Holding the Music in Your Hands ®
Carol Decker, lead singer of T’Pau is taking the band back on tour again for the first time in 15 years, in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Bridge Of Spies album, which brought T’Pau massive commercial success back in 1987. We spoke to Carol a few weeks ago about the impending tour and the documentary called The Story Behind The Tracks (reviewed here) where her and T’Pau co-founder Ron Rogers looked back at their route to success.
Continue reading “Interview: Carol Decker”
Hawkwind‘s 1975 album Warrior On The Edge Of Time has been remastered for the first time from the original analogue stereo master tapes, and is being released as a limited edition super deluxe edition in May 2013 via Atomhenge, the home of the ‘space rock’ band from 1975-1997.
This four disc set comprises two CDs, a DVD-A and a 180g vinyl, in addition to a deluxe book and various items of memorabilia.
The remastered album on CD one features eight bonus tracks, five of which are previously unreleased.
The DVD (NTSC) features a 5.1 Surround Sound remix from the original 16-track master tapes, and a new hi-res stereo remix – both by Steven Wilson. In addition this DVD features a hi-res (96khz / 24bit) flat transfer of the 1975 stereo master tapes.
The second CD in the set also features Wilson’s new stereo mix but comes with five further bonus tracks two of which are previously unreleased.
The heavyweight vinyl is cut from the original analogue cutting master tapes and is a ‘facsimile edition’ with “shield” gatefold sleeve and inner bag.
As well as the book, this set comes with a reproduction of an in-store promotional poster, a replica concert ticket and three promotional postcards.
Full track listings below:
Continue reading “Hawkwind / Warrior On The Edge Of Time super deluxe edition box”
With no deluxe reissue of 1987’s multi-platinum Bridge Of Spies album coming any time soon, Carol Decker and her ex-partner Ron Rogers have grasped the initiative and created their own celebration of T’Pau’s debut.
The Story Behind The Tracks is a CD+DVD set – released on Carol’s own Gnatfish Records label – that combines an hour long documentary with a CD of all the songs from Bridge Of Spies in demo form as well as additional demos, including six previously unheard tracks.
The film takes us from Carol and Ron’s early days in a band called The Lazers, (when he was still a telephone engineer and Carol was getting by doing bar work) through to the breakthrough success of Heart and Soul in the US and China In Your Hand hitting number one in the UK. It’s a highly entertaining watch, with the pair revisiting old haunts such as their flat in Pengwern Boatclub in Shewsbury (“a gift from the gods”), the now derelict Woodside Studios, and the Columbia Hotel in London where the record company would put them up on their initial visits to London.
Continue reading “TPau / The Story Behind The Tracks”
Sacred Heart the 1989 debut album from Shakespears Sister, is due for a deluxe reissue this summer, but the rights to re-release this album – which is owned by Warner Music – is now the subject of contention following claims via Siobhan Fahey and Shakespears Sister’s official Facebook page that Cherry Pop (part of Cherry Red Records) “do not have clearance or any licence from WMG to reissue this album”. Below is the text in full posted to the Shakespears Sister Facebook page (and twitter) on Thursday 28th March 2013:
“Just clear up some rumours. The Sacred Heart reissue will be released on SF Records this year. The label, Cherry Pop do not have clearance or any licence from WMG to reissue this album. No disrespect to the label, but any rumours stating so are totally untrue. The reissue will be done within Siobhan’s own team with officially licensed material. Anyway, we hope that ends the debate on the issue and you can look forward to the MUSIC. Thank you for your kind and supportive words on all our previous reissues, especially #3 and MGA! This has given us incentive to bring more”.
Cherry Pop strongly disagree. The project manager who has been working on this reissue for that label got in touch with this blog to issue the following quote:
“I wouldn’t normally comment on a situation yet to be resolved, but given recent statements from elsewhere which wrongly suggest otherwise, I think it should be made clear that Shakespears Sister’s ‘Sacred Heart’ had indeed been scheduled for a June 2013 release on Cherry Pop, officially licensed from Warner Music UK.
This project has been in the works since May 2012, with Warners giving formal legal approval and clearance in February 2013. As such, much time and energy has already gone into it, with tracklisting and label copy finalised weeks ago and design and remastering (using original masters from the Warner archive) already well underway.
In the last few days, it has become apparent that there is some confusion over this project. Therefore, it is currently on hold until Warner can clarify the situation for all parties”.
So somehow we are in a situation where two parties believe they have the right to reissue this album with a licensing agreement from Warners. On the one hand Cherry Pop a well established reissue label specialising in ’80s/’90s pop and the the other “Siobhan’s own team” via SF Records.
Hopefully, the situation will be resolved and clarified soon, since the last thing fans of Shakespears Sister will want is a lengthy legal battle which will delay the reissue
Continue reading “FIRST PICTURES / Tabu reissues”
In June 2013, The Moody Blues will release Timeless Flight, an enormous 17-disc box set celebrating a career than spans almost 50 years.
The set comes housed in a heavy-duty LP-sized hard-back slipcase and will feature:
Demon Music Group have revealed the track listings for the second wave in their Tabu Records Re-born reissue campaign. These albums will be available in early May.
S.O.S. by The S.O.S. Band will be issued as an expanded edition on one CD, and contains the following tracks:
Bonus tracks:
Alexander O’Neal‘s Hearsay album is probably one of the most anticipated of the reissues and comes as a two-CD deluxe edition. Tracks are as follows:
CD 1
CD 2
Finally, Cherrelle’s High Priority also comes as a two-CD deluxe edition and will feature the following tracks across the two discs:
CD 1
CD 2
Delta Machine, the Essex boys’ first album for Columbia records is released today and is available in this 2CD deluxe edition. 
Continue reading “Out This Week / 25 March 2013”
New this week is The Eagles Studio Albums 1972-1978 box.
This limited edition set contains the Californian rock band’s six albums from the classic seventies era before their infamous “14-year vacation” (after which they returned with Hell Freezes Over). Included here are Eagles, Deperado, On The Border, One Of These Nights, Hotel California, and The Long Run.
The CDs come in the usual straightforward card sleeves with vinyl replica artwork. No gatefolds, inner sleeves or booklet(s) with this set. The clam-shell style box is quite sturdy and the whole thing is pretty similar to the recent Van Halen box set.
Nick Drake‘s classic second album, 1970’s Bryter Layter, receives the same vinyl box set treatment as the Pink Moon reissue from last year on 29 April 2013 (slightly delayed from the original release).
Above, is the first picture of the package, and as can be seen, it very much follows in the same style as Pink Moon deluxe box. Bryter Layter will be pressed on audiophile heavyweight virgin vinyl, with the original packaging replicated, and additional items will be included (such as handwritten set list, poster etc.), all collected in a large lift-off lid box showing details such as the original master tape box from which the vinyl was mastered.
A download card will be included, and should offer the digital version in three different file formats – hi-res FLAC files or standard MP3s, and a ‘dubbed from disc’ set of MP3s from an original vinyl copy of the record.
Stephen Stills‘ anthology box set Carry On is finally released next week and we have the first photos of the set for you.
Amongst the 82 tracks are 25 previously unreleased recordings, studios versions and remixes. Full track listing is here.
Carry On comes with a very impressive 116 page booklet and the packaging has a high quality feel to it with spot varnishing to outer covers creating a textured effect.
Suede and their management have responded to criticism from fans and from this blog, by offering purchasers of the £100 deluxe version of their new Bloodsports album download codes for three bonus tracks.
We had pointed out last week that the bonus track Howl was unique to iTunes purchasers and should really have been offered as part of the expensive box set. Two further ‘bonus’ tracks Dawn Chorus and No Holding Back appear on the seven-inch vinyl record supplied with both versions of the box set, but weren’t on the USB stick supplied with the £100 version (as they were supposed to be).
Purchasers of the £100 deluxe bundle should now have received a download code for all three tracks mentioned above, plus two music videos. The only commercially available bonus track not available digitally or physically to buyers of the premium set is now the Japan-only track Nothing Can Stop Us.
This news will be very welcome to the Suede fans concerned, but worryingly for the band and their management, complaints still persist about the overall quality of the Hardback book deluxe bundles – quite a few buyers have taken to Suede’s official forum and to SuperDeluxeEdition to highlight the following:
It should be said that many are very happy with the product, although the number of people complaining suggests that it is more than a few isolated cases, and at least numbers 1, 2, & 4 listed above appear to be a point of ‘fact’ rather than opinion.
A look at how the deluxe sets house the seven-inch single (see photo below) may explain why so many of them are scratched or in poor condition. Incredibly, someone thought sliding the vinyl single into a ‘pocket’ in one of the inner covers of the book with absolutely no protective sleeve of any kind, was appropriate. Wholly inadequate for delicate vinyl. Other ‘super deluxe’ box sets that come with seven-inch records – such as The Who‘s Quadrophenia Director’s Cut from 2011 or last year’s Sex Pistols‘ Never Mind The Bollocks… tend to house the vinyl in a protective sleeve, and then put the whole thing in a separate wallet.
At the time of writing there is nothing on the Suede Facebook page or website that makes any reference to these issues, or indeed apologises to fans about the USB stick not having the correct content. The Stereo Boutique website continues to sell the cheaper of the deluxe bundles and continues to advertise the vinyl LP that comes with the set as 180g ‘audiophile’ vinyl. Queries from fans to Suede via twitter have gone (publicly) unanswered.
EMI today revealed that in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the classic Waterboys album Fisherman’s Blues, they will issue a seven-CD box set on 14 October 2013 titled Fisherman’s Box, containing 121 tracks from the album sessions including all those on the original record and subsequent editions, plus an incredible 85 unreleased tracks!
The sessions for the record date from early 1986 to mid 1988 and the contents of this new set have been selected and annotated by Mike Scott. Track listing details to be announced throughout the coming spring and summer.
The Waterboys will also tour Britain and Ireland in December 2013 as part of the celebrations.
The horrible cover remains, but this new two-disc RCA/Legacy edition of Elvis‘s 1973 live concert comes with a freshly remixed bonus disc of the rehearsal performance, and five extra tracks that were unique to US TV at the time. No quad mix though.
