Ten Years After’s legendary Woodstock performance is issued as a standalone release. Audio has been newly restored with fresh mixes from the original two-inch multitrack tapes. Sleeve notes are by Chris Welch.
David Sylvian’s compilation Everything and Nothing is being released on vinyl for the first time, in October.
Released in 2000, it’s a career-spanning compilation that features key songs from David’s solo recordings, collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Robert Fripp, Mick Karn, Alesini & Andreoni, and tracks by Japan and Rain Tree Crow.
Everything and Nothing released on vinyl for the first time (click image to enlarge)
It’s a mix of previously released, unreleased, re-recorded, non-album and alternate versions of tracks from Sylvian’s 20 years with Virgin Records, focusing entirely on vocal compositions.
Everything and Nothing was originally issued on CD, minidisc and cassette but not vinyl. To accommodate the 29 tracks, this new issue is a triple vinyl package.
Everything and Nothing will be released as a 3LP set on 4 October 2024, via UMR.
The fourth volume of Joni Mitchell’s ongoing Archives series will be released in October.
Subtitled ‘The Asylum Years 1976-1980’ Archives Vol. 4 features live tracks from her time in Bob Dylan’sRolling Thunder Revue during 1975 and 1976, songs from her 1979 tour and unreleased studio sessions and alternate versions of tracks from the albums Hejira, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter and Mingus.
The 6CD version of Archives Vol. 4 The Asylum Years 1976-1980 (click image to enlarge)
Packaged in a similarly to previous sets, Vol. 4 will also include notes taken from Joni in conversation with Cameron Crowe. The music is available as a 6CD box with 100 tracks or a 4LP ‘highlights’ edition with 40 tracks.
Archives Vol 4: The Asylum Years 1976-1980 will be released on 4 October 2024, via Rhino.
5CD+blu-ray box set • Coloured vinyl LPs • SDE blu-ray which features BOTH albums in Atmos, 5.1, stereo and more – Quick Pre-order
Next month UMR will release a Thin Lizzy box set called 1976 which celebrates the band’s two studio albums of that year: Jailbreak and Johnny The Fox. There will also be vinyl editions and a standalone SDE-exclusive blu-ray edition.
Jailbreak, released in March 1976, features the classic title track and the career-defining ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ while Johnny The Fox, issued just six months later in October, includes the improbably funky ‘Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed’ and the hit single ‘Don’t Believe A Word’.
Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham has the following to say about these records: “The great thing was the writing, it was killer. I still don’t know if it was just something that happened naturally or because the pressure was on. But there are songs on these records we still play now. Songs that will always be in the Thin Lizzy set.”
The Boys Are Back in Town from Jailbreak
The 5CD+blu-ray box set includes remastered original stereo and new stereo mixes of both albums, plus two discs of outtakes. The fifth CD features a WMMS radio broadcast of Thin Lizzy Live In Clevelandfrom May ’76. The box set also includes a blu-ray with Atmos, 5.1, new stereo and original stereo mixes of both albums.
The box is a 10″ x 10″ presentation and comes with a 40-page hardcover book with sleeve notes by Mark Blake. There will also be two coloured vinyl editions of both albums which feature the new stereo mixes.
SDE exclusive blu-ray includes five audio streams of both albums, including exclusive instrumental mixes
However, there is also an SDE-exclusive standalone version of the blu-ray which includes everything on the blu-ray in the box set but adds exclusive instrumental versions. So both albums, with no less than 10 audio streams, as follows:
Jailbreak
Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24)
5.1 Mix (48/24)
2024 Stereo Mix (48/24)
Instrumental Mix (48/24)
Remastered Original Stereo Mix (96/24)
Johnny The Fox
Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24)
5.1 Mix (48/24)
2024 Stereo Mix (48/24)
Instrumental Mix (48/24)
Remastered Original Stereo Mix (96/24)
The new mixes have been undertaken by Richard Whittaker, overseen by legendary Lizzy Guitarist Scott Gorham and mastered by Andy Pearce.
Don’t Believe A Word from Johnny The Fox
The SDE-exclusive blu-ray is #27 in the SDE Surround Series, is packaged in the clear amaray blu-ray case and comes with a FREE and collectible SDE-slipcase.
The SDE blu-ray is a limited edition; the pre-order window will be open for 10 days, closing on Sunday 18 August. You can pre-order only via the SDE shop using this link or the buttons below.
All formats of 1976 and the two vinyl albums are released on 27 September 2024, via UMR (The only format we’re not stocking on the SDE shop is the box set).
Johnny The Fox meets Jimmy The Weed (from Johnny The Fox)
Paul McCartney’s never-issued 1974 documentary known as One Hand Clapping is getting a theatrical release in September (“an exclusive cinema event” to quote the press release).
The soundtrack was recently released in CD and vinyl audio configurations (read SDE’s review) but now David Litchfield’s original documentary (filmed on video) will be shown on the big screen and will incorporate the previously unreleased BackyardSessions, where Paul McCartney played a few songs in the back garden of Abbey Road Studios on acoustic guitar, including ‘Blackpool” and ‘Twenty Flight Rock’ (these tracks were included on the seven-inch single which formed part of the D2C 2LP+7″ package).
Songs from One Hand Clapping film were featured on the DVDs of some of McCartney’s deluxe archive editions (notably Band on the Run and McCartney) but it has never been officially released in full.
Since this is being produced by Mercury Studios is seems more than likely that a Blu-ray/DVD release will follow. Even though, as noted, this was filmed on video, it has been scanned and restored to 4K although that seems rather pointless since the new clip of Band on the Run (above) confirms that a 4K restoration of dodgy video still looks like dodgy video.
Tickets go on sale on 16 August via the official website and screenings begin from 26 September. The screenings also boast an exclusive filmed introduction by Paul McCartney and previously unseen Polaroid photographs from the sessions.
The record features newly recorded versions of songs from Gilbert’s back catalogue, including classic hits such as ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’ and ‘Clair’. ‘Blue Anchor Bay’ is from 2022’s Driven (which was #3 in the SDE Surround Series) and there’s also a brand new track called ‘A Kiss is a Kiss’.
