Paul Sinclair – Page 348 – SuperDeluxeEdition

Tabu Box Set available for pre-order

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

The Tabu box set, which in November will mark an end to Demon Music Group’s ‘Tabu Re-born’ reissue campaign, is now available to pre-order on amazon.

Although track listings have yet to be announced, we have been promised a collection spanning all the various Tabu acts and mixes exclusive to this set. It is likely that tracks missing from the individual deluxe sets – such as the Extended Mix of Alexander O’Neal’s Lovers, or the acappella mix of Cherrelle‘s Saturday Love – will make an appearance in the box.

The box set will contain 4CDs, a DVD, a vinyl record, and a booklet. At the time of writing amazon UK’s pre-order price of £25 is looking very attractive. The individual ‘anthology’ boxes for Alexander O’Neal and The SOS Band are also available to order.

• UK Pre-order: The Tabu Records Box

R.E.M. / Green 25th Anniversary

Posted on June 5, 2013June 5, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

The problem with the new 25th anniversary deluxe edition of R.E.M‘s Green (released a few weeks ago) is its lack of ambition. The new set comes with one single bonus CD, featuring some of a 1989 live concert from Greensboro. You can imagine the meeting at Warner HQ:

– “Next on the agenda, the 25th anniversary reissue of R.E.M.’s Green. Ideas, people?”
“What are the band willing to offer in terms of demos and unreleased material?”
– “Nothing”
“Okay…”
“How about we couple the album with that concert that we put out on that Tourfilm VHS from decades ago?”
– “I like it. Put the two discs in a box and throw in some postcards, and a poster that will remain folded forever. Done.”
[Troublemaker] “Er, the gig won’t fit onto one CD…”
– “Even better! An opportunity to create a bonus EP for Record Store Day. This meeting is now closed.”

To be fair, the artwork looks great on the matt-laminated clamshell box and the Greensboro gig is superb but, I’m sorry, if you’re going to make a big deal about the 25th anniversary on the sticker then you need to turn up to the party with a decent present (for the fans). In 2005 for the 17th anniversary of Green we got a CD/DVD-A double pack which presented the entire album in high-res stereo and 5.1 Surround sound. In addition, there was also a video documentary included as well as a couple of videos and a photo gallery.

This new edition does offer a new remastering for CD (not in the 2005 issue) but why not replicate the 5.1, and include that as well? And where are the extra tracks from the singles, such as Memphis Train Blues (Stand), the cover of Syd Barrett’s Dark Globe (Orange Crush) or the band’s version of Iggy Pop’s Funtime?

The album itself remains a stunning achievement, but Warner Music appear to have been very tentative when it comes to investing the time and money required to come up with a really interesting, fan-pleasing deluxe set. Given that this was the first album on the major label back in 1988, it’s all rather surprising. Perhaps they were constrained by the wishes of the band, or maybe the money is still in the Warner piggy bank waiting to invest in a mega, super deluxe 25th anniversary edition of Out Of Time for 2016.

Either way, the only consolation for the R.E.M. fan who already owns the Tourfilm DVD and has bought the special edition of Green mentioned above, is that the modest nature of this set is matched by a modest price.

Green: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition:

Disc 1: Original album:

1. Pop Song 89
2. Get Up
3. You Are the Everything
4. Stand
5. World Leader Pretend
6. The Wrong Child
7. Orange Crush
8. Turn You Inside Out
9. Hairshirt
10 I Remember California
11 Untitled

Disc 2: Live in Greensboro, 1989:

1. Stand
2. The One I Love
3. Turn You Inside Out
4. Belong
5. Exhuming McCarthy
6. Good Advices
7. Orange Crush
8. Cuyahoga
9. These Days
10 World Leader Pretend
11 I Believe
12 Get Up
13 Life and How to Live It
14 Its the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)
15 Pop Song 89
16 Fall on Me
17 You Are the Everything
18 Begin the Begin
19 Low
20 Finest Worksong
21 Perfect Circle

Bob Dylan / Greatest Hits Vol 2 / limited edition double-SACD

Posted on June 4, 2013September 6, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

US audiophile specialist Audio Fidelity, today release Bob Dylan‘s Greatest Hits Vol II on a double hybrid SACD set.

