Free Hand, the seventh album from prog rockers Gentle Giant will be reissued in remixed form on CD, blu-ray and vinyl in June.
The 1975 album was the band’s first with Chrysalis in the UK (hence the name) and the most commercially successful of their eleven studio outings, reaching the top 50 of the Billboard album chart in America
The songs on the album include ‘On Reflection’, ‘Talybont’, ‘Time To Kill’ and ‘Just The Same’.
Steven Wilson’s stereo remix of ‘Just The Same’
As with the Octopus reissue and 2017’s Three Piece Suite, producer and musician Steven Wilson has remixed the music, in stereo (for the CD and vinyl) and in 5.1 surround and Dolby Atmos, for the blu-ray audio (which is paired with the CD for a two-disc set).
The surround mixes are accompanied by custom animated visuals for each track on Blu-ray. Additionally, the blu-ray boasts a flat transfer of the original mix, the 1975 quad mix and an instrumental mix.
A double vinyl album offers both the original mix and the Steven Wilson stereo remix.
Matt Berry‘s new album The Blue Elephant is released next week, and SDE cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s a wonderfully evocative musical journey which embraces the trippy, psychedelia of the pop-rock scene of the late Sixties and early Seventies.
The album is almost entirely self-played and Berry also engineers and produces the whole thing. SDE caught up with him recently to discuss the record and Matt’s whole approach to recording…
How would you describe the new album. The Phantom Birds was very song-based, so I guess you were looking to do something a bit different?
Well, that’s exactly it. It’s basically a reaction to what I’d been making before, for a year or so… using techniques that were minimal, I guess. I was going back to that theory of the less you do, the more comes out of the speakers. And it was something that I enjoyed – I just had one guitar panned left, the drums panned right – it’s actually the other way around – and the bass dead centre and the voice dead centre. A sort of Dylan, Nashville or Neil Young way of producing it. That was great, but after doing that for a year or so I was ready to use more instruments and more colour, I guess.
How much did you plan out The Blue Elephant beforehand, in terms of the narrative and flow of the songs?
There was no plan in terms of which track goes where, or which track goes after anything. That’s all done at the end. In terms of the recording process it’s a load of ideas I’ve got where I see what I can do, whether that’s using two bass guitars once…. And a whole number of things, and it’s just whether the ideas will work or not. I think there were three tracks which didn’t make the album, so it’s just a load of different ideas and seeing how they fit together towards the end.
I guess with this kind of record it probably allows you more flexibility to use song fragments in an interesting way where you don’t necessarily have to slave over finishing a song with the traditional song structure?
Exactly, yeah. What Phantom Birds was, and possibly the album before it, was this kind of traditional song structure and I was just as interested in that, to see if I could pull off an album’s worth of beginnings, middle and endings. So by the time I did The Blue Elephant, I wanted to fuck all that and do a more freeform type of song, so you’re not sure if that chorus is ever going to come back, or is it just a great long intro? That has always been interesting to me, and that comes from bands like Roxy Music. I remember when I first heard For Your Pleasure, and ‘Do The Strand’, which was basically the chorus repeated the whole way through, and I thought that that was really interesting. And then a few tracks down the line you had ‘In Every Dream Home A Heartache’ where it’s just the verse the whole way through until there’s a solo section at the end. Those kind of ideas, those approaches had always interested me. Like The Cure’s ‘Push’ which is an intro that goes on for about three minutes before he starts to sing. So it was that kind of thing that was an influence on this.
The album has that wonderful, sixties, trippy, psychedelic vibe in places. You mentioned Roxy Music, what other early musical influences did you have?
I was pretty sensitive to music, so if someone played something that hadn’t been anywhere near the charts I’d be a load more interested in that. And that could be anything, like someone at school who plays the guitar and then has Led Zeppelin albums, and you’re like “What the fuck is this? The drums don’t sound like this on the stuff in the charts!” And I always looked backwards when I was at school… it wasn’t until maybe Nirvana came along that I was interested in what was currently happening, because up until then, it was bad house that was in the charts, when I was in my formative years. That was good in a way, because it did make me look backwards. And from that I found The Doors, and that changed a lot of things for me because never had I heard organ be placed as a lead instrument, and I was obsessed with the reverbs and things and that Sunset Sound slapback reverb – I’ve used that on this album and other stuff I’ve done. So these production techniques were a big influence. I mean, the influence for this album I’d say is albums made between ’67 and ’73, production-wise.
‘Aboard’, the opening number from The Blue Elephant
I want to ask you more about the production in a second, but first off, where does all this musical talent come from, because there’s this big long list of instruments that you play, on the back of the album. Where did the musical skill come from and have you had that since childhood?
It’s purely down to having no fear of any of it. My parents couldn’t play anything, so I was never pressured into learning theory and I still can’t – I can’t read music. So, they put an organ in my bedroom – that sounds terrible [laughs] – and as a result of that, I just became obsessed with it and recorded with it. I realised I needed a bass guitar and some lead guitar. I didn’t know anyone who was anywhere near me who could actually play those things, so learnt them myself. I loved learning them, took to them, and that was it. I’ve never really looked at it as a big deal, you know it was born out of necessity and the love of doing it.