These are “paired down” versions, recorded at Lafayette, King’s Cross in late 2023 with Gilbert’s longtime friend, Bill Shanley on guitar and backing vocals.
The album is currently only available via Gilbert O’Sullivan’s online shop, but the editions with the signed art card appear to have sold out.
Songbook is released on 27 September 2024, via BMG.
Frank Zappa’s 1974 album Apostrophe (‘) is being reissued in September for its 50th anniversary.
Zappa’s first Gold-selling record in the US features the songs ‘Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow’, ‘Cosmik Debris’, ‘Uncle Remus’ and ‘Stink-Foot’.
The key format so far as this reissue campaign is concerned is a 5CD+blu-ray super deluxe edition. This features the original album newly remastered by Bernie Grundman, session outtakes from the vault and two bonus concerts spanning the year of 1974. The Blu-ray contains the new remaster in hi-res formats, a brand new Dolby Atmos Mix (by Karma Auger and Erich Gobel) and Zappa’s 1974 Quadraphonic mix, which has never been reissued. In total, there’s 75 tracks.
The 5CD+blu-ray super deluxe of Apostrophe
Also included is a 52-page booklet with essays by Simon Prentis and Joe Travers, and never-before-seen images from the archive of Sam Emerson, who shot the now iconic front cover photo.
Additionally there’ll be two vinyl versions: a single LP ‘Gold Nugget’ vinyl pressing and a D2C 2LP+7″ version which sees both records pressed on white vinyl with yellow-snow splatter (cut from the original analog tape by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering in 2024). The seven-inch is a reprodution of Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow (glow-in-the-dark vinyl with yellow splatter).
Apostrophe (‘) will be released on 13 September 2024 via UMR.
a-ha’s 2016 compilation Time and Again: The Ultimate a-ha, is being made available on vinyl for the first time. This format offers two extra tracks from more recent albums.
Music fans have poured scorn on Rough Trade’s newly touted ‘Flip Vinyl’ initiative (announced yesterday) that sees the legendary indie retailer entice collectors to “swap your pre-loved records for cash” via a collaboration with German outfit Flip Vinyl (described by RT as “one of the fastest-growing second-hand vinyl buyers in Germany”).
In theory it’s a good idea. You simply sell your records via the Rough Trade website in the same way you normally buy them, by adding them to your shopping cart and completing the transaction. You then print off a free postage label and pop the package into your local Evri Parcelshop collection point and get paid five days.
The problem is, the sums being offered are but a fraction of the item’s true value, and people have been quick to point this out on social media. By way of example, Rough Trade will pay you just £10.06 for the 8LP NirvanaNevermind super deluxe box set. Since this box set was only released little over a year ago, Rough Trade still have this on sale. They are selling it new for £189.99!
David Bowie’sFive Years 13LP box set from 2015 is now extremely rare and has been out-of-print for a long time. So much so that the cheapest copy from a UK seller on Discogs is currently £800, and even that has “shelf wear”. The median price on Discogs is £626. However, Rough Trade’s Flip Vinyl portal is offering you an insanely low £9.28 for the same item! That’s about 1.5 percent of Discogs median price.
FlipVinyl will only pay you £9 for a vinyl box set worth many hundreds of pounds
By way of comparison, a good second-hand record shop should give you somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of the item’s true retail value, depending on a number of factors including condition and how rare/valuable the item is. You are not, of course, getting the ‘full value’ but fans accept this because clearly the record shop needs to made money by selling it on and it’s a relatively easy way to shift vinyl or CDs (compared to going the eBay or Discogs route).
This FlipVinyl initiative has been described by fans on social media as “insulting”, “indefensible”, “pure profiteering”, and “an absolute rip-off”. In fact, Rough Trade felt compelled to follow up and defend the scheme yesterday with this tweet:
“Please note! We appreciate this service won’t be suitable for everyone’s needs i.e. those seeking to maximise collectible items. However for anyone looking to trade casually for a quick turn-around i.e. to make space, then this could well be a great solution.”
This did little to change anyone’s opinion and in fact rather poured fuel on the flames. Surely RT will feel compelled to have a serious rethink, or simply ditch this idea that has so antagonised their core audience.
Update: 16.00 BST 3 Aug: Rough Trade have announced they are suspending the FlipVinyl service “to reassess” and say “they understand and appreciate these criticisms”.
Chartwatch
It’s so quiet at the moment, in terms of releases (and reissues), that Eminem’s new album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) remains at number one in the UK for a third week, with a paltry 10,757 sales! And according to Music Week, of those 10k+ sales only 105 units were actually physical sales (all cassettes!). Remarkable.
Blur’sLive at Wembley Stadium album entered the UK charts at number 6 but The Police’sSynchronicity reissue only went in at 30, which is slightly disappointing for what is a great reissue (see the SDEtv unboxing). Having clearly agreed to the project and supplied all those very cool demos, Sting did zero promotion which can’t have helped. With less than 3,500 copies of all formats sold, the concern here is that future Police box set plans will be scaled down or cancelled, because the demand is not there. Let’s hope not!
Rhino will release Mirage Tour ’82, live recordings from Fleetwood Mac’s two sold-out shows at The Forum in 1982, in September.
This 22-track live collection features six previously unreleased recordings from the 21 October 1982 show, including Landslide’, ‘Don’t Stop’, and ‘Never Going Back Again’.
The other songs were recorded at the 22 October show and have appeared on various releases through the years, including recent-ish Live super deluxe edition (2021), the Mirage super deluxe from 2016 and originally on the 1983 concert video Mirage Live.
Mirage Tour ’82 is being released as a 2CD set and a triple vinyl package with both having all 22 tracks. It’s out on 20 September 2024, via Rhino.
Depeche Mode’s 12-inch vinyl box sets continue in September with a box devoted to their 2017 studio album, Spirit.
There were three singles from the band’s 14th studio album. There were ‘Where’s the Revolution’, ‘Going Backwards’ and ‘Cover Me’.
Where’s The Revolution was originally released as a 5-track CD single and a 9-track 2 x 12″ vinyl. The latter is repeated for the first two records in this seven record box set. The same is true with ‘Going Backwards’ and ‘Cover Me’ – this box repeats the original 2 x 12″ releases but doesn’t include some remixes and radio versions from the CD singles.
