Author: Paul Sinclair

Sting’s The Bridge: Track-by-track review

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

SDE takes a listen to the Japanese deluxe edition of Sting’s 15th studio album and returns a verdict.

Rushing Water

The second ‘single’ from The Bridge, ‘Rushing Water’, has a pleasing Police-like economy, even if Sting’s multi-tracked vocal is somewhat distracting, at least at first. This is an accomplished pop-rock song and although it never threatens the top tier of Sting’s output, it’s a decent opener and offers some hope for The Bridge.
3.5/5

If It’s Love

‘If It’s Love’ was the first song from The Bridge to be ‘released’ – aka revealed to the listening public. It’s a breezy, fairly lightweight number which performs a similar role to ‘I Can’t Stop Thinking About You’ from 57th and 9th. The whistling is a bit annoying, but the song doesn’t outstay its welcome and is over in three minutes.
3/5

The Book of Numbers

The Bridge is full of biblical references (Jonah and the Whale has already been mentioned in ‘Rushing Water’) and none more so than on ‘The Book of Numbers’ which is just a cool way of saying ‘The Bible’. Co-written by Sting and his longtime guitarist Dominic Miller, this song benefits from a great arrangement with programmed drums and laid back, slightly bluesy guitar phrases in the verses. But the synth brass in the chorus is more cheesy than cheddar dipped in baked camembert and the rather average chorus rather lets the song down.
3/5

Loving You

This track is all minimal beats and atmospheric synths. In the song, a man tells of what he has to endure in his relationship that ostensibly ‘proves’ his love for his partner. These include “the smell of another man’s skin” (I guess she’s playing away from home) and, rather dubiously, having to “suffer in silence” instead of resorting to violence. Poor you. This guy is really feeling sorry for himself, but questionable lyrics to one side, the chorus is very catchy and this has a fine production which is more enjoyable than the jangly guitars and whistling on ‘If It’s Love’.
4/5

Harmony Road

This song has what sounds like a ludicrous time signature – probably 13/17 or something – and Sting almost trips over his words as he crams what he has to say into the melody, but I rather like this. It’s what we want from Sting –  complicated, occasionally pretentious music. Oasis this ain’t. ‘Harmony Road’ also benefits from the consummate skills of Branford Marsalis on Saxophone, although the downside of this contribution is that it does rather remind you that The Bridge isn’t in the same league as The Dream of the Blue Turtles.
3/5

‘Rushing Water’ from Sting’s new album, The Bridge

For Her Love

You are unlikely to publicly accuse yourself of plagiarism, so why not just nick a riff from one of your old songs? ‘For Her Love’ has a Dominic Miller acoustic guitar figure that appears to be ‘inspired’ by the Dominic Miller acoustic guitar figure on Ten Summoner’s Tale‘s ‘Shape of My Heart’. This is okay, because ‘Shape of My Heart’ is really good (although it only got to number 57 in the UK charts, fact fans), therefore it’s hard not to like ‘For Her Love’. Sting does his thing, lyrically, where his poses a list of questions and you get the pay-off line at the end. It’s not dissimilar to ‘If I Ever Lose My Faith In You’ in that respect, although ‘For Your Love’ isn’t of the same quality because Sting ‘forgot’ to write a chorus for it. It’s ‘Shape of My Heart’-lite, in truth, so only you can decide if you’ll pay money for this art.
4/5

The Hills On The Border

Sting gets all folky on ‘The Hills On The Border’, with a fiddle (by Peter Tickell), acoustic guitars and a shuffle-y beat. The song is a moral story, a variation on the well-worn tale of the good samaritan, as a man – a soldier – shares another man’s burden on an unspecified journey. The titular hills, Sting explains in the deluxe booklet, are The Cheviots, which are rolling hills straddling the Anglo-Scottish border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders which “existed as a war zone for almost a thousand years”. Despite this interesting background, ‘The Hills On The Border’ is a rather lacking; as journeys go, it’s a little bit “are we there yet?”.
2/5

Captain Bateman

This song is based on a traditional ballad (from the 15th Century) called ‘Lord Bateman’, which concerns “a noble lord of high degree” stuck in a prison in a foreign country. He gets freed because he promises to marry the jailer’s daughter, but the lying swine doesn’t keep his promise. Some people! This is one of the more successful songs on side two of The Bridge since while Sting indulges in his fascination with historical figures and ye olde storytellers (in short, people who say ‘thee’ and probably drink mead) there’s a strong chorus and a pop sensibility at play here, particularly notable in the outro, which stripes back the fiddles and pipes and allows the synths and programmed drums to come through.
3/5

The Bells of St. Thomas

This song has a relaxed jazzy feel, with brushes on the drum kit (courtesy of Manu Katché). It has a sad, reflective vibe although only Sting would write a song about “a drifter who finds himself propositioned by the wife of a wealthy man [and] is conflicted and finds himself drawn by the bells of a nearby church, where he encounters a triptych painting by Rubens, Epitaph of Nicolaas Rockox and His Wife Andriana Perez”. Come on, we’ve all been there! I like the production – or lack of – on this track, which has an ‘organic’ feel when compared to some of the more produced numbers from earlier on, but it’s a bit of a wordy, rambling, shaggy-dog-story of a song. This is so laid back it barely registers and not for the first time on the album it feels as if Sting hasn’t worried much about song structure and having a catchy chorus.
2.5/5

The Bridge

The title track ends the album and starts of with some guitar work that reminds you of José González’s version of The Knife’s ‘Heartbeats’. This is unvarnished Sting, his voice a bit rawer and rougher than it has sounded on the rest of the album and it’s just him and Dominic Miller on finger-picked guitars. The lyric uses the metaphor of a ‘Bridge’ about how people react to life’s adversities, which you get the feeling Sting was very pleased with, but it doesn’t really connect for me. That aside, the main problem with ‘The Bridge’ is that melodically it’s not going anywhere particularly interesting and the chorus is weak. There are no striking chord changes to lift the words, or diversions to surprise you – the song is content to stay contained within a fairly predictable folk-song structure. I think ‘The Empty Chair’ which ended 2016’s 57th & 9th in similar acoustic fashion is a much better song than this and more moving.
2/5

Bonus tracks

Waters of Tyne

A traditional song, sung by Sting who accompanies himself on acoustic guitar. As you would expect, with plenty of references to “the boatman”, North Sheilds and Jarrow. Very earnest and very bonus track-y.
2/5

Captain Bateman’s Basement

What’s that? You’d like a pop-funk instrumental with Sting scat singing over a bass-drum groove. You should have said earlier. Weird and slight.
1/5

(Sittin’ On ) The Dock of the Bay

Sting tackles the Otis Redding classic. He says it has “long lingered at the top of my favourite song list”. He sings it in quite a low key, so his voice doesn’t really cut through like you hope it might. He needs to practise his whistling.
2/5

I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City [Japan-only bonus track]

A cover of Harry Nilsson’s song that was written for, but not ultimately used in, Midnight Cowboy. By FAR the best of the four bonus tracks so it’s a mystery why it was selected to be the exclusive Japanese bonus track. This was recorded at the request of Sting’s friend Griffin Dunne (him from After Hours) who used it to accompany a short film he’d made in tribute to first responders and their work during the early days of the pandemic.
4/5

Summary

The Bridge starts off a a promising, modern-sounding pop album but Sting can’t keep it up and two-thirds in, he reverts to ponderous, folky story-telling about noblemen, soldiers and the like. This isn’t a bad thing per se, but the melodies and the hooks dry up to a degree. In terms of overall quality, this record is roughly on par with its predecessor, 57th & 9th. For a man of Sting’s talents we expected more. The bonus tracks are shocking, so I’d strongly recommend you don’t fork up for the limited 2LP set that includes them. The Bridge is an album that links the mainland of ‘quite good’ with the island of ‘not bad’.