The 1971 collection was compiled by Dylan himself and includes a number of tracks unavailable anywhere else, including Watching The River Flow and When I Paint My Masterpiece, as well as familiar classics such as Lay Lady Lay and All Along The Watchtower.

This release was mastered by Steve Hoffman and is a limited, numbered set. The discs are hybrid which means they play on standard CD players as well as SACD players (for enhanced resolution).

Track listing:

Disc One

Watching The River Flow
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
Lay Lady Lay
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
All I Really Want To Do
My Back Pages
Maggie’s Farm
Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You

Disc Two

She Belongs To Me
All Along The Watchtower
The Mighty Quinn (Quinn, the Eskimo)
Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
If Not For You
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
Tomorrow Is A Long Time
When I Paint My Masterpiece
I Shall Be Released
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
Down In The Flood

Out This Week / 3 June 2013

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

The Moody Blues / Timeless Flight box set

This enormous 17-disc Moody Blues set includes 11 CDs, three video DVDs and three audio-only DVDs with surround mixes of six of the albums. Let’s not forget the 120-page hardback book and various other items of memorabilia.

Scott Walker / Scott – The Collection 1967-1970

Scott Walker’s first five solo albums – Scott, Scott 2, Scott 3, Scott 4 and ‘Til The Band Comes In are collected in this new box set. Available on CD or vinyl, each album has been cut and mastered from the original tapes and presented with their original artwork.
Continue reading “Out This Week / 3 June 2013”

Alison Moyet / “The Minutes” red vinyl

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

Alison Moyet‘s superb new album The Minutes, is today released on limited edition heavyweight RED vinyl by Demon Records.

This 180g record looks as good as it sounds, and comes complete with an inner sleeve that boasts full lyrics and additional photos. A download ‘card’ (actually more like a piece of paper) allows purchasers access to a digital version of the album.

Demon Records are a new vinyl-only imprint of Demon Music and in the last few months have been putting out LPs from a diverse selection of artists, all on heavyweight vinyl, with reproduction sleeves and download cards.

Recent releases have included the Average White Band’s breakthrough second studio album AWB, Leo Sayer’s 1976 transatlantic smash Endless Flight and heavy metal band Saxon’s 1991 album Solid Ball Of Rock. In addition to this have been various vinyl issues which form part of the Tabu Re-born reissue campaign.

Alison Moyet’s album The Minutes was released on CD and Digital at the beginning of May and is still in the UK top 75 album charts at the time of writing.

Sting / Anniversary vinyl reissue

Posted on June 3, 2013June 3, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

As was the case when all his other solo albums reached the same age, the twentieth anniversary of Sting‘s 1993 long-player Ten Summoner’s Tales passed with little fanfare back in March 2013. No deluxe editions were released to free up the many exclusive bonus tracks dotted around various CD singles issued at the time.

The album featured Fields Of Gold, If I Ever Lose My Faith In You, and Shape Of My Heart (memorably featured at the end of Luc Besson’s 1994 film, Leon) as well as a re-recorded version of It’s Probably Me, which in its original form was also used in a movie – this time Lethal Weapon 3 from 1992.

Although no deluxe sets were forthcoming, what did happen a few months back, was Universal quietly slipped out a vinyl reissue of the album as part of their Back To Black series. The remastered Ten Summoner’s Tales was pressed on 180g vinyl and the package also provides an MP3 download code. This new pressing includes Everybody Laughed But You which didn’t feature on the North America/Canada releases at the time.

The original LP had become a rather pricey used purchase, probably as a result of a fairly small pressing (relatively speaking) back in 1993.

