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The The / The Comeback Special: Live at the Royal Albert Hall

2018 concert issued across six formats

By Paul Sinclair

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Six physical formats including 136-page, 6-disc Art Book edition

The The‘s Royal Albert Hall show of 2018 (attended and reviewed by SDE) will be released across many formats in October as The Comeback Special: Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

The gig was one of three London dates in a week (the others being at The Troxy and Brixton Academy) and was filmed by legendary film-maker Tim Pope

Performing live for the first time in 16 years (there was a headline appearance at Denmark’s Heartland Festival a few days before the Royal Albert Hall concert) the band featured previous members James Eller on bass, DC Collard on keyboards and Earl Harvin on drums and new member Barrie Cadogan on guitar, alongside Matt Johnson

The 24-song performance will be released across a number of formats including two-CD, 3LP clear vinyl, 3LP black vinyl, blu-ray and DVD and there will be a special super deluxe version known as the Art Book Edition because the contents come packaged in a 136-page book which tells the whole story behind The Comeback Special with hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos, film stills, contributions and stories, as well as six discs including exclusive audio content (across two bonus CDs), plus director Tim Pope’s film of the concert on both Blu-ray and DVD.

The exclusive art book edition of The Comeback Special (click image to enlarge)

The art book edition features:

  • Previously unseen artwork by Andy Dog, lyrics to all songs on the set list, a foreword by Pete Paphides, contributions by band members and collaborators’
  • Conversations by Candlelight’, a Radio Cinéola broadcast over a bottle of Jura whiskey with Matt Johnson and Tim Pope + acoustic snippets of selected songs
  • ‘Book Narration’, a Radio Cinéola broadcast with Matt Johnson and Jackson Ewald Johnson offering a guided tour of the book
  • ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic’ (interview + 6 acoustic performances at KCRW in LA during the tour: ‘The Beat(en) Generation’, ‘Heartland’, ‘This Is The Day, ‘Slow Emotion Replay’, ‘Armageddon Days’, ‘Lonely Planet’)
  • Exclusive 10” vinyl featuring ‘DJ Food’s ‘Stolen Moments’ remix of ‘Global Eyes’ and ‘I Saw The Light’ performed at Festival No. 6 (only available on the official album store)

There will be a special premiere of the film of The Comeback Special at The Troxy in London on 1 October 2021. Any orders from the official artist store gives the purchaser exclusive access to tickets for this premiere.

All formats of The Comeback Special: Live at the Royal Albert Hall will be released on 29 October 2021.

Official store pre-orders

Tracklisting

The Comeback Special: Live at the Royal Albert Hall The The / 6-disc 164-page Artbook

    • CD 1 – The Comeback Special
      1. Global Eyes
      2. Sweet Bird Of Truth
      3. Flesh & Bones
      4. Heartland
      5. The Beat(en) Generation
      6. Armageddon Days (are here again)
      7. A Long Hard Lazy Apprenticeship
      8. We Can’t Stop What’s Coming
      9. Phantom Walls
      10. Love Is Stronger Than Death
      11. Dogs Of Lust
      12. Helpline Operator
      13. This Is The Night
    • CD 2 – The Comeback Special
      1. This Is The Day
      2. Soul Catcher
      3. Bugle Boy
      4. Beyond Love
      5. Slow Emotion Replay
      6. (Like a) Sun Rising Thru My Garden
      7. Infected
      8. I’ve Been Waiting For Tomorrow (all of my life)
      9. True Happiness (this way lies)
      10. Uncertain Smile
      11. Lonely Planet
    • CD 3 – Book Narration
      Book Narrations
      1. The Introduction
      2. The Dedication
      3. The Rehearsals (Part One)
      4. The Rehearsals (Part Two)
      5. The Soundcheck
      6. The Ritual
      7. The Concert (Political)
      8. The Concert (Emotional)
      9. The Concert (Metaphysical)
      10. The Concert (Encore)
      11. The Lyrics and Andy Dog
      12. The Tour
      13. The Summing Up
      14. The Microphone Stand
      15. The Goodbye
      Conversations by Candlelight
      1. First Glass
      2. Second Glass
      3. Third Glass
      4. Fourth Glass
      5. Fifth Glass
      6. Heartland (candlelit)
      7. Sixth Glass
      8. The Beat(en) Generation (candlelit)
      9. Seventh Glass
      10. Armageddon Days (are here again) (candlelit)
      11. Eighth Glass
      12. A Long Hard Lazy Apprenticeship (candlelit)
      13. Ninth Glass
      14. Love Is Stronger Than Death (candlelit)
      15. Tenth Glass
      16. Bugle Boy (candlelit)
      17. Eleventh Glass
      18. True Happiness (this way lies) (candlelit)
      19. Twelfth Glass
      20. Uncertain Smile (candlelit)
      21. Thirteenth Glass
      22. Lonely Planet (candlelit)
      23. Fourteenth Glass
    • CD 4 – Morning Becomes Eclectic
      1. Introduction (Live On KCRW)
      2. The Beat(en) Generation
      3. Heartland (Live On KCRW)
      4. Explanation (Live On KCRW)
      5. This Is The Day (Live On KCRW)
      6. Interview (Live On KCRW)
      7. Slow Emotion Replay (Live On KCRW)
      8. Armageddon Days (are here again) (Live On KCRW)
      9. Lonely Planet (Live On KCRW)
      10. Signing Off (Live On KCRW)
    • Blu-ray: The Comeback Special
      1. Introduction (Live On KCRW)
      2. The Beat(en) Generation
      3. Heartland (Live On KCRW)
      4. Explanation (Live On KCRW)
      5. This Is The Day (Live On KCRW)
      6. Interview (Live On KCRW)
      7. Slow Emotion Replay (Live On KCRW)
      8. Armageddon Days (are here again) (Live On KCRW)
      9. Lonely Planet (Live On KCRW)
      10. Signing Off (Live On KCRW)
    • DVD – The Comeback Special
      1. Introduction (Live On KCRW)
      2. The Beat(en) Generation
      3. Heartland (Live On KCRW)
      4. Explanation (Live On KCRW)
      5. This Is The Day (Live On KCRW)
      6. Interview (Live On KCRW)
      7. Slow Emotion Replay (Live On KCRW)
      8. Armageddon Days (are here again) (Live On KCRW)
      9. Lonely Planet (Live On KCRW)
      10. Signing Off (Live On KCRW)

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