Midge Ure’s 1985 album The Gift will be reissued as a 4CD deluxe edition and 2LP expanded vinyl edition in September.
His solo debut was recorded during a break with Ultravox and at the time while he was busy with Bob Geldof with the Band Aid/Live Aid initiatives. The first single, ‘If I Was’, was a big success, reaching No 1 on the UK singles chart. Two further 45s (‘That Certain Smile’ and ‘Wastelands’) were minor hits.
The 4CD ‘mediabook’ deluxe edition offers the remastered album, B-sides, single versions and extended mixes, unheard sessions and early versions and an unreleased 1985 live concert. It includes notes by John Earls. The expanded 2LP edition comes with an OBI-strip and adds an LP of extended versions.
As no doubt you’ll now already be aware, Irish singer and musician Sinéad O’Connor has died at the young age of 56.
She released 10 albums in her lifetime, starting with 1987’s The Lion and the Cobra (which featured her first UK hit ‘Mandinka’) although it was her second album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got that catapulted her into superstardom for a short period in the early ’90s thanks to her astonishing cover of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’. The album and the single went to No 1 virtually everywhere.
Her last album, was 2014’s I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss although No Veteran Dies Alone was due for release in 2022 until she cancelled all activities after the tragic death of her 17-year-old son Shane, in January of that year.
This post is for you to leave your thoughts and tributes to Sinéad O’Conner. Rest in Peace.
An album featuring a selection of songs performed by live by Peter Frampton at the Royal Albert Hall will be issued in September.
The nine tracks are culled from his show in West London, in November 2022, (SDE was there) which featured performances with his long standing band of Rob Arthur, Adam Lester, Dan Wojciechowski, and Steve Mackey.
Tracks include ‘Show Me the Way’, ‘Baby, I Love Your Way’, ‘Do You Feel Like We Do?’ and more. The evening was filmed (suggesting a future concert DVD or blu-ray, perhaps) but for now we get this new CD edition (there’s no vinyl).
Peter Frampton At Royal Albert Hall will be released on 1 September 2023 via UMR/Island.
Neil Young/Official Release Series Volume 5CD, Vinyl
Neil Young continues his occasional Official Release Series box sets with a new volume (No 5) which brings together four albums released in the late ’80s/early 90s.
First album of new material from Dexys since 2012’s One Day I’m Going to Soar. The Feminine Divine features the single ‘I’m Going To Get Free’ and has been produced by Pete Schwier and producer Toby Chapman.
Various Artists / Come Together: Adventures on the Indie Dancefloor 1989-1992
4CD box set that celebrates the Madchester/baggy scene and indie dance. If features the likes of The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, The Charlatans etc. and also includes some extended mixes!
Compare prices and pre-order
VARIOUS ARTISTS
COME TOGETHER - ADVENTURES ON THE INDIE DANCEFLOOR 1989-1992 4CD CLAMSHELL BOX
The influence that gay nightlife had on electronic music and pop music in the 1980s general is explored in a new various artists collection called Box of Sin.
The period from 1980 to 1990 saw an explosion of dance music that drew a line from the peak of late-70s disco to the emergence of house in the early ’90s.
The 4LP version of Box of Sin (click image to enlarge)
Box Of Sin strives to tell the story of that decade across 5CDs or 4LPs with a collection of original 12-inch mixes that takes in high energy, deep house, eurobeat, synth-pop, acid house and more. Artists including Hazell Dean, Taylor Dean, Whitney Houston, Dead Or Alive, Bronski Beat, Bananarama, Boy George, Big Fun, Aretha Franklin, Inner City and more.
The 5CD edition offers 54 tracks in total, although the 4LP variant delivers just 24, mainly because these are largely long extended mixes! Full tracklistings for both editions can be found below.
Box of Sin will be released on 29 September 2023 via Demon Music.
Word was already out that he had done this, but to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Pink Floyd’sThe Dark Side Of The MoonRoger Waters has officially announced The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux, his homage to the original.
Waters says ‘when we recorded the stripped down songs for the Lockdown Sessions, the 50th anniversary of the release of The Dark Side Of The Moon was looming on the horizon. It occurred to me that The Dark Side Of The Moon could well be a suitable candidate for a similar re-working, partly as a tribute to the original work, but also to re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album. I discussed it with Gus and Sean, and when we’d stopped giggling and shouting ‘You must be fucking mad’ at one another we decided to take it on. It’s turned out really great and I’m excited for everyone to hear it. It’s not a replacement for the original which, obviously, is irreplaceable. But it is a way for the seventy nine year old man to look back across the intervening fifty years into the eyes of the twenty nine year old and say, to quote a poem of mine about my Father, “We did our best, we kept his trust, our Dad would have been proud of us”. And also it is a way for me to honor a recording that Nick and Rick and Dave and I have every right to be very proud of.’
‘Money’ from The Dark Side of the Moon Redux
Earlier this year, SDE was at the Dolby Atmos playback of the original version of The Dark Side of the Moon, when broadcaster Paul Gambaccini asked Nick Mason what he thought of Roger’s new version. “Annoyingly, it’s absolutely brilliant” came the answer.
The album is available on CD and vinyl and there’s an Amazon-exclusive 2LP violet vinyl, an indie-only blue vinyl edition and JPC in Germany have a white vinyl version. Roger’s Official Global D2C Shop has an exclusive transparent orange vinyl edition, bundles with exclusive numbered prints and standard CD and vinyl editions.
The Dark Side of the Moon Redux will be released on 6 October 2023, via Cooking Vinyl.
The first two NOW Yearbooks – ’83 and ’84 – sold out rather quickly back in 2021, especially the limited vinyl and deluxe hardcover book editions. The 3LP red vinyl of ’83 has been selling on eBay for as much as £300 in recent months!
If you missed out, the good news is that the vinyl is now available again as a 3LP black vinyl edition and the 4CD set is also back in deluxe hardcover book edition. This is the case for both NOW Yearbook ’83 and NOW Yearbook ’84.
Full tracklistings for both can be found below and these will both be (re)released on 18 August 2023.
A 1977 live performance from Fleetwood Mac is being officially released in September.