Dire Straits / Brothers In Arms Mobile Fidelity hybrid SACD

Posted on June 3, 2013June 3, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

Audiophile specialist Mobile Fidelity will release a hybrid SACD of Dire Straits‘ 1985 album Brothers In Arms on 26 July 2013.

The twentieth anniversary multi-channel SACD of the 30 million selling album is still widely available, and was included in our SACD feature back in January, however the mastering of that release is not to everyone’s taste, considered rather bright and compressed by some.

This new Mobile Fidelity issue will be stereo only and will almost certainly offer a more audiophile-pleasing mastering, although since the record was recorded digitally at the time, it’s debatable if the SACD format can bring the extra resolution and detail apparent when original analogue master tapes are available for a new SACD mastering.

It is also not clear at this stage whether the SACD will use the CD version of the record – which runs at just under eight minutes longer than the LP – or if they will go with the original vinyl version. The former is probably the most likely.

The Mobile Fidelity SACD is currently available for pre-order from Acoustic Sounds.

Demon Music prepare three-disc Belinda Carlisle reissues

Posted on May 31, 2013May 31, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

Demon Music Group will reissue the four Virgin-era Belinda Carlisle solo albums on the Edsel label this August, in what looks like a comprehensive series of 2CD+DVD sets, all presented in ‘casebound book packaging.

The series starts with 1987’s Heaven On Earth and then works through all the subsequent albums (Runaway Horses, Live Your Life Be Free) ending with 1993’s Real.

As well as the usual array of extended remixes, these sets – without exception – include many seven-inch edits, something we will raise our hand and claim some credit for. In our interview with Edsel label manager Val Jennings back in March 2013, he was clear that he didn’t value including seven-inch remixes on deluxe reissues (“generally you’re going to miss off the shorter versions, the seven inch versions, since there is no point in filling it up with that”, he said) but some of our readers were robust in their feedback, leaving comments on this blog, pointing out that seven-inch edits/remixes were of value (“the first thing I look for”, claimed one person) and were often unavailable outside the original vinyl issue. We know Val read your comments!

1993’s Real also uniquely includes many demo versions, which were issued on CD singles at the time.

All the reissues come with a DVD featuring all the relevant promo videos, plus an interview with Belinda by DJ Mark Goodier discussing the album in question. Heaven On Earth also includes the Belinda Live! Concert film from 1988.

All four sets will be released on 26 August 2013.

Reissue Track Listings in full:
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Dr. Robert talks “Feels Like A New Morning” and The Blow Monkeys

Posted on May 30, 2013May 30, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

The Blow Monkeys’ new album Feels Like A New Morning has been getting rave reviews since it’s release just over a month ago. A second single from the album is released next week (digitally) which includes a new radio edit of the title track, as well as a previously unreleased demo and a remix.

We recently caught up with frontman Dr. Robert to talk about the new record: “I feel like I’m only beginning to get the hang of it”, he tells Paul Sinclair.

SuperDeluxeEdition: Tell us about the new album, Feels Like A New Morning?

Dr. Robert: In terms of recording we did it all in eight days. Four days recording and four days mixing in a studio in North Wales called Bathesda.

SDE: Why did you choose to record there?

DR: A mate of mine owns a studio there, and I’ve done a couple of records there before – a solo album called Bathesda and another one called Birds Gotta Fly. It’s an old converted quarry mill up there. We didn’t have a big budget – we had enough to do it in eight days, so it made sense to go up there. It’s right on the tip of North Wales near Anglesey, it’s really part, up there. So we drove over all the way from Spain, but the boys all live in London; the drummer’s Welsh, he wanted to go back home! It’s not a flash studio, but it has a kind of magical vibe to it – a lot of the welsh bands have worked there, you know the Gorky’s [Gorky’s Zygotic Mynic], the Super Furrys [Super Furry Animals]. And basically they were just songs I’d been working on the six months previous to that, in my little home studio. But it’s the third album we’ve done since getting back together, and I wanted to just carry on, because that was the whole idea when we got back together, to make new music. I think this is the best of the three we’ve made since then because sometimes it takes a while to get back into your stride. I like the other albums we made, but I think this one’s better.
Continue reading “Dr. Robert talks “Feels Like A New Morning” and The Blow Monkeys”