The big draw for fans is the final disc which includes five songs from the ‘Highline Sessions’ recorded live in New York on 3 August 2016. It includes David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ and two songs from Spirit: ‘So Much Love and Poison Heart’.
But that aside, there is little to recommend or excite here and after six years, this now limping dog of a reissue campaign has come to the end of its life, with label and fans surely just going through the motions at this point.
Spirit: The 12″ Singles is packaged in the usual way and includes a poster and a download code. It’s released on 20 September 2024, via Sony.
Some of you will be aware that The MCA Years, the Nik Kershaw 10CD+DVD box that was officially announced back in May, has been delayed.
It was supposed to come out last week, but has now been pushed back to the end of August. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that after absorbing the fan feedback left on SDE, the label (Cherry Red) have added five tracks to the box. They are:
‘Nobody Knows’ (Phil Harding Promo Remix)
‘Dancing Girls’ (DJ Edit)
‘Don Quixote’ (Single Edit)
‘Radio Musicola’ (Single Edit)
‘Radio Musicola’ Acetate Floor Remix
There was a lot of disappointment over the lack of the Phil Harding remix of ‘Nobody Knows’ in particular, so these last minute additions I’m sure will be very welcome. At this point I don’t know exactly where these extras will end up on the box (which discs), but there are definitely being added.
Don’t forget that I interviewed Nik for this release last year and in the accompanying booklet he tells his ‘MCA story’ with anecdotes and recollections from this era.
The MCA Years will be released on 21 February 2025 (was 30 August 2024), via Cherry Red.
50 Years of Music is a forthcoming 11CD deluxe set that charts the solo career of Roxy Music guitarist, record producer and musical collaborator, Phil Manzanera.
This new collection brings together all of Manzanera’s 10 solo albums, with bonus tracks. These discs feature contributions from the likes of Brian Eno, David Gilmour, Neil and Tim Finn, Andy Mackay, Robert Wyatt, Eddie Jobson, Godley & Creme and John Wetton.
50 Years of Music is an 11CD deluxe set
Long-players include Phil’s 1975 debut Diamond Head, the Orwell-inspired Listen Now from 1977, K-Scope, with the Finn brothers in 1978 and 1982’s Primitive Guitars that reflects Phil’s Latin and psychedelic roots, as well as having one foot on the dance floor.
Southern Cross from 1990 sees Manzanera explore his Cuban childhood (he spent time in South America and Hawaii with his Colombian mother and English father) and 1999’s Vozero was part one of what was known as ‘the white album trilogy’, with Phil singing as well as songwriting. 2004’s 6PM and 50 Minutes from 2005 completed this trilogy.
The last disc in this collection is a bonus disc of rarities, called Rare Two (it’s a follow-up to 2000’s Rare One). This features demos, live tracks and rarities, including PM 1 which is an early version of Pink Floyd’sOne Slip (from 1987’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason) that Phil wrote with David Gilmour.
This deluxe set is presented as a 10” x 10” rigid board slipcase which contains three folio wallets which hold the 11 CDs. Also included is a 100-page hardcover book with photos, handwritten notes, tape boxes, scribbles, clippings, alternate artwork, lyrics and so on. The audio has been remastered by Barry Grint at London Air Studios.
50 Years of Music will be released on 1 November 2024, via UMR.
Howard Jones Live at the O2 features 12 tracks including ‘New Song’, ‘What Is Love?’, ‘Hide & Seek’, ‘Pearl In the Shell’, ‘Like to Get to Know You Well’, ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ and Howard’s cover version of Kajagoogoo’s ‘Too Shy’ (with Nick Beggs on bass). Vinyl edition available exclusively via Cherry Red.
BMG will release Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023 a new Bryan Ferry 5CD deluxe set that brings together his classic output with Island Records, Polydor, Virgin/E.G., and BMG, spanning a period of over 50 years..
This deluxe edition has themed CDs with the first offering a 20-track ‘Best Of‘, the second (‘Compositions‘) looks at album tracks and deep cuts, the third disc (‘Interpretations‘) shines a spotlight on Ferry’s cover versions while the fourth CD showcases music by that retro-jazz ensemble called ‘The Bryan Ferry Orchestra‘ (mostly taken from 2012’s The Jazz Age and Bitter-Sweet from 2018). The final disc (‘Rare and Unreleased‘) features 16 rarities and includes four previously unreleased tracks.
5CD deluxe set with 100-page hardcover book
This is a large format 9″ x 9″ presentation, tastefully (as ever) art-directed by Bryan Ferry. The outer slipcase holds a 100-page hardcover book, featuring photos from across Ferry’s career. SDE has been told that this edition is extremely limited, but despite this, the price may raise a few eyebrows.
As well as the deluxe edition there are single CD and 2LP vinyl editions which both offer the 20-track ‘best of’ which is CD 1 of this five disc set (a clear vinyl 2LP set is available via indie shops, such as Rough Trade in the UK).
Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023 will be released on 25 October 2024, via BMG.
Compare prices and pre-order
Bryan Ferry
Retrospective - Selected Recordings 1973-2023 - 5CD deluxe set
Thanks for all the enthusiasm for the forthcoming Bronski BeatThe Age of Consent SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio, number 26 in the SDE Surround Series. The pre-order window officially closes this weekend, so this is your last chance to guarantee a copy of this fantastic release.
As a reminder, the exclusive blu-ray audio features the following content:
The Age of Consent
Bonus remixes from 2024
Hundreds & Thousands (The Age of Consent remix album from 1985)
Bonus rarities from 1984-5
That’s 26 tracks in total and all of them will be available in the following seven audio streams, with David Wrench handling the Atmos Mixes (along with the new stereo and 5.1 mixes):
Dolby Atmos [48/24]
5.1 Surround [48/24]
2024 Stereo Mix [96/24]
Original 1984 Stereo Mix [96/24]
Dolby Atmos Instrumental [48/24]
5.1 Surround Instrumental [48/24]
2024 Stereo Instrumental [96/24]
Don’t miss out! The blu-ray audio will ship with a free and collectible SDE slipcase and is exclusively available via the SDE shop using this link. Don’t forget we have a fantastic bundle available that pairs the blu-ray with the 4CD+DVD deluxe (tracklisting below) and includes a free a limited edition ‘I Feel Love’ CD single which includes some unreleased rarities.