Album rating: 3/5

The The / Comeback Special: Live at the Royal Albert Hall unboxed

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

SDE opens up the The The art book edition of The Comeback Special: Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

The Comeback Special: Live at the Royal Albert Hall is out now.

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SDE Grammy nomination round-up: Paul McCartney and Steven Wilson in the running

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

Nominations for the 64th Grammy Awards were announced yesterday and SDE spotlights some of the artists, albums and songs selected that will be of interest.

ABBA’s ‘I Still Have Faith In You’ is nominated in the ‘Song of the Year‘ category, giving the Swedish quartet their very first Grammy nomination. Since the period of eligibility ended on 30 September 2021, the album Voyage arrived to late, but could make a showing for what will be the 2022 Awards. ABBA are up against Billie Eilish (‘Happier Than Ever’), Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga (‘I Get A Kick Out Of You’) and seven others.

‘Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album‘ includes Norah Jones‘ live album Til We Meet Again as well as Dolly Parton’s 2020 Christmas album, A Holly Dolly Christmas.

Chris Cornell’s cover of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ (from his No One Sings Like You Anymore album) is one of five songs nominated for ‘Best Rock Performance‘. AC/DC’s ‘Shot in the Dark’ and the Foo Fighters’ ‘Making A Fire’ also get a nod in this category.

Paul McCartney’s ‘Find My Way’ is Grammy nominated

‘Find My Way’, the second track on Paul McCartney’s 2020 album McCartney III is nominated for ‘Best Rock Song‘. This is the first time since 2008 that a track from one of Paul’s studio albums has received a Grammy nomination (‘That Was Me’ from Memory Almost Full was the last time this happened). These days we are more used to seeing McCartney be nominated for his Archive Collection reissues, but since nothing has been re-released since 2020’s Flaming Pie, that’s off the table for this year. Weezer, Kings of Leon and Foo Fighters are amongst the other acts in this category. There’s actually double success for Macca as the McCartney III album is also nominated for ‘Best Rock Album‘, despite the fact that it sounds nothing like a ‘rock’ album. Only one track, Slidin’ in any way ‘rocks’.

Stewart Copeland & Ricky Kej’s long-player Divine Tides is nominated for ‘Best New Age Album‘ and the Girl From The North Country musical (which uses Bob Dylan songs) is in the running for ‘Best Musical Theater Album‘.

‘Best Recording Package‘ nominations include Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ Carnage and the big one –  ‘Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package‘ – includes the Limited Edition Box Set version of Steven Wilson’s The Future Bites and George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass 50th anniversary edition, although the exact version for the latter isn’t specified, so we don’t know if it’s for the super or uber deluxe. The Gang of Four box set 77-81 is also nominated in this category.

Steven Wilson’s The Future Bites has two Grammy nominations

Prince’s Sign O’ The Times super deluxe edition is nominated for ‘Best Historical Album‘ as is the Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967) box set.

Hats Anton-off for Jack Antonoff who surely should win in the ‘Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical‘ category for his involvement in many high profile albums from artists like Taylor Swift, St. Vincent, Lorde and Lana Del Rey.

Steven Wilson’s The Future Bites is a double Grammy nominee for 2021 since it is also in the running for ‘Best Immersive Audio Album‘. All four of Steven’s previous nominations have been in the same category (which was called ‘Best Surround Sound Album’) so I’d personally love to see him walk away with the award, finally (Harry Styles and Alicia Keys albums are nominated in the same category).

Finally, David Byrne’s American Utopia is nominated for ‘Best Music Film‘ and surely has a good chance of winning. We will find out all the results on 31 January 2022 when the Awards show goes ahead.

Out This Week / on 26 November 2021

Posted on by Paul Sinclair
David Bowie / Brilliant Adventure [1992-2001] 18LP vinyl box set

David Bowie / Brilliant Adventures CD, Vinyl

This David Bowie ‘era’ box set covers most of the 1990s and sees a revitalised Bowie produce some of his most interesting work outside of the 1970s, including The Buddha of Suburbia and Outside. Brilliant Adventures is an 11CD box set or a 18LP vinyl box and includes an unreleased album called Toy, which is also available separate as a 3CD or 6 x 10″ box set.

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Asia / The Official Live Bootlegs Vol. 1 (10CD box)

The Official Bootlegs, Vol 1 is a 10CD Asia box set that features live performances from across the world between 1982 – 2010. We are promised “high quality original soundboard audio sources” for the performances, all of which are unheard. This comes as five two-CD sets in an outer slipcase with a 12-page booklet.

The Primitives / Coloured vinyl reissues

Lovely, Pure and Galore – the first three albums (1988/89/91 respectively) from British indie-pop band The Primitives – have been remastered and are reissued on blue, white and red vinyl.

Goldfrapp / Head First (coloured vinyl)

Mute’s Goldfrapp vinyl reissue series continues with this 140g vinyl pressing of the group’s fifth album (from 2010). The Grammy-nominated Head First features the singles Rocket, Alive and Believer. This reissue is pressed on transparent magenta vinyl and is presented as a gatefold. It comes with a 12″x12″ art print.

Mogwai / ZeroZeroZero

Mogwai’s brilliant soundtrack to the equally brilliant TV 2020 series was issued on vinyl as a Record Store Day limited edition this year and now gets a CD release (they are numbered and limited to 5,000 copies). Highly recommended.

Hall and Oates / Live at the Troubadour

This is the May 2008 gig from Hall and Oates recorded in the legendary Los Angeles venue they first played as a support act in the 70s. This is reissued on 2CD but is released on vinyl for the first time (as 3LP set).

Gus Dudgeon / Production Gems

Production Gems is various artists compilation (Elton John-heavy, naturally) linked by the work of producer Gus Dudgeon. It’s not all Reg however, as it contains the rarity that is a David Bowie track (‘Space Oddity’) licensed for a compilation as well as songs by Chris Rea, Joan Armatrading, The Zombies, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and XTC. CD only.

Garbage / Beautiful Garbage unboxed

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

Garbage’s third album was reissued last week as 3CD and 3LP box sets. SDEtv lifts the lid on both sets with this new unboxing video.

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Garbage

Garbage 2LP pink vinyl for National Album Day

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Amazon fr   2000.00 Order
Amazon es   338.99 Order
JPC de   35.99 Order
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NOW presents the 70s

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

The Now That’s What I Call Music team step back into the 1970s for a hit-packed 5LP vinyl box set which is limited to just 1000 units (each box is numbered).

Starting with 1970, each side of vinyl represents one year of the 1970s with Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ kicking things off perfectly as it draws a close on the optimism of the 1960s and ushers in the new decade. Five records later, The Buggles‘ ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ has a similar role, anticipating the 1980s.

NOW presents the 1970s is limited to 1000 units

In between, this NOW presents the 70s box set unashamedly opts for the biggest acts and the biggest hits although there’s a few omissions, the most notable being the hard-to-license David Bowie). These include Free (‘All Right Now’), Elton John (‘Your Song’), Rod Stewart (‘Maggie May’), Marvin Gaye (‘What’s Going On’), Don McLean (‘American Pie’), Roxy Music (‘Virginia Plain’), Roberta Flack (‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’), Bob Dylan (‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’), Queen (‘Killer Queen’), Paul McCartney & Wings (‘Band on the Run’), John Lennon (‘Imagine’), 10cc (‘I’m Not In Love’), ABBA (‘Dancing Queen’), ELO (‘Livin’ Thing’), Thin Lizzy (‘The Boys Are Back in Town’), Fleetwood Mac (‘Don’t Stop’), Commodores (‘Easy’), Kate Bush (‘Wuthering Heights’), The Jam (‘Down in the Tube Station at Midnight’), The Clash (‘London Calling’), The Police (‘Message in a Bottle’) and Blondie (‘Heart of Glass’).

