I am pleased to say that after a lengthy break, SDE competitions are back and over the coming months you can expect some excellent giveaways featuring popular box sets and reissues. We will start with the rather groovy Now Yearbook ’83 which came out at the end of June.
This release offers 80 tracks across four CDs or a 43-track selection across a 3LP set (pressed on translucent red vinyl).
SDE has five copies of both the deluxe four-CD package and the 3LP red vinyl set to give away! The prize draw is open to all SDE Members. Simply ensure you are logged in, choose the format you’d like to win and submit your entry into the competition in the poll below! If you aren’t an SDE member yet, it’s free and easy to sign-up.
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW OVER. VOTING POLL HAS BEEN REMOVED. WINNERS NAMES HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED ON THIS POST.
Five winners for each format will be randomly selected at 12 noon (BST) on Monday 23 August and they will be contacted via the email address linked to their SDE account. Good luck!
SDE Members are a valued part of SDE community and can leave comments on this site, rate physical releases, offer feedback via polls, receive release & deal alerts via email and more.
SDE is giving away five copies of the 4CD deluxe edition of Now Yearbook ’83SDE is giving away five copies of the 3LP coloured vinyl edition of Now Yearbook ’83
Massive Caravan box set featuring 35 CDs, a DVD and a blu-ray. Produced by Madfish this set is limited to 2,500 copies worldwide and comes with a photo signed by surviving members of the band and includes a 144-page hardback coffee table book. Order via the SDE shop.
A vinyl reissue of Swedish electronic music duo The Knife‘s 2003 album Deep Cuts, which is pressed on limited edition magenta vinyl. This is the record that features ‘Heartbeats’, the song successfully covered by José González in 2006. The Knife’s third album, Silent Shout is also reissued this week as a coloured vinyl pressing
Yes, I know the album has been out for a while, but I have been very much enjoying Crowded House‘s Dreamers Are Waiting and have wanted for a long time to get my thoughts down. So with that in mind here’s SDE’s track-by-track exploration of the band’s seventh studio album.
Bad Times Good
A quietly understated opener co-written by all the band, save Mitchell Froom. Quirky time signature, lush harmonies and obtuse lyrics (“And it’s a challenge for the impresario / Another compromise on the way”) create a mysterious mood. This song has a strange structure, starting with the ‘chorus’ which leads into the verses, which don’t really sound like verses at all, but rather an extension of the chorus! Like much of the album, ‘Bad Times Good’ gets under your skin and rewards repeated plays. Lovely last section “You won’t come out…” 4/5
Playing With Fire
This mid-paced number sounds a bit more like ‘classic’ Crowded House, with a wonderfully angular and shuffle-y rhythm track. This is another group co-write (this time with Mitchell Froom). The lyrics clearly reference the times we are living in (“My wife’s wild in quarantine” and “we’re behind the wheel / We’re driving straight to the wall”) but ultimately the song ends on a note of positivity. It’s quite hooky, although I’d argue that ‘Some Might Say’ would have been a better title, although they probably didn’t want to do that because of the Oasis song. 4/5
To The Island
A Neil Finn song, you can see why ‘To The Island’ was chosen to help promote the album when it was announced. It’s effortlessly melodic and has a very catchy chorus. The lyrics (“The world is beyond us / It’s too enormous”) are both reflective and memorable. I don’t imagine Crowded House are expecting to have ‘hit singles’ these days, so the song never quite goes for the jugular, preferring a more languid approach. The melody echoes the lyrics, so the verses are fairly controlled and contained before it opens up and soars in the choruses, as Neil invites you to the freedom offered by ‘the island’. 4/5
Sweet Tooth
‘Sweet Tooth’ (written by Neil) is quite melancholy and mournful (in a good way) but still manages to deliver a very memorable, perky chorus. This low-key number never really breaks into a sweat but the opaque lyrics don’t stifle enjoyment. ‘Sweet Tooth’ is home a wonderful guitar solo late on. 4/5
Whatever You Want
Like ‘To The Island’, ‘Whatever You Want’ is another high profile song from the album, although I have to say this is one of the few tracks on Dreamers Are Waiting that I don’t like much. The slightly shouty chorus is quite annoying and repetitive and I guess we all know who Neil is writing and singing about. I have no problem with the message but the song it comes gift-wrapped in feels a bit average. I’m skipping this one more and more when I play the record. 3/5
Show Me The Way
This is more like it. ‘Show Me The Way’ closes side one of the album, if you have the vinyl LP. This song is a real mood piece and dripping in atmosphere. There’s wonderful imagery in the lyrics about “when the sheriff came” and how the narrator “took the fall for my brother’s shame”. Elroy Finn uses the brushes on his kit and melodically ‘Show Me The Way’ really hits the spot, particularly in the post verse “When I see red…” sections. Incidentally, some editions of the album incorrectly credit this to Liam Finn, but Neil actually wrote it. 4/5
Goodnight Everyone
Liam did write ‘Goodnight Everyone’ and it’s another fine track with so much atmosphere. This song is full of chiming guitars, a wonderfully bumpy rhythm section, ethereal synths and yearning harmonies in the chorus section (“Where are you now my sister?”). It’s not going to get much radio play, but it’s quite beautiful. 4/5
