Holding the Music in Your Hands ®
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”
Val Jennings has spent his working life in the music industry. For a large part of that time he has been employed by Demon Music Group, managing reissues at Edsel Records.
He has been responsible for bringing music fans a wide range of reissues over the last few years, from artists as diverse as The Thompson Twins, Suede, Bronski Beat, Everything But The Girl, Paul Young, The Jesus And Mary Chain, T.Rex, Sugar, Deacon Blue, The Beat, and Aztec Camera.
A few weeks ago Paul Sinclair met with Val near Edsel’s central London offices, and in a lengthy and wide-ranging interview they discussed his role at Edsel Records, working with Suede and Elvis Costello on their reissue programmes, the mechanics and challenges of putting reissues together, and why all is not doom and gloom in the music industry when it comes to catalogue re-releases.
SuperDeluxeEdition: What is your role at Edsel?
Val Jennings: Edsel Label Manager. Which means you’re responsible for all aspects of it. What’s on it, and how the project is put together, and all the stages of it being put together – sourcing the tapes, sourcing the photos, repertoire… even typing up the contents a lot of the time. Commissioning the mastering, the designer, the note writer and anyone else involved, and then checking that what comes back from those people all fits together… looks right, sounds right, reads right, and arrives when the sales people think it’s supposed to. And indeed, effectively selling it to the sales people, who then go on and sell it to the ever decreasing number of shops, or outlets. Sometimes one chooses what’s going to be released, and other times it’s handed to you. There’s no hard and fast rule in that respect.
Continue reading “INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: Interview with Edsel Label Manager (Part 1)”
Yesterday, we reported on how people paying up to £100 for Suede’s Bloodsports deluxe box sets were being denied bonus tracks available to those who chose to download the album from iTunes for £10, or purchase physical deluxe editions available in Poland and Japan.
Continue reading “Warner Music Poland deny Suede Bloodsports deluxe edition”
Demon Music will release three Tabu box sets in autumn 2013 as part of their Tabu Reborn For 2013 reissue campaign.
A multi-artist big box will be issued, which looks like being a four-CD, DVD and vinyl offering. This set will contain bonus material, deep catalogue remixes, and rare/collectable tracks, some of which will not have appeared on individual reissues.
Continue reading “Tabu box sets due later this year”
R.E.M.‘s first album for Warner Bros. – 1988’s Green – is to be reissued on 13 May as a two-CD deluxe edition, pairing a remastered version of the album with 21 tracks from a Nov ’89 concert in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Like previous deluxe editions, this set will come packaged in a small clam-shell style box with some postcards. A vinyl version will also be issued at the same time.
A special EP – Live in Greensboro – is also being issued (on CD) for Record Store Day on 20 April. This EP contains five more tracks from the same gig, and comes with a patch which we are assured are original from the era, rather than reproductions.
Green was last reissued in 2005 when Warners released a CD+DVD-A edition which contained a hi-res surround sound version of the album (on the DVD-A), a 23 minute documentary and some promo videos. These excellent features are ignored for this new 25th anniversary ‘deluxe’ edition.
Disc 1: Original album:
Disc 2: Live in Greensboro, 1989:
Live in Greensboro / Record Store Day EP
12/3/13 – For an important update to this story click here
With a week to go until the release of Bloodsports, the first new Suede album in over 10 years, excitement is in danger of turning into resentment as diehard fans fume over the seemingly random distribution of ‘bonus’ tracks delivered geographically and via different ‘channels’.
In the UK, if you wish to buy Bloodsports on CD, it is a simple ten track album, with the following track listing.
This is available from Amazon for £9.99 at the time of writing
(UK Pre-order: Bloodsports).
Continue reading “Suede confuse fans with “Bloodsports” bonus track chaos”
If you were unaware that David Bowie had a new album out today, then you must be living on another planet. The Next Day sees old mucker Tony Visconti in the producer’s chair and is available in 14-track standard CD, 17-track deluxe edition CD and 2xLP vinyl.
Continue reading “Out This Week / 11 March 2013”
Demon Music Group have put together some superb promo mixes in anticipation of their extensive Tabu Catalogue reissue campaign with deluxe reissues from the likes of Alexander O’Neal, Cherrelle and The S.O.S. Band. The best of them are below… enjoy!
