Sony will reissue Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 album Born in the USA on vinyl, for its 40th anniversary.
The album will be pressed on translucent red vinyl and is presented in a gatefold sleeve. It comes with a booklet, featuring new sleeve notes from Erik Flannigan and a litho print.
That’s it! There’s no other physical formats, which is of course very disappointing. There’s also no mention of the mastering, but it’s probably same to assume this is the 2014 mastering, as used on the The Album Collection, Vol 1 box set.
Born in the USA will be released on 14 June 2024.
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Springsteen, Bruce
Born In The USA (40th Anniversary Edition Colour Vinyl) [VINYL]
Warner Records are reissuing Duran Duran’s first five albums on CD and vinyl.
Duran Duran (1981), Rio (1982), Sevenand the Ragged Tiger (1983), Notorious (1986) and Big Thing (1988) have all been out-of-print for a while (at least, in theory), and it’s worth remembering that the last vinyl reissues (circa 2010) were all 2LP deluxe sets, with bonus tracks – there was no standalone versions.
These reissues are single vinyl LP and single CD releases, with no bonus tracks, and they use the 2010 remasters so far as audio is concerned (Rio was actually remastered in 2009). This is significant, since the 2010 CD remastering of the band’s debut album is widely regarded as being atrocious. The so-called ‘loudness wars’ at their worst. The label ignored fan criticism at the time and here we are 14 years later and they are choosing to use the same audio again. Okay…
All five albums are reissued on CDs in gatefold card sleeves (click image to enlarge)
One point to underline is that Big Thing features the un-remixed version of ‘Drug’ which superseded the original remixed version. John Taylor, in the sleeve notes for the 2010 reissue, admitted the decision, in 1988, to include the remix of ‘Drug’ – and not the original recording – was “made in haste” and the band quickly realised they “had made a big mistake”. Duran Duran had “compromised the integrity and sonic flow” of the album, he said. I agree, so it’s good that this change is now effectively permanent.
There’s not too much else to say, about these reissues, other than the CD packaging looks quite nice, since they are presented in mini-LP CD style gatefold sleeves. But if you already own vinyl or CD editions of these albums that you are happy with, then no action required, with the proviso that Big Thing is definitely worth picking up, if you have a pre-2010 version, for the reasons outlined above.
All five Duran Duran albums are issued on CD and vinyl on 19 July 2024, via Warner Records. Offer your thoughts on this campaign by leaving a comment and scrolling up for the SDE Reader Rating!
Lindsey Buckingham’s three solo albums, recorded between 1981 and 1992 are collected in a new 4CD box set called 20th Century Lindsey.
Law and Order (1981), Go Insane (1984), and Out of the Cradle (1992) all feature audio remastered in 2017 from the original master tapes (presumably when his Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham was prepared).
Now we’re getting full albums and a bonus disc – 20th Century Rarities – is a compilation of non-album tracks including rare extended mixes (‘Go Insane’, ‘Slow Dancing’) and soundtrack contributions, such as ‘Time Bomb Town’ (from Back to the Future, 1985) and ‘Twisted’ – his duet with Stevie Nicks (Twister, 1996).
There is a vinyl box, but at the moment that only seems to be available via the US-based Rhino.com, although signed editions are available. We’ll update this page if we spot this elsewhere!
20th Century Lindsey will be released on 16 August 2024, via Rhino.
Keane’s debut Hopes and Fears is issued as an SDE-exclusive blu-ray, #21 in the ongoing SDE Surround Series. This disc features a Dolby Atmos and 5.1 mix by David Kosten, alongside a the stereo version and a bonus track in all three audio streams.
A new scan of the 35mm negative of thisQueen 1981 concert film, plus a new Dolby Atmos Mix should mean that via this 4K blu-ray Queen Rock Montreal should be an amazing experience. The icing on the cake is Live Aid performance (and rehearsals) in Atmos (Live Aid is upscaled HD not true 4k). Remember you need a 4K blu-ray player and a 4K-compatible TV to enjoy this. Order from the SDE shop.
John Entwistle / The Ox (6CD box set)
Six solo albums of The Who’s John Entwistle, plus 29 bonus tracks in this new 6CD box set.
Peter Gabriel’s 2013 concert performance which saw him play So in its entirety, with the original So touring band. You need a 4K blu-ray player and a 4K-compatible TV to enjoy this release. Order from the SDE shop
With the ‘main’ Yearbook for 1974 released on Friday, Now That’s What I Call Music have announced the companion ‘Extra’ version, which contains 64 tracks across three CDs.