But you’ve clearly got some natural talent. You’re not just banging out chords. There’s some pretty impressive solo work on both guitar and the organ…
I suppose that’s just the length of time. I’ve be doing this since I was 13. If you’ve been doing it for that long and you haven’t had a break. You know, some people play the guitar and then stop at the age of 20, or whenever and then they might go back to it when they’re 45. Whereas I haven’t stopped, I kept doing it.
I’m fascinated by people like Karl Wallinger or Paul McCartney who have played all the instruments on an album themselves, and obviously with this record you’ve done that – apart from the drums. Do you enjoy that process? It must be a lot of work. Don’t you waste hours sorting out technical issues?
None of it’s wasted. There’s no hours wasted because all those hours are spent experimenting and finding out what works, for you personally. I love doing it all, so for me, it’s sort of a joy and a privilege, to be able to do it all…
I guess there was an element of necessity, due to the pandemic, but would you have done it like this, anyway?
Oh yeah, I absolutely would have done it anyway. The only difference is I wouldn’t have finished it by now because I would have been filming, but luckily – for the album – there was no filming that year, so I managed to spend twice the amount of time on it that I normally would have done.
An exclusive look at Matt Berry’s home studio set-up. Click the image to enlarge.
What about the production side of things, because you did mention production. With some artists, if you think of The Beatles, they worked with George Martin for seven years and when they come to do their solo work they’ve observed a master in action. How did you learn the art of engineering, production etc?
Well again, learning to engineer was the same as learning all these instruments. I was on my own and I had absolutely no choice. There was no one else back in the Witchazel days where I could say “could you come and mix this?” I had to do it all. But you just kind of learn that way, but I loved that side of things as much as playing. I get as much of a thrill out of working out what goes through the different compressors, you know, and how we’re going to get that flange sound on those drums at a particular point. With that, you kind of look backwards again, so I’m reading up on record production techniques of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s…
You are like a real student when it comes to that stuff, aren’t you?
Yeah. This is stuff I look up in my own time. I love all that.
It’s not actually on the vinyl, but in the gatefold of the CD there’s a great photo of your studio set-up. Is that a home studio?
It is. I do all of my albums at home. Everything. Since Witchazel, it’s been done at whichever accommodation I’m in at that time. Back then it was London flats. Witchazel was done in a tiny London flat.
You’ve clearly got a love for vintage instruments and it looks like you’ve got a great collection. But how far do you take the authenticity? Are you recording to ProTools or are you trying to keep it as authentic as possible?
Yeah, I am but at the same time I don’t want it being a pain in the arse. So it’s not all analogue tape in case I tape over something which would be a fucking nightmare [laughs]. So how this works is you put it all through Logic and then you put it to tape and then put it back and by doing that you should capture the atmosphere of old-fashioned tape.
But you’ve got the flexibility of digital?
Yeah. And you talk of authenticity. A lot of that gear you see in that photo is stuff I got in the early ’90s that honestly didn’t cost anything. People didn’t want any analogue stuff back then and you could get analogue synths for £100. I worked at Tesco and everything I earned from Tesco went onto music equipment and a lot of it is there in that photograph. And I think it is important to use the real thing for lots of reasons, the most obvious being that if you all use the same plug-in and the same soft synths, as it were, everyone will kind of sound the same. Whereas with a lot of these things [the real vintage instruments] they will sound different because they’re all wired differently and that’s how you get the, sort of, faults with them. Say like a [virtual] Wurlizter…. Every note would be in tune and it would sound digital and so it would sound slightly dead. Whereas if you use the real thing, not every note is in tune, so you get these faults… It’s basically character.
The Blue Elephant front cover was created by Matt Berry
Tell us about the front cover. That’s your artwork. Do you have an obsession with the Elephant Man, or his story?
It’s not really the Elephant Man, although I am interested in the Elephant Man, but it’s more about being looked at and being stared at. It feeds into that… That’s the point of it.
And where does that come from? Is that because you feel a bit like that, now that you’re quite a well known figure?
Well… The intentions of getting into something, personally, are never about those kinds of things… The trappings of it. The only thing I wanted to do was either to play my guitar, or dick about in comedy for money, so I didn’t have to get any kind of normal job. That’s alway been my sole motivation, to get away with this for as long as I could, so I didn’t have to go back to telesales. And the world that we’re in now is very unforgiving of people that are well known. It’s all that kind of stuff, I mean I never want to explain this kind of thing too much, because it’s up to other people to get what they want from the imagery.
In an ideal world, would you like to do just the music or do you enjoy all aspects of your work? I was wondering if you see the acting as an ‘enabler’ to allow you to do music?