The Age of Consent will be reissued on 18 October 2024, via London Records.
Tracklisting
The Age of Consent Bronski Beat/40th anniversary
ALL tracks in the following audio streams:
Dolby Atmos [48/24]
5.1 Surround [48/24]
2024 Stereo Mix [96/24]
Original Stereo Mix [96/24]
Dolby Atmos Instrumental [48/24]
5.1 Surround Instrumental [48/24]
2024 Stereo Instrumental [96/24]
The Age Of Consent
Why?
It Ain’t Necessarily So
Screaming
No More War
Love & Money
Smalltown Boy
Heatwave
Junk
Need A Man Blues
I Feel Love / Johnny Remember Me
Bonus 2024 Remixes
Smalltown Boy (Absolute. Rework)
Smalltown Boy (Planningtorock’s ‘The Love That You Need’ Rework)
Why? (Superchumbo Mix ft Neil Tennant)
Smalltown Boy (Dave Audé vs Tall Paul Remix)
Smalltown Boy (The Knocks & Bronski Beat ft Perfume Genius)
Hundreds & Thousands (original remix album from 1985)
Heatwave (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
Why? (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
Run From Love (Dominic Maita Remix)
Hard Rain (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
Smalltown Boy (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
Junk (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
Bonus Tracks
Love And Money (Hundreds & Thousands Remix)
Infatuation / Memories
Close To The Edge
I Feel Love (Medley)
Cadillac Car
CD 1: The Age of Consent Plus
Why?
It Ain’t Necessarily So
Screaming
No More Way
Love & Money
Smalltown Boy
Heatwave
Junk
Need a Man Blues
I Feel Love / Johnny Remember Me
Bonus tracks
Smalltown Boy (DJ 7” edit)
Why? (Remix)
It Ain’t Necessarily So (7” version)
I Feel Love (7” version) with Marc Almond
Run From Love (radio version)
Hard Rain (NME 7” version)
CD 2: Hundreds & Thousands: The Remix Album Plus
Heatwave (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
WHY(Harvey Goldberg Remix)
Run From Love (Dominic Maita Remix)
Hard Rain(Harvey Goldberg Remix)
Smalltown Boy(Harvey Goldberg Remix)
Junk(Harvey Goldberg Remix)
Bonus tracks
Love and Money (Hundreds & Thousands Remix)*
Infatuation / Memories
Close to the Edge
I Feel Love (Cake Mix) with Marc Almond
Cadillac Car (Extended)
* Previously unreleased
CD 3: Consent Extended: The 12″ Mixes Plus
Smalltown Boy (12” Version)
Why? (12” version)
It Ain’t Necessarily So (12” version)
I Feel Love (12” version) with Marc Almond
Run From Love (US Club Remix ‘85)*
Smalltown Boy (US Club Remix ‘84)*
Red Dance
The Potato Field
Puit D’Amour
Signs (and Wonders)
I Feel Love (Fruit Mix)
* Previously unreleased
CD 4: Ignore at Your Peril: The Rarities Plus
Smalltown Boy (Capital Radio Session, May ‘84)*
Heatwave (Capital Radio Session, MAY ‘84)*
Hard Rain(Capital Radio Session, MAY ‘84 )*
Why?(Early version, March ’84)*
Crazy Maraquitta (Studio Session)*
It Ain’t Necessarily So (Early Version)*
Upside Down (Studio Session)*
Screaming (Early Version, March ‘84)*
The Power of the Gold (Studio Session)*
Love and Money (Early Version)*
First Church (Feel Love) (Studio Session)*
Junk (Early Version 2)*
Walking(Studio Session)*
No More War (Early Version)*
Go (You & Me) (Studio Session)*
Close to the Edge (Early Alternate Extended)*
Heatwave (Early Version)*
The Other Side of the Tracks (Studio Session)*
Smalltown Boy (Early Version, March ‘84)*
* Previously unreleased
DVD: The First Chapter: The Videos Plus
Restored Promos
Smalltown Boy (Restored Promo)
Why?(Restored Promo))
It Ain’t Necessarily So(Restored Promo)
I Feel Love with Marc Almond (Restored Promo)
Top of the Pops Performances
Smalltown Boy (BBC ‘Top of the Pops’, June ‘84)
Why? (BBC ‘Top of the Pops’, September ‘84)
It Aint’ Necessarily So (BBC ‘Top of the Pops’, December ‘84)
I Feel Love with Marc Almond (BBC ‘Top of the Pops’, APRIL ‘85)
Original TV Adverts
The Age of Consent – TV Advert #1 (December ‘84) *
The Age of Consent – TV Advert #2 (January ‘85) *
* Previously unreleased
I Feel Love CD single
I Feel Love (Cake Mix) Bronski Beat with Marc Almond 8’25”
I Feel Love (Fruit Mix) Bronski Beat 8’16″
I Feel Love (Early Version, March ’84) 6’17” * Bronski Beat
I Feel Love (DJ Edit) 4’33” * Bronski Beat with Marc Almond
I Feel Love / Johnny Remember Me (Rough Edit) 5’49” Bronski Beat
Neil Young will releases Vol III of his ongoing Archives series, in September.
This box set has content that spans the period 1976to1987 and is a 17CD set in standard form but is also available as a limited edition 17CD + 5 x blu-ray deluxe edition. Both feature 198 tracks on the CDs with 121 previously unreleased versions of live, studio, mixes, or edits, and 15 previously unreleased songs.
The deluxe edition of Vol III comes in the same packaging as the previous deluxe versions (if you aren’t sure of the difference, see the Vol II SDE unboxing comparison video below) which is the massive ‘vertical’ box which comes with a 160-page book and a fold-out archives poster.
The five blu-rays are exclusive to the deluxe edition and contain 11 full length films (over 14 hours of material) and include the previously unreleased Across The Water, Boarding House, Trans and Catalyst. Plus rare films Muddy Track, In A Rusted Out Garage, Solo Trans, Human Highway and A Treasure.
The standard 17CD box set omits the blu-rays and swaps the 160-page book for a a 36-page booklet. It will feature much reduced packaging, consistent with the standard editions of I and II.