Boxes are numbered 1 to 1000

Each record has a sleeve with a front cover featuring different a kitsch design element of the era and has annotated track listings on the rear with bullet-pointed facts/info about each song. The five black vinyl records all come in poly-lined sleeves. The records are housed in a sturdy rigid board outer slipcase.

NOW presents the 1970s will be released on 10 December 2021.

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Various Artists

NOW presents the 1970s - limited 5LP box set

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Tracklisting

NOW presents the 1970s Various Artists / 5LP vinyl box

    • LP1 – SIDE A – 1970
      1. Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
      2. Bread – Make It With You
      3. Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds
      4. Deep Purple – Black Night
      5. Free – All Right Now
      6. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – The Tears Of A Clown
      7. The Jackson 5 – I Want You Back
      8. Stevie Wonder – Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)
    • LP1 – SIDE B – 1971
      1. Elton John – Your Song
      2. Rod Stewart – Maggie May
      3. Slade – Coz I Luv You
      4. The Who – Baba O’Riley
      5. Ike & Tina Turner – Proud Mary
      6. Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
      7. Diana Ross – I’m Still Waiting
    • LP2 – SIDE A – 1972
      1. Don McLean – American Pie – Pt. 1
      2. Sly & The Family Stone – Family Affair
      3. Bill Withers – Lean On Me
      4. Harry Nilsson – Without You
      5. Roxy Music – Virginia Plain
      6. Rex – Metal Guru
      7. Mott The Hoople – All The Young Dudes
      8. Lou Reed – Perfect Day
    • LP2 – SIDE B – 1973
      1. Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly With His Song
      2. Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – If You Don’t Know Me By Now
      3. Kiki Dee – Amoureuse
      4. Sweet – Ballroom Blitz
      5. Wizzard – See My Baby Jive
      6. Billy Joel – Piano Man
      7. Bob Dylan – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
    • LP3 – SIDE A – 1974
      1. Queen – Killer Queen
      2. Paul McCartney, Wings – Band On The Run
      3. Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells (Opening Theme / From “The Exorcist” / 1973)
      4. Suzi Quatro – Devil Gate Drive
      5. Mud – Tiger Feet
      6. Sparks – This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us
      7. Barry White – You’re The First, The Last, My Everything
      8. The Three Degrees – When Will I See You Again
    • LP3 – SIDE B – 1975
      1. John Lennon – Imagine
      2. 10cc – I’m Not In Love
      3. Barry Manilow – Mandy
      4. Bay City Rollers – Bye Bye Baby
      5. David Essex – Hold Me Close
      6. Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel – Make Me Smile (Come up and See Me)
      7. The Stylistics – Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love)
      8. Minnie Riperton – Lovin’ You
    • LP4 – SIDE A – 197
      1. ABBA – Dancing Queen
      2. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)
      3. Chicago – If You Leave Me Now
      4. Joan Armatrading – Love And Affectio
      5. Electric Light Orchestra – Livin’ Thing
      6. Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back In Town
      7. John Miles – Music
    • LP4 – SIDE B – 1977
      1. Fleetwood Mac – Don’t Stop
      2. Meat Loaf – Bat Out Of Hell
      3. Status Quo – Rockin’ All Over The World
      4. Donna Summer – I Feel Love
      5. Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie
      6. David Soul – Don’t Give Up On Us
      7. Commodores – Easy
    • LP5 – SIDE A – 1978
      1. Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights
      2. Althea & Donna – Uptown Top Ranking
      3. Chic – Le Freak
      4. Boney M. – Rivers Of Babylon
      5. The Jam – Down In The Tube Station At Midnight
      6. The Boomtown Rats – Rat Trap
      7. Siouxsie And The Banshees – Hong Kong Garden
    • LP5 – SIDE B – 1979
      1. The Clash – London Calling
      2. The Police – Message In A Bottle
      3. Pretenders – Kid
      4. Blondie – Heart Of Glass
      5. Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions – Boogie Wonderland
      6. Tubeway Army – Are ‘Friends’ Electric?
      7. The Buggles – Video Killed The Radio Star
Rear of the box set features the full track listing (click image to enlarge)
Each record features a different design on the front cover

The Dave Clark Five / Glad All Over

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

BMG are to release a new coloured vinyl edition of British quintet The Dave Clark Five‘s first US album.

The band were one of first UK acts to achieve success in the US as part for the ‘British Invasion’ and made more appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show than any other UK act.

Released in America in March 1964, the title track of the album is their US top ten hit and it also features ‘Bits and Pieces’ which was The Dave Clark Five’s next single in the USA and it actually did a little bit better than ‘Glad All Over’, reaching number four.

Glad All Over has been remastered from the original tapes and pressed on limited white vinyl

This reissue is pressed on limited edition white vinyl and features remastered audio (from the original tapes) and an updated track-listing that differs from the both the original US release and the subsequent UK version entitled ‘A Session With The Dave Clark Five’. Check out the actual track listing, below.

Glad All Over will be released on 26 November 2021.

Tracklisting

Glad All Over The Dave Clark Five / Limited edition white vinyl LP

    • Side A
      1. Glad All Over
      2. All Of The Time
      3. Crying Over You
      4. Stay
      5. Chaquita
      6. Do You Love Me
    • Side B
      1. Bits and Pieces
      2. I Know You
      3. 3406
      4. Time
      5. Who Do You Think You’re Talking To

The Sound of Philadelphia International Records Vol 2: Satisfaction Guaranteed

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

8CD box • Remastered albums • 50th anniversary • Limited to 2500 copies

United Souls and Sony Music continue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Philadelphia International Records with Volume 2 in their Philly reissue programme: The Sound of Philadelphia International Records Vol 2: Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Following on from the first volume Get on Board the Soul Train, the second volume in this limited edition series covers eight albums released by the label during 1973.

The Sound of Philadelphia International Vol 2: Satisfaction Guaranteed is an 8CD+12″+book deluxe set (click image to enlarge)

This 8CD deluxe set features albums from Billy Paul, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, The Three Degrees, The Intruders, Spiritual Concept as well as one of the most successful O’Jays’ titles, Ship Ahoy.

The series maps the history of Philadelphia International Records (PIR) chronologically and all albums are remastered from the original tapes. As well as the eight CDs this comes with a 48-page hard cover book, which features rare photos, sleeve notes by Tony Cummings (author of The Sound of Philadelphia) and a foreword by Ralph Tee.

It also includes a numbered certificate of authenticity, an exclusive 12-inch single and a unique poster. Like the first volume this is limited to 2500 units worldwide.

The Sound of Philadelphia International Records Vol 2: Satisfaction Guaranteed is released on 19 November 2021. You can order a copy via the SDE shop using this link or the button below.