Out This Week / 27 May 2013

Posted on May 29, 2013May 29, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

Paul McCartney & Wings / Wings Over America

Two and a half years into Paul McCartney‘s archive collection campaign, and the fifth in the series finally gets (re)released a full year after 2012’s RAM. This reissue of Macca’s triple live set from early 1977, commemorates a release that was originally designed to commemorate a tour. No mid-range ‘special edition’ this time around, the choice is a bare-bones remastered double CD or a balls-out deluxe edition which comes with four – count ’em – books, a DVD and a bonus CD. A vinyl version is also available that maintains the original 3LP configuration.
Continue reading “Out This Week / 27 May 2013”

The Clash / Sound System box set

Posted on May 24, 2013June 22, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

Sony / Columbia will release Sound System a new 12-disc career-spanning box set from The Clash on 9 September 2013.

The set will contain all the albums, newly remastered, across eight CDs, plus a further three discs of demos, non-album singles, B-sides and rarities. Additionally Sound System comes with a DVD which features all of the band’s videos and unseen footage from the archives of Julien Temple and Don Letts.

The boombox packaging is designed by Paul Simonon and houses memorabilia including Clash Fanzines, poster, dog tags, stickers and badges.

A new 2CD set The Clash – Hits Back will also be released on the same day.

Sound System box set contains eight CDs (below) to cover the normal albums and a further four bonus discs with rarities – giving a total of 12 discs in this set.

1. The Clash
2. Give ‘Em Enough Rope (1 CD)
3. London Calling (double album, 2 CDs)
4. Sandinista! (triple album, 3 CDs)
5. Combat Rock (1 CD)

All newly remastered by The Clash with award-winning engineer Tim Young.

Sound System Extra CDs Full track listing:
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The Allman Brothers / Brothers and Sisters 4CD box set due in June

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

Universal Music will issue a four-CD box set of The Allman Brothers‘ album Brothers and Sisters on 17 June 2013.

The 1973 LP – the first recorded after the death of Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley – is expanded to a super deluxe four-disc edition for its 40th anniversary (a 2CD version is also available). It includes the album remastered, a disc of outtakes, rehersals and jam sessions, and two discs of live material offering a complete 1973 concert recorded at The Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.

Disc: 1

1. Wasted Words
2. Ramblin’ Man
3. Come And Go Blues
4. Jelly Jelly
5. Southbound
6. Jessica
7. Pony Boy

Disc: 2

1. Wasted Words
2. Trouble No More
3. Southbound
4. One Way Out
5. I’m Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town
6. Done Somebody Wrong
7. Double Cross – Gregg Allman, The Allman Brothers Band
8. Early Morning Blues – The Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman
9. A Minor Jam

Disc: 3

1. Introduction by Bill Graham
2. Wasted Words
3. Done Somebody Wrong
4. One Way Out
5. Stormy Monday
6. Midnight Rider
7. Ramblin’ Man
8. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed
9. Satesboro Blues
10. Come And Go Blues

Disc: 4

1. Southbound
2. Jessica
3. You Don’t Love Me / Amazing Grace
4. Les Brers In A Minor
5. Blue Sky
6. Trouble No More
7. Whipping Post

ZTT prepare for anniversary with three autumn releases

Posted on May 23, 2013May 23, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

ZTT will release their new compilation Zambient One in a few weeks, but what you may not be aware of is the fact that they are set to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary with a trio of further releases (via Salvo Music) in September 2013.

