. The music uses the 2011 remastering with adjustments made for vinyl. This is true for all the records except for Bloodsports, which hasn’t been remastered – unsurprising since the album is a little over six months old.
Artwork reproduction is surprisingly good. Sci-Fi Lullabies the star of the show with the John Kippin cover photo looking pin sharp, with crisp text throughout. A New Morning is the runt of the litter with the already horrible cover, looking rather soft with a hint of pixelation around the typography. I wouldn’t have blamed the band for changing the cover to this album, but they’ve stuck with the photo of a CD!
In addition to the records, this set comes with an excellent large format 34-page booklet. Thankfully, it’s not full of arty photos, rather exactly the content you might hope for, which is the band talking through every album track-by-track. These are based on what appear to be new interviews with journalist Pete Paphides (Bernard Butler takes part for the first two records).
Only 1500 of these (numbered) sets have been produced, and although one imagines the albums will be made available individually at some point in the future, until then, this is the only way to buy remastered Suede on vinyl.
Any box set north of £100 should be considered a significant investment, but this collection is undoubtedly worth it for Suede, Dog Man Star, Coming Up, Sci-Fi Lullabies and Bloodsports, alone. Place your order while you still can.
Many more photos below:
Continue reading “FIRST PICTURES / Suede: The Vinyl Collection box set”
Fans of the SoEighties (So80s) compilations from German DJs and pop music enthusiasts Blank & Jones, may be interested to learn that a new three-CD collection has just been issued called Formel Eins.
Formel Eins [translation: Formula One] was a popular music show – the German version of the UK’s Top Of The Pops – and it ran for seven years between 1983 and 1990. Much like the British pop programme, different presenters came and went and so too did different theme tunes (all of which are included here).
Continue reading “Blank & Jones / So80s: Formel Eins”
The 30th Anniversary box set of Tears For Fears‘ The Hurting is out today!
If you haven’t had a chance to take a look at this superb reissue, then please view our photo gallery – in the meantime we have a fabulous Tears For Fears competition to announce…
Continue reading “WIN a Tears For Fears “The Hurting” box set and a 7-inch test pressing”
Tears For Fears‘ 1983 classic finally gets the treatment it deserves – B-sides, remixes, alternates, radio sessions, live tracks and a full concert on DVD, all feature in this new four-disc box set of The Hurting. 
This new five-disc set includes a newly remastered version of Van Morrison‘s 1970 solo album, and three further CDs with multiple takes of album tracks. A Blu-ray Audio disc completes the package, containing a surround sound version.
Limited to 1500 sets, this new Suede 11LP box set collects all the studio albums and sees the vinyl debut of astonishingly good 1997 B-side compilation, Sci-Fi Lullabies and the astonishingly dull A New Morning.
Continue reading “Out This Week / 21 October 2013”
As the image above illustrates, the forthcoming Dire Straits Studio Albums 1978-1991 vinyl box set will sport classic 1984 Alchemy-era typography, with a hint of Making Movies design thrown in for good measure.
Continue reading “Dire Straits / “Studio Albums 1978-1991” vinyl box set artwork”
A new box set featuring the music of California band Sparks is released next week and has has been personally curated by Ron and Russell Mael.
New Music For Amnesiacs: The Ultimate Collection is a limited edition four CD collection presented within a a hardbound book, and comes with a selection of replica memorabilia, including posters, tickets, lanyards, photos and button badges. The 64-page book includes hundreds of photos from Ron and Russell’s personal archives, and features a foreword by Morrissey.
Continue reading “Sparks / New Music For Amnesiacs: The Ultimate Collection box set”
The Beatles’ On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 will be issued in a luxury triple vinyl package, as well as the double CD version, and from the new image above, it looks to be a well designed collection.
A six-panel gatefold sleeve provides acres of space for text and images, and the three inner sleeves are adorned with evocative black and white photography. The newly colourised cover shot is also sure to look superb on the large 12-inch format.
The original Live at the BBC set has also been remastered and will be issued on triple-vinyl at the same time.
On Air Live at the BBC Volume 2 is released on 11 November 2013.
VINYL version (3LP): On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2
It’s been over seven months since Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith – or Tears For Fears, to give them their collective name – hinted at a ‘big’ year to come in 2013. We knew that this big year would involve their 1983 debut album The Hurting, since their announcement came exactly on the 30th anniversary of the record’s release. A Hurting themed website, was the other giveaway.
This blog exclusively announced that The Hurting reissue was going to be rather special, at the beginning of August. A four-disc box set, no less. It would include unreleased-on-CD early singles, B-sides, alternative versions and remixes. An entire disc would be dedicated to previously unissued BBC radio sessions. A DVD debut for the 1983 concert film, In My Mind’s Eye, would be the icing on this particular new wave 30th birthday cake.
The box set looks and feels fantastic. It comes with a replica of the 1983 tour programme and a 32-page booklet featuring rare archive photography and a 3,000 word essay (by SDE editor, Paul Sinclair), that includes new commentary on the making of the album from Curt and Roland.
The Hurting 3CD+DVD box set is released on Monday 21 October.
More photos below:
Continue reading “FIRST PICTURES: Tears For Fears / “The Hurting” 4-disc box set”
Edsel Records’ Bananarama reissues are a week and a half away, so here’s a look at the casebound book packaging for all six albums. Each set consists of 2CDs and a DVD. Next week will will be posting an interview with Tom Parker who put these sets together.