The 17 CDs in both sets come in 11 ‘soft-paks’ (presumably the gatefold card sleeves that NY has used for a long time) while the five blu-rays in the deluxe edition come in three ‘soft-paks’.
The deluxe editions are limited to 5,000 units worldwide and they are ONLY shipping from USA and Canada. Anyone outside USA and Canada has to order from the US Greedy Hand shop, which unfortunately means we have to worry about extra import duties on top of the $450 retail price (although you do get free international shipping). If you recall, the 3,000 copies of the deluxe of Vol II sold out in a matter of days.
The standard 17CD version should be widely available, and by way of comparison is currently $240 on Amazon.com.
The standard edition 17CD box set of Neil Young’s Archives Vol. III (click image to enlarge)
As well as the two versions of the box set there’s a ‘highlights’ 2LP set called Archives Vol. III Takes. This 16-track compilation features one track from 16 out of the 17 CDs and therefore includes three unreleased songs and 12 previously unreleased versions (there’s nothing on this 2LP set that’s not in the box).
The deluxe edition from Neil’s Greedy Hand shop ships with an exclusive CD version of Takes, however redundant that may seem, and you also get a NYA pin badge and a free hi-res digital audio download code.
The deluxe edition of Archives Vol. III will be available soon on NY’s shop (early access ‘pre-sale’ emails have gone out to some fans) and the standard CD box and vinyl Takes are available as below.
Neil Young’s Archives Vol. III and Takes will be released on 6 September 2024 via Warner Records.
Who legend Pete Townshend’s solo career mostly spanned the 1980s and crept into the early 90s, with 1993’s Psychoderelict being his last studio outing. Throughout this period Townshend played live as a solo artist infrequently, but some rare performances are now documented in a new CD box set: Live In Concert 1985-2001. Pete recently sat down to discuss the box set, and this era, with SDE, and also talks about the next Who box set, his thoughts on reissues in general and immersive audio (and the work of Steven Wilson).
SDE: Universal Music have been focusing on your solo career recently, Pete, because they’ve been doing the half speed vinyl remasters, and now we’ve got this live box set. Are you pleased to see the spotlight fall on some of your solo work after so many Who reissues over the years?
Pete Townshend: When you put it like that, I suppose, yes. It’s interesting because my relationship with Universal is a good one. I really love everybody in the company from the top down. And they acquired The Who catalogue a while ago, and they acquired my catalogue subsequently. And in that acquisition, in the contract, they insisted on including some of the demos or some unreleased material, but certainly all released material that had been included in Eel Pie releases, or whether it was released online, or whatever. And I thought, that will just be because they want to put it in a shed and keep it, just in case it ever gets used in a movie, but in fact they’ve actually supported it, which means, of course, that it has more chance of getting used in a movie. So I’m really pleased about it. But it’s been a bit of a surprise.
How involved do you get in a project like this? Has this been on the go for a few years?
I can’t remember when I wrote the liner notes [Pete contributes an introduction] but I only got the box set a couple of days ago and I was surprised, reading Matt Kent’s writing [in the booklet] where it’s quite clear that I’ve done an absolutely huge amount of solo things. But that because I’m old… And in the first 35 years of my career, I did quite a lot of solo bits and pieces, especially charity stuff.
What was interesting with my notes – and I’ve obviously written those recently, [although] I can’t remember when – but that is very much where I am at the moment, I’m in two minds about my creative process, I’m in two mind about The Who’s final years, I’m in two minds about what I do with my time as I get older, you know, whether I spend it on charity, or social issues… I’m staying away from politics. It’s interesting, though, when you get involved in social issues, you know, whether it’s homelessness or, or, or domestic violence, or whatever it is, you get drawn into politics. But I’m trying to balance out where I am in my creative life, principally, and I think in the liner notes, I talk a little bit about not having been a particularly willing and happy performer. When you look at some other stuff that I’ve produced, such as the Deep End concert and the Hammersmith concert, I seem to be having fun, but I think I’ve always found a way of looking like I’m enjoying the job, when in actual fact it’s always felt like work, it has always felt like a job. And so for me now I’m kind of looking at how to get back to that place of, of creativity being principally play. I don’t want to over-egg this, but I do think it’s important and I’m almost at the point of starting an Instagram feed about ‘creativity is play’ because so many musicians make music and they struggle now with the fact that it’s almost inevitable that they’re never gonna make any money out of it. So they have to do it for love. So it has to be fulfilling, it doesn’t have to be fun, but it has to be fulfilling.
I read your notes and found them fascinating. They were very, very honest. And this whole idea of you not needing the adulation; the crowd cheering you on, and all that, that is very much the opposite of how people view your average rock star or musician. Where do you think that comes from? You make reference to your father being a musician in the notes…
I can only look at my childhood and my time with my dad being in a band and maybe getting a bit blase, I don’t know. But I think there’s more to it than… I think I’m in the wrong job. It’s a good job; it’s well paid, and I’m good at it, but it’s the wrong job. I should have stayed at art college. And then of course, once I was in The Who, I should have fucking stayed in The Who and not fucked around for 11 years, although I spent some of that time working at [UK book publisher] Faber and Faber [Townshend took the role of Acquisitions Editor in 1983], but I just feel I’m eccentric in this respect. I can remember Bob Geldof saying to me, before we went on stage at Live Aid that eight billion people were watching and I just remember saying to him, “Bob, I feel nothing” [laughs].
These CDs in this new box were out before, weren’t they? You sold the product directly through your website around 20 years ago, which is quite an interesting thing to do in the relatively early days of the internet. Did you did you enjoy that direct connection with fans and selling directly, without having a record company in the middle?
Yeah, I did. I liked the idea of having a website, I was the first, or one of the first to have a personal website, which I wrote on and posted notes on. And then my now wife, Rachel, started In The Attic [an early webcast/streaming show] and we started to do the first webcast shows. But you know, Paul, the thing was, the audience was really small. And so one of the things about it was that not just at the bandwidth limited it, but it was limited by the fact that it was just a core group of obsessive Who fans and fans of mine. And it became quite clear over a period of time that I was spending a lot of time and energy communicating with, and serving a very small group of people.