This set features songs from acts such as Elton John (‘The Bitch is Back’), Queen (‘Seven Seas of Rhye’), Slade (‘The Bangin’ Man’), Bryan Ferry (‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’), Leo Sayer (‘One Man Band’), Mud (‘Rocket’), Status Quo (‘Break the Rules’), David Essex (‘America’), Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel (‘Judy Teen’), Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye (‘Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)’), Commodores (‘Machine Gun’), Roberta Flack (‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’), Barry White (‘Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up’), Elvis Presley (‘My Boy’), Olivia Newton-John (‘Long Live Love’), Andy Williams (‘Solitaire’) and more.
Full tracklisting can be found below, and, as usual, this Extra edition comes packaged in a cheap-and-cheerful six panel card sleeve. Now Yearbook 1974 – Extra will be released on 7 June 2024.
Great price for the very cool Japan CD+Blu-ray deluxe presentation of Pink Floyd’sAtom Heart Mother. If you want to know exactly what this is like, watch the SDEtv unboxing video!
Yes/The Yes Album 4CD+blu-ray+LP4CD+blu-ray+LP super deluxe
40th anniversary Rolling Stones reissue from 2021. ‘Lost and Found’ bonus rarities on CD 2 are: ‘Living In The Heart Of Love’, ‘Fiji Jim’, ‘Troubles A’ Comin’, ‘Shame Shame Shame’, ‘Drift Away’, ‘It’s A Lie’, ‘Come To The Ball’, ‘Fast Talking Slow Walking’ and ‘Start Me Up (Early Version)’.
The Rolling Stones/Hackney Diamonds 2CD2CD Live Edition
You can pick up the 2CD ‘live edition’ of The Rolling Stones’Hackney Diamonds for £6.50 if you click on the voucher offer on the product listing on Amazon UK.
Original Lindsay Anderson cut of Wham! In China showing at BFI Southbank
British film and theatre director Lindsay Anderson was the brave – probably foolish – choice to film Wham! in 1985 on their famous 10-day visit to China, where they played two concerts (on 7th and 10th of April).
Anderson was in his early sixties in 1985 when he took the job and his career was rather in the doldrums after some singular and acclaimed work during the 1960s and 1970s (notably This Sporting Life (1963), the Palm D’Or winning If (1968) and O Lucky Man! (1973)). In his posthumously published diaries he admitted to having “no interest in Wham!” and stated that he was simply “doing this for the money”.
His lack of interest in Wham! must have been evident when Anderson presented his 77 min cut of the film, called If You Were There, to the dismay of the group, and in particular George Michael, who in essence, thought there was too much China and not enough Wham! in the film (there were just four songs from the tour, only one of which is a full performance).
The director was sacked, the editing team walked out and the film was entirely re-edited and renamed. It was released as Wham! in China: Foreign Skies, on VHS and laserdisc in 1986.
Sarah Bromage of the University of Stirling (home to a Lindsay Anderson archive) has seen If You Were There and says there was “a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of the documentary”. She points out that “Anderson’s film shows the beginning of the influence of western youth culture and capitalism in Chinese Society. In particular his footage, lost in the released version of the film, exposes the vast cultural divide between this dynamic pop group, British civil servants and the Chinese authorities”.
Lindsay Anderson’s original cut of Wham! In China: Foreign Skies is being shown at the BFI in London’s Southbank
Even the re-edited film is fairly rare these days (it has not been issued on DVD or blu-ray) but Lindsay Anderson’s cut has never been shown in public, at all, and has remained unseen in the near 40 years since it was filmed.
Now, with the permission of the George Michael Estate and Andrew Ridgeley, the British Film Institute is being allowed to screen If You Were There as part of their Anderson season called O Dreamland! Lindsay Anderson’s Dark British Cinema.
There will be two showings at London’s BFI Southbank: One on 25 May and another on 31 May. Tickets go on sale TODAY at 12.30pm. Book here.
SDE takes you through the new album, track-by-track
Pet Shop Boys 15th studio album saw Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe work with a new producer, James Ford. Their trilogy of long-players with producer Stuart Price ended on a high, with 2020’s Hotspot, a record this site described as “rather enjoyable”.
Like Hotspot, Nonetheless doesn’t outstay its welcome and offers 10 tracks all in the ballpark of 3-5 mins in length. Ford’s contribution is significant; as well as producing he contributes “additional programming, keyboards, guitars, percussion and drums”.
Opener ‘Loneliness‘ rewards repeated listens. Initially, I wasn’t too sure, but like many of the best Pet Shop Boys songs it combines melancholy and minor chords with beats and ultimately a caring optimism (“everyone needs time to think / no one can live without love”). It’s very catchy and the extended outro on the album version is lovely. A great start.