The third volume of their popular Art Of The 12″ series will finally see the light of day, a full 18 months on from the previous issue. One track we know this will feature is Watching The Wildlife (Movement 2), because this was mentioned when it was included it on the Japanese Edition of Frankie Goes To Hollywood compilation Frankie Said.

Speaking of Frankie, the second release will be a deluxe edition of the standard European version of Frankie Said. No track listings are available at this stage, although we could see the selection repeating the Japanese issue (this was a 2CD set) or ZTT might possibly come up with something completely new.

Most intriguing is the final set, called The Organisation Of Pop. This phrase has been used in various ZTT settings over the last few years, so there is some logic to giving a music release this title. No details on this whatsoever – other than the name – but some kind of multi-disc anthology might be likely.

All three releases are due out on 12 September 2013.

The Complete Motown Singles Vol 12A: 1972 / 5CD box set

Posted on May 21, 2013May 21, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

A new volume of the long-running Complete Motown Singles series will be issued in June or early July 2013 (depending on the territory).

The five-CD set contains 113 remastered tracks, from the company’s output during the first half of 1972, and will have a limited production run of 7,500. It comes complete with 130-page book within LP style packaging, and includes a bonus seven-inch vinyl single featuring two songs by the Blackberries that were never actually issued as a 45.

The book features contributions by Russ and Ralph Terrana, two key members of the Motown engineering staff, and Susan Whitall, a longtime writer for The Detroit News. It will also include detailed track-by-track histories by co-producers Keith Hughes and Harry Weinger, and Bill Dah.

Full track listing:
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Second Hand News / May 2013

Posted on May 17, 2013July 12, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

It’s that time of the month… we’ve been shopping for records (to be honest, we’re never really not shopping for records). This month you will find lots of vinyl and a fair amount of eighties pop.

Most items here were bought for only a pound or two, and they were all found in charity (or thrift) shops or some of our favourite cheap used record stores.

Terence Trent D’Arby / Neither Fish Nor Flesh LP (1989)

The pick of this month is Terence Trent D’Arby‘s Neither Fish Nor Flesh on vinyl. This fantastic, rather misunderstood record was his follow-up to the from 1989 contains some of his best work, including This Side Of Love, To Know Someone Deeply Is To Know Someone Softly and Roly Poly.

The packaging is tremendous, with a lavish full-size booklet with lyrics, and photos and decent anti-static protection for the vinyl. This was all in near mint condition and despite Terence’s claim in the CD booklet that he intended the album “to be heard as a continual segue of moods and atmospheres” and how “it is unfortunately the cassette and record buyer who are deprived of this intention”, we think we can live with having to flip the LP over.

TTD is now known as Sananda Maitreya and releases new music online.

Wet Wet Wet / Wishing I Was Lucky Limited Edition 12″ Double-pack (1987)

Blank & Jones recently included the ‘long version’ of Wet Wet Wet‘s debut Wishing I Was Lucky on their rather good So Eighties Volume 8 triple CD set, but for our money the ‘Metal Mix’ found on this limited edition double pack is by far the more interesting remix (“additional production and mix by Walter Turbitt”). Just to confuse, the running times for both mixes are 5.40 but the metal mix manages to be very busy and creative without ruining the flow of the song. The standard ‘long version’ is a little more ‘traditional’ but it’s on this set too, just not labelled as such. Side 4 is blank with no grooves on it at all!

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The Moody Blues / “Timeless Fight” 17-disc set: unboxing video

Posted on May 17, 2013September 6, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

Timeless Flight, Universal’s mammoth Moody Blues 17-disc box set is out on 3 June. Check out this ‘unboxing’ video which gives you a very good idea of how the set is configured.

ZZ Top / The Studio Albums 1970 –1990 box set with original mixes

Posted on May 16, 2013May 21, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

Rhino will release a 10CD ZZ Top box set on 10th June 2013.