Tracklisting

The Sound of Philadelphia Vol 2: Satisfaction Guaranteed Various Artists / 8CD+12″+Book deluxe set

    • CD 1 – Billy Paul – Feelin’ Good At The Cadillac Club
      1. Billy Boy [02:38]
      2. Missing You [02:45]
      3. Bluesette [03:02]
      4. On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever) [04:39]
      5. Just In Time [03:55]
      6. That`s Life [04:05]
      7. Don`t Think Twice, It`s All Right [02:31]
      8. Feeling Good [08:30]
      9. Somewhere [03:37]
    • CD 2 – The O’ Jays – In Philadelphia
      1. One Night Affair [02:19]
      2. You`re the Best Thing Since Candy [02:56]
      3. Branded Bad [02:54]
      4. I Should Be Your Lover [02:04]
      5. Looky Looky (Look at Me Girl) [02:46]
      6. Deeper (In Love with You) [02:40]
      7. Let Me In Your World [02:37]
      8. Just Can`t Get Enough [02:09]
      9. I`ve Got the Groove [02:17]
      10. Medley: Little Green Apples / Something [04:33]
      11. It`s Too Strong [03:04]
    • CD 3 – The Intruders – Super Hits
      1. Cowboys to Girls [02:36]
      2. Together [02:56]
      3. (We`ll Be) United [02:50]
      4. Love Is Like a Baseball Game [02:44]
      5. Slow Drag [02:25]
      6. When We Get Married [03:19]
      7. (Win, Place or Show) She`s a Winner [02:24]
      8. Sad Girl [01:53]
      9. A Love That`s Real [02:55]
      10. Friends No More [02:56]
      11. Gonna Be Strong [02:47]
      12. Me Tarzan, You Jane [02:21]
      13. Check Yourself [02:36]
      14. I`ll Always Love My Mama (Part I) [03:02]
    • CD 4 – Spiritual Concept – Spiritual Concept
      1. Spiritual Sky [06:25]
      2. Let`s Take It All [03:24]
      3. California Woman [08:33]
      4. Where Are the Cares for Tomorrow [06:12]
      5. Remedy [05:44] 6. Get It On [05:56]
    • CD 5 – The Three Degrees – The Three Degrees
      1. Dirty Ol` Man [04:33]
      2. Can`t You See What You`re Doing To Me [02:31]
      3. A Woman Needs A Good Man [04:19]
      4. When Will I See You Again [02:57]
      5. I Didn`t Know [02:50]
      6. I Like Being A Woman [03:56]
      7. If And When [07:07]
      8. Year Of Decision [02:42]
    • CD 6 – Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Black & Blue
      1. Cabaret [01:42]
      2. The Love I Lost [06:24]
      3. It All Depends On You [04:49]
      4. Concentrate On Me [03:10]
      5. Satisfaction Guaranteed (Or Take Your Love Back) [03:27]
      6. Is There a Place for Me [06:56]
      7. I`m Weak for You [06:50]
      8. I`m Comin` Home Tomorrow [06:11]
    • CD 7 – The O’Jays – Ship Ahoy
      1. Put Your Hands Together [04:07]
      2. Ship Ahoy [09:40]
      3. This Air I Breathe [03:52]
      4. You Got Your Hooks In Me [05:33]
      5. For the Love of Money [07:20]
      6. Now That We Found Love [04:41]
      7. Don`t Call Me Brother [08:55]
      8. People Keep Tellin` Me [03:53]
    • CD 8 – Billy Paul – War Of The Gods
      1. I See the Light [06:13]
      2. War of the Gods [10:07]
      3. The Whole Town`s Talking [04:47]
      4. I Was Married [07:19]
      5. Thanks for Saving My Life [02:58]
      6. Peace Holy Peace [06:57]
    • 12” Single
      SIDE A
      1. Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – The Love I Lost [06:24]
      SIDE B
      1. The O’Jays – It’s Too Strong [03:04]

ABBA’s Little Things released on CD for Christmas

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

Little Things, ABBA’s festive number from Voyage, is being released as a single for Christmas and a video is also in the pipeline.

The song is track three on the new record and, like the previous singles, is being issued physically, on CD. That makes four CD singles from the one album. Unfortunately, this is another one-track CD single which is incredibly frustrating given that even bunging an instrumental on there would be better than nothing.

The Swedish pop quartet will be hoping to improve on the number nine peak of ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’ in the UK singles charts although it could be a tall order since ABBA fans are not really streamers (90 percent of the album sales were physical).

Little Things is released on 3 December 2021 by Universal Music/Polar. In addition to what’s in the widget below, it’s also available via the ABBA Voyage store.

What’s the deal with this new U2 Achtung Baby reissue?

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

Although 2011 is probably best remembered as the year of Pink Floyd’s ‘Immersion’ box sets, there were two mega-boxes which were ahead of their time and helped define a new era of ‘super deluxe edition’ box sets.

One of these was The Smiths Complete – a gigantic box which contained eight CDs, 11 vinyl LPs and 25 seven-inch singles – and the other was the ‘über deluxe’ of U2’s 1991 album Achtung Baby. The latter was a 20th anniversary edition and contained six CDs, four DVDs, a 2LP version of the album and five singles pressed on transparent vinyl in special oversized wallets. The packaging was very over the top for the U2 set, with magnetic ’tiles’ on the top, hidden drawers, enamel badges, ‘The Fly’ sunglasses, numbered lithograph, copies of the Propaganda magazine and more.

Smiths ‘Complete’ is a 44-disc box set. Photo above taken by Paul Sinclair in 2011 at Warner’s London offices (click image to enlarge)

These box sets were released within one month of each other and both retailed at over £200 (The Smiths set was £220 and U2 was £260). That’s a lot of money for a music box set today, and ten years ago it seemed crazy. Despite this, The Smiths box sold our very quickly (it was limited to 4000 units worldwide) and I never managed to get my hands on a copy (well I did briefly, under strict supervision in Warner’s offices!).

The U2 über deluxe took longer to go out of print. Prices have risen over the years and there were never any real bargains available.

The 2011 17-disc ‘über deluxe’ of U2’s Achtung Baby (click image to enlarge)

The reason for mentioning this is because U2 have just announced some 30th anniversary editions of the Achtung Baby album and the contrast to the activity ten years ago is stark. This time around there is a 2LP black vinyl edition of the album which comes with an eight-page booklet and a poster. Although there is a blue & red limited edition variant with a slipcase. THAT’S IT for physical editions.

Admittedly, it’s hard to see how they can top the editions a decade ago (there was also a 6CD+4DVD super deluxe for around the £85 mark), but an obvious thing to do might have been to offer some of this content again, perhaps in a more compact and cheaper CD-based package. What they’ve done instead is offer fans a “digital box” (coming on 3 December) that includes Uber Remixes, Unter Remixes and B-Sides with “22 tracks never before available digitally”.

The 2021 30th anniversary reissue of Achtung Baby on blue & red vinyl (click image to enlarge)

This digital box has four ‘components’: the 2018 remaster of the album (as is the new vinyl) and then 2021 remasters of CDs 3, 4 & 5 from both the 2011 super and uber deluxe editions. It’s not really true to say that 22 tracks haven’t been available ‘digitally’ before, since CD is a digital format, but I guess they mean download/streaming. The two discs of content ‘missing’ from both 2011 box sets that are missing from this 2011 digital box are Zooropa and Kindergarten — The Alternative Achtung Baby.

Incidentally, here’s something interesting to consider; when Achtung Baby was reissued in 2011 there was no vinyl version available separately. The 2LP edition was ONLY available in the uber deluxe or as part of a four-record set with some of the remixes. That only happened seven years later for the 2018 U2 vinyl reissues.

I wouldn’t rule out more physical boxes next year, with bigger vinyl sets and a CD box. If they can make an 11LP box out of All That You Can’t Leave Behind then the appetite will be there for Achtung Baby.

In the meantime, the new 2LP vinyl edition of the album is being released on 19 November 2021 (this Friday!) which is 30 years and one day since the original release date. Coloured vinyl is D2C only.