No, no, no… I’m very fortunate to be able to do both. I get a massive thrill when coming up with something on set with other people that are into the same thing as you. Creating things, whether in the studio or with a cast, I get a thrill out of both.
What do you think of the music ‘industry’ at the moment, because this era that you are harking back to, in terms of the sound of the music, is a like a golden age for albums, rock bands and the like. But we are in a very different place now, where some people can’t be bothered to even listen to one song all the way through, properly, never mind an album. Also, if you were doing just the music you might not be able to earn a living…
Well I’d have to be touring all the time, and try and be clever about it, if it was my main job. I get that, but yeah, it’s completely different [now]. But that’s no fault of this [new] generation, it’s the fault of the commerce and the platforms. Whenever you apply business to art there’s always going to be a fuck up, or something that is unpleasant. And having these platforms where the artists don’t get paid – that isn’t good enough. But it was obviously going to happen. And you know, the other disappointing thing is that if people don’t have to pay for something, or they don’t have to go the extra mile for something, then they might not. I’m not saying everyone is like that, and lots of people do buy the album from the artist, but it’s easier not to and that makes a big difference, doesn’t it?
Totally. But it’s clear looking at the physical formats for The Blue Elephant that that is important to you. How something looks, how it feels…
It’s really important. You know, because you want value for money and you want these things to be tangible. I don’t just want this to be some fucking thing on someone’s phone, which doesn’t even have an album cover, or even any track names. I haven’t worked hard on it for it to end up like that. It’s not good enough for it to end up like that, it’s too lazy. But I am encouraged with how many labels now are doing physical and different formats. That seems to be growing and – you’ll know this a lot more than me – but there does seem to be more physical coming from smaller labels…
I think people have started to understand that if they want people to fork up the cash, it needs to be worth it and it’s more than just the audio; it’s the whole experience. This is why vinyl has made a comeback… Your Blue Elephant artwork, for example, looks so good on the larger, 12-inch format.
Exactly. And it was made for that. It wasn’t made to be a bloody thumbnail…
The cassette edition of The Blue Elephant
But we should talk about the cassette, this is the perfect time to do that, because you’ve created a tape in the style of those EMI-style cassettes from the 1970s, in exacting detail. Why did you want to do that then?
Growing up, these are the sort of things that always used to be on top of people’s gloveboxes – in all cars! It didn’t matter whose car you were in…
My dad had the entire Beatles catalogue on those tapes and we used to listen to them in the car.
Well you were lucky. I had to go to other dad’s cars, because my dad didn’t have any tapes, but yeah. Any dad’s car you went in there was always a bunch of those on the glovebox. And it was always things like The Dark Side of the Moon, or Rumours…
ELO was always one…
Exactly. And it was an event to have one of those on your glovebox and in your car. It was part of life. It’s so sad that all that has gone… You don’t know what anyone’s into now. And they’d be on the back seat, too. I can even remember being in a mate’s dad’s car and on the backseat he had a Jimi Hendrix tape. And I didn’t know who Jimi Hendrix was, but I knew that it looked good. Do you know what I mean? If you are interested in that stuff then it does stick in your mind. So the tape [of The Blue Elephant] was important. And it works, it’s not just an ornament.
The interesting thing about these tapes is that EMI used to muck about with the running order just to balance it out. So if you’ve got Revolver on one of these tapes it starts with ‘Good Day Sunshine’ – it doesn’t start with ‘Taxman’.
I know and the artists used to go fucking mental. I’ve heard that many times that the record companies would do that…
‘Summer Sun’, from The Blue Elephant
Talking of The Beatles, I did notice… you’ve obviously had a lot of fun with the new album, with little nods to other music, or other styles of music or whatever, and I have to put my hand up and claim a prize or something… Because you have the piano intro to the Anthology 2 version of ‘A Day In The Life’ in the mix. When I first heard it I thought “ooh, why is that familiar?”
[laughs] Well done! Well spotted… but not only that, I’ve recreated all the bit that goes up to that. So the harpsichord, the phone, the organ… I did it exactly.
That’s brilliant
I’ve always wanted to do it and in the past have been a bit nervous of doing that before a song, but this album was the perfect place to do it. But that was fun. That was a whole morning of listening to the original, stopping it. Doing it. Making sure it sounded exactly the same!
It’s those kinds of things that enrich it, I guess. Who is your audience, by the way? Do you know who they are, how do you get feedback from them?
I’ve no idea. I’m my audience [laughs]. It’s like the comedy. It’s done to make me laugh. It’s done because I’ve enjoyed it. It’s not done for anyone else, or to second guess an audience.
Are you going to tour the record? I saw you play live at the Royal Albert Hall a few years ago and I was trying to remember who you were supporting and of course it was Steven Wilson. You’ll have to teach the band all the parts, which could take a while. You obviously love working in the studio, so how much do you enjoy the live experience?
I love it. And the band that I’ve got would be able to learn this stuff in an afternoon.
Is that The Maypoles?
Yeah.
So do you think you will tour it, or are you just going to move on to the next project?