My experience with online stuff was ‘how do I fucking get this stuff that I’ve got here, out?’ So I decided just to make it myself. What the record company wanted from me, was a new dedicated solo album, and I think I was out of contract, right? I think my last album with Warner Brothers was Ironman, and then I was out of contract? And Ironman was a flop…
My solo career was a mistake, I shouldn’t have done it.
Pete Townsend
Those albums in the early 80s, such as Empty Glass… Did you not feel a sense of duty to get out on the road and play the songs to people so the album would have the best chance of commercial success?
Put like that, it sounds like a real fucking job, Jesus. Duty to go out and perform in order to make more money for the record company?
Well not make more money necessarily, but…
That’s what it is, you know. They’ve given me a big advance to take a chance on making a record hoping that it will sell lots of copies… But no, the record company, were pissed off that I didn’t tour particularly with White City [from 1984]. Rob Dickens [Chairman of Warner Music UK at the time] dropped me, dropped the album, because I wouldn’t tour with the band. I just didn’t fucking want to, you know, it wasn’t what I wanted to be doing. And my solo career was a mistake, I shouldn’t have done it. I couldn’t support The Who at the time, with compositions, so what the fuck was I doing? You know, at one point, I had two contracts, to make seven albums over five years, and that was the kind of place that Phil Collins was in at the same time, and he managed it. But I was working for a group who didn’t write any material, so I had to… anyway, blah, blah, blah. It’s not a ‘poor me’ story, it’s just the fact that the reality of it was impossible. And I wasn’t in very good shape. I was drinking a lot; my marriage was breaking up; I was overworked; and I had diversified my life too much. So around the time that The Who were making their last album, and I was working on Empty Glass, that album got the benefit of me being at the beginning of that piece of work, but very quickly, I ran out of inspiration. So the idea of touring on top of that, if I’d had to tour every album that I made in that period, there wouldn’t have been enough days…
It sounds like you did enjoy the process of having an outlet to write [non Who] songs and record them, but all the other stuff that goes with it, you weren’t really willing to sign up to?
It wasn’t so much of an unwillingness to sign up to it, I just think it was the fact that it was impossible to do – I didn’t have time to do it. I took on too much. I think Phil Collins’ situation was very similar. His career is a bit of a lesson, isn’t it? You know, at the height of his career, he was doing solo work and getting number one records and he was still touring with Genesis, and he was still doing recording sessions, playing with anybody that called him up. And he was anxious. He was the first kind of Dave Grohl model of ‘I will fucking never stop’, you know. And what’s interesting is watching some of the big artists at the moment, like Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen… I can’t quite work out what the fuck they’re doing; why they’re doing it? So that’s me. If I was interviewing them, I’d say listen, it’s all very well what you’re doing and it’s lovely to see how successful you are… but why?
I think maybe Paul McCartney is the opposite of you, Pete. He needs the adulation, he needs to be out there to be Paul McCartney.
Well, that’s a bit simplistic. I’m just going a bit deeper. I’m a friend of Macca’s and I adore him and I appreciate what’s going on with Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift and other people like them, like Dave Grohl, who’s a friend and I love what he does, but I don’t understand.
It’s a bit like, watching somebody like Jeff Bezos. What the fuck? WHAT THE FUCK? What are they doing? What do they do for fun? I’ve got a boat in the south of France, and I went to pick up a friend in Nice, in the harbour. And I think my boat is big. You know, I’m going in and I go into the harbour and we need special space. And his [Jeff Bezos’] number one yacht is in. It’s as big as a cruise ship. It takes up the whole of the commercial Harbour. And he’s not aboard! It’s got 45 people on board getting huge salaries just to make it ready for when he wakes up one day and persuades his new girlfriend, ‘shall we go to my yacht in Nice?’ Can we be arsed to charter a flight and sit on a plane so we can go and sit on a boat somewhere else which can only birth or anchor in a commercial Harbour? You know, with cranes and noise and everything else? What the fuck? I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.
Bruce Springsteen is about the fact that he loves his job. For me, with this box set, looking back at it, so many of the driving forces behind doing the work were a different kind of duty. It wasn’t a duty to the record company, it was a duty to the audience and to charities. About half of them are charity gigs – certainly, I never made any money.
Everyone can understand why people want to do things for charity, but you did it a lot, whether it’s Prince’s Trust or Rock for Jobs, etc. You didn’t make a big thing about turning up to do these things. That’s obviously been really important to you over the years.
Yeah, obviously. On the other hand, I could just be a girl who can’t say no.
When you have put on the shows, despite your reticence, they’re quite ambitious, such as the Psychoderelict tour and the Deep End band… I mean, that band wasn’t really around for long, but it must have taken a lot of work to put that together and rehearse for those shows?
Yeah, and that part of it was good. It was fulfilling. And I think without getting into… My tendency, as you probably know is to try to find answers to my own questions; that sort of self-analysis. I’ve been in therapy and I’ve done analysis and they haven’t come up with the answers that are required.
And you know if I’m going to ask that question of Bruce and David Grohl and Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift, I have to ask myself why would I even consider now doing another tour with Roger Daltrey – and I am considering it – why would I do that? What is in it for me, if it’s not about the money – and it’s not. There’s a sense that I might do it for the greater good. And in my case, I’m not saying it will make the world a better place [laughs], I’m saying that my friends are road crew, my guitar tech, my driver, my security guy… My family love to bring their friends to Who shows; it’s when I get to see my buddies because when The Who are performing, it’s well known that we’re there and people pop out of the woodwork of my past, and come to the shows and I get to see old friends. So that ‘greater good’ is a big pull for me. So I think when I’ve done stuff for charity, it will be because it’s the fabric of those charities have supported my emotional, private life.
With the Psychoderelict shows you played the whole record live and you had all the actors speaking on stage and all the rest of it. Why did you decide to take that on at that time?
I’d worked with Des McAnuff on the theatrical version of Tommy, which went on Broadway then [in 1993] and I felt that, through my time at Faber, I had a grasp of musical theatre, and so I was thinking about trying to make something that would be a definitive rock theatre musical, but in a sort of a noir way. It turned out to be quite comedic, because I got my friend Richard Barnes to come and help me polish the script and he put loads of jokes in there. Prior to that, it was a pretty dark story.