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Here we present a photo gallery of the packaging for David Bowie‘s long-awaited new album The Next Day. Pictured is the deluxe edition, which comes as a six-panel digipack with three bonus tracks. The album will be released next week.
Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith – collectively known as Tears For Fears – yesterday launched a new website precisely 30 years on from the UK release of their 1983 debut album The Hurting.
At present, the site consists of a single white page, in the middle of which sits the striking Hurting album cover image, of the child with his head in his hands. Underneath this sits the following message: “Thanks for an amazing 30 years. This year is going to be a big one. Get ready! – Curt & Roland”.
So, let the speculation begin..!
We’d like your thoughts on what this ‘big’ year might entail? In our view, it’s reasonable to assume that Universal Music are working on a deluxe edition of The Hurting album, especially since the only reissue was a 1999 expanded version with a modest four bonus tracks.
Whatever is in the planning, you can stay in touch with the band via their twitter and Facebook accounts.
Just like last year when Another Day was issued as a seven-inch single before RAM came out as a deluxe edition, Paul McCartney will preempt the next issue in his Archive Collection campaign – Wings Over America – with an exclusive vinyl offering on Record Store Day.
This time a twelve-inch vinyl record is being issued, and the single in question is the live version of Maybe I’m Amazed, his exquisite love letter to Linda that appeared in studio form on his first solo album McCartney in 1970.
It wasn’t issued as a single until 1976 when the live cut reached number 10 in the Billboard Hot 100. This Record Store Day twelve-inch replicates a promo-only version issued to radio at the time and includes short and long versions of the track in both mono and stereo mixes.
By stating that this exclusive is “to herald the release of Wings Over America”, McCartney is officially acknowledging the reissue of his mammoth triple album for the first time.
The details of the RAM reissue were revealed by McCartney on 22 March last year. If the same timelines are followed we may hear something about WOA in a couple of weeks from now!
More information regarding Record Store Day here > UK Site | US Site
More details are emerging of Demon’s Tabu Catalogue reissue campaign. We previously informed you of the Alexander O’Neal debut album two-CD expanded edition, and today we have the track listing for Cherrelle‘s 1984 debut Fragile.
Unlike Alexander O’Neal’s album this comes as a one-disc expanded edition with five bonus tracks, including two versions of I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On, famously covered by Robert Palmer on his Riptide album.
Expanded reissues from stablemates The S.O.S Band and Brainstorm will be released on the same day.
Cherrelle Fragile track listing:
Madness have created a special four-disc deluxe box version of last year’s Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da album.
Released on 15 April 2013 and shipped direct from the band via Topspin Media, this set will include nine exclusive band demos, seven exclusive new album tracks and four exclusive alternate versions. In addition, the set includes a DVD of Madness at the ‘House Of Fun’ weekend at Butlins in 2011, and a 21-track CD of the same gig performed a year later in 2012.
In total 70 tracks across the four discs, and this box set will also come with ‘Oui Oui Ouija Board Game Artwork’ and a 32-page booklet.
For full track listing and to pre-order, click here.
Morrissey continues to be the ‘George Lucas’ of pop by fiddling with releases when the opportunity arises to reissue them. Following on from last year’s Viva Hate travesty, 18 April sees the reissue of his disappointing second album, 1991’s Kill Uncle.
The front cover has been replaced entirely by the faux-sixties creation pictured above, and two B-sides have been added in the shape of Pashernate Love and East West. What was the last track of the album – There’s A Place In Hell For Me And My Friends – is replaced by a previously unreleased ‘live in the studio’ version.
The album has been remastered by Bill Inglot and is available as a CD in a gatefold card wallet or 2LP gatefold vinyl.
For reasons unknown, Morrissey has also chosen to reissue his 1989 Last Of The International Playboys single on the same day as Kill Uncle. It boasts another new cover, featuring Rick Astley, no less, and will be available on CD single and various other formats, backed with new live tracks recorded at the BBC.
Kill Uncle Reissue – CD version
Kill Uncle Reissue – Vinyl version
Track listing:
