Simple Minds are to release Celebrate – The Greatest Hits+, a new compilation on25 March 2013.
This career overview will be available as a two-CD edition or a more comprehensive three-CD set. Both will include two new tracks: Broken Glass Park and Blood Diamonds.
To coincide with this release, the band will kick off a Greatest Hits UK tour on 28 March at the Belfast Waterfront
Depeche Mode‘s new album Delta Machine is due out on 25 March, and as well as the standard release, their new label Columbia will be issuing a two-CD deluxe edition, which includes a 26-page photo booklet by Anton Corbjn, and four extra tracks on the bonus CD.
One of the four bonus tracks (All That’s Mine) is actually also the B-side to the forthcoming single Heaven, which is out a week earlier on 18 March. This single is being made available as a two-track CD single and a ‘maxi’ five-track CD single with four remixes offered in addition to the single version of Heaven.
Delta Machine will also be available as a 2xLP vinyl edition.
A 40th anniversary edition of David Bowie’s 1973 Aladdin Sane album will be reissued by Parlophone Label Group on 13 April 2013. It is being made available on CD and a version ‘Mastered for iTunes’.
The album – which features the hits The Jean Genie and Drive-In Saturday – was originally co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, and this reissue has been remastered by Ray Staff at London’s AIR Studios. Ray cut the original LP during his time at Trident Studios (his remaster of the Ziggy Stardust, reissued last year, was widely praised).
Disappointingly, this reissue looks to be a bare-bones remaster, with no bonus tracks or newly created surround sound mix. Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a complete surprise, because when Rykodisc reissued David Bowie’s RCA catalogue in 1990, Aladdin Sane was the only studio album to be re-released without any bonus material. The disliked 1999 remaster from EMI also came sans extras,and even the 30th 2CD set from 2003 had a bonus disc which contained a fair bit of previously released material (some from the Ryko’s 1989 Sound+Vision box set).
The Prettiest Star was an old song from 1970
The recording of Aladdin Sane was rather squeezed into the schedules in late 1972 as Bowie continued with his Ziggy Stardust tour. The inclusion of a cover of The Rolling Stones’ Let’s Spend The Night Together and the re-recording of his old 1970 single The Prettiest Star suggests there was not an abundance of new material to record, which may go some way to explaining why Aladdin Sane is often bereft of bonus offerings, when reissued.
Marvin Gaye‘s Trouble Man 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition was released in the UK and other territories last week. The reissue features many unreleased tracks including an entire disc of Gaye’s score for the film (as opposed to the soundtrack on disc one).
The package comes in the form of a six-panel digi-pak with 28-page booklet. Full review coming soon to SuperDeluxeEdition.
Blue Oyster Cult / The Columbia Albums Collection box set
A massive collection of music from the Long Island band’s essential era. 17 discs including a rarities CD and a disc full of live performances, this set even comes with a code for four further live concerts. More here.
Blind Guardian / A Traveler’s Guide To Space And Time
The German power-metal band’s Virgin-era is celebrated in this 15-disc box set which as well as studio albums includes unreleased demos, rare bonus tracks. The box set comes with an art print and a plectrum engraved with the band logo.
Julian Cope‘s third album presented with a bonus CD of non-album tracks and remixes. More here.
Taj Mahal / The Complete Columbia Albums Collection box
The innovative blues musician gets this comprehensive label anthology which includes 13 albums including Rising Sons, his collaboration with Ry Cooder. The two disc rarities/live set The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal 1969–1973 is additionally included within this box.
In the last few days Sony have announced that they are to cease production of their MiniDisc hardware, with the last device expected to be sold in March 2013.
First introduced back in 1992, the MiniDisc was touted as a replacement to the compact cassette tape. It certainly was similar in one respect – you needed to sit there in real-time as you ‘taped’ the CD or vinyl record of your choice onto the MiniDisc. Continue reading “Farewell, MiniDisc. And mixtapes.”
Both FYC albums will be issued in 2CD deluxe editions
The much-delayed Fine Young Cannibals deluxe reissues from Edsel are finally going to be released on 18 February and SuperDeluxeEdition can confirm the full track listings.
The debut album from 1985 comes with three B-sides and in total nine remixes (all of Johnny Come Home and Suspicious Minds).
The Raw & The Cooked from 1988 includes the new tracks added to 1996’s The Finest collection, and a large selection of remixes. Neither of the remix albumspreviously issued – The Raw and the Remix or The Rare and the Remixed (from The Finest 2CD special edition)appear in their entirety, although it is obvious that by limiting this deluxe edition to two discs Edsel were never going to be able to include everything.