Tracklisting

Achtung Baby U2 / ‘Digital Box Set’

    • Achtung Baby
      1. Zoo Station
      2. Even Better Than The Real Thing
      3. One
      4. Until The End Of The World
      5. Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
      6. So Cruel
      7. The Fly
      8. Mysterious Ways
      9. Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World
      10. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
      11. Acrobat
      12. Love Is Blindness
    • Uber Remixes
      1. Night and Day (Steel String Remix)
      2. Even Better Than The Real Thing (Perfecto Mix)
      3. Mysterious Ways (Solar Plexus Extended Club Mix)
      4. Lemon (Perfecto Mix)
      5. Can’t Help Falling in Love (Triple Peaks Remix)
      6. Lady with the Spinning Head (Extended Dance remix)
      7. Real Thing (V16 Exit Wound Remix)
      8. Mysterious Ways (Ultimatum Mix)
      9. The Lounge Fly Mix
      10. Mysterious Ways (The Perfecto Remix)
      11. One (Apollo 440 Remix)
    • Unter Remixes
      1. Mysterious Ways (Tabla Motown Remix)
      2. Mysterious Ways (Apollo 440 Magic Hour Remix)
      3. Can’t Help Falling in Love (Mystery Train Dub)
      4. One (Apollo 440 Ambient Mix)
      5. Lemon (Momo’s Reprise)
      6. Salomé (Zooromancer Remix)
      7. Even Better Than The Real Thing (Trance Mix)
      8. Numb (Gimme Some More Dignity Mix)
      9. Mysterious Ways (Solar Plexus Magic Hour Remix)
      10. Numb (The Soul Assassins Mix)
      11. Even Better Than The Real Thing (Apollo 440 Stealth Sonic Remix)
    • B-Sides And Other Stuff
      1. Lady With The Spinning Head (UV1)
      2. Blow Your House Down
      3. Salomé
      4. Even Better Than The Real Thing (Single Version)
      5. Satellite Of Love
      6. Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (Temple Bar Remix)
      7. Heaven And Hell
      8. Oh Berlin
      9. Near The Island (Instrumental)
      10. Down All The Days
      11. Paint It Black
      12. Fortunate Son
      13. Alex Descends Into Hell For A Bottle Of Milk / Korova 1
      14. Where Did It All Go Wrong?
        15. Everybody Loves A Winner
        16. Even Better Than The Real Thing (Fish Out Of Water Remix)

This Week’s Box Set and Reissue Deals

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

Sade / This Far 6LP remastered vinyl box

€112 was €150

Deal Over!

Very good reduction in Spain on the always-seems-to-be-expensive Sade This Far box set. No issues in terms of charges/duties for UK fans since this is well below the £135 point at which these are triggered.

Dire Straits / Studio Albums 1978-1991 vinyl box set artwork

Dire Straits / The Studio Albums 1978-1991 8LP vinyl box

€90 was €122

Deal Over!

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / Beautiful Creatures: The Best of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 1984-2014 3CD+DVD super deluxe

£11 was £19

Deal Over!

CRAZY price for three CDs of hits, a DVD with 39 videos all packaged in a hardcover book!

David Bowie / The Man Who Sold The World Vinyl picture disc

€17 was €28

Deal Over!

Excellent price in Italy for the David Bowie Man Who Sold The World vinyl picture disc, which was issud when the Width of a Circle 2CD set came out. This works out just over £15 SHIPPED to the UK, compared to the UK price of £25 unshipped.

Depeche Mode / Ultra: The 12″ Singles 8LP vinyl box

€120 was €167

Deal Over!

Lloyd Cole / Guesswork vinyl LP

£10

Deal Over!
Joni MItchell / Archives Vol 2: The Reprise Years 1967-1971 5CD box set

Joni Mitchell / Archives Vol. 2 5CD box set

£35 was £57

Deal Over!

Superb French deal for this Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2 five-CD set. Comes to around £38 SHIPPED to the UK which is a cracking price given it’s £50 without shipping in the UK.

The Beatles / Let It Be 2021 reissue

The Beatles / Let It Be 5CD+blu-ray super deluxe

£86 was £110

Deal Over!

Prince / Welcome 2 America 2LP+CD+blu-ray box set

£41 was £95

Deal Over!

Don’t hang around, this will go fast!

Japan / Quiet Life 3CD+LP box

Japan / Quiet Life 3CD+vinyl LP super deluxe

£33 was £55

Deal Over!

ABBA Voyage formats unboxed

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

SDEtv takes a look at the various ABBA Voyage physical editions, including three different vinyl variants and the exclusive CDs.

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Pete Towshend confirms Who’s Next reissue for 2022

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

The Who’s Pete Townshend has taken to Instagram to offer fans a tour of his studio and to confirm reissue plans for next year.

In a four-part post yesterday (under his ‘yaggerdang‘ account) Pete tells viewers that he has spent 3 days in his studio until five in the morning trying to “keep up with Who demos for the Who’s Next / Lifehouse reissue that is happening next year” (Lifehouse is an unreleased rock opera that Townshend has dabbled with on and off, over the years).

What follows is a fascinating peek behind the curtain, as Townshend shows off a set-up he half-jokingly says he’s “ashamed” of, which involves connecting an old Studer 8-track machine to some Dolby-equipped gear since the old recordings were made with Dolby’s noise-reduction system and presumably need to be decoded correctly.

He then offers a glimpse off some old demo tapes with Lifehouse material, the song ‘Bargain’ (which ended up as track two on the Who’s Next album) and ‘Ambition’, “a song we’re trying to recover”. He also shows a tape with some 8-track home demos including ‘Too Much of Anything’ and another with “a long version of “Baba O’Reily'” without vocals.

Some of the tapes Pete has been working with were shown in his Instagram video

Pete then reiterates that “it’s not just Who’s Next that we’re talking about, but Lifehouse” and he mentions that it should have come out this year (2021). Then with a wry smile he says “If I’m looking a little shattered… I am! Goodnight”.

There will be more news on The Who’s reissue plans in 2022.

Another screenshot from Pete’s video shows some old multi-track demos

Out This Week / on 19 November 2021

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

Cat Stevens / Teaser and the Firecat 50th anniversary CD, Vinyl, Box Set, Blu-ray

Cat Stevens’ 1971 album Teaser and the Firecat is reissued for its 50th anniversary across five physical formats, including TWO super deluxe editions.

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Robert Plant and Alison Krauss / Raise the Roof (new album)

Plant and Krauss are reunited after 14 years, and follow-up Raising Sand with Raise the Roof. Again produced by T Bone Burnett, this collection features 12 songs (14 on the deluxe CD) by “legends and unsung heroes”.

Brian Wilson / At My Piano (new album)

Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson ‘reimagines’ the most iconic songs from his back catalogue with him alone at the piano. Featuring ‘God Only Knows’, ‘Wouldn’t it Be Nice’, ‘California Girls’, ‘Good Vibrations’ and many more. CD out this week, vinyl (which has a much cooler front cover) in December.

John Barry / The Tamarind Seed (CD soundtrack)

John Barry‘s score to this 1974 romance/drama starring Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif was never officially released as a soundtrack and tapes were thought lost. However, Silva Screen Records have managed to create the OST that never was with this new release that features “all the major cues used in the film” together with Wilma Reading’s commercially released single ‘Play It Again’. This also includes two different versions of ‘The End’ as performed by Danny Street, plus different versions of both main and end title themes. CD-only, it seems.

Jaki Graham / 35th Anniversary Collection (4CD box)

New four-CD Jaki Graham box set that features her albums Heaven Knows and Breaking Away (released in 1985 and 1986 respectively). Two bonus CDs feature a wealth of 12-inch remixes.

Saturday Deluxe / 13 November 2021

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

CD – the ‘Voldemort’ of the music industry

ABBA’s Voyage album has gone in at number one on the UK charts with massive sales of almost 204,000 units. The official charts company reported that 90 percent of sales were physical; the splits (not published) were as follows:

  • 148,471 copies sold on CD
  • 29,891 copies sold on vinyl
  • 4,205 copies sold on cassette

Impressive stuff, although in the press release to announce this news, the official charts company literally wrote nothing about the enormous CD sales and instead focused on vinyl, choosing to point out that, with those figures, Voyage was “the fastest-selling vinyl release of the century” (it actually beat a three-year-old record of the Artic Monkeys, whose last album sold almost 25k vinyl in week one in 2018).