Well, it depends. It’s all down to filming and whether we’re allowed to. I don’t think we’re going to be allowed to tour until the end of this year. And then I might be filming again, so it would all kind of depend on those two things.
One final question. Mentioning Steven Wilson made me think of it. This kind of record would sound amazing in 5.1. Have you got any interest in surround sound?
Possibly, yeah. And Steven would be the one to do it. We worked together… I say ‘worked’, I consulted very briefly on the Tangerine Dream box set he did [In Search of Hades]. It sounds fancier than it actually was, but because I know those albums all so well, it was basically him asking me how much he had deviated from the album that I remembered. And I’d say something like “that synth didn’t sound anywhere near as bright as it does know”. But yeah, if that was to happen it would be with Steven.
Thanks to Matt Berry who was talking to Paul Sinclair for SDE.The Blue Elephant is released on 14 May 2021.
BMG will issue The Reunion Albums next month, a five-CD box set featuring material from the 2006 reformed classic line-up of Asia, which featured lead vocalist / bassist John Wetton of King Crimson, guitarist Steve Howe of Yes, keyboardist Geoff Downes of Yes, and drummer Carl Palmer from Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
The clamshell box set features Fantasia: Live in Tokyo, a live show from their 2007 World Tour (a two-CD set), and the three subsequent studio albums: Phoenix (2008), Omega (2010) and XXX (2012).
Asia: The Reunion Albums 2007-2012 is a 5CD clamshell box
The box features the distinctive design work of Roger Dean, who created all the original albums covers (Fantasia is actually slightly updated).
Asia originally formed in 1981 and are best known for the single ‘Heat of the Moment’ which was taken from their eponymous debut album Asia (1982). The original line-up only last for three years (or two albums) and hence it was a big deal when they reformed in 2006.
The Reunion Albums 2007-2012 will be released on 11 June 2021.
These days, so long as the artist doesn’t despise their record label, it’s close to a contractual obligation to celebrate an album’s 25th anniversary and Edsel have done exactly that with Suede‘s 1996 long-player Coming Up, a record that, on the face of it, doesn’t need reissuing.
The great value 2CD+DVD deluxe edition from 2011seemed definitive, with its collection of demos, B-sides and video content, although the so-so packaging let it down a bit and there was the odd omission, such as the Neil Codling-penned flip-side, ‘Digging A Hole’.
Five years later, the 20th anniversary 4CD+DVD set offered a better presentation, filled the odd gap, found more demos, but didn’t entirely supersede its predecessor. For example, the band decided to amicably separate Coming Up from a few songs that originally bridged the second and third albums and that had been included on the earlier reissue. These include ‘Together’ – the first fruit of the Brett Anderson/Richard Oakes writing partnership – and B-sides ‘Asda Town’ and ‘Bentswood Boys’.
Coming Up is a fizzy, brash, pop record
Brett Anderson
Despite having been written a few years earlier and being paired with Dog Man Star singles, these songs, in theory, have more in common with the 1996 album, since Bernard Butler was not involved in the creation of any of them. But it seems they aren’t considered close enough to Coming Up, and therefore reside in a Suede ‘No Man’s Land’ lying betwixt and between the two albums. No recent Suede deluxe edition has been willing to offer them refuge!
Perhaps wisely, for this new, two-CD 25th anniversary treatment of Coming Up, Edsel have gone back to basics. There’s no demos, no videos, no live tracks just the album, paired with an CD of B-sides and extra tracks from Coming Up singles (17 in total). And those B-sides are ludicrously strong. In many ways, they tell the full story of the beginnings of the post-Bernard Butler era, in a way that the album, alone, can not.
Coming Up was a big commercial success, a self-designed “fizzy, brash, pop record”, in the words of Brett Anderson. It certainly delivered success, with five UK top ten hit singles, but while later singles such as ‘Lazy’ and ‘Filmstar’ did the business across the counter at Our Price, they were arguably a tad one-dimensional and lacked some depth evident in the best of Suede. This is where the B-sides widen the scope and offer a broader picture.
‘Young Men’ was an extra track on ‘Beautiful Ones’, the second single from Coming Up
Consider the first single, ‘Trash’. The ‘extra tracks’ for that release across the two UK CD singles were ‘Europe Is Our Playground’, ‘Have You Ever Been This Low?’, ‘Another No One’ and ‘Every Monday Morning Comes’. All superb – I would take any of those above ‘Lazy’. ‘Beautiful Ones’ offered more of the same – four great songs, including ‘Young Men’ with its memorable opening line: “Tony only reads Asian Babes”. Perhaps I’d allow that by the fourth of fifth single the quality was starting to dip somewhat, but nevertheless, delivering this quantity and quality of extra material was a remarkable achievement.
Putting all the studio recordings together and just forgetting about everything else is an astute move on the part of the record company and is a true and concise representation of what Suede were up to at the height of Britpop.
None of this means that any self-respecting Suedehead needs this new 25th edition, but for the more casual fan you might call it the ‘Goldilocks’ edition. Not too big, not too small – just right.