‘Feel‘ has skippy, vaguely house-y piano style beat before the strings and keyboard lines come in. Neil’s harmony vocals at the beginning sound precise and rather lush. The verses have a quick vocal pace before the chorus slows down with the draggy “you make me f-e-e-l like – nobody else can”. ‘Feel’ is a bright and breezy number. Initially, it ‘feels’ rather lightweight, and there’s certainly an almost childlike simplicity to the lyrics, but like much of Nonetheless its charms unfurl slowly. The beats sound good at the end, but it’s still surprising that this song is so high up the running order of the album.
‘Why Am I Dancing?’ has a literal fanfare at the beginning at the beats fade up. Given that Neil has reluctantly acknowledged that Nonetheless is what you might call Pet Shop Boys ‘lockdown’ album (he learnt how to program on Garageband), it’s not surprising that as with ‘Loneliness’, the lyrics address isolation (“Why am i dancing – when I’m so alone?). Again, there’s that seductive melancholy that pervades this song and it has a wonderful melody with a great tone to Neil’s vocal delivery. Like all the songs on this album, there are strings in the arrangement but the beats still come through strongly and have a vaguely retro feel to them.
‘New London Boy‘ is one of the best songs on the album. It has a beautiful laid back intro with sprightly arpeggiated keyboards coming in. ‘Bouncy’ is the adjective I’d used to describe the beginning of this song. Right at the beginning, Neil speaks the words “I remembering wondering… ” suggesting this might be spoken word all the way through but no, he completes the thought by singing in falsetto “Who am I? – and what will I turn out to be?”. The lyric is one of nostalgia as Neil looks back to being “a new London boy – like so many others – hanging around – with my glam rock brothers”. ‘New London Boy’ is elevated by Neil indulging in a wonderful ‘West End Girls’ style rap (“follow the style – plastic and showy – Everyone’s dancing to Roxy and Bowie”, he ‘sings’). Inevitably this lends this song a PSB authenticity; a feeling of being ‘classic’ Pet Shop Boys. It wouldn’t be out of place as a track on their second album, Actually.
‘Dancing Star’ was a good choice for the second single. It celebrates the life and spirit of Rudolf Nureyev, the Soviet-born ballet dancer who defected to the West in 1961 (“Jumped the barrier at Orly airport – claimed political asylum there”). There’s a simplicity to the arrangement which again harks back to early Pet Shop Boys and the documentary aspect to the lyrics echoes Chris and Neil’s composition ‘Nothing Has Been Proved’ which was, of course, sung by Dusty Springfield. The orchestral stabs, the synth bass and in particular the middle eight section with the handclaps are all vintage Pet Shop Boys.
‘A New Bohemia‘ is a ballad which starts ‘Side B’ of the album, if you have the vinyl version. Neil has confirmed that this will be the third single. The song has a traditional pop/rock structure with the first verse as Neil sings to a simple piano accompaniment before drums and strings fill out the sound for the chorus, which is very strong in terms of melody (“Where have they gone, les Petites Bons-Bons?”). You can read more about Les Petites Bons-Bons here. A New Bohemia flows effortlessly and exhibits a pleasing, evocative yearning for a lost era.
‘The Schlager Hit Parade‘ starts with acoustic guitars, for a slightly different vibe. The whole song is a commentary on Schlager music, a style of European music generally defined by catchy instrumental accompaniments to vocal-driven pop with simple and often sentimental lyrics; which is why Neil sings “It’s always Christmas or the sound of summer – in the Schlager Hit Parade” at the end of each chorus, where the song leans most towards ‘Go West’ (cheesy?) style Pet Shop Boys. There’s perhaps a hint of politics in the break (“The future is forever – let’s not dwell on the past”) but generally speaking this a straightforward song that adopts the Schalger style to make a point. It’s not necessarily cool, but it is catchy.
‘The Secret of Happiness‘ is a floaty, dreamy number driven by a bossa nova beat and beautiful sunny imagery, from Neil. The verse melody, when expressed by the horns, flirts with easy-listening, but the chorus is lovely; sophisticated, balanced, melodic and boasts a very cinematic string/horns arrangement. Tennant proves himself one of pop’s deftest lyricists with some lovely turns of phrase, particularly the break towards the end where he sings about how the secret of happiness “was always concealed from me”.
After the soft underbelly of the last few tracks it’s good to be back in clubland with ‘Bullet For Narcissus’ and its stripped back beats and quick punctuated guitar figures. After a few bars of intro, there’s a wonderfully catchy guitar lead line to usher us into the first verse. Neil takes pot shots at the titular Narcissus who we could read as any number of people in 2024 (“His politics are simply mean – he doesn’t trust what he hasn’t seen”). The strings are present, as with all the songs on the album, but you wonder if there was a case for doing this track without and them and giving this song a slightly harder edge. Still, it’s great and elements of that guitar line and the arrangement took me back to ‘Behaviour’.
Nonetheless ends with the very atmospheric and rather brilliant ‘Love is the Law’. As with ‘Bullet For Narcissus’, the textures, sounds and arrangement are Behaviour-esque to these ears. This denouement is night and day when compared to the rather trite ‘Wedding in Berlin’ at the end of Hotspot. Another brilliant lyric, Neil sings “Love is the law but you can’t regulate it – The desire is so strong and you won’t moderate it”. It’s a very strong end to the record.
Summary
Nonetheless really does deliver the goods. There are no duffers on the album and a pleasing variety of styles and sounds which often deploy elements that remind you of Pet Shop Boys at their best. Inevitably, the album’s highs don’t match the peaks of imperial phase PSB, but was anyone expecting that, 40 years after the Bobby Orlando version of ‘West End Girls’? James Ford appears to be a sympathetic and inspiring collaborator and the (real) strings are used with a reasonably light touch – don’t go away thinking this is an ‘orchestral’ album – it’s not. Impressive.
Bonus content: Furthermore review
For deluxe CD and vinyl editions of Nonetheless, Pet Shop Boys have included four new recordings of old songs: ‘Heart’, ‘Being Boring’, ‘Always On My Mind’ and ‘It’s a Sin’ (three UK number ones). These were recorded in 2021 and are all produced by Pet Shop Boys.
‘Heart’ has a leaner, clubbier vibe and the post chorus melody of ‘ahhs’ is not the same as the original but ultimately it’s not that different and it’s hard not to wonder, what’s the point? It’s noticeable that two out of the four tracks were originally produced by Julian Mendelsohn; was there some aspect to the original productions that the PSBs were never 100 percent happy with? ‘Being Boring’ was produced by Harold Faltermeyer and most fans would consider song and production near-perfect. The re-recording doesn’t improve on the original (obviously) with Tennant’s vocal delivery not matching the original. This new version a bit clubbier with touches of house piano. The most interesting part is in the middle where Neil speaks over the music and explains how his friend in Newcastle inspired the song. Despite fairly aggressive sequenced beats at the beginning, ‘Always On My Mind’ is the least successful of the songs on Furthermore. The horn sound is, frankly, awful and the arrangement is virtually identical, just not as good. “Siri, give me an inferior version of Always On My Mind”. Pointless. The new version of ‘It’s A Sin‘ rather borrows from the original disco mix arrangement (a good thing) and the vocal sounds very similar. But again, it’s not different enough to justify its existence. Having listened to all these tracks a few times, I can’t see why I’d ever want to listen to them again. A better title for this bonus EP would have been Superfluous.
Nonetheless is out now, via Parlophone. The limited blu-ray with the exclusive slipcase and the 2CD edition are available via the SDE shop using this link or the buttons below. The slipcased edition is limited to 3,000 units (we’ve almost sold out).
Little Feat’s 1974 album Feats Don’t Fail Me Now will be reissued for its 50th anniversary, in June.
The long-player has been newly remastered and a new 3CD edition offers 12 outtakes/rarities on CD 2 (seven, previously unreleased) and a third disc featuring a previously unreleased live recording.
3CD set offers studio rarities and unreleased live performances
A 2LP vinyl set offers a pure analogue cut version of the album (AAA) and a bonus LP with the same 12 rarities from the CD set. There’s no live material included in the vinyl package.
Feats Don’t Fail Me Now will be released on 14 June 2024, via Rhino.
Rhino continue with their Joni MitchellArchives reissue programme with The Asylum Albums 1976-1980 which delves into Joni Mitchell’s jazz-inflected sound on her 1970’s studio albums.
5CD and 6LP 180g vinyl box sets offer newly remastered editions of Hejira (1976), Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter (1977) and Mingus (1979) – and the live album Shadows and Light (1980).
The Asylum Albums 1976-1980 – 5CD box set (click image to enlarge)
Famed bassist and composer — and long-time Mitchell collaborator — Jaco Pastorius appears prominently on each of the four albums in this set, alongside other noted jazz luminaries like Charles Mingus and Herbie Hancock.
These boxes are presented “with premium packaging” and feature abstract cover artwork from Mitchell’s private fine arts collection. Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter has a new front cover.
The Asylum Albums 1976-1980 is released on 21 June 2024, via Rhino.
Madnessare reissuing last year’s studio album Theatre of the Absurd presents C’est La Vie as a special four-disc deluxe edition and as a two-CD set.
The Nutty Boys’ 13th studio album was, amazingly, their first UK number one. It is now expanded with five brand new songs from the original studio sessions and seven unreleased live tracks recorded on last year’s tour.