If you wish to view the full track listing, you can view this post.
Deep Sea Skiving 2CD+DVD
• UK Pre-order: Deep Sea Skiving (Bonus DVD)
More photos below:
Continue reading “Bananarama reissue packshots”
Once ailing UK music retailer HMV have this week done something rather brave – they’ve opened up a brand new store in London’s Oxford Street.
The exact site is 363 Oxford Street, where the record chain previously had a shop between 1921 and 2000, before moving across the road to new premises. That relocated branch closed earlier this year after HMV went into liquidation.
In a turnaround in fortunes, HMV was bought out for an estimated £50 million in April by Hilco (who already own HMV in Canada). The chief executive and HMV chairman Paul McGowan recently told the NME that “HMV [had] lost its mojo” and that “The stores had stopped being fun places to go into” but went on to explain how they will change for the better by putting more emphasis on increasing stock levels for a wider number of artists, relaunching the website and increasing in-store gigs.
Continue reading “Jury out on new HMV in Oxford St”
The ZTT Records 30th Anniversary compilation The Organization of Pop (New York Edition) is released in the US today.
The two-CD celebration takes in a generous selection of classic hits and mixes including Grace Jones‘ Slave To The Rhythm, the never-really-been-bettered New York Mix of Frankie Goes To Hollywood‘s Relax, and Moments in Love (Beaten) from The Art Of Noise.
We are delighted to announce that we have FIVE copies of The Organization Of Pop to giveaway – not only that, each winner will also receive an exclusive Organization Of Pop T-shirt!
Continue reading “Win a ZTT “Organization of Pop” CD and T-shirt prize bundle”
First picture of how the Eric Clapton Give Me Strength The ’74-’74 Recordings deluxe set will look.
As a reminder, this is a 5CD+Blu-ray Audio collection that celebrates the period between April 1974 and June 1975 when Clapton produced the studio albums 461 Ocean Boulevard and There’s One In Every Crowd, as well as the live double set E.C. Was Here.
It’s out on 25 November 2013. Full track listings and details here.
5CD+Blu-ray Audio box set
3LP Vinyl set
Seems like we’re wading in Deep Purple at the moment. This season not only brings the Perfect Strangers Live package from Eagle Rock and the 24k Gold 4CD box set from Audio Fidelity, but also this 10CD box – The Complete Albums 1970-1976 – from Rhino.
Continue reading “Deep Purple / The Complete Albums 1970-1976 / 10CD box set”
Panegyric Recordings show how to create a truly ‘super deluxe’ edition with this epic 24-disc celebration of King Crimson’s 1974 tour and their Red album.
This 15-CD collection of all of Paul Simon‘s solo albums is out today. Contains the fully expanded version of each release (including the 2012 version of Graceland). CDs come in simple vinyl replica card sleeves and are housed in a cute box complete with magnetic enclosure.
A ‘New’ album by Paul McCartney is always big news. Typically, Macca has been working hard to promote it, by playing impromptu gigs at New York high schools and lunchtime dates from articulated trucks in the middle of Times Square! A number of different producers involved here, notably fifth Beatle son, Giles Martin.
Continue reading “Out This Week / 14 October 2013”
Paul Simon‘s Complete Albums Collection box is released this week.
Here’s an exclusive look at this set which contains expanded versions of all Simon’s studio albums. 37 bonus tracks in total, although they’ve all been released before on past individual reissues.
The box itself has a soft almost rubber-like feel to it, very similar to the Michael Jackson Bad box from last year. Like Jackson’s reissue this also contains a hidden magnetic enclosure which secures the contents with a satisfying ‘click’.
Continue reading “FIRST PICTURES / Paul Simon: The Complete Albums Collection”
In his notes on this 3CD+DVD celebration of the Grateful Dead‘s 1972 Sunshine Daydream concert in Veneta, Oregon in California, archivist David Lemieux explains that part of the reason it’s taken so long (41 years!) to release the Kesey Creamery benefit performance is that “we’ve never been interested in releasing just the music, because the film, with its images of the day, is so integral to the enjoyment of the event and to the understanding of the importance of this show”.
Never has a truer word been spoken. While the music sounds superb (mixed into 5.1 surround on the DVD) it’s the combination of the music and visuals that really excites. Continue reading “Grateful Dead / Sunshine Daydream”
Here’s a look at the packaging for the deluxe blu-ray version of Eagle Rock’s The Doors R-Evolution release.
This release (also available on DVD) includes many video and film rarities include the band’s full performance on “Shebang”, an interview with Dick Clark, a colour version of the band’s appearance on “Malibu U” (and never before seen outtakes), the complete, colour version of Hello, I Love You from German TV and the director’s cut of the 1985 L.A. Woman short film.
Continue reading “The Doors / “R-Evolution” deluxe packaging and bonus details”
Edsel Records will release a new box set later this month featuring the work of singer and songwriter Leo Sayer.
Sayer is well remembered for his string of top ten hits in the UK in the 1970s, which included a pair of consecutive US Billboard Hot 100 number ones, in You Make Me Feel Like Dancing and When I Need You.
Continue reading “Leo Sayer / “Just A Box: The Complete Studio Recordings”