Coming Up is reissued as a 25th anniversary two-CD set on 10 September 2021 (was 13 August 2021). A clear vinyl LP pressing (album-only) will also be available.
The2019 various artists collection, Gary Crowley’sLost 80s, is followed up in June with a second volume that, as before, features tracks from the 1980s (1980 to 1986, specifically) that stray just a little bit off the beaten track.
A four-CD ‘media book’ edition offers 65 tracks and is themed by disc. The song selection includes tracks by lesser known artists as well as lesser known tracks by more familiar artists! There’s a few 12-inch versions peppered across the selections, too.
500-only limited edition of the 4CD set comes with a print signed by Gary Crowley
The 32-page book includes an introduction and track-by-track notes by Gary Crowley, plus memories of the era from Mick Talbot, Corinne Drewery, Dr Robert, Glenn Gregory, and more.
A 2LP clear vinyl edition cuts the selection down to 21 tracks but does maintain the themes from its CD cousin (each CD becomes one side of vinyl).
A 500-only limited edition of the 4CD version of Lost 80s Vol 2 comes with a print signed by Gary Crowley. This is exclusive to Amazon UK, and, with the current restrictions in place, is available to UK residents only. A standard 4CD is more widely available.
Gary Crowley’s Lost 80s Vol 2 will be released on 23 July 2021 (was 25 June), via Edsel/Demon Records.
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Various Artists
Gary Crowley Lost 80s 2 - 4CD set Signed exclusive
This September, The Stranglers will release Dark Matters their first studio album since 2012 and the first since their keyboard player Dave Greenfield died last year (a victim of COVID-19).
Greenfield himself features on eight of the album’s 11 tracks, which were made over the course of two years at the band’s studios in Somerset and in Southern France, produced by long-time collaborator Louie Nicastro.
Band members, JJ Burnel and Baz Warne completed Dark Matters remotely during lockdowns, adding to it the song ‘And If You Should See Dave…’ a contemplative, but uplifting a tribute to Greenfield.
If you pre-order via the official store, all orders come with an exclusive bonus CD titled Dave Greenfield – A Tribute. This features eight unreleased live recordings including two of the new tracks performed by Dave, live versions of four Stranglers songs that Dave sings on, and one of the last ever recordings of the band from their 2019 Japanese tour.
The Stranglers store also offers a red/black smoke vinyl edition, which like all the music products, includes the exclusive bonus CD.
Surely virtually everything most people would want, in terms of Amy Winehouse: Both studio albums, the Lioness: Hidden Treasures compilation, Live in London and a CD of remixes!
White Chalk, PJ Harvey‘s seventh studio long-player, will be reissued in June as a ‘demos’ album on CD and vinyl. The original record will also be put out as a vinyl-only re-release.
Originally released in September 2007, White Chalk was produced by PJ Harvey, Flood and John Parish. It features the singles ‘When Under Ether’, ‘The Piano’ and ‘The Devil’.
‘When Under Ether’, from White Chalk
All 11 album tracks feature in demo form on the Demos album, which as with previous reissues, comes with new artwork. The original album on vinyl is “faithful to the original recording and package”, with cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of original co-producer John Parish.
White Chalk and White Chalk – Demos will be released on 25 June 2021. The vinyl records come with download cards in the UK, but not in the USA (it’s not clear what happens in Europe and elsewhere, although maybe some SDE readers can confirm).
A new compilation celebrates the first decade of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Back The Way We Came Vol. 1 2011-2021 has been “curated and compiled entirely by Noel”.
This collection obviously includes tracks from the three studios albums: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (2011), Chasing Yesterday (2015) and Who Built The Moon? (2017) and various EPs. It includes two previously unreleased tracks, including the brand new single, ‘We’re On Our Way Now’.
This new best of is available across a number of formats, the pick of which is probably the 3CD deluxe edition. This comes in ‘casebound book’ packaging and includes a bonus disc of previously unreleased acoustic versions, remixes, instrumentals and an unheard demo. In the UK, it’s only £3 more than the standard 2CD set, which is a ‘softpack’ presentation.
The 3CD deluxe of Back The Way We Came
There is a heavyweight 2LP vinyl version, as you would expect, but a pricey box set edition is also available. This includes the 2LP set, a further 2LP set which duplicates precisely the content of the bonus CD from the three-CD deluxe. The triple-CD set is also included on the box, along with an etched seven-inch single of ‘She Taught Me How To Fly’.
The box set version of Back The Way We Came (click image to enlarge).
It may also include a 32-page large format ‘photo book’, but that’s a hell of a lot of duplication in the big box and with a price-tag of over £80 it doesn’t appear great value, especially when you can buy the three-CD and the 2LP sets separately for as little as £36!
Back The Way We Came Vol. 1 2011-2021 The Best of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will be released on 11 June 2021.