The band’s shop has the deluxe set as an exclusive; it includes a 12-inch Zoetrope vinyl record, two CDs and a flexi-disc, packaged in large format bookset. Interestingly, the Zoetrope vinyl doesn’t feature the album, it hosts the five new tracks. Likewise, the flexidisc features the band’s cover of the Specials ‘Friday Night Saturday Morning’. All six of these songs are on the second CD.
Deluxe edition with Zoetrope vinyl, two CDs and a flexi-disc (click to enlarge)
If the deluxe, with its vinyl elements, is more than you need, then a 2CD casebound book edition looks decent and as mentioned above offers all of the audio found in the exclusive deluxe, across the two CDs.
Theatre of the Absurd presents C’est La Vie will be reissued on 28 June 2024, via BMG (was 7 June).
The Beatles and Disney have released a trailer for the newly restored version of Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s Let It Be film. This comes to streaming via Disney+ 8 May 2024.
Jonathan Cornell on the new 25th Anniversary Dolby Atmos mix
Moon Safari was French electronic duo Air’s debut studio album, originally released in January 1998 through Virgin Records. The album was a massive success, achieving a double-platinum certification from the RIAA in the UK and spawning the top-20 hit single ‘Sexy Boy’. Though core members Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel handle most of the instrumentation heard on the album, Moon Safari also features contributions from several outside musicians including American singer/songwriter Beth Hirsch and British composer David Whitaker.
Even though Air were a popular act signed to a major label in the early-2000s (when the industry-at-large began to heavily invest in 5.1 surround sound music), surprisingly neither Moon Safari nor its successors – 2000’s The Virgin Suicides and 2001’s 10,000 Hz Legend – received multichannel releases in Super Audio CD or DVD-Audio format.
The band would go on to finally embrace immersive audio in 2021, when a new Dolby Atmos mix of 10,000 Hz Legend was commissioned for the 20th anniversary 2CD+Blu-Ray reissue from Warner/Rhino. Air’s layered electronic soundscapes lend themselves perfectly to the format, and the mixing team of Bruce Keen (who engineered the original album back in 2001) and Gilas Lointer succeeded in delivering a demonstration-worthy immersive interpretation of the album.
To belatedly celebrate Moon Safari’s 25th anniversary, Keen and Lointer have once again been tasked with creating a Dolby Atmos mix from the original multitrack recordings. Though the Atmos mix has been available to stream since November 2023, the lossless Dolby TrueHD/Atmos audio presentation on the Blu-Ray disc is undoubtedly the best way for audiophiles to experience the album. Some may bemoan the lack of a dedicated DTS-HD 5.1 audio option (as was included on the 10,000 Hz Legend Blu-Ray), but I found that the Atmos mix translates very well to a traditional six-channel home theater setup.
As one might expect given the experimental nature of this music, the new Dolby Atmos mix makes creative use of all speakers to fully immerse the listener. Though main elements such as the rhythm section, lead vocals, and Dunckel’s Rhodes electric piano (the lead ‘voice’ on many of the instrumental tracks) typically appear assigned to the front stage, additional layers like the like backing vocals, synthesizers, percussion, and Whitaker’s gorgeous string arrangements often appear isolated in the surround or height channels.
The 25th anniversary edition features two CDs and a blu-ray audio with the Atmos Mix (click image to enlarge)
‘La Femme D’Argent’ opens with percussion traveling from rear-to-front as it fades in, giving way to the electric piano percolating largely from the front left speaker. A second synthesizer part soon appears centered in the rear speakers, hovering directly behind the listener’s head.
Bass synth fills up the side surrounds for ‘Sexy Boy‘, with the cymbal wash traveling overhead. Sequencers pulsate all around the room to very entertaining effect, while the different female vocal harmonies are divided between the top and bottom array.
From there, we move into ‘All I Need‘ – the first of two songs to feature Beth Hirsch’ vocals. After a synth pan from front-to-rear, Hirsch’s voice enters from the front ‘phantom’ centre along with an acoustic guitar in front right. Backing vocals (“all in all, there’s something to give…”) predictably answer from behind. There’s a particularly great moment at around the three-minute mark where the electronic piano in the front right speaker emits its delay diagonally to the side left channel, giving way to the wah-wah bass synth sound rising from the rears up into the height array and back around again.
Synth and electric piano alternate front-to-back for ‘Kelly Watch The Stars‘, while laser-like synth effects fly past the listener. Bells chime overhead, with more piano popping up in the side left speaker and the vocoder-processed vocals switching to the sides just before the end. ‘Talisman‘ introduces David Whitaker’s strings, which sound absolutely incredibly spread between the front and side surround speakers.
