Author: Paul Sinclair

ZTT Japan release “Sampled” & “The Value of Entertainment” combo set

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

buy5XECZ-1049

Two items high on many a Zang Tumb Tuum fan’s wish-list are being issued together via the Japanese arm of the now 30-year old label, this month.

The CD+DVD combo package consists of the 1985 compilation Sampled – on CD for the first time – and the DVD debut of The Value of Entertainment, the video presentation of 1985 ZTT London ‘showcase’ where the Art Of Noise infamously ‘jilted’ Paul Morley, leaving him on-stage with some dancers but sans band (Gary Langan explained more about this to SDE here).
Continue reading “ZTT Japan release “Sampled” & “The Value of Entertainment” combo set”

Deal Alert / Elvis Presley: Thats The Way It Is super deluxe box

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

buy5deal_elvis

Sony/Legacy’s 10-disc, 156-track boxed celebration of Elvis Presley‘s 1970 album and documentary That’s The Way It Is has dropped in price dramatically on Amazon UK.
Continue reading “Deal Alert / Elvis Presley: Thats The Way It Is super deluxe box”

Elvis / Young Man With The Big Beat: reissue and repackage

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

Elvis Presley / Young Man With A Big Beat / 5-disc box set

Sony/Legacy will reissue their 2011 Elvis box set, Young Man with the Big Beat, in September.

This five-CD set – which celebrated 1956, that whirlwind year for the young Elvis – was originally a very lavish and expensive affair and included memorabilia items (ticket stubs, poster reproductions, promo photos etc) as well as a great large format booklet which took you through The King‘s schedule in 1956.
Continue reading “Elvis / Young Man With The Big Beat: reissue and repackage”

Deal Alert / Queen Live at the Rainbow super deluxe edition

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

buy5queen_rainbow_deal

At last! After almost a month at over £100 on UK Amazon, the Queen Live at the Rainbow super deluxe is finally dropped to a sensible price.

Nearly £45 has been lopped off the four-disc set (2CD+DVD+Blu-ray) which comes with a 60-page book and lots of memorabilia items.
Continue reading “Deal Alert / Queen Live at the Rainbow super deluxe edition”

John Foxx / The Virgin Years 1980-85

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

John Foxx / The Virgin Years 1980-1985

The Virgin Years 1980 – 1985 is a new John Foxx five-CD box set that features the albums Metamatic, The Garden, The Golden Section and In Mysterious Ways.

Each CD features bonus tracks including B-sides and out-takes with more gathered on a fifth CD, Fusion/Fission (see full track listing below).
Continue reading “John Foxx / The Virgin Years 1980-85”

Meet The Beatles! Japan Box: A cute and costly curio for collectors

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

main

Journalist Terry Ott reviews the “Meet The Beatles!” Japan Box for SuperDeluxeEdition:

I suppose some fans of The Beatles could look at this latest repacking of five Fabs’ albums released in Japan during 1964 and 1965 as an unnecessary, pricey addition to the ever growing Beatles’ canon, seeing as all the music contained on these discs has already appeared in previous, relatively recent CD packages of one sort or another.

Or, this new superbly produced set could be viewed as the gift that keeps on giving from a spectacular back catalog and another chance to celebrate the nostalgia and the ongoing world-wide, 50th anniversary appeal of the Beatles.
Continue reading “Meet The Beatles! Japan Box: A cute and costly curio for collectors”

George Michael / Symphonica vinyl

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

symphonica_LP

George Michael‘s number one album Symphonica will be issued as a limited edition double LP vinyl in August.

The album was originally released back in March, with the standard CD offering 14 tracks and the deluxe edition and blu-ray audio versions adding three bonus songs (Roxanne, You Have Been Loved and Going To A Town).
Continue reading “George Michael / Symphonica vinyl”

Out This Week / 14 July 2014

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

japanbox

The Beatles / Meet The Beatles: The Japan box

Released in Japan a few weeks ago, this five-disc box set contains the Japanese versions of Meet The Beatles, The Beatles’ Second Album, A Hard Day’s Night, Beatles No. 5 and Help! for the first time ever on CD. Unique artwork and quality mini-LP CDs with OBI strips are all part of the attraction. Read more

cover

Morrissey / World Peace Is None Of Your Business 

Morrissey’s new album is out today. You can pick-up a deluxe version with bonus tracks or even opt for one of the pricey bundles. Read more
Continue reading “Out This Week / 14 July 2014”

The Dream Academy / The Morning Lasted All Day: 2CD retrospective

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

EDSK7074_The Dream Academy_The Morning Lasted All Day_Booklet

The Morning Lasted All Day is a new Dream Academy retrospective compiled by frontman Nick Laird-Cowes.

Best remembered for 1985’s Life In Northern Town in, the band released three studio albums in the years that followed, eventually disbanding in 1991.
Continue reading “The Dream Academy / The Morning Lasted All Day: 2CD retrospective”

The Beatles / Superb Mono vinyl box is set to deliver the goods

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

Just listened to some Beatles mono vinyl here.

A visit to Abbey Road studios on Wednesday this week for an early listen to (and look at) The Beatles in Mono vinyl box set has this writer convinced that this set really is about as good as it’s going to get when it comes to recreating the sound and the feeling of purchasing an original mono pressing back in the 1960s.

In studio 3, remastering engineer Sean Magee was on hand to answer questions and the remastering supervisor in this process, Steve Berkowitz, was also there to not only tell us all about how the work was carried out, but also to drop the needle on the record of the new mono albums.

Inevitably, some great nuggets of information came out in this one hour session, and here’s some highlights:
Continue reading “The Beatles / Superb Mono vinyl box is set to deliver the goods”

Bronski Beat / “Dance and Desire: Rarities and Videos”: new collection

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

jimmy

Edsel Records will release a Bronski Beat rarities set in the autumn.

Dance and Desire: Rarities and Videos will be a 2CD+DVD collection which looks like it may be similar to the recent Cherry Red Remixes & Rarities collections (Paul Young, Thompson Twins etc.) although with the distinct advantage of containing a DVD in addition to the audio discs.
Continue reading “Bronski Beat / “Dance and Desire: Rarities and Videos”: new collection”

Ian Anderson / “Thick As A Brick”: Live in Iceland / blu-ray and 2CD

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

taab_lii

Ian Anderson – or to use his full name Jethro-Tull’s-Ian-Anderson – took the classic Tull opus Thick As A Brick out on the road in 2012, combining it with his own Thick As A Brick 2, to give audiences the chance to hear the full story of Gerald Bostock in a live setting.
Continue reading “Ian Anderson / “Thick As A Brick”: Live in Iceland / blu-ray and 2CD”

Monty Python / Total Rubbish boxes

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

frontpair

Universal Music’s recent Monty Python box sets are a superb celebration of the audio-only exploits of the influential comedy group.

Monty Python’s Total Rubbish is available as a nine-CD set or a nine-LP vinyl box. Both come with an excellent hardcover books with entertaining notes by Robert Ross, guiding you from album to album. The graphic design is authentically Python, thanks to the hands-on involvement of Terry Gilliam.
Continue reading “Monty Python / Total Rubbish boxes”

Deal Alert (again) / Allman Brothers Band: Fillmore East 6CD box

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

buy5allman_deal

Having been £70 for quite a while, it was great news for Allman Brothers Band fans when Amazon UK reduced the price of the forthcoming 1971 Fillmore East Recordings 6CD box to just under £40 in recent weeks. I don’t think anyone expect this set to drop any further but that is exactly what has happened today.
Continue reading “Deal Alert (again) / Allman Brothers Band: Fillmore East 6CD box”