If you are thinking of buying the super deluxe edition of The Who Sell Out, SDE’s advice is to get on with it since Universal Music have sold out of the product. That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get hold of a copy, because retailers will still have stock, but once that stock is depleted, they won’t be able to order any more.
The Who Sell Out was only released a week ago and entered the UK album charts yesterday at number 15 (number four in the physical sales chart). The only reissue that beat The Who was John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band which was number 11 and number two, respectively, in the same charts. An unboxing video for Lennon, along with an in-depth review, is coming soon.
A new album from Joan Armatrading, Consequences, looks to be on the way. We know this because Amazon in the UK have a listing for a signed CD edition. No further details at this stage, and not even any cover art, but it will probably be officially announced soon, since it’s due for release on 18 June and Armatrading is planning a Livestream concert for 18 September this year. Consequences will be her 20th album.
I must apologise for the radio silence on the DECADE book. This is the special 128-page softcover book we are producing to mark SDE’s 10th anniversary. It is full of interviews and features from the last ten years.
Artists covered include Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Stephen Street/Morrissey, Eric Stewart, Swing Out Sister, Paul Young, Dave Stewart/Eurythmics, Art of Noise, Crowded House, Peter Gabriel, World Party, David Bowie, George Michael and more!
It was supposed to ship yesterday, but for a few reasons (primarily to do with the demands on my time of the launch of the new SDE website) it will now ship in a couple of weeks, around mid-May. Sorry about this, but it will be worth the wait! There are only going to be 1000 of these special books with a wonderfully ‘super deluxe’ finish of a Mirri board silver/metallic embossed cover. They are numbered and signed, and one purchaser will win a David Bowie Five Years vinyl box set! You can order your copy using the button below, or head directly to the SDE shop.
Pretty good ’90s themed Now compilation
SDE readers have correctly given the ‘Now‘ guys some stick recently over their lack of quality control with the CD reissues of the original Now That’s What I Call Music compilations. However, the team appear to have hit the sweet spot with a new compilation called Now: The Anthems – Live Forever.
The four-CD set is full of great songs and actually makes me feel quite misty-eyed about how amazing the music scene was circa 1990-1996. There’s no Blur on here, which is a shame, and I’d like to have seen Portishead as well, but it’s a very good effort.
The same can’t be said for the visuals. Despite the cod John Squire splatters, the artwork is as awful as ever and it seems that the Now team are totally committed to the horrible, shiny 3D typography with naff chrome lighting effects. The creativity of the past is superseded by bog-standard, risk-averse, cookie-cutter mentality.
Now: The Anthems – Live Forever will be released on 28 May 2021. Click the image below the widget for a clear view of the track listing, and let us know what you think by leaving a comment.
Motörhead‘s 1981 album No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith is to be reissued for its 40th anniversary across a number of formats, including a four-CD deluxe edition with previously unreleased performances.
The record featured tracks from the band’s ‘Short Sharp Pain in the Neck’ tour which saw them play Newcastle, Leeds, Norfolk and Belfast in the space of a week, in late March 1981.
The 11-track album – issued in June of the same year – featured three tracks from Ace Of Spades, five from Overkill, the title track from Bomber title track and two from their debut. It was the only Motorhead number one album and Lemmy is quoted as saying: “I knew it’d be the live one that went best, because we’re really a live band. You can’t listen to a record and find out what we’re about.You’ve got to see us.”
4CD deluxe edition adds three full concerts to the remaster of the original (click image to enlarge)
The 40th anniversary reissue features a new remaster of the original album created from the original tapes. The four-CD edition includes five bonus tracks on the first disc (three of which are previously unreleased from a soundcheck) and features three previously unreleased full concerts from this tour: Leeds Queen Hall (28/3/81) and both nights from Newcastle City Hall (29 & 30 March). Just over half of the original album is from the Newcastle show on the 30 March, in case you are wondering. The box set is pictured above and includes 28-page book, poster, plectrum, tour pass, ticket, flyer & badge.
3LP set features original album remastered and the full 30 March Newcastle show (click image to enlarge)
A 3LP 40th anniversary edition features the new remaster of No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith and the full Newcastle show from 30 March 1981. A two-CD edition repeats the same content.
These 40th anniversary editions of No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith will be released on 25 June 2021 via Sanctuary/BMG.
Australian band The Avalanches‘ album, Since I Left You, will be reissued as a 20th anniversary edition on vinyl and CD, in June.
The sample-heavy debut was originally issued in 2000 Down Under (on Modular Recordings), but wasn’t released in the UK until the following year, reportedly to give the electronic group time to clear or amend all the samples (for which they hadn’t obtained permission, or even properly kept track of).
Talking about the album, group member Robbie Chater said: “I remember very clearly that we decided to not have any of our voices on it, which made it last because it’s a kind of transmission; nothing date-stamps it to that time. Also we were careful not to use any trendy software from 1999 or 2000. So it does seem to just float around in time…”
The 4LP vinyl edition of Since I Left You
The much-delayed reissue is available as a two-CD set (with a bonus disc of 21 remixes) and or a 4LP vinyl package which includes 15 bonus tracks. It will be released on 4 June 2021 via XL Recordings.