Rumours Live captures the energy and excitement of the band’s opening night at The Forum on 29 August 1977. The nearly 90-minute performance includes live versions of most of the songs from the just released Rumours and Fleetwood Mac, the group’s No. 1 album from 1975.
Apart from ‘Gold Dust Woman’ (which appeared on the 2020 deluxe collection Live), nothing from this show has ever been officially released before. Rumours Live will be available as a 2CD set or on a 2LP 180g vinyl gatefold edition (with th lacquers cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering). There’s a limited clear vinyl version of indie retail.
Rumours Live will be issued on 8 September 2023 via Rhino.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood frontman Holly Johnson’s debut solo album Blast is being reissued in special red vinyl and red cassette formats to mark the 35th anniversary (due in April next year). Both are available signed from the Official Holly Johnson Shop (update: signed itemsw now sold out)
The album was very successful reaching number one on the UK album charts and delivering two top 10 hit singles in ‘Love Train’ and ‘Americanos’ (Atomic City was also a top 20 hit). The album was reissued as a 2CD+DVD set back in 2010 but has been out-of-print for a while.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba0Ha1PPq2E
Speaking about the album today, Holly calls this reissue “Blast in a Nutshell – My exploding red hot vinyl, from the fag end of the nineteen eighties. It’s not purple, but it’s mine all mine. Thirty-five years in the same house, the vibes are still here. Still alive in 2023.”
The red vinyl with a signed print of the album cover has now sold out, but you can still get the vinyl. There’s various bundles available with T-shirts, Tote Bags etc.
Blast will be reissued on these two special formats on 29 September 2023.
Produced by Tony Visconti is a new multi-disc box set available on CD and vinyl that spans the producer’s six decades and features famous material from David Bowie, T.Rex, U2, Joe Cocker and many more, alongside lesser-known gems from the likes of The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Thin Lizzy, The Radiators, Zaine Griff, Gentle Giant, Manic Street Preachers and more from Tony’s fifty years of production credits.
In total, there’s 77 tracks on the 4CD box set edition, curated by Visconti himself. The 6LP vinyl variant delivers 60 tracks and there’s also a 2LP vinyl highlights which offers 14 songs.
Of the set, Tony says, “This boxset covers five and a half decades of my efforts in the art of making iconic recordings. Some of it is familiar and some will have a eureka moment, ‘I didn’t know Visconti produced that one!’”
The limited edition 4CD deluxe signed by Tony Visconti (click to enlarge)
The 4CD set is housed in a deluxe 80-page casebound book and the 6LP set is housed in a deluxe slipcase with a 60-page (12″ x 12″) booklet, with previously unseen photographs, an introduction by Tony, extensive notes by Mark Paytress (including track-by-track commentaries by Tony), and tributes from a selection of featured artists. The artwork has been handled by Studio Barnbrook.
The 4CD and 6LP packages are available in limited quantity signed by Tony Visconti. For clarity ALL the 6LP vinyl editions come with a signed print, while the 4CD version is only signed via Tony Visconti’s Official Shop. There’s also standard (unsigned) 4CD and 2LP options.
All the 6LP vinyl deluxe box sets come with a signed print (click image to enlarge)
The audio for the sets has been mastered by Phil Kinrade at AIR Mastering and personally approved by Tony. Full track listings are below. In case you are wondering, David Bowie is missing from the vinyl editions thanks to licensing restrictions (yep, someone made up that rule).
Produced by Tony Visconti will be released by Demon Music on 20 October 2023.
The Who’s 1971 studio album, Who’s Next, is subject of a major reissue campaign in September and will be re-released across a massive number of physical formats, including a 10CD+blu-ray super deluxe edition box set.
The band’s fifth album emerged from the ashes of a project called Lifehouse, an ambitious multi-media rock opera conceived by Pete Townshend in 1969, but ultimately aborted. Who’s Next features some of The Who’s best known songs, including ‘Baba O’Riley’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’.
All the audio has been remastered from the original tapes by longtime Who engineer Jon Astley and there are at least EIGHT different physical formats of Who’s Next and, naturally, the 10CD+blu-ray super deluxeedition box set offers the most content; in total 155 audio tracks with 89 unreleased tracks/mixes and of the previously released tracks, 57 of them are newly remixed. The blu-ray features a Steven Wilson Dolby Atmos Mix (of the album and 14 bonus tracks).
Highlights include Townshend’s demos for Life House; The Who’s 1971 session recordings at the Record Plant in New York; sessions at Olympic Studios in southwest London from 1970-1972; and, for the first time, two newly mixed and complete 1971 concerts from London’s Young Vic Theatre and San Francisco’s Civic Auditorium.
Here’s an overview of what’s on which disc:
Who’s Next box set summary:
Disc 1: CD: Who’s Next (Remastered)
Disc 2: CD: Pete Townshend’s Life House Demos 1970 – 1971 – Part 1
Disc 3: CD: Pete Townshend’s Life House Demos 1970 – 1971 – Part 2
Disc 4: CD: Record Plant, New York Sessions, March 1971
Disc 7: Live at the Young Vic, London 1971 – Part 1
Disc 8: Live at the Young Vic, London 1971 – Part 2
Disc 9: Live at the Civic Auditorium, San Francisco 1971 – Part 1
Disc 10: Live at the Civic Auditorium, San Francisco 1971 – Part 2
Disc 11: BLU RAY: Who’s Next & 14 Bonus Tracks: Steven Wilson Mixes Atmos / 5.1 Mix / Stereo
The Who’s Next 10CD+blu-ray super deluxe edition box set (click to enlarge)
As pictured above, the box set edition includes a 100-page hardcover book which features an introduction by Pete Townshend and new notes by Who experts Andy Neil and Matt Kent. Also included is Life House – The Graphic Novel, a newly commissioned, 170-page hardback book overseen by Townshend that tells the story behind the project. Completing the set are a 20” x 30” poster of a Who gig in Sunderland, England, on 7 May, 1970; a 25” x 34” poster of a date at Denver Coliseum, Denver, CO on 10th December, 1971; a 20-page concert program from the Rainbow Theatre in London on 4th November, 1971; a 16-page program from the band’s October/November 1971 tour of the UK; a collectible four pin button set; and an 8” x 10” colour photo of The Who with printed autographs.