I don’t find it hard working with The Who, because I don’t do very much
Pete Townshend
And when it came to putting the album out, I was really highly visible in America because of the success of Tommy in 1993. I was a visible face in New York, I had a new girlfriend and I was partying all the time. When you have a show on Broadway, you have a home, because you have theatre you can go to, you can invite people in the company backstage and you provide people with work.
When I delivered my demos to Doug Morris, who was my record chief at Atlantic at the time, he said Psychoderelict would be my biggest album ever – he was wrong, but that’s what he said. And so I thought, ‘I’ll try to do some shows’. And I started to rehearse it and it got very, very exciting. It was fun. It was really fun. It was fun, because I ended up with a company, with actors, with stage designers and projectionists and stuff. The same projectionists that did the Tommy show did my projections.
One show that I did Jones Beach [in Nassau County, New York State] was three hours long, it was one of the best shows that I’ve ever done. I remember coming back to New York the next day and a few people that saw it said ‘that was better than a Bruce Springsteen show. It’s the best rock show that I’ve ever seen in my life’ so I felt ‘this is great, this is really, really good’ but I only did 13 or 14 shows and by the 14th show [laughs] I was fucking dead meat. I think what’s interesting for me is that I don’t find it hard working with The Who, because I don’t do very much. All my work is done in the studio before – when I go out [on stage] I just play the guitar and every now and again I do something stupid but I don’t do very much. Meanwhile Roger is out there, sometimes dying just to get the notes out. Going to surgery having his throat burned with an acetylene flame; being silent for four months before he comes back… just to sing fucking ‘Love Reign O’er Me’ or ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’. So suddenly I’m there doing three hour shows, singing all the way through, playing the guitar, jumping about and and then I’m doing all that support stuff for the company that I was touring with. And I found it absolutely exhausting. It’s not ‘is this something that I do or do not want to do?’ it was just ‘I just can’t fucking do it’. It was just too hard.
1993 was probably the best year of my life. I had an incredibly good time and lots of sex
Pete Townshend
Does that mean that run was cut short? Or was it always planned to be 14 shows?
It was definitely cut short. I had plans to bring it to Europe, because I’d only done one short one-man show for the press in London, just on my own, of Psychoderelict, then I went to New York and I did a bunch of shows in America, Chicago, New York, LA, San Francisco, a couple of other places. And my intention was to bring it back. But the other problem I had was that I’d already committed to develop the Iron Man show at the Young Vic. I was developing that at the same time. I did three Tommy shows that year [1993], the Broadway show, the A-Class tour, and the and the beginning of the Canada show. And I did Psychoderelict and Ironman. So I did five productions: casting, support, PR. I think I did 250 interviews. So by the end of the year, I was ready for AA. In January 1994, I check myself in and I think that saved my life. In the #MeToo era it’s probably wrong to use the the Fawlty Towers joke of ‘I’m just a girl who can’t say no’ [Polly sings a couple of lines from this Rogers/Hammerstein song (‘I Cain’t Say No’) in the Gourmet Night episode] but I do think I have difficulty with knowing when to stop committing to projects. That’s a good example of overworking, but on the other hand, 1993 was probably the best year of my life, with its ups and downs and ins and outs. I had an incredibly good time… and lots of sex [laughs].
You didn’t make any more solo albums after that…
I was dropped.
I’m sure it wouldn’t have been too difficult for you to get signed somewhere else, if you’d wanted to.
That’s probably true, yeah. But, you know, I decided to spend a couple of years doing the AA thing and getting myself sorted out. And also, I was trying to rebuild my family, which eventually failed, but I put a lot of effort into it.
Over the years, we’ve had vinyl, eight-track cartridges, cassettes, CDs, MP3s, back to LPs and now we’ve got streaming dominating. Are you bothered by the medium that delivers your music?
I think in one respect, yes. I’m bothered about the fact that we are now missing ‘things’. And I think it’s a bigger philosophical, sociological question beyond just album notes or like you, having a collection of stuff behind you [Pete can see my CDs via the Zoom call] which is like a library that reminds you where you’ve been and your highs and lows in life.
It’s about the fact that we were all living this virtual life where so much of our things are data, even to the extent where we will allow us to have our whole personal life in a journal online or all of our contacts online, all of our calendars online, our personal organisers online… and what people probably aren’t aware of is that the data banks around the world are full. They’re full, they’re at maximum now. So stuff is falling off the ends of them; somebody else is deciding what data is going to get dumped off the data, and your data might start to get dumped as well…
I remember when my son was about 14, and he had all his music online in what was then iTunes and his computer crashed. And I remember rushing to see him thinking that he would be shaking with anxiety, but he said “I can just download it again”. I’m still locked in the old ways of wanting things. But the ‘things’ thing is interesting, because it’s also completely fucking meaningless. Your display of CDs could could be go up in a fire next week. We as human beings, we’re acquisitive, we collect and we like the idea that we’re supported by data, but what’s happened with Spotify, in particular, is that it’s like entering a nightmare. If I go looking let’s say for ambient music – which is a passion of mine, electronic ambient music, Berlin stuff in particular – I just get deluged. I don’t know where to begin.
The other thing that’s happened is in recent years is spatial audio, Dolby Atmos and of course Steven Wilson did the Atmos Mix for Who’s Next. Obviously, we used to have 5.1 Surround now we’ve got Dolby Atmos. Is that something you’re interested in?
No. You know, going back to Life House in ’71, I wanted that to be a surround sound project and quickly got into trouble… technology wasn’t keeping up and then in Quadrophenia, I wanted to do that where the four speaker system was part of the storytelling and that didn’t work out, either.
I have mixed stuff in 5.1 myself, and I’ve commissioned early 5.1 mixes of Quadrophenia, Tommy, Who’s Next and various other Who albums, which I did with Bob Pridden [and Richard Whittaker], The Who’s sound man. Steven Wilson’s work is obviously very good, everybody raves about him and he’s always trying to get me to pop up to what he calls northwest London, to listen to his mixes, but I’m not interested.