Continue reading “Out This Week 18 March 2013”
Top Gear may have their ‘star in a reasonably priced car’, but SuperDeluxeEdition occasionally offers you a star reviewing a (not always) reasonably priced music box set.
In December 2012, Dr. Robert from The Blow Monkeys revealed a lifelong passion for Marc Bolan while taking a look at The Slider T.Rex box, and today Corinne Drewery from Swing Out Sister reflects on the influence of Diana Ross and The Supremes, as she takes a look at their 50th Anniversary Singles Collection (1961-1969). Admittedly, this box set is not exactly a new release (it’s been out for over a year) but, hey, we make the rules around here, so over to Corinne…
Corrine reviews Diana Ross and The Supremes 50th Anniversary Singles Collection 1961-1969:
Like many generations of teenage girls, I identified with the angst and yearning of these voices from a world so faraway from mine, yet somehow so close. Little did I know that my childhood dreams of becoming a singer, inspired by The Supremes, would materialise, and that the harmonies, arrangements and productions of these perfectly formed pop songs would prove to be an influence for many years to come. I even stole a couple of song titles from them – Surrender our second single, and Love Child, on our third album, for posterity….
Continue reading “STAR REVIEW: Corinne from Swing Out Sister on The Supremes”
Suede fans are taking to the band’s own forum to complain about the £100 deluxe box set bundle of Bloodsports.
The expensive – now sold-out – set consists of the new album on CD and vinyl; a hardback book; a seven-inch single; a T-shirt; a signed lithograph and a USB stick.
The problem is that the USB stick – unique to this bundle – was advertised as containing “exclusive video content”, and was also supposed to contain the two bonus tracks from the seven-inch single in addition to the standard album in digital form. Fans who have already received their boxes report that it fact doesn’t contain any video at all (just a couple of folders of random images) and the audio – in WAV and MP3 format – is just the basic 10 album tracks with no sign of Dawn Chorus and No Holding Back, the bonus tracks in question.
Some purchasers of this deluxe bundle were already rather aggrieved that Japan and European iTunes customers were getting bonus tracks not found in this pricey deluxe bundle, so this missing USB content rather pours salt on that wound.
We contacted Warner Music Artist & Label Services who are handling the release, and they have promised to update buyers of this super deluxe bundle today about this situation.
Yesterday we published the first part of our interview with Edsel Records Label Manager Val Jennings, where we discussed (amongst other things) working with Suede and Elvis Costello on their reissue programmes, and the challenges of putting re-releases together.
Below you will find the final part of this interview…
SuperDeluxeEdition: When you get the ‘thumbs up’ from the major label to license tracks for a reissue, how do you decide whether you’re going to do a one-CD with bonus tracks at the end, a 2CD, a 2CD+DVD? Is it commercial considerations, how many tracks are available?
Val Jennings: It’s all of those things. You have to assess each one of them as they go. In the case of The Beat, say, having looked into what video material was available, there was some mileage in doing the DVD and disc two we had the radio sessions, 12” mixes and ‘CD1’ could be the original album – so that made sense in that instance.
Continue reading “INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: Interview with Edsel Label Manager (part 2)”
The Pet Shop Boys have left Parlophone after 28 years, and will release a new album called Electric in June 2013 via Kobalt Label Services.
The record will be produced by Stuart Price and the video below will give you a taste of what to expect. Assuming the release happens as planned, Electric will be the Pet Shop Boys’ quickest ever follow-up to a studio album, coming only nine months after last year’s Elysium.
On 13 May 2013 RCA/Legacy will issue The Collection Box – a Kings Of Leon career-spanning box set.
The six-disc set, includes all five of their studio albums plus the DVD of Live at the O2 – London, England each in LP replica mini-jackets and housed in a lift-off lid box.
The band will be touring the UK in June and July this year.
Contents/Track listing:
Continue reading “Kings Of Leon / The Collection Box”
Happy Birthday to Morrissey‘s Viva Hate, which was released 25 years ago to the day.
You will have noticed we are stubbornly sticking with the original cover for this celebration, rather than last year’s reissue with its ‘improved’ typography.
There’s a lot we could say about this album, but thought we’d give you another opportunity to read our interview with Producer and co-author of the album Stephen Street. We spoke to him in spring 2012 when the reissue was about to come out…
SuperDeluxeEdition: 1987 must have been a very strange and busy year for you, starting with The Smiths’ album Strangeways, Here We Come and ending with Morrissey’s Viva Hate. Were there any obvious tensions or signs that The Smiths might be heading for a split during the recording of Strangeways?
Stephen Street: It was a shock when it happened. While recording the album everything was going fine, they seemed to be in a pretty good frame of mind. There was a problem with the management situation where it was obvious in Morrissey’s mind that Ken Friedman [brought in to help manage the band] wasn’t going to be around much longer, which meant that everything was going to fall back onto Johnny’s shoulders again, as far as day to day organising was concerned and I don’t think Johnny was greatly enamoured with that idea. That was something that was brewing in the background, but actually while we in the studio everything was fine.
Continue reading “Morrissey / Viva Hate: 25 today”