Dunckel’s Rhodes piano moves to the sides for ‘Remember‘, with the distorted drums dominating the front stage. The vocoder vocals switch off between the fronts and front heights, while strings fade in from the rear and shakers appear overhead. Hirsch then returns in ‘You Make It Easy‘ again featuring piano largely in the sides and showcasing the strings from all around.
Brass highlights trade off right-to-left upfront throughout ‘Ce Matin-La‘, with the sonar-like synthesizer sound echoing all over the listening space. Acoustic guitar fills the front channels for ‘New Star’ while the vocoder alternates between the front and rear height speakers. Moon Safari then concludes with the atmospheric ‘Le Voyage De Pénélope‘, where the lead synth amusingly hops between the centre speaker, sides, rears, and tops. Piano again fills in from the sides, with handclaps in the rear and organ overhead.
The Blu-Ray disc additionally contains a bonus orchestral mix of ‘Remember’ (the ‘David Whitaker version’), which isn’t available to stream in Dolby Atmos. For two-channel listeners, the package also includes a 192 kHz/24 bit rendering of the original 1998 stereo mix. Overall, this packed-yet-inexpensive reissue comes highly recommended to fans of Air and immersive music.
Review by Jonathan Cornell for SDE. Read more of Jonathan’s reviews at ImmersiveAudioAlbum.com.
The 25th anniversary 2CD+blu-ray edition Moon Safari is out now via Rhino. It is available via the SDE shop. Use this link or the button below.
Tracklisting
Moon SafariAir /
CD 1
La femme d’argent
Sexy Boy
All I Need (feat. Beth Hirsch)
Kelly Watch the Stars
Talisman
Remember
You Make It Easy (feat. Beth Hirsch)
Ce matin là
New Star in the Sky (Chanson pour Solal)
Le voyage de Pénélope
CD 2
Neneh Cherry – ‘Kootchi’ (Air Remix)
Crustation – ‘Purple’ (La Femme D’argent Mix)
Dirty Hiroshima (Demo)
New Star in the Sky (Demo)
Ce Matin Lá (Demo)
Maggot Brain (Live)
J’ai Dormi Sous L’eau (BBC live session)
Sexy Boy (BBC live session)
Kelly Watch The Stars (BBC live session)
Kelly Watch The Stars (Extended Version)
Remember (David Whitaker Version)
Blu-ray
“Moon Safari” Dolby Atmos Album
La femme d’argent
Sexy Boy
All I Need (feat. Beth Hirsch)
Kelly Watch the Stars
Talisman
Remember
You Make It Easy (feat. Beth Hirsch)
Ce matin là
New Star in the Sky (Chanson pour Solal)
Le voyage de Pénélope
Bonus track
Remember (David Whitaker Version)
Official Videos in HD
Sexy Boy
Kelly Watch The Stars
All I Need
Le Soleil Est Prés De Moi
Eating Sleeping, Waiting and Playing – Documentary by director Mike Mills
This is a 4CD box set featuring the “definitive post-Motown collection” of the legendary song-writing trio Holland-Dozier-Holland. Features 68 tracks taken from the period 1969-1977 when the trio had started their group of labels; Hot Wax, Invictus And Music Merchant. Stuart Cosgrove offers extensive sleeve notes. There’s a 4LP vinyl edition, too.
Belinda Carlisle / Decades Vol 3: Cornucopia deluxe 4CD set
Quite a satisfying collection of Belinda Carlisle seven-inch versions, contributions to soundtracks, B-sides, new recordings and more, from across more than 35 years.
Compare prices and pre-order
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Carlisle: Decades Volume 3: Cornucopia (4CD Media Book Set)
If there is one criticism of the never-ending series of Now That’s What I Call MusicYearbooks, especially those focused on the 1980s, it’s that haven’t we seen all this before? ‘Hits’ are, by definition, very popular songs, and therefore it’s no surprise that those songs constantly find their way onto compilations and can sometimes get dulled by familiarity.
Perhaps with that view in mind, the NOW team have done something a bit different. They are releasing a collection of songs from 1983 under a new ‘Vault‘ moniker. What makes this different is that while there is still loads of familiar artists, the songs are “lesser compiled tracks”. Numbers that were Top 40 hits (but maybe not massive hits), some that missed the chart completely, and some that were huge in the US but not in the UK.
Not a bad idea, and while we wait to see if this becomes a fully-fledged series, you can now take a look at this 1983 edition and see what you think.
CD 1 kicks off with a run of lesser heralded numbers from established artists Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Blancmange, Gary Numan and Talk Talk, alongside some of 1983’s newer bands such as The Lotus Eaters, H20, Freur – who would later become Underworld – and After The Fire with ‘Der Kommissar’. Japan feature with a live instrumental ‘Canton’ (from their final tour) and electronic club tracks are provided by and Yello, Divine, Rockers Revenge and Freeez. Early Level 42 and Animal Nightlife also feature along with Joe Jackson, although it’s not ‘Steppin’ Out’ but the follow-up single ‘Breaking Us In Two’ (a #59 ‘hit’) that is included!
The second disc includes indie-pop fare in the shape of Bauhaus, Marc And The Mambas, The Stranglers, The Glove, The B-52’s and Wall Of Voodoo before indulging in some pure pop from Kim Wilde, Adam Ant, Bow Wow Wow, Altered Images, The Belle Stars and The Bluebells. XTC’s brilliant ‘Love On A Farmboy’s Wages’ (a #50 hit from 1983’s Mummer) also features.
The 3LP red vinyl version of Vault ’83 features 45 tracks
Billy Joel opens CD 3 with ‘Goodnight Saigon’, and is joined by Bonnie Tyler, ELO, Lionel Richie, Robert Palmer, Mike Oldfield, The Kinks, Olivia Newton-John and Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton‘s ‘We’ve Got Tonite’, originally by Bob Seger. This disc concludes with ‘Lady Lady’ by Giorgio Moroder & Joe Esposito, taken from the soundtrack of one of 1983’s biggest movies, Flashdance.
The final disc focuses on singles that found chart success in the U.S., opening with Culture Club’s ‘I’ll Tumble 4 Ya’, a single that – surprisingly – wasn’t released in the UK. We then have a sequence of tracks that were all U.S. New-Wave hits led by the collaboration between Sparks and the Go-Go’s Jane Wiedlin, The Romantics, The Fixx, The Motels, Modern English, Missing Persons and Naked Eyes. This CD ends with three ballads from Daryl Hall & John Oates, Toto, and ‘It Might Be You’, the theme from another smash hit film, ‘Tootsie’.
Like the ‘proper’ Yearbooks, this is available via a deluxe 4CD hardcover book edition, a 3LP coloured vinyl set (45 tracks, rather than 80) and then a standard 4CD version in a card sleeve.
NOW Yearbook – The Vault: 1983 will be released on 31 May 2024. Scroll down for full tracklisting. What do you think of this Vault idea? Leave thoughts in comments!
New studio album • Blu-ray with Atmos, hi-res stereo and 4 bonus tracks
David Gilmour will release a new studio album called Luck and Strange in September.
The guitarist and songwriter’s fifth solo long-player was recorded over five months in Brighton and London and is Gilmour’s first album of new material in nine years. David co-produced with ALT-J’s Charlie Andrew and Marika Hackman, with lyrics mostly written by Polly Samson.
Of this new working relationship, David says, “We invited Charlie to the house, so he came and listened to some demos, and said things like, “Well, why does there have to be a guitar solo there?” and “Do they all fade out? Can’t some of them just end?”. He has a wonderful lack of knowledge or respect for this past of mine. He’s very direct and not in any way overawed, and I love that. That is just so good for me because the last thing you want is people just deferring to you.”
Musicians contributing to the record include Guy Pratt and Tom Herbert on bass; Adam Betts, Steve Gadd and Steve DiStanislao on drums; Rob Gentry and Roger Eno on keyboards; and the string and choral arrangements are by Will Gardner.
Blu-ray Audio edition features a Dolby Atmos Mix, hi-res 96/24 stereo and 4 bonus tracks. Pre-order via SDE.
The album features eight new tracks along with a beautiful reworking of The Montgolfier Brothers’ ‘Between Two Points’, which sees Romany Gilmour, who performs backing vocals across the album, on vocals and harp (listen to the original version of this song, here). The title track also features the late Pink Floyd keyboard player Richard Wright, recorded in 2007 during a ‘Barn Jam’ at David’s house.
The album is available on vinyl, CD with two extra tracks and a blu-ray audio with four bonus tracks. All 13 tracks on the blu-ray are available in Dolby Atmos and 96/24 hi-res stereo.
The album’s cover image, photographed and designed by renowned artist Anton Corbijn, is inspired by lyrics written by Charlie Gilmour for the album’s final song ‘Scattered’.
Luck and Strange will be released on 6 September 2024 via Sony Music. The blu-ray and vinyl and blu-ray bundles are available via the SDE shop using this link or the buttons below.
Paul McCartney loves a ‘project’ and in August 1974, when Band on the Run was enjoying a seven-week run at the top of the UK album charts, he and Wings headed to Abbey Road Studios for some filming and live-in-the-studio sessions, with a vague idea of turning it into something. A documentary film perhaps? Possibly a live studio album? Like some of Paul’s ideas (Bruce McMouse, anyone?) it came to nothing, but these sessions did acquire a name: One Hand Clapping. 50 years after the event, they are being released for (almost) the first time, via three different audio formats.
David Litchfield had filmed and recorded (over four days) a new Wings line-up, which featured Paul, Linda, Denny Laine, guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and (short-lived) drummer Geoff Britton. Orchestral arranger Del Newman and saxophonist Howie Casey, were also present to contribute.
2CD edition of One Hand Clapping (click to enlarge)
The sessions were a mixture of recent hits, such as ‘Live and Let Die’, ‘Band on the Run’, ‘Jet’, ‘Junior’s Farm’, ‘My Love’ and a bit of dipping back into the past for some Beatles classics (‘Let It Be’, ‘The Long and Winding Road’ and ‘Lady Madonna’). Denny Laine sings the Moody Blues’ ‘Go Now’ and Paul also revisits ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ from 1970’s McCartney. There’s also some messing around as Paul tackles the Harry Akst/Benny Davis Tin Pan Alley classic ‘Baby Face’ and dabbles with ‘I’ll Give You A Ring’, a McCartney original that would not see the light of day until a re-recording appeared as the B-side to 1982 single ‘Take It Away’.
The reason this is almost the first release of this material is because tracks from it have surfaced, here and there, over the years. The One Hand Clapping performance of ‘Live and Let Die’ was issued over 20 years ago on the soundtrack to Andrew Fleming’s 2003 film The In-Laws. Also, when Paul started his Archive Collection series in 2010, with Band on the Run, One Hand Clapping was mined as a source of bonus material to help fill out the deluxe editions. For example, six performances were on the Band on the Run bonus CD (2010), one on the McCartney bonus CD (2011) and both DVDs with those packages included One Hand Clapping footage. The latter point begs the question, why do the formats for this reissue include no video at all? Very strange, considering a TV sales brochure for the unreleased film was created at the time!
The D2C-only 2LP+7″ version of One Hand Clapping (click image to enlarge)
One Hand Clapping will be issued as a 2CD set and a 2LP vinyl set, both of which will be widely available later this week. A special 2LP+7″ version is only orderable via McCartney/Universal Music channels where the seven-inch single includes exclusive solo performances recorded on the final day of the sessions in the backyard of Abbey Road studios: These include the unreleased track ‘Blackpool’ (a version of which was lined up to be B-side to the cancelled 1983 single ‘The Man’), ‘Blackbird’ and cover versions of Eddie Cochran’s Twenty Flight Rock and Buddy Holly’s ‘Peggy Sue’ and ‘I’m Gonna Love You Too’.
This exclusive audio from the seven-inch is not being made available on CD or streaming. Also, there will be a Dolby Atmos Mix of One Hand Clapping (by Giles Martin and Steve Orchard) but, as usual, no physical release from McCartney…
One Hand Clapping will be released on 14 June 2024 via Capitol/UMe.
Swedish rock band The Cardigans have a new compilation of B-sides/rarities in the pipeline for release later this year.
Formed in 1992, the group – gutarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson – released six albums between 1994 and 2005, enjoying significant international success in the mid-to-late nineties with their First Band on the Moon and Gran Turismo albums and singles ‘Lovefool’, ‘Erase/Rewind’ and ‘My Favourite Game’. Their 2003 longplayer, Long Gone Before Daylight, is a forgotten masterpiece.
Confirmed by the band on their Facebook page, two 2LP sets – with the working title The Rest of the Best – will offer B-sides and rarities and the group are already checking test pressings. The good news for compact disc fans is these compilations will also be available on CD. Yay!
Aside from collecting the original singles, thus far, the only way to obtain any Cardigans rarities on CD was to either seek out the Japanese/Australian compilation called The Other Side of The Moon (1997) or to purchase the deluxe edition of The Cardigans Best Of from 2008, which featured a bonus CD of B-sides and the like.
More news on this new compilation, when we get it! Discogs have the test pressings listed, so, assuming these are accurate, you can check out the track listings below.
Tracklisting
The Rest of the Best Vol 1 (working title)The Cardigans/
Side A
Pooh Song
I Figured Out (Demo ’93)
After All… (Demo ’93)
Plain Parade
Laika
The Boys Are Back In Town
Mr. Crowley
Side B
Rise & Shine (UK Life Version)
Carnival (Puck Version)
Happy Meal I
Nasty Sunny Beam
Iron Man (First Try)
Emmerdale
LP 2
Side C
Blah Blah Blah
Losers (First Try)
Lovefool (Puck Version)
Country Hell
Great Divide (Demo ’96)
Side D
War (First Try)
Cocktail Party Bloody Cocktail Party
Tracklisting
The Rest of the Best Vol 2 (working title)The Cardigans/
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