Anyway, if ever you wanted evidence of ‘the industry’ trying to ignore the continued success of the CD format, this is it. The album had “the biggest opening week of any album in four years” and that achievement has nothing to do with streaming, it’s nothing to do with vinyl, but has everything to do with the CD sales. Yet this “inferior sonic storage system” (© Elvis Costello) – is not mentioned at all in the press release to announce this feat.

The CD is the Format-That-Must-Not-Be-Named, quite clearly. It’s the Dark Lord that threatens the narrative of vinyl being more popular than CDs. I say this as a fan of both formats.

New clip from The Beatles: Get Back

Not long to go now for Peter Jackson’s ‘3-Part Event’. Here’s another taster for you in the shape of a clip of The Beatles performing a very early version (perhaps it’s the first run-through) of Let It Be‘s ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’. Note a very sardonic George Harrison at the end!

“If you take the red pill, Curt, you will stay in wonderland and I will show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes…” (photo:Frank Ockenfels)

Tears For Fears announce tour dates & new coloured vinyl

Tears For Fears have announced some 2022 tour dates in support of their forthcoming album, The Tipping Point. The band will hit the road in America towards the end of May for a five-week spell and then continue in the UK, in July.

As you can see below, this should be called the ‘Al Fresco’ tour since they are choosing to play largely outdoor venues with plenty of amphitheatres, pavilions, houses and castles in the mix!

In Britain, Tears For Fears will be joined by Alison Moyet, who supported the band back in 2019 for some UK dates. As you can see, there are no London dates, unfortunately, although SDE understands this may well be corrected later in the year.

Speaking about going back out on the road, Curt Smith said, “We couldn’t be more excited to start playing concerts again. We’ve missed seeing our friends on the road around the world and the energy of performing live.”

A new pink vinyl edition of The Tipping Point was announced at the same time. This is a ‘D2C’ only product and therefore can’t be sold via usual retail channels like Amazon, HMV or the independent dealer network. It’s available via the Tears For Fears shop.

May 2022 – USA tour
  • Friday 20 – RIVERBEND MUSIC CENTER, CINCINNATI, OH
  • Saturday 21 – BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER, CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH
  • Tuesday 24 – THE PAVILION AT TOYOTA MUSIC FACTORY, IRVING, TX
  • Friday 27 – AK-CHIN PAVILION, PHOENIX, AZ
  • Sunday 29 – LEVITT PAVILION, DENVER, CO
June 2022 – USA tour
  • Wednesday 1 – Concord Pavilion, CONCORD, CA
  • Thursday 2 – Shoreline Amphitheatre, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA
  • Saturday 4 – The Forum, INGLEWOOD, CA
  • Sunday 5 – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, CHULA VISTA, CA
  • Thursday 9 – ithink Financial Amphitheatre, WEST PALM BEACH, FL
  • Friday 10 – Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphiteatre, TAMPA, FL
  • Sunday 12 – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, ALPHARETTA, GA
  • Monday 13 – PNC Music Pavilion, CHARLOTTE, NC
  • Wednesday 15 – DTE Energy Music Theatre, CLARKSTON, MI
  • Thursday 16 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – CHICAGO, TINLEY PARK, IL
  • Friday 17 – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Centre, NOBLESVILLE, IN
  • Sunday 19 – Merriweather Post Pavilion, COLUMBIA, MD
  • Tuesday 21 – Mann Center For The Performing Arts, PHILADELPHIA, PA
  • Wednesday 22 – Leader Bank Pavilion, BOSTON, MA
  • Friday 24 – PNC Bank Arts Center, HOLMDEL, NJ
  • Saturday 25 – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater, WANTAGH, NY
July 2022 – UK tour
  • Friday 1 – Shropshire, Telford QEII Arena
  • Saturday 2 – Wiltshire, Longleat House
  • Tuesday 5 – Buckinghamshire, Waddesdon Manor
  • Thursday 7 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, Utilita Arena
  • Friday 8 – Scotland, Floors Castle
  • Saturday 9 – Lytham St Annes, Lytham Festival
  • Tuesday 12 – Derbyshire, The Incora County Ground Derby
  • Thursday 14 – Yorkshire, Leeds Millennium Square
  • Friday 15 – Warwickshire, Warwick Castle
  • Saturday 16 – North Yorkshire, Scarborough Open Air Theatre
  • Tuesday 19 – Hampshire, Chewton Glen
  • Wednesday 20 – Kent, The Spitfire Ground
  • Friday 22 – Sussex, The 1st Central County Ground
  • Saturday 23 – Wales, Cardiff Castle
  • Sunday 24 – Hertfordshire, Hatfield House
  • Tuesday 26 – Devon, Powderham Castle

Matt Berry on his new box set ‘Gather Up’

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

SDE recently caught up with musician Matt Berry whose ten years with the Acid Jazz label is about to be celebrated with a new music box set called Gather Up. When Matt isn’t making music he’s a comic actor. He’s currently busy filming a new series of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s What We Do In The Shadows.

Whose idea was the Gather Up box? Did Acid Jazz approach you, or did you think it was time to take a break from actually recording a proper album to look back over your archive?

Matt Berry: No, no. I’d never do that. I’m never really interested in looking back over stuff. I’ve only ever want to do the next thing. No, it came from the label. We realised that I done 10 years, which was the end of my contract. And it was [a case of] “do you want to sign another one and if you do, we should do something to commemorate that”. I think it started off just being a seven-inch [single], a 10th anniversary seven-inch, and then they said, “why don’t we do a 10 year collection?”. And then I just had to hand everything over to them, because that’s what they’re good at.

With this box, you’ve got a ‘best of’ at the beginning and after that it offers rarities from the archive. How do you know what your best songs are or what your fans might want to hear?

Well, I don’t. I don’t know what my best songs are, and I don’t think I’m the one to make that choice. That’s down to the label, [to decide] which ones would represent what I’ve done the best, because I’m just too in the middle of it, I think.

Are you a fan of greatest hits, in general, because some people are a bit snobby about them? Obviously there’s been some great ones over the years like Leonard Cohen or The Doors…

Exactly. I don’t care anymore. I don’t care about any kind of snobbery within music, to be honest with you. I don’t have any interest in that. Yeah, like you said, some people’s first introduction to a band was through a best of. And then a successful introduction, would be like, for instance, The Beatles, ‘red’ and ‘blue’ albums [1962-1966 and 1967-1970, respectively] and like you say, The Doors… These are just as important to a lot of people as regular albums, so yeah, I’ve got no snobbery when it comes to ‘best ofs’.

‘Take My Hand’, is by far your most listened to track on Spotify, and I guess that just shows the power of the TV audience more than anything else [‘Take My Hand’ is used as the theme to Matt’s TV comedy show Toast of London]

Yeah, I guess. I mean, it’s also one of the oldest songs. So it’s been around the longest.

You said your contract was up. Presumably you’ve re-signed?

Yeah. I mean, that was the reason for the celebration, in terms of going forward for another 10 years and it’s ended up being a ‘best of’.

How do you look back on all the albums you’ve recorded with Acid Jazz. With the distance, you can look back and maybe see pathways and things that weren’t clear at the time when you were knee deep in the middle of recording your third record, or whatever.

Yeah, I mean, I don’t tend to look back, very often, if I’m honest – if at all. The only times I look back, will be to work out why something didn’t work. Or to correct things, or try to correct things; exploring why I didn’t achieve what I had in my head.

But this project must have forced you to look back a little bit, because even though you said you left it to the label you must have personally gone through some of your outtakes in your archives.