In addition to the big box set, the Who’s Next reissue will be available on 4LP (live at San Francisco), 3LP (demos) and single LP editions. There are various single LP versions including a black half-speed mastered edition and exclusive coloured vinyl editions. There’s also a 2CD set with the second disc offering highlights of ‘Sessions, Demos, Singles & Live’ and a humble single remastered CD, in a jewel case, with the 9 album tracks.
All formats of the Who’s Next reissue will be released on 15 September 2023 via UMR.
CD 2: PETE TOWNSHEND’S LIFE HOUSE DEMOS 1970 – 1971 – PART 1
Teenage Wasteland (Demo)*
Too Much (Demo) *
Going Mobile (Demo)*
There’s A Fortune in Those Hills (Demo)*
Love Ain’t For Keeping (Demo)*
Bargain (Demo)*
Greyhound Girl (Demo)*
Mary (Alternate Mix) (Demo)**
Behind Blue Eyes (Demo)*
Time Is Passing (Demo)*
Finally, Over (Demo)**
Baba O’Riley (Original Demo)**
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased tracks
CD 3: PETE TOWNSHEND’S LIFE HOUSE DEMOS 1970 – 1971 – PART 2
Pure And Easy (Home Studio Mix) (Demo)*
Getting In Tune (Alternate Mix) (Demo)**
Nothing Is Everything (Let’s See Action) (Demo)*
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Demo)*
Baba O’Riley (Demo)*
Song Is Over (2021 Remix) (Demo)**
Pure And Easy (Olympic Studios Mix) (Demo)**
Mary (Original Mix) (Demo)*
Baba O’Riley (First Editing Demo)**
Song Is Over (Original Demo)*
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased tracks
CD 4: RECORD PLANT, NYC SESSIONS MARCH 1971
Don’t Do It (aka Baby Don’t You Do It) [Take 2, Unedited, March 16, 1971]**
Won’t Get Fooled Again [Take 13, March 16, 1971]*
Behind Blue Eyes (Version 1) [Take 15, March 16, 1971]**
Love Ain’t For Keeping [Take 14, March 17, 1971]*
The Note (aka Pure and Easy) [Take 21, March 17, 1971]*
I’m In Tune (aka Getting in Tune) [Take 6, March 18, 1971*
Behind Blue Eyes (Version 2) [Take 10, March 18, 1971}*
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased tracks
CD 5: OLYMPIC SOUND STUDIOS, LONDON SESSIONS 1970-72
Pure And Easy*
I Don’t Know Myself [B-side with Unreleased Count-in]
Time Is Passing [Stereo Mix]**
Too Much of Anything [Original 1971 Vocal]**
Naked Eye [1971 Remake]**
Bargain (Early Mix)**
Love Ain’t For Keeping (Unedited Mix)**
My Wife (Unedited Mix)**
Getting In Tune (Take 1 with Jam)**
Going Mobile (Alternate Mix)**
Song Is Over (Backing Track) [with Nicky Hopkins]**
When I Was a Boy**
Let’s See Action (Unedited Mix)**
Relay (Unedited Mix) [Alternate Vocal]**
Put The Money Down [Remix with Original Vocal]*
Join Together [Unedited Remix]**
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased tracks
CD 6: SINGLES & SESSIONS 1970-72
The Seeker (Original Single Mix)
Here For More [Original Single Mix]
Heaven And Hell [New Stereo Mix]**
Water [Eel Pie Sound Studio – New Unedited Mix]**
I Don’t Know Myself [Eel Pie Sound Studio – New Unedited Mix]**
Naked Eye [Eel Pie Sound Studio – New Unedited Mix]**
Postcard [Eel Pie Sound Studio – Original 1970 Mix]**
Now I’m A Farmer [Eel Pie Sound Studio – New Remix]**
The Seeker (Unedited Version)**
Water (IBC Version)**
I Don’t Know Myself (IBC Version)**
Let’s See Action (Original Single Mix)
When I Was a Boy (Original Single Mix)
Join Together (Original Single Mix)
Relay (Original Single Mix)
Waspman (Original Single Mix)
Long Live Rock (Original Olympic Mix)
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased tracks
CD 7: LIVE AT THE YOUNG VIC, LONDON – APRIL 26, 1971
Love Ain’t for Keeping*
Pure And Easy*
Young Man Blues*
Time Is Passing*
Behind Blue Eyes*
I Don’t Even Know Myself*
Too Much of Anything*
Getting In Tune*
Bargain*
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased tracks
CD 8: LIVE AT THE YOUNG VIC, LONDON – APRIL 26, 1971
Pinball Wizard**
See Me, Feel Me**
Baby Don’t You Do It*
Water*
My Generation*
(I’m A) Road Runner*
Naked Eye*
Bony Moronie*
Won’t Get Fooled Again*
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased tracks
CD 9: LIVE AT THE CIVIC AUDITORIUM, SAN FRANCISCO – DECEMBER 12, 1971
Introduction**
I Can’t Explain*
Substitute*
Summertime Blues**
My Wife*
Baba O’Riley**
Behind Blue Eyes*
Bargain*
Won’t Get Fooled Again**
Baby Don’t You Do It*
Magic Bus**
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased tracks
CD 10: LIVE AT THE CIVIC AUDITORIUM, SAN FRANCISCO – DECEMBER 12, 1971
Introduction To Tommy**
Overture**
Amazing Journey**
Sparks**
Pinball Wizard**
See Me Feel Me**
My Generation**
Naked Eye*
Going Down*
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased tracks
Blu-ray Audio
Steven Wilson Atmos Mix (48kHz 24-bit)**
Steven Wilson 5.1 Mix (96kHz 24-bit)**
Steven Wilson Stereo Mix (96kHz 24-bit)*
Original 1971 Stereo Mix (96kHz 24-bit)
Baba O’Riley
Bargain
Love Ain’t For Keeping
My Wife
The Song Is Over
Getting In Tune
Going Mobile
Behind Blue Eyes
Won’t Get Fooled Again
Bonus Tracks: Steven Wilson Atmos Mix (48kHz 24-bit) & Steven Wilson 5.1 Mix (96kHz 24-bit), Steven Wilson Stereo Mix (96kHz 24-bit)*
The Seeker (Unedited Version)**
Here For More*
Now I’m A Farmer**
I Don’t Know Myself (Eel Pie Sound Version)**
Water (IBC Version)**
Naked Eye (Olympic Sound Version)**
Pure And Easy**
Too Much of Anything**
Let’s See Action**
When I Was a Boy**
Join Together (Unedited Version)**
Put The Money Down**
Relay (Unedited Version)**
Long Live Rock**
Tracklisting
Who’s NextThe Who/
CD 1: Who’s Next (remastered)
Baba O’Riley
Bargain
Love Ain’t For Keeping
My Wife
The Song Is Over
Getting In Tune
Going Mobile
Behind Blue Eyes
Won’t Get Fooled Again
CD 2: Bonus Tracks
Behind Blue Eyes (Record Plant, NYC Sessions – Version
[Take 15, March 16, 1971]**
Getting In Tune (Alternate Mix) (Life House Demo)**
Mary (Alternate Mix) (Life House Demo)**
Love Ain’t For Keeping (Record Plant, NYC Sessions) [Take 14, March 17, 1971]*
Pure And Easy (Olympic Studios Mix) (Life House Demo)**
I Don’t Know Myself [Eel Pie Sound Studio – New Unedited Mix]**
Too Much of Anything [Original 1971 Vocal]**
Time Is Passing (Live at the Young Vic, London – April 26, 1971)*
Bargain (Live at the Young Vic, London – April 26, 1971)*
My Wife (Live at the Civic Auditorium, San Francisco – December 12, 1971)*
Baba O’Riley (Live at the Civic Auditorium, San Francisco – December 12, 1971)**
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Live at the Civic Auditorium, San Francisco – December 12, 1971)**
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased
Tracklisting
Who’s NextThe Who/WHO’S NEXT / SAN FRANCISCO 1971 4LP
LP 1: Who’s Next (remastered)
SIDE A
Baba O’Riley
Bargain
Love Ain’t For Keeping
My Wife
The Song Is Over
SIDE B
Getting In Tune
Going Mobile
Behind Blue Eyes
Won’t Get Fooled Again
LP 2: LIVE AT THE CIVIC AUDITORIUM, SAN FRANCISCO – DECEMBER 12, 1971
SIDE C
Introduction**
I Can’t Explain*
Substitute*
Summertime Blues**
My Wife*
Baba O’Riley**
SIDE D
Behind Blue Eyes*
Bargain*
Won’t Get Fooled Again**
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased
LP 3: LIVE AT THE CIVIC AUDITORIUM, SAN FRANCISCO – DECEMBER 12, 1971
SIDE E
Baby Don’t You Do It*
Magic Bus**
SIDE F
Introduction To Tommy**
Overture**
Amazing Journey**
Sparks**
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased
LP 4: LIVE AT THE CIVIC AUDITORIUM, SAN FRANCISCO – DECEMBER 12, 1971
SIDE G
Pinball Wizard**
See Me Feel Me**
My Generation**
SIDE H
Naked Eye*
Going Down*
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased
Tracklisting
Who’s NextThe Who/WHO’S NEXT / PETE TOWNSHEND’S LIFE HOUSE ACETATES – VINYL REPLICA 3LP
LP 1: Who’s Next (remastered)
SIDE A
Baba O’Riley
Bargain
Love Ain’t For Keeping
My Wife
The Song Is Over
SIDE B
Getting In Tune
Going Mobile
Behind Blue Eyes
Won’t Get Fooled Again
LP 2: PETE TOWNSHEND’S LIFE HOUSE ACETATES – VINYL REPLICA
SIDE C
Pure And Easy (Home Studio Mix) (Demo)*
Behind Blue Eyes (Demo)*
Love Ain’t For Keeping (Demo)*
Mary (Original Mix) (Demo)*
SIDE D
Getting In Tune (Alternate Mix) (Demo)**
Going Mobile (Demo)*
Too Much (Demo)*
Time Is Passing (Demo)*
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased
LP 3: PETE TOWNSHEND’S LIFE HOUSE ACETATES – VINYL REPLICA
SIDE E
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Demo)*
Song Is Over (Original Demo)*
SIDE F
Baba O’Riley (Original Demo)**
* Previously released with new remix
** Previously unreleased
Blur release a brand new studio album, their first for eight years. A blu-ray audio version (with Dolby Atmos Mix) was confirmed late and can be ordered via the SDE shop.
Gentle Giant’s 1976 album Interview is reissued as a CD+blu-ray set. The latter has Steven Wilson Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and stereo mixes accompanied by custom animated visuals for each track. The original 1976 quad mix and an instrumental mix is also included.
The five albums Tom Waits made for Island Records, released between 1983 and 1993, have been remastered and are being prepared for reissue in the autumn of this year.
Waits was on a new label and followed a new musical path for the albums Swordfishtrombones (1983), Rain Dogs (1985), Franks Wild Years (1987), Bone Machine (1992) and The Black Rider (1993). The first three formed a loose trilogy and were some of the most acclaimed records of Waits’ career and exhibited a more abstract, kaleidoscopic, experimental approach to writing and recording. In the early ’90s the material got darker, denser and before becoming an album of songs, 1993’s The Black Rider was actually a play where Waits collaborated with William S. Burroughs and director Robert Wilson (Waits would work with Wilson again on the Alice play of 1992 although it took a decade for the album to see the light of day).
‘Frank’s Wild Years’ is a song (somewhat confusingly) on 1983’s Swordfishtrombones
This was a fertile period, and as ever, Tom Waits’ excellent songs offered material to other performers. To that end, ‘Soldier’s Things’ from Swordfishtrombones was covered by Paul Young on his 1985 album The Secret of Association, Rod Stewart had success with ‘Downtown Train’ (from Rain Dogs) in 1989 and much later various interpretations of ‘Way Down in the Hole’ from Franks Wild Years (including a version by The Neville Brothers) was used as the theme tune to HBO’s acclaimed drama series The Wire.
These five studio albums have all been newly remastered for the first time from the original analogue master tapes and personally overseen by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan. They are available on 180g black vinyl and CD. They have been mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering under the guidance of Waits’ longtime audio engineer, Karl Derfler. All the albums are available on 180g black vinyl and CD.
The original version of ‘Downtown Train’ from Rain Dogs
This isn’t quite everything from the Island Records era; there were other long-players issued, namely live album Big Time (1988) and the excellent soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch’s 1991 film Night On Earth (issued in 1992). Presumably we’ll get these at some point.
Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs and Franks Wild Years are all reissued on 8 September 2023 on CD and 22 September on vinyl via UMR/Island. BoneMachine and The Black Rider follow on 6 October.
Haim’s debut album Days Are Gone is to be reissued for its 10th anniversary.
The 2013 album will be re-released as a 2CD deluxe set and a 2LP edition pressed on transparent green vinyl. Both offer additional audio in the form demos and remixes which has been compiled by the band. Both formats have the same eight bonus tracks and come with fold-out poster.
Days Are Gone will be reissued on 29 September 2023 via UMR/Polydor.
Now That’s What I Call Music will follow up their NOW Yearbook ’92 compilation with a 3CD ‘Extra’ version next month.
This offers 60 more hits from the era and acts as a companion to the original release. There’s a bit of a ‘Noah’s Ark’ thing going on with two tracks from Annie Lennox (‘Precious’, ‘Cold’), a couple from Crowded House (‘It’s Only Natural, Four Seasons in One Day’), a pair from Kylie Minogue (‘Finer Feelings’ and ‘What Kind of Fool?’), a dual offering from Suzanne Vega (‘In Liverpool’ and ‘99.9F°’), two from Take That (‘A Million Love Songs’, ‘I Found Heaven’) and the same from Simply Red (‘Your Mirror, Thrill Me).
Suzanne Vega’s excellent 99.9F° is included in NOW Yearbook ’92 – Extra
CD 2 dips its elbow into the bathwater of ‘indie’ with tracks from the Manic Street Preachers (their excellent cover of ‘Theme From MAS*H (Suicide Is Painless)’, Suede, The Cure and Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine and there’s ad hoc surprises throughout including the now cat-friendly Curiosity and their last hit (‘Hang On In There Baby)’ and Ryuichi Sakamoto & David Sylvian’s ‘Heartbeat (Tainai Kaiki II) Returning To The Womb’. Not all of these surprises are pleasant (see Nick Berry’s Heartbeat, Billy Ray Cyrus’ Achy Breaky Heart and Urban Hype’s ‘A Trip To Trumpton’) but hey, these were hits at the time! As ever, full tracklisting for this release can be found below.
NOW Yearbook ’92 – Extra will be released on 18 August 2023/
When the reissue of Richard Wright’sWet Dream was announced earlier this month, fans were delighted to see that a blu-ray audio option was available and that Steven Wilson had created new Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and stereo mixes of the 1978 album.
However, there was criticism in some quarters (including from some SDE readers), that the original stereo mix of the album was missing, with many people feeling that this should have been included.
The good news is that this fan feedback has clearly filtered through to Richard’s family, the estate and the label, since a flat transfer of the original pre-master of the 1978 stereo mix, taken from the analogue reels, will now be included!
Additionally, Steven Wilson 2023 instrumental stereo mixes of the four vocal tracks on the album will also be added, making what was already a very good blu-ray a now truly excellent one.
The blu-ray content is now as follows:
Dolby Atmos MIx
5.1 Surround Mix (DTS-HD Master Audio 96/24)
New Stereo Mix in Hi-Res (96/24)
Flat transfer of the original stereo mix
Steven Wilson instrumental stereo mixes of the four vocal tracks on the album
Exclusive personal videos and photo gallery
The product is presented in a blu-ray-sized book format with soft touch lamination and comes with four collectible postcards and an 8-page concertina booklet.
The Wet Dream blu-ray audio is released on 29 September 2023, via Parlophone music. It’s available via the SDE shop using this link or the buttons below.
TECHNICAL NOTES: This blu-ray audio requires a blu-ray player. Decoding the Dolby Atmos mix requires a Dolby Atmos-certified soundbar or a Dolby Atmos-compatible AV Receiver/Amp. The Dolby Atmos mix will ‘fold down’ to 5.1 or stereo if a Dolby Atmos decoder is not detected.
EU SHIPPING NOTES: If you are ordering from the EU please be aware that that goods may be subject to import VAT when they arrive from the UK. The prices the SDE shop charge you do not include VAT
A new 5CD box set featuring the music of synth-pop pioneers Landscape will be reissued at the end of this month.
Landscape A Go-Go: The Story of Landscape includes expanded and remastered versions of the group’s first three albums plus two additional CDs featuring EPs, remixes, B-sides, instrumentals and live tracks.
The band formed in London in the mid-1970s but didn’t release their first self-titled album (on RCA) until 1979. Before that they had a very DIY ethos and they promoted their own gigs, set up their own label (Event Horizon) on which they released early EPs.
The three albums were Landscape (1979), From the Tea-Rooms of Mars … to the Hell-Holes of Uranus (1981) and Manhattan Boogie-Woogie from 1982. The second album features the hits Einstein A Go-Go and Norman Bates.
You can watch a special SDEtv video preview of the box set above. Landscape A Go-Go: The Story of Landscape will be released on 21 July 2023 via Cooking Vinyl.
Cherry Red continue to work through Toyah’s Safari Records output and, in September, will reissue the band’s 1982 album, The Changeling, across a number of formats.
The album was produced by Steve Lillywhite and featured just the one single, ‘Brave New World’, which peaked at No 21 in the UK. The album has been newly remastered for this archive release.
Like Anthem, The Changeling is being made available as a big super deluxe edition box set, in addition to a 2CD+DVD package and a coloured vinyl LP version.
The 2CD+DVD version probably offers the best bang for your buck, with a whopping 31 bonus tracks including work-in-progress mixes, instrumental outtakes and demos. 20 of these are previously unreleased and three are new-to-CD. The NTSC, region-free DVD offers a 2023 interview with Toyah Willcox and her track-by-track commentary along with loads of TV appearances from back in the day.
The box set edition includes the above 2CD+DVD but adds a further bonus CD of 18 previously unreleased tracks. The super deluxe also includes a 12-inch vinyl picture disc version of the album, a 12-inch pink/blue splatter coloured vinyl record with more work-in-progress audio, a 44-page book, a 12-inch artwork print and postcards. It’s worth pointing out that the splatter vinyl simply repeats rare tracks already on CD2, so measured in pure audio terms you are getting those 18 extra tracks for the £100 premium over the 2CD+DVD.
The box set edition of The Changeling (click image to enlarge)
Finally, the album is available on a limited-edition neon pink coloured vinyl. This comes with a new printed inner sleeve and a facsimile of the original four-page insert with lyrics and poetry.
The Changeling will be reissued on 29 September 2023, via Cherry Red.
The Lexicon of Love is the defining album for ABC and the band’s frontman Martin Fry. The album went to number one for four weeks in July 1982 (replacing Roxy Music’sAvalon) and the British public, in particular, have held a place in their heart for the long-player which features classic singles such as ‘The Look of Love’ and ‘Poison Arrow’.
40 years on from the November 1982 gig at Hammersmith Odeon, ABC continue to perform the album in its entirety, often with the backing of a full orchestra, normally the Southbank Sinfonia, conducted by Anne Dudley (who played keyboards and arranged the strings on the original Trevor Horn-produced studio album).
June 2022’s performance of the album Live at Sheffield City Hall has recently been issued on coloured vinyl and CD and the band have just announced a headline tour for February 2024 which will see them hit the road in the UK once more with Dudley and the orchestra!
On top of all this, next month the studio album is reissued for its (belated) 40th anniversary and there’s a new Dolby Atmos Mix of The Lexicon of Love to enjoy (available on an SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio) thanks to the remixing skills of Steven Wilson.
SDE caught up with Martin Fry recently to discuss the album…
SDE: What do you put the enduring appeal of The Lexicon of Love down to?
Martin Fry: I always say, everybody’s had a broken heart, but that’s just being facetious, really [laughs]. I don’t know. I really am pleasantly surprised.
When you were recording it with Trevor Horn in the studio, did you know you had something special?
Yes. We felt we’d stumbled across something. We felt good. The whole sessions were really positive and upbeat; a lot of fun, a lot of humour there. Each day, I’d go into Sarm East [the recording studio] right at the end of Brick Lane [in East London] and I’d often pop around the corner to Whitechapel Gallery for a sandwich! We’d had a hit with ‘Tears Are Not Enough’ with [producer] Steve Brown, and that got us into the top 20. And we’d approached Trevor, and started recording ‘Poison Arrow’. And that was a hit, that was a top five hit. But whilst we were promoting that, we were also making the album. It was a new experience for one and all because while he’d recorded a few tracks for Dollar, it was the first time he’d produced a whole album for a band. But we were on a positive roll. If you’d asked me then, would that music last more than 15 minutes? No, no way. I had a 10-year period of doing Top of the Pops and being a recording artist, and after that, it was kind of winding down. And, you know, in the 90s, there was Oasis, I’d go and see The Prodigy, and there’s Pulp, and Suede, and I’m thinking, ABC, you know, we don’t fit into this world. Do you know what I mean? We’re a different generation.
That was a common theme, I think, for bands that had enjoyed a fair degree of success in the 80s. The 90s, for many, became kind of like a wilderness period.
We should have developed… I’d love to be able to develop. We made an album called Abracadabra, which about 12 people bought, but it was the kind of early Massive Attack sort of approach to making music with different singers. You know, if we were to go forwards, that’s what we would have mutated into, a production team, but it wasn’t to be. But at the start, we’d go around Sheffield telling everyone that ABC were going to be incredible. You know, that’s a big part of being in a band, getting drunk, talking bullshit and bigging yourself up. Liam Gallagher did it brilliantly. You got to realise that Oasis were going to be massive before they were massive.
Trevor Horn is very complimentary about your lyrics, on The Lexicon of Love.
Is he? I’ve never read his book. I’m a bit scared to read it!
There’s nothing bad in there! Where did your lyric-writing skills come from?
I’ve always love lyrics, always… from Motown through to Bowie, Bolan. “I drive a Rolls Royce because it’s good for my voice”, what a lyric that is from Bolan, and “But you won’t fool the children of the revolution”. He kind of knew he was cheeky, and heading down a cul-de-sac with that approach. You knew punk rock was gonna happen, but yeah, I’ve always loved [great] lyrics. I like banal stuff, that’s really deep, if you know what I mean? Trevor is a pretty good lyricist himself, by the way. I saw him about 12 months ago; we were on a cruise ship with about 5,000 crazy ’80s music fans and he was playing with Dire Straits! He always liked JG Ballard. He had a song called ‘Vermillion Sands’ [named after a 1971 collection of short stories by JG Ballard].
I know that song very well. It’s on the second Buggles album [Adventures in Modern Recording].
He pushed me. Trevor pushed me to the limit when we were recording. In fact, he is one of the few guys I have ever worked with who was interested in the lyrics because sometimes you work with great people, but it’s like, “right, we’ve done the tracks. We’ll leave you to do the vocals and we’ll be back in two day’s time”.
Yeah, he’s interested in the song isn’t he not just the production? I think that’s the thing…
It’s the whole thing, isn’t it?
After The Lexicon of Love, he developed this reputation of taking three months to do one track. Mainly because of Frankie Goes Hollywood and Grace Jones. But what was it like with you? Was it reasonably quick?
Two things were at play [later on]. Trevor owned the studio, so once he got to Sarm West, at Basing Street, if Frankie Goes to Hollywood took three months, he was producing the record, but he was also the landlord [laughs]. Do you know what I mean? But when you have success, you’ve got to chase it again. It’s hard, isn’t it? You know, you’ve painted the Sistine Chapel and then you kind of wait for the paint to dry on the next one!
But with ABC, he was being employed by your record company to do a job. So he couldn’t be too self indulgent, could he, because he had to kind of get it done?
The sessions would go week-by-week. If we couldn’t work in Sarm East, because somebody else was using it, we’d have to go down the road to Tony Visconti’s Good Earth studio [in Dean Street] or we’d go to RAK Studios [near Regent’s Park] for two days. So we were constantly moving around. But the recordings took about, I don’t know, about 10-11 weeks, something like that. When Trevor then became the auteur, when he became ‘the producer, Trevor Horn’, you know, people talk about his mythology, but he needed a lot of time to make something like ‘Slave to the Rhythm’, didn’t he? It’s an incredible record, with that Go-Go beat. But I’ve done it myself. I’ve gone into the hall of mirrors, because you want to recreate your success. You hear stories of Scritti and Tears For Fears spending a long time. It’s different now, the process is different, isn’t it?
But I should say, the experience with Trevor was great. And he got the BRIT Award and all that, but he was never like a Phil Spector, you know, brandishing a gun! He always had a great team; he surrounded himself by skilled people in the studio and still does to this day.
ABC performed The Lexicon of Love Live in Sheffield in June 2022 (click image to enlarge)
Talking of his team, Anne Dudley is still working with you on stage, conducting the orchestral live performances, and she was obviously part of the original record. Tell us about working with Anne and your relationship with her?
Well, we had a band; Mark White was a guitarist, but he was also pretty handy on keys, but Anne came in and she played some Grand Piano and she was a much more tutored pianist. So she had a sophistication in playing, and so she came in and played some keys. And we’d hang out, and I remember Trevor said, “Oh, this would be great if we put strings on it”. And we loved The Temptations, you know, ‘Just My Imagination’… all those great string arrangements. Anne said “I’m gonna go home tonight, and I’ll put something together” – she could read and write music, of course. She came in the next morning [with her arrangement] and that gave us all the confidence to book a string session in.
Anne Dudley was a really young, very skilled musician, but to take that next step to become an arranger was something else
Martin Fry
It was brand new territory for all of us. When I think back, Anne was a really young, very skilled musician, but to take that next step to become an arranger, was something else. And I always forget, through the years I’ve been working with her, how many records she’s made and she’s an incredible conductor, arranger and obviously there’s her film work as well [Dudley won an Oscar for her score for the 1997 film, The Full Monty].
It must be nice, all these years later, to still be working together?
Yeah, it is. It’s a great feeling that there’s a continuity there. When you come to play with an orchestra, you don’t want to get swamped. So many bands just kind of disappear; you can’t hear the band. I watched Paul Weller sing with an orchestra and it didn’t quite click for me. You have to find yourself a role, you can’t just sit on a stool and sort of croon. So with Anne she’s definitely perfected the parts from the shows we were doing 10 years ago, we’ve gone back and revised things. So that everything shines: the band and the orchestra. There’s a real art to that.
She’s got that pop sensibility that maybe classical people might not have.
Well, when we recorded ‘The Night You Murdered Love’, we worked with different arrangers, and sometimes the arrangements would be really busy. We liked Chic! I asked Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers how they did it, and they just did it off bass and piano. The strings on those records are fantastic. But Anne is fantastic, as everybody knows!
Pre-order The Lexicon of Love on blu-ray audio via the SDE shop
You’ve just released The Lexicon of Love Live in Sheffield and it’s available on coloured vinyl and a couple of different CD deluxe editions.
We wanted to document the gigs and we knew Sheffield was going to be a magical night but I didn’t want to go and record 14 shows and edit it all together and auto tune it and all that [laughs]. I just wanted a mint recording of what we’re about, because the shows have developed well. It’s a great feeling playing in 2022 and 2023, with the Southbank Sinfonia and Anne. And it’s a catalogue of all this stuff, really. It’s a two hour show, because we play The Lexicon of Love in its entirety and then our other hits.
The new Atmos Mix is incredible. Hearing it was like being in the recording session, a unique experience
Martin Fry
You don’t get fed up with playing The Lexicon of Love all the time?
Well, if we go to America, we might only play a couple of songs off it. There’s other songs we’ve had that have been hits; there’s a song called ‘Be Near Me’, which was a big hit for us. People imagine the original version to have been as string-driven as the version we play now, but the live performance now is on steroids, really. It’s a full orchestra, we never had that luxury back in the day. We had bits. Smoke and mirrors, really.
As well as the Live in Sheffield album, The Lexicon of Love is being reissued on vinyl for its 40th anniversary and there’s a new Dolby Atmos version which will be available on blu-ray. I believe you went to Steven Wilson’s house and heard it. What did you think?
I hadn’t heard any of the mixes, but obviously his reputation goes before him. I knew his music and I knew that he was the kind of ‘go to’ guy for Atmos. So I sat in his studio and I tell you, it was so bizarre. It was like sitting in Sarm East, you know, with Gary Langan on one side and Trevor on the other! [laughs]. I know I’m a sad old man with his memories, but it was crystal clear, it was like being inside the recording session. Yeah. And I swear, he played it through in its entirety, and heard things I can’t recall hearing, like some guitar parts. ‘Tears Are Not Enough’ was a real eye-opener, it was incredible. Some of Mark White’s guitar parts were incredible. I guess they got compressed out when the album came out on vinyl. It was really nice, it was a really unique experience.
Thanks to Martin Fry who was talking to Paul Sinclair for SDE.
Pre-order the Dolby Atmos Mix of The Lexicon of Love on the limited edition SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio via the SDE shop using this link or the button below. It’s released on 4 August 2023. Live at Sheffield can be ordered via the LiveHereNow website. Sign-up for the Feb 2024 Tour pre-sale access here.
TECHNICAL NOTES: This blu-ray audio requires a blu-ray player. Decoding the Dolby Atmos mix requires a Dolby Atmos-certified soundbar or a Dolby Atmos-compatible AV Receiver/Amp. The Dolby Atmos mix will ‘fold down’ to 5.1 or stereo if a Dolby Atmos decoder is not detected.
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Tracklisting
The Lexicon of LoveABC/40th anniversary
SDE Blu-ray Audio
The Lexicon of Love in the following audio mixes:
Steven Wilson Dolby Atmos Mix
Steven Wilson DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix (96/24)
Steven Wilson Stereo Mix in hi-res stereo (96/24)
Steven Wilson Stereo Instrumental mix in hi-res stereo (96/24)
Wham!is the name of a new documentary, now showing on Netflix, that tells the story of Wham! in the words of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
The film was made with the cooperation and participation of Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael Entertainment, which allows it access to unseen home footage and personal photos from the band’s archives, and enjoy the gift of a wonderful structure, as it follows the meteoric rise of Wham! through the lens of the scrapbooks kept religiously by Andrew’s mum at the time. The film also does something that no box set or music release has ever done and allows fans to hear some of those closely guarded early demos, including ‘Careless Whisper’.
Back in the day, Andrew was always viewed with suspicion by the press and generally regarded as something of a freeloader who had lucked out by being George’s friend and ended up as a successful pop star, but in later years the true story emerged of Andrew being the ‘leader’ early on, with his extrovert personality (“disruptive” according to his school report) helping to make things happen. Andrew took George under his wing when he arrived as the ‘new boy’ at his school and helped turn his “slightly porky” shy, curly-haired friend into a pop star.
Being in a band together was Ridgeley’s idea and when first group The Executive “imploded”, that left the pair on their own to try and move things forward. Andrew co-wrote most of the early hits including ‘Wham Rap!’, ‘Club Tropicana’ and even ‘Careless Whisper’; he designed stage outfits and generally created the momentum (or “thrust”, in his words) that led to all the early success. His greatest contribution – sacrifice, even – was to know when to step back and let the blossoming songwriting and production talents of George take centre stage. It was “uncomfortable” and “a little difficult” as Andrew acknowledges in the film.
It really is great to hear Ridgeley’s voice – literally, his side of the story – which had largely been left unheard until the publication of his 2019 autobiography Wham!, George and Me. To some extent, Andrew reclaims Wham! as an entity in its own right and not ‘part one’ of The George Michael Story. He comes across as a reliable narrator and a foil to the insecurity and contradictions of his partner, which George himself acknowledges in his own narration (culled from some remarkably candid interview audio).
The tone of the documentary is set by a 90-second preface which shows early video footage of Andrew and George larking around at their old school in Bushey, Hertfordshire, with Andrew even persuading the headmaster to take part! The question, posed by George, before we cut to opening credits, is “How can these two idiots become so bloody massive?”
How can these two idiots become so bloody massive?
George Michael in the Wham! documentary
The Wham! film doesn’t try to avoid the familiar tropes – signing a bad record contract; parental issues (“you couldn’t sing to save your life” George’s dad declares); and the first time on Top of the Pops etc. – but these are all covered in such an entertaining manner and there’s so much great footage, that it’s all a joy.
The filmmaking and editing (Chris Smith and Gregor Lyon respectively) are from the top drawer and there’s a truly brilliant sequence just over half-way through the 90-minute running time where Michael and Ridgeley describe, with the help of a superb montage of archive of photos (and video), how Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou finally transforms himself into ‘George Michael’. Cue hairs on the back of the neck as the crescendo builds to the restored video of ‘Careless Whisper’ where a 21-year old George Michael comes of age, looking every inch a superstar.
The second half of Wham! deals with the astonishing success of the group and also the issue of George’s sexuality. He’d come out as gay to Andrew while they were filming the ‘Club Tropicana’ video in 1983 but had decided to keep this a secret, in part, because he didn’t want to tell his dad, but also due to concerns around how it might impact the band’s ambitions (“you’re not going to make life difficult for yourself, are you?” George reflects in his narration). But as Wham! became more successful, especially in the States, George feels more and more “boxed in” and the awkwardness of the situation is illustrated by an excruciating interview on US TV with talk of “girls and groupies” which George really struggles with.
The sequence on ‘Last Christmas’ is revealing with George telling Paula Yates (at the Band Aid recording) that the ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ would be “a major threat to our fourth number one”. He even gives her a world premiere by singing a little of it (it’s funny to think of a time when this perennial festive favourite didn’t exist!). Of course, that charity single did indeed deny George his fourth UK chart-topper of 1984 and that “bastard insecure little thing” as he describes it, meant it did rankle. “I was happy being in a band” Andrew says, “George needed more”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8huyeTjZjik
Wham! offers some amazing footage, including a colour version of the ‘Everything She Wants’ video (the released version being in black and white), coverage of the 1985 Whamamerica! tour and The Final gig at Wembley. You wonder why none of this stuff has ever been commercially released and then you remember that George Michael really wasn’t particularly interested in revisiting Wham! in his all too short lifetime.
Andrew rationalises George’s need to end Wham! and start a solo career with a nonchalant “I was happy for my friend… Wham! was never going to be middle-aged” but then adds, somewhat heartbreakingly, “we all wake up in the middle of our dreams; suddenly it’s not there”. There’s a poignancy at the end as Andrew faces an uncertain future and George faces, what is in his mind, a certain one: even more success.
George declares his “sanity” is at stake as a reason for ending Wham! and then puts himself in a more insane situation by heading to the USA to try to compete with the likes of Madonna and Michael Jackson, while still remaining in the closet and not having his friend by his side (“I had no idea how much I was going to miss that support”). History tells us that none of this made George any happier. “I didn’t know what being George Michael truly meant” Andrew says, and it seems likely, neither did George.
Wham! is a beautiful documentary; a brilliant film that brings clarity and insight to the inner workings of Wham! and surely puts to an end any thoughts of Andrew Ridgeley being anything other than an essential component in the group. It’s moving at the end, but you can blink away the tears as an exuberant ‘I’m Your Man’ plays out over the credits and reminds us that Wham! were primarily purveyors of joyful, life-affirming pop music.
Wham! is streaming now exclusively on Netfix. The Singles: Echoes From The Edge Of Heaven is out now.
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