Amazon.co.uk exclusive offer the new hits collection with DVD & postcards
Salvo Music’s forthcoming Kirsty MacColl collection, A New England: The Very Best Of Kirsty MacColl is available at amazon UK with an exclusive bonus disc that features 10 promo videos, plus five art cards with photographs and lyrics.
The 21-track hits collection is released on 25 February, and features some of Kirsty’s most popular songs, including tracks from her last album Tropical Brainstorm.
At the time of writing, there is no excuse not to go for the ‘deluxe’ amazon exclusive because at £12.99 it is currently cheaper more than £1 cheaper than the standard one-CD edition!
Marianne Faithfull‘s 1979 album Broken English was reissued on Monday 28th January as a two-CD deluxe edition.
Faithfull’s journey from ’60s pop star muse to ’70s homeless junkie is well documented, and this album was borne out of the touring band that was put together to capitalise on unexpected success in the Irish charts with her Dreamin’ My Dreams single, from the ‘comeback’ country album of the same name (reissued in 1978 as Faithless). Demos recorded by the band were heard by Island Records’ Chris Blackwell who saw the potential for an album. Continue reading “Marianne Faithfull / Broken English 2CD Deluxe Edition”
The US edition of The Jimi Hendrix Experience‘s debut album, released in August 1967, was very different from the UK release. Most obviously the cover was completely changed to the now familiar psychedelic ‘fisheye’ design and tracks were removed to make way for the singles that were not included in the original UK issue. Those singles were Purple Haze, Hey Joe and Foxy Lady.
US album cover
This US version was available in mono for a short time, but the UK release has never been issued in mono in the US – until now.
On 5 March 2013, Sony are issuing a very heavyweight, 200g vinyl pressing of the album, mastered from the original mono master tapes by renowned engineer Bernie Grundman. The UK running order is present and correct, as is the original UK artwork.
Nick Drake‘s second album Bryter Layter(1970) is to be released in remastered vinyl form as a limited edition deluxe box set on 25 March 2013.
The album will be getting the same treatment as the Pink Moon reissue from last year – pressed on audiophile heavyweight virgin vinyl, with the original packaging replicated, and additional items (such as handwritten lyrics) collected in a large clamshell-style box showing details such as the original master tape box from which the vinyl was mastered.
Like Pink Moon, expect this set to come with a card with a code for a 24-bit download. The album should be available 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. Some folks were lucky enough to get all three albums in digital form last year with their Pink Moon purchase. That was an error.
No US pre-order currently available, but the UK price of £32 is considerably cheaper than Pink Moon was available, when first announced. Five Leaves Left is expected later this year in the same format.
The Super Audio CD (SACD) format offers audio in higher resolution than on the standard CD (sometimes referred to as ‘red book’) and in many cases provides the opportunity to hear an album in multi-channel (5.1) surround sound. Continue reading “Top 10: SACDs you can afford to buy”
The 1960s. Michael Caine. Len Deighton. John Barry. A perfect cocktail of talents shaken (but not stirred) into the memorable 1965 spy film The Ipcress File, directed by Sidney J. Furie and produced by Harry Saltzman (who also worked on the James Bond franchise). Continue reading “Japanese CD of the Day / The IPCRESS File original soundtrack”
The 1977 mega-hit gets reissued across a number of formats, including a three-CD edition with two discs of previously unreleased material and a deluxe box set with four CDs, a DVD and the album on vinyl.
If evidence were ever needed of The Beatles‘ total dominance on the UK pop scene in 1963, then it can be found in the British album chart.
Until May 1963, the upper reaches of the LP ‘hit parade’ were taken up with soundtrack albums, such as South Pacific and West Side Story, and music from the likes of George Mitchell Minstrel’s Black and White Minstrel Show. Elvis‘ movie soundtracks were starting to appear regularly, and The Shadows and Cliff Richard were also becoming familiar names to record buyers. Continue reading “The Beatles Vinyl Remasters: #2 With The Beatles”
Eighties pop group, The Blow Monkeys, celebrated the reissue of their first two albums by performing them both in full on 24 January 2013. Below is the performance of their worldwide smash “Digging Your Scene”. The band reformed around five years ago and have a new album out soon..
Blue Öyster Cult / The Columbia Albums Collection box set (click to enlarge)
Due out on 4 February 2013, here we present some photos of the new Blue Öyster Cult: The Columbia Albums Collection box set. As previously posted this set contains 17 discs, including a DVD and also comes with a download code for additional live concerts.