I did. But it was made easy, because we’d already talked about doing a deluxe of Witchazel, which is the first album I’d released with them, so had already been told to go through all the Witchazel outtakes, to find anything that was interesting. So I’d already done that. That was half the work done, because there was a lot of other things that were recorded around that time. So, I just included some of that but all the other stuff, like books etc… that was done by the label and done by Ben the photographer, who’s been around since the start. He’s got everything. I don’t keep anything. I don’t keep any photographs from back when. So, it could only have come from him, because he does kept everything. He’s the one who took all the photographs, so he was the best person for that job.

Why don’t you keep things?

It’s nothing to do with negativity or positivity, it’s because I’m not that interested. I’m far more interested in what I’m going to be doing next. Once something is done for me then it’s done and I’ve reached the end of that particular thing. And then it’s all about having the enthusiasm to start the next thing. It isn’t through not wanting to look back or anything. It’s just once I’m done, I’m done. I’m kind of enthused by looking forward.

Of all the albums that you’ve recorded, which do you think has successfully managed to deliver the vision in your head when you started out making it?

Well, there’s a couple, I would say, possibly Kill the Wolf and The Blue Elephant. They sounded exactly like I had in my head, pretty much. I was also pleased with Phantom Birds. I knew exactly what I didn’t want to do with that album. But yeah, I would say those two: Kill the Wolf and The Blue Elephant.

And is that the yardstick by which you measure the success of a record?

I don’t even think about the success of it. I’m not that interested in that, it’s all about – and this sounds kind of wanky, but again, I don’t care anymore – it’s all about the artistic intent, and whether I managed to nail it or not, or even if I managed to get near it. That is all that I’m interested in. And to be fair, that’s all that the label are interested in, to an extent. Obviously, they’re interested in selling, more than I am, but they’re still proper music fans, and they want a decent album.

The vinyl box set edition of Gather Up

How’s that relationship been? Has anything changed much in a decade? You’ve become a bigger name, I guess, in terms of the acting side of things, but you seem to get a lot of pleasure being on a label like Acid Jazz.

Acid Jazz was a label that I looked up to, a lot, as a kid. I’ve said this a load of times, but, you know, when I, when I was a student, and when I was in my late teens and early 20s, you couldn’t get Hammond Organ music, unless you went around charity shops. It wasn’t until Acid Jazz did their compilations that I managed to get all this stuff. So they were a huge label for me, when I was growing up, because it was the fastest way to get to the kind of stuff that I love: 60s Mod… all this kind of shit, that I was into. They also had original acts doing that kind of thing as well, so they were an all round kind of label that I was into as a kid.

You mentioned the Phantom Birds album. That’s spotlighted quite significantly on this box set, isn’t it, because you’ve got a whole disc of demos and different versions? Tell us a little bit about that. It rather suggests that a) there was a lot of stuff recorded for that record and b) that you were trying to go in a certain direction and maybe avoid other directions?

Yeah, that’s exactly it. I mean, what I’d done up until then, largely, was just fill every track [on a song] with as many as many tracks, or stems, as I wanted to, because that was the kind of thing, that is the kind of thing, that I’m into. I’m into banks of guitar parts and that kind of stuff. Heavy production and lots of production ideas. So it was a conscious decision to drop all that for Phantom Birds and keep it as simple as I could. It looks like I spent a lot of time on it [but] I didn’t, I demoed everything while filming and doing various things. And then when I came back, and I just re-recorded it all. I kept some vocals from the demos, but yeah, I just kind of did it again, properly.

So you do record demos most of the time, because I was wondering about your process…

For that album, [I did]. That’s the only album where I’ve done that, because it was such a departure; it was a different kind of discipline that I had there. I kept having to tell myself, “I don’t need a Mellotron here”, I just need to keep this as sparse as I can.

A couple of the tracks on the box set (‘Peter Cleopatra and the Windmill’ and ‘The Shot Rang Out in the Forest’), to me have a slightly more light hearted, borderline comedic type thing going on? When you write your music, do you have to consciously stop yourself from being silly?

No, because I don’t see it like that. It’s an unavoidable comparison to make, because of what I do. But there’s never any intention to be funny. I’m not interested in comedy songs. I never have been. It’s a genre that I couldn’t give a fuck about.

But what about the Paul McCartney thing on Witchazel [‘Paul McCartney’ – actually comic actor Peter Serafinowicz – sings backing vocals on ‘Rain Come Down’]? I mean, that’s got a comedy thing going on, hasn’t it?

No, not to me. It was just more of just “what would he sound like, if he was to come on [sing] the end of this song?” Like I say, the comparison is always made, because of what else I do.

Is that a bit of a frustration?

No, I don’t care anymore. I might have done in the early days, but I honestly couldn’t give a shit now, because it doesn’t make any difference to what I’m doing.

Are you comfortable letting people hear the demos and the kind of stuff that didn’t come out the first time around?

Only if it’s interesting. If I went in a different direction with it, or it’s something that is rare, that maybe didn’t come out because I’ve totally forgotten about it

It’s very interesting listening to ‘The Blue Elephant Alternative Intro’ that’s on one of the discs in this box set compared to ‘Aboard’, which became the finished version. ‘Aboard’ has a lighter, jazzier touch, and the original version had a slightly heavier guitar and a whole different feel. That’s quite an interesting insight into your decision-making process at the time.

Yeah. I mean, you’ve just got to balance stuff, you know. It’s just a sequencing thing, because the thing about that album is, it was designed just to be listened to in one go, rather than odd tracks, because they all dovetail into one another. So you’ve got to take these things into account when you’re putting one track in front of another.

Your Television Themes album is highly enjoyable. How much did you learn about the genius behind some of these themes from the ’70s? It must have been interesting having to break them down and re-record them.

It was fascinating. It was something that I’d wanted to do for a while, and Acid Jazz had actually done one during the 90s, or whenever; a film and TV themes album which Acid Jazz artists had recorded. And all we were going to do, basically, was add to that. I was going to do a couple for a re-release. The whole point, for me, was doing the themes that hadn’t been commercially released, the ones that you couldn’t get on vinyl. Things like, ‘Are You Being Served?’, ‘World in Action’, ‘Sorry’… Stuff that hadn’t come out. So that was the main aim, just to get those available. And then it was up to me, to be as faithful with them as I could. But the thing about those kinds of themes are, they’re only like 30 seconds long – if that. So, if I was just to do the actual themes that everyone knows, the album would have been like, eight minutes. So you know, I had to come up with these new bits, stuff in the middle, which was fun. Because you could do what you wanted there, and then come back to the theme again.

Well, that’s the classic thing with TV themes, because when they do get commercially released, they always have some weird sax break in the middle that you never heard on the TV version.

Yeah, exactly.

This is the end of a decade, you said you’ve re-signed to the label, so what are the next 10 years going to bring?

Me trying out other things, and seeing whether they work, basically, and doing stuff with others… I’ve just done a single with Emma Noble, so I want to do more of that kind of stuff. I think they’ll be a lot more collaboration.

Are you going to try and get out on the road next year?

Well, it’s possible. I mean, that would kind of depend on vampires [Matt was in the middle of filming What We Do In The Shadows when he spoke to SDE] and whether we can get out. I’d like to, because there’s at least two albums that I haven’t toured, so it would be good.

Have you got any specific plans as to what your next record might sound like?

A few ideas, and they’re, they’re sort of production ideas, more than anything else. I know what I want. There’s a certain specific thing that I want to try and get and work out how it’s done. I want to go back to folk, I think. But then sort of give it a bit of a twist.

Why didn’t the Witchazel deluxe happen, out of interest?

I think it will. This [box] comes first, but I didn’t put everything from the Witchazel deluxe on it, because there’s loads of stuff. So that will come out.

Matt Berry was talking to Paul Sinclair for SDE. The new box set, Gather Up, is released on 19 November 2021 on vinyl and CD.