Gonzo Multimedia are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Yes Union Tour – which featured all eight members of the band – with a special limited edition super deluxe edition box set which contains containing 26 CDs and four DVDs.
The main offering is a DVD which features a multi-camera shoot of the 8 August 1991 show at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, with accompanying soundtrack mixed by Trevor Rabin. This comes with two CDs.
What then follows are nine double or triple CD sets – some with DVDs – which are from a mixture of fan recordings, desk tapes and FM/Radio Broadcasts. The label say this is “a way for the band to combat this highly bootlegged tour, where some fans are paying in excess of $70 per show from various Japanese websites”.
It has been well documented that I loathed the Union studio album as the whole project was taken out of our hands and destroyed by those handed the responsibility for finishing it off. However, the Union Tour was another matter. Probably the most amazing and enjoyable tour I have ever been on with Yes and I am so glad it was recorded and filmed as it was an incredibly special time that can never be repeated. The Union Your is for me, the most important event in Yes history.”
Rick Wakeman
The CDs and DVDs come in old-school ‘fatbox’ jewel cases and are contained within flight case packaging. Each heavy-duty case has been sprayed individually, with the stickers placed on by hand meaning no two flight cases are the same. It includes a numbered certificate, reproduction tour programme, repro AAA laminate, repro cloth passes, 10 band photos and two posters.
The vinyl version of Yes Union 30 Live features four LPs and a DVD
Vinyl fans have their own version of the box which offers a 4LP coloured vinyl set of the Shoreline Amphitheatre show and gives you a DVD of that same show. It also comes with the printed bits and is limited to 1000 units.
The release dates vary somewhat depending on where you are purchasing these from, but in many regions, the Yes Union 30 Live box will be released on 25 June 2021.
Mark Morrison‘s 1996 album Return of the Mack is being reissued for its 25th anniversary on purple vinyl.
The title track was an enormous hit, topping the charts in the UK, across Europe and reaching number two in the US Billboard Hot 100 the following year.
Return of the Mack is being reissued on purple vinyl
Although Morrison’s career never really delivered on the early promise of his debut (and wasn’t helped by numerous scrapes with the law and a ‘stretch’ in Wormwood Scrubs), the ‘Return of the Mack’ single was far from a one-hit-wonder in Britain. The following four singles, all off this debut, were also top ten singles in the UK, giving him five in total (Suede repeated this feat later in 1997 with their singles off Coming Up, after Morrison had already done it).
Return of the Mack is reissued on purple vinyl on 11 June 2021, via Parlophone.
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Mark Morrison
Return of the Mack (25th Anniversary Purple Vinyl) [VINYL]
Zappa Records/UMC will release for the first time Frank Zappa’s historic, final American show as Zappa ’88: The Last U.S. Show
Performed with the ‘88 touring band, the album features 29 unreleased live performances taken from Uniondale, New York; Providence, Rhode Island and Towson, Maryland. It includes two additional performances from the same tour: Zappa’s wild interpretations of the Allman Brothers Band’s ‘Whipping Post’ and Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway To Heaven’. The record also contains the first official release of ‘The Beatles Medley’.
Zappa ’88: The Last U.S. Show is issued on 2CD (shown above) and as a 4LP vinyl box set
The recordings have been newly mixed by Craig Parker Adams from the 48-track digital master tapes. Here’s the science bit: The shows were recorded using two Sony 3324 DASH PCM 24 track tape recorders synced together using a Lynx Time Code Module, thus providing 48 track recording capabilities.
This show is being issued as a two-CD set or as a 4LP 180g vinyl box (the same tracks are repeated across both formats). The album comes with sleeve notes by Joe Travers and Zappa ’88 drummer Chad Wackerman.
Zappa ’88: The Last U.S. Show will be released on 18 June 2021.
Madfish are to release American Dreamer, a limited edition remastered vinyl box set of albums by the influential and celebrated singer-songwriter Laura Nyro.
During the singer/songwriter movement in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Laura Nyro was one of the most celebrated tunesmiths of her day. She penned soulful, literate songs that took the folky introspection of her peers and infused it with element of soul, R&B, jazz, and gospel, giving them an emotional heat that set her apart.
American Dreamer features the seven studio albums Nyro recorded during this period, including Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968), New York Tendaberry (1969), Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (1970) and Gonna Take a Miracle (1971) the Gamble & Huff-produced covers set she recorded with Labelle.
Laura Nyro: American Dreamer features remastered albums and rarities
Each studio album remastered specifically for vinyl and in addition to the remastered studio albums, the box set houses a bonus LP of archive demos and live tracks entitled Rarities & Live Recordings.
The box set comes with a 36-page, large-format booklet that includes rare photographs, ephemera and notes by author Peter Doggett, along with warm words from the likes of Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Todd Rundgren, Rosanne Cash, Rickie Lee Jones, Graham Nash, Donald Fagen, Bette Midler, Patti Labelle and others.
American Dreamer is released on 27 August 2021 (was 30 July) via Madfish. The box set is limited and is available to pre-order via the SDE shop using this link, or the button below.
Tracklisting
American DreamerLaura Nyro/Limited edition 8LP vinyl box set
Side A
Goodbye Joe
Billy’s Blues
And When I Die
Stoney End
Lazy Susan
Hands Off The Man
Side B
Wedding Bell Blues
Buy And Sell
He’s A Runner
Blowin’ Away
Never Meant To Hurt You
California Shoe-Shine Boys
Side 1
Luckie
Lu
Sweet Blindness
Poverty Train
Lonely Women
Eli’s Comin’
Side 2
Timer
Stoned Soul Picnic
Emmie
Woman’s Blues
Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe)
December’s Boudoir
The Confession
Side A
You Don’t Love Me When I Cry
Captain For Dark Mornings
Tom Cat Goodbye
Mercy On Broadway
Save The Country
Side B
Gibsom Street
Time And Love
The Man Who Sends Me Home
Sweet Lovin’ Baby
Captain Saint Lucifer
New York Tendaberry
Side A
Brown Earth
When I Was A Freeport And You Were The Main Drag
Blackpatch
Been On A Train
Up On The Roof
Side B
Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp
Map To The Treasure
Beads Of Sweat
Christmas In My Soul
Side A
I Met Him On A Sunday
The Bells
Monkey Time / Dancing In The Street
Desiree
You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me
Side B
Spanish Harlem
Jimmy Mack
Wind
Nowhere To Run
It’s Gonna Take A Miracle
Side A
Sexy Mama
Children Of The Junks
Money
I Am The Blues
Side B
Stormy Love
The Cat-Song
Midnite Blue
Smile
Side A
Mr. Blue (The Song Of Communications)
Rhythm And Blues
My Innocence
Crazy Love
American Dreamer
Side B
Springblown
The Sweet Sky
Light (Pop’s Principle)
Child In A Universe
The Nest
Side A
Stoney End (Single Version) (Mono Version)
Lu (Demo)
Stoned Soul Picnic (Demo)
Emmie (Demo)
Eli’s Comin’ (Single Version) (Mono Version)
Save The Country (Single Version)
In The Country Way (Album Version)
Side B
Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing (Recorded Live 30 May 1971, Fillmore East, USA)
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Recorded Live 30 May 1971, Fillmore East, USA)
O-o-h Child (Recorded Live 30 May 1971, Fillmore East, USA)
Up On the Roof (Recorded Live 30 May 1971, Fillmore East, USA)
Next month, Sony will issue a 30th Anniversary vinyl edition of The Wedding Present‘s third studio album, Seamonsters. The 1991 long-player was recorded in America in a ten day session with producer Steve Albini
Sony’s 30th anniversary 2LP+CD reissue of Seamonsters (click image to enlarge)
The 2LP vinyl reissue includes the studio album and a bonus LP of single/EP tracks and Peel Sessions. Interestingly, this also comes with a CD which includes the album and EPs.
The expanded artwork has been put together by Hitch, the original designer, and the whole project has been overseen by the band’s leader David Gedge.
UMC/Virgin continue with their Def Leppard box sets in June when Volume Three becomes available as a 6CD set or a 9LP vinyl package.
The third of four planned volumes, these contain all the recordings from the band in the 2000s, specifically the albums X (2002), Yeah! (2006) and Songs From The Sparkle Lounge (2008).
Box Set Vol 3 on CD
The three bonus CDs are a B-sides disc, Yeah! 2 (more covers) and Yeah! Live (various live tracks). The same content appears across five bonus vinyl LPs in the vinyl version, with the three albums covered by four records – giving a total of nine vinyl LPs. None of the albums have ever been issued on vinyl previously, so this is their debut on the format!
The albums have been re-mastered by Ronan McHugh and Joe Elliott at Joe’s Garage and for the vinyl version, cut by Greg Moore. Housed in rigid boxes the sets also contain a hard-cover book with rare photos by Ross Halfin and notes by Paul Elliott. Band members Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen and Phil Collen have also contributed introductions to the set.
Box Set Volume Three will be released on 11 June 2021.
Various Artists/Mick Fleetwood & Friends celebrate Peter Green & Fleetwood Mac box setCD, Vinyl, Blu-ray
Fourteen months on from the original Mick Fleetwood and Friends concert we are living in a different world and one without Peter Green. Choose from super deluxe edition with 4LP+2CD+blu-ray (and book), 2CD+blu-ray, 4LP vinyl and 2CD set. The blu-ray of the concert features 5.1 surround sound and a Dolby Atmos mix.
New compilation album featuring 14 tracks from the innovative Belgium trio, covering their career from formation in 1978 up to the final album in 2006. Includes two unreleased tracks including a cover of The Beatles‘ ‘Dear Prudence’.
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