Back in the the late 60s, early 70s, I invented the first Walkman
Pete Townshend
I quite like spatial audio with cans [headphones]. In my old house, which I’ve now sold, I had a surround speaker system set-up but what’s interesting about it is you have to sit in one position but it’s not what we’re used to now, as music as part of our daily life.
Back in the the late 60s, early 70s, I invented the first Walkman. I got a small cassette player with two separate speakers, and I wired a battery powered box, about six inches by eight. I bought them for all my friends and wired high powered earphones into this cassette system. And you could travel with it on aeroplanes and you could you use it in your car, and you could use it when you were gardening. It was a very bulky thing to carry around, it wasn’t as small as a Walkman, but it was the beginning of the Walkman experience. Just moving around with music was a huge novelty. You can make your own accompaniment to a walk in the park, you know, it was a huge thing. Of course, everybody is used to that now. You see lots and lots of people in London walking around with earbuds and it’s part of the uniform.
I think the thing for me, still, is that if I want to listen to something, what vinyl does for me, is makes me get back into the ‘thing’ experience. Finding the record, put it on a deck, sit down and listen to it. I think the same is true of CDs, although I find CDs a bit hard to access.
But I love what Steven Wilson does. I love his enthusiasm. I met him at a party recently and we didn’t have much time together, but he’s a very special guy. And of course, the Porcupine Tree stuff is so neglected, so inventive. He’s a big fan of mine. And I’m so privileged to have him working on these remixes. Apparently, the remixes he’s just done on the Who Are You album are just spectacular. So I’m looking forward to hearing them.
I was going to ask you about that. There has clearly been loads of Who box sets over the years and I’ve noticed you personally get quite involved. You often write long essays in the books and don’t necessarily ask a third party to do that work. Do you enjoy the process of reissuing and looking back at your albums?
Yeah, I do. I enjoy the writing. I enjoy telling the truth, you know, some of this was good, and some of it was bad. I love telling my own story. When Matt Kent does notes, he tends to look at dates; it’s all chronological. And he also looks at factual accuracy, which I don’t have to bother with! [laughs]
Some people just like to put a positive sheen on everything and not talk about the not so good stuff…
I just write. I love writing. I think if I wasn’t in the music business, I would either be an artist or a journalist and I might actually have ended up writing about art rather than music. My dad wanted me to be a journalist. He thought that I didn’t have a musical career ahead of me and but he encouraged me with my writing and and I really enjoy it. I really enjoy writing about stuff that I know about but I also journal a lot so I empty my head and my heart on paper every day and it helps me get into a frame of mind where I can possibly be creative.
What can we expect from the Who Are You reissue?
I’m not 100 percent sure. I’m not even sure when it’s coming out, but I know Steven has just finished the immersive mix. John Astley, our mastering engineer, went up to his place to hear it – I was supposed to go, but I, I couldn’t – but he said it’s fantastic. That’s all I know, right now, I know that Matt Kent has gone off to the seaside in his in his camper bus to write the liner notes! [laughs].
There was a brief mention in the booklet in live box set about a companion studio albums CD box of your solo records. Is that Is that coming anytime soon?
I don’t know. I wish I was able to be more helpful. What’s interesting is that when I say I really loved the people at Universal, before they bought the catalogues they was they were constantly coming at me to get extra material to add to box sets for reissues. They were enthusiastic, they were positive and supportive and they finance that stuff as well. You know, let’s say I give them 10 demos that were unreleased for the Who’s Next album, they would give me a chunk of money for each track – not life changing, but it felt like business to me. And now they’re in a position where they can pretty much just do what they wish, as long as we support it, emotionally. I don’t think Roger cares that much about what they do. But for me, I am really, really interested in it and I’m really committed to it.
You seem to have an inexhaustible amount of demos. Every time there’s a reissue, you find some new demos that have never come out before. You must be like running out of them by now, surely?
I’m running out of good stuff. But I’ve got lots of rubbish.
You were quite advanced with your home studio recording setup, back in the day, weren’t you? So you were way ahead of what other people were doing…
I was first person to have a professional studio in my house. It didn’t fit, but I had it anyway. I’m thinking seriously about doing a not a box set as it were, but some volume of what I call ‘collateral’; something which would be interesting, not so much to fans, but to people that are interested in the creative process. I must have about about 400 pieces of music of various levels of quality that have never been heard by anybody.
Thanks to Pete Townshend who was talking to Paul Sinclair for SDE. The Live in Concert 1985-2001 is released on 26 July 2024.
The next NOWYearbook will be 1987 and will be released at the end of August.
This will feature 80 tracks on the 4CD editions (deluxe hardcover book and standard card sleeve) and 49 tracks on the 3LP orange vinyl.
It’s a strong collection, featuring two tracks from George Michael (‘Faith’ and his Aretha Franklin duet I Know You (Were Waiting)), a pair from Pet Shop Boys (‘What Have I Done To Deserve This’ and ‘Always On My Mind’), and a couple from a-ha (‘The Living Daylights’ and ‘Cry Wolf’).
It also includes the New Order classic ‘True Faith’ and sees Eurythmics go all experimental (again) with the brilliant-but-bonkers ‘(I Love To) Listen to Beethoven’.
The deluxe 4CD hardcover book edition of NOW Yearbook 1987
Other tracks of note include Rosie Vela’s Steely Dan-assisted ‘Magic Smile’, Paul McCartney’s last solo UK top 10 single (‘Once Upon A Long Ago), Alexander O’Neal’s ‘Criticize’, another appearance from George Michael (albeit ‘unofficial’) via Boogie Box High’s cover of the Bee Gees’ ‘Jive Talkin”, the first single from Sting’s second solo album Nothing Like The Sun (‘We’ll Be Together), Bruce Springsteen’s brilliant ‘Brilliant Disguise’ (also a lead single from his Tunnel of Love album) and Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s swansong, ‘Watching The Wildlife’.
Dotted around these are loads of other great tracks, including Hue and Cry’s ‘Labour of Love’, The Blow Monkeys’ ‘It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way’, The Cure’s ‘Why Can’t I Be You’ and the none-more-80s instrumental that is Jan Hammer’s ‘Crockett’s Theme’. Full tracklistings are below,
NOW Yearbook 1987 will be released on 30 August 2024.