The Studio Albums 1970-1990 comes in the familiar Rhino clamshell box packaging (see The Eagles and Chicago) and each album will come in vinyl replica card wallets, with Tres Hombres and Tejas replicating the original gatefolds.

Most importantly, this set presents, for the first time on CD, the original mixes for ZZ Top’s First Album, Rio Grande Mud and Tejas. Tres Hombres and Fandango will also use the original mixes, although expanded versions of those albums that used those mixes were issued back in 2006.

This set is looking like a no-brainer for fans, especially since it will be priced competitively.

Track Listing:
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Nilsson / The RCA Albums Collection

Posted on May 14, 2013May 15, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

Sony Legacy are set to release a big box set of all Nilsson‘s RCA albums on 29 July 2013.

One might be the loneliest number, but this 17 CD collection should banish any blues with three additional CDs featuring 58-tracks of single-only releases and outtakes, half of which is previously unreleased. There will also be bonus tracks on the individual albums – a total of 65 in all. The packaging looks similar to the recent Cheap Trick box set with a large clam-shell box and simple vinyl replica jackets.

Those in the US might want to check out the amazon UK price (below). Significantly cheaper (at the time of writing), even with shipping.

Full and detailed track listing for Nilsson: The RCA Albums Collection:

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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: Interview with Vinny Vero (Part 2)

Posted on May 10, 2013May 10, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

Part two of our interview with remixer, DJ, songwriter and reissue producer, Vinny Vero. If you haven’t read the first part, you might want to do that first!

SuperDeluxeEdition: One of our pet hates is when the names of remixes change over the years. Really, whatever it’s called on the original twelve-inch single, that should probably remain the name of it. But even with the artists themselves, sometimes tracks just get labelled as the ’12” mix’ and it morphs into something else. Very irritating!

Vinny Vero: That irritates me. I always do what you suggest. I always go to the original twelve-inch, but what really bugs me, and this happened on Basia [Vinny is producing the reissue of Time and Tide] is when the labels say one thing, and the sleeves say another. One will say ‘extended remix’ and the other might say ‘extended mix’. I tend to go with what’s on the label. With Breathe, which was such a strange project, Jonah was released twice as a single. The first time it was released with just one mix, which echoed the album, the second time it was released as a single, Paul Staveley O’Duffy did a seven-inch single mix, but he didn’t do a twelve-inch mix. However, there is an extended version of it on that second issue of that single, but it’s the same version as was on the first issue of the twelve-inch – (laughs) can you tell how crazy this is?
Continue reading “INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: Interview with Vinny Vero (Part 2)”

Japanese CD of the Day / Crowded House: Weather With You

Posted on May 9, 2013May 9, 2013 by Paul Sinclair

Crowded House / Weather With You / Japanese CD single — Click to enlarge

Crowded House‘s third single from 1991’s Woodface, would hit the UK top ten in February 1992. Alongside the evergreen Don’t Dream It’s Over, it would become something of a signature tune for the band (outside the US) in the years and decades that followed.

This five-track Japanese CD single release (TOCP-7157) features the 4:02 radio edit of Weather With You and includes quite an early live version of Don’t Dream It’s Over (recorded at The Roxy in LA on 7 April 1987).

Another single from the first album, Something So Strong, is also featured – again from 1987 – but this time from a gig at The Trocadero in Philadelphia.

Roger McGuinn joins the band for a performance of Mr. Tambourine Man (recorded in 1989), but perhaps the most interesting bonus track on this single, is live version of Walking On The Spot performed at London’s Town And Country Club in November 1991. At the time unreleased, this track would end up on 1993’s masterpiece Together Alone, with some extra instrumentation (notable an accordion). The live version on this disc is more straightforward, but still charming. Its structure is virtually identical to the studio master recording.

Most, if not all of these tracks ended up dispersed on various CD singles around the world, but this Japanese CD is effectively a ‘highlights’ disc from all the different Weather With You formats.