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Gather up - 5LP box set with signed certificate and book

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Matt Berry

gather up - 2LP red vinyl

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Jack White to release two new albums in 2022

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

Jack White will release two new studio albums next year. Fear of the Dawn (his fourth album) will be released in April 2022, while its follow up, Entering Heaven Alive, will be issued in July.

‘Taking Me Back’ is from the former – you can watch the video below.

Both albums were recorded at White’s Third Man Studio throughout 2021. There are various editions of Fear of the Dawn available for pre-order including blue vinyl and CD with both Third Man ‘mix’ discs. There’s no pre-orders anywhere for Entering Heaven alive except for a solitary black vinyl on the Third Man Records site. More info on that release is expected next year.

Fear of the Dawn will be issued on 8 April 2022, while Entering Heaven Alive is slated for 22 July 2022.

The cover of Entering Heaven Alive

Tracklisting

Fear of the Dawn Jack White /

      1. Taking Me Back
      2. Fear Of The Dawn
      3. The White Raven
      4. Hi-De-Ho (W/ Q-Tip)
      5. Eosophobia
      6. Into The Twilight
      7. Dusk
      8. What’s The Trick?
      9. That Was Then, This Is Now
      10. Eosophobia (Reprise)
      11. Morning, Noon And Night
      12. Shedding My Velvet

Tracklisting

Entering Heaven Alive Jack White /

      1. A Tip From You To Me
      2. All Along The Way
      3. Help Me Along
      4. Love Is Selfish
      5. I’ve Got You Surrounded (With My Love)
      6. Queen Of The Bees
      7. A Tree On Fire From Within
      8. If I Die Tomorrow
      9. Please God, Don’t Tell Anyone
      10. A Madman From Manhattan
      11. Taking Me Back (Gently)

Icehouse single gets remix treatment

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

Aussie duo The Antipodeans ((Mark Vick & Danny Muller), who share a self-confessed ‘obsession’ with ’80s synth-rock, have ‘re-imagined’ Australian band Icehouse‘s 1982 hit ‘Hey Little Girl’.

The song was the second single from Icehouse’s 1982 album, Primitive Man, and was a top 20 hits across Europe, hitting the top ten in other territories including Australia.

SDE readers will be pleased to read that The Antipodeans may have reworked the song, but they have remained relatively faithful to the artistry of the original and given it a ‘classic’ eighties sounding remix. The reworking features the original vocal from Iva Davies and this initiative has full support from Icehouse. You can listen to it, below.

Even better, there’s a physical release, in the shape of a coloured vinyl 12-inch single which features four new remixes, including the radio mix, an extended mix and two further mixes.

The physical single is extremely limited (only 250 units) and is only available via Long Distance Recording’s online store in Australia. It’s pressed on 180g translucent violet vinyl and is cut at 45RPM. The shop does ship internationally.

The Antipodeans vs Icehouse’s ‘Hey Little Girl’ is out now, via Long Distance Recordings. When the vinyl sells out, here are the download/streaming options.

Tracklisting

Hey Little Girl The Antipodeans vs Icehouse / Limited edition 12-inch single

      1. Radio Mix
      2. Extended Mix
      3. Mark & Danny’s Disco Mix
      4. Mark & Danny’s Extended Disco Mix

ICEHOUSE.
01 Radio Mix
02 Extended Mix
03 Mark & Danny’s Disco Mix
04 Mark & Danny’s Extended Disco Mix

Dodgy / The A&M Years

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

8CD career-spanning collection, featuring 128 tracks 

The A&M Years is a forthcoming 8CD box set featuring ’90s British band Dodgy.

The box features 128 tracks, including the three studio albums The Dodgy Album, Homegrown and Free Peace Sweet. Each album comes a disc of bonus tracks and two bonus CDs offer live cuts and remixes.

Produced by Ian Broudie, the band’s 1993 debut, The Dodgy Album, featured the singles ‘Water Under The Bridge’, ‘Lovebirds’, and ‘I Need Another’ although it was the following year’s Homegrown that caught the attention of this writer, particularly the single ‘So Let Me Go Far’, although ‘Staying Out For The Summer’ would be a bigger hit when it was reissued in 1995.

In 1996, the band released their third studio album Free Peace Sweet. This was a platinum-selling record thanks to the infectious radio hit ‘Good Enough’ which reached number four in the UK singles chart.

Dodgy: The A&M Years. 8CD box set with a limited edition available with signed print (click image to enlarge)

This box comes with a booklet of rare photographs and memorabilia, an introduction from 6 Music’s Matt Everitt, and track-by-track notes from  band members Mathew Priest, Nigel Clark and Andy Miller.

An Amazon UK-exclusive edition of The A&M Years 8CD set comes with an art card SIGNED by the band. This is limited to 750 units.

There is also a 4LP coloured vinyl edition of The A&M Years that sees with The Dodgy Album pressed on white vinyl, Homegrown on neon green vinyl and Free Peace Sweet pressed on 2LP translucent blue vinyl. These are all 180g pressings and the later is a gatefold package that includes the two bonus tracks (‘Grateful Moon’ and ‘is It Me?’) from its original limited pressing.  This is available via Rough Trade in the UK with a SIGNED print (like the CD set limited to 750).

The A&M Years as a 4LP coloured vinyl box set (click image to enlarge)

As well as these CD and vinyl box sets, Dodgy’s 1998 ‘best of’ – Ace A’s and Killer B’s – will be pressed on vinyl for the first time. This features all eight of the band’s UK top 40 hits and is pressed on 2LP yellow and green 180gt Vinyl. 

The A&M Years and Ace A’s and Killer B’s and both released on 25 February 2022.

Dodgy will also be playing an IN STORE PERFORMANCE, with a Q&A and signing session at London’s Rough Trade East on 26 February 2022. Ticket price includes the format/product of your choice. Book here.

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The AandM Years - 8CD signed exclusive

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Ace As and Killer Bs - 2LP yellow and green vinyl

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The AandM Years - 8CD standard edition

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The track listing for Dodgy’s The A&M Years (click image to enlarge)

Placebo / Never Let Me Go

Posted on by Paul Sinclair

Placebo will release their eighth studio album, Never Let Me Go, in March next year.

The 13-track long-player is the follow up to 2013’s Loud Like Love and is available to pre-order via the Official Placebo Shop, with exclusive coloured vinyl and signed bundles on offer. Any pre-orders placed on the official shop before 15 November come with access to priority pre-sale tickets for the 2022 UK and European tour.

You can preview ‘Surrounded By Spies’ from the new record, above.

As well as the exclusive shop pink vinyl, there is a standard indies red vinyl and Rough Trade in the UK are offering a very limited (300 copies) violet coloured 2LP vinyl set.

Small lift-off lid box with single CD, 13 lyric cards and an ‘immersive booklet’ (click image to enlarge)

In terms of CD editions, there’s nothing with any extra tracks (no format offers extra tracks) but there’s a small CD box on the official store with 13 lyric cards and an ‘immersive booklet’ (whatever that may be). This appears to be the same as the Amazon UK exclusive, except with Amazon you get a lenticular print.

Never Let Me Go will be released on 25 March 2022.

Browse the Official Placebo Shop for exclusives & bundles or check out highlights below

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Never Let Me Go - Amazon exclusive CD box with lenticular print

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Tracklisting

Never Let Me Go Placebo /

      1. Forever Chemicals
      2. Beautiful James
      3. Hugz
      4. Happy Birthday In The Sky
      5. The Prodigal
      6. Surrounded By Spies
      7. Try Better Next Time
      8. Sad White Reggae
      9. Twin Demons
      10. Chemtrails
      11. This Is What You Wanted
      12. Went Missing
      13. Fix Yourself