Too Good For This World
This starts off almost sounding like a demo with scratchy acoustic guitar and that slightly homemade-sounding percussion. It’s a little bit rambling in the first verse and you rather wonder where the song is going before the magic happens. What a chorus! It’s a beautiful melody paired with wonderful words and really rather moving. Neil wrote this song with his brother Tim and while it feels more delicate and less crafted than their classic compositions from Woodface, there’s no doubt that there’s something special here. Like much of Dreamers Are Waiting, the song isn’t trying to bash you over the head, it just rocks you gently and you are seduced. 5/5
Start of Something
One of the best songs on the album. Incredible harmonies, superb melodies and a brilliant delivery. Start of Something is joyful, optimistic and quite brilliant. The guitars sound fantastic and, like some other songs on the album, this conjures up images of cinematic scenes from a Western as the hero trots into town to save the day. The very essence of Crowded House in 2021. 5/5
Real Life Woman
‘Real Life Woman’ has a marvellous beginning to it that rather pulls the rug out from under your feet, melodically speaking. The opening line (“No I’ll never understand / The criminal mind”) feels almost like the end line of a verse and acts like a preface to what follows. It’s a very clever device and is rather unsettling for that reason. There’s an effortless momentum that leads to a spectacularly good – and simple – three-word chorus of “Real life woman”. Neil sings it with a beautiful yearning quality and it has a slightly Beatle-esque (or maybe Lennon-esque) feel to it. The song keeps us waiting, because there’s two longish verses before the first chorus which works well, like pulling back an elastic band further and further until it’s released. The chorus of this song is as good as anything they’ve done. 5/5
Love Isn’t Hard At All
After quite a few slow or mid-paced songs, ‘Love Isn’t Hard At All’ picks up the pace a little bit. Written by Neil and Elroy this is a breezy number enhanced by some hooky lead guitar phrasing. Elroy is very busy behind his drum kit and there’s a lot going on in this song – perhaps too much. Not bad at all, but no more than a decent album track. 3/5
Deeper Down
The album closes with this appropriately reflective song. Ironically, given the lyrics, this song keeps you afloat thanks to the buoyancy of the melody and there’s a warm glow to the lyrics. Not as memorable as some other tracks on the album, but by this point the hard work has been done, so you are more likely to look upon this in a sympathetic light. 3/5
Summary
Dreamers Are Waiting rewards repeated listening. It’s like porridge, it releases its goodness slowly. You will reap the benefits! Neil Finn’s melodic talents are in tact, but he seems less interested these days in writing pop/rock songs with classic structures, cast in steel. At first, this approach makes the new album feels less ‘memorable’ because it has fewer obvious ‘hits’ than the classics of old, but it’s a slow burner and you have to stick with it. Anyhow, hits only serve to promote an album they don’t necessarily help it as a creative endeavour (‘Shiny Happy People’, anyone?). There’s a big focus on mood and atmosphere and the one track that sticks out like a sore thumb is the ‘single’ ‘Whatever You Want’, so I’m glad there aren’t more songs like that. The new band line-up works very well and the album sounds amazing, from a production point of view. Overall, Dreamers are Waiting is a strong 4/5 stars.
What are your thoughts on the album? Leave a comment. Dreamers are Waiting is out now.
SDE takes a look at the recently released PrinceWelcome 2 America deluxe edition and wonders if the package justifies the high retail price. Watch the unboxing video.
Sony are to release Elvis Presley‘s final Nashville session (from 1971), free from overdubs, as an expanded 4CD deluxe set or a 2LP vinyl package.
The sessions documented on the forthcoming Back in Nashville spawned recordings that ended up all over the place, including on Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas (1971), the gospel He Touched Me (1972), Elvis Now (1972) and Elvis (1973).
The four-CD deluxe set of ‘Back in Nashville’ (click image to enlarge)
The four-CD version of Back in Nashville features an impressive 82 ‘undubbed’ tracks across themed discs (‘country/folk, pop, religious, Christmas etc.) and includes outtakes as well as master recordings.
The 2LP vinyl edition echoes the same themed approach but is obviously far more condensed with 21 tracks across the four sides of vinyl.
Back in Nashville will be released on 12 November 2021.
With their rescheduled The Last Domino? tour just over a month away, in a not altogether unexpected move, Genesis have announced a companion ‘best of’ also called The Last Domino?
Described as “a collection of the band’s best-loved songs, including their biggest hits and legendary album cuts”, The Last Domino? will be released in September, a few days before the tour starts.
Available as a two-CD set or a 4LP vinyl package this compilation features 27 songs and was compiled in conjunction with the band. It also gives us a clue in terms of the concert set-lists since we are told that a “majority” of these songs will be performed on the tour.
The 4LP version of The Last Domino? is housed in a hardcover gatefold book-style package, which includes rare and unseen images of the band from their archive and images of the rehearsals of The Last Domino? Tour.
The Last Domino? will be released on 17 September 2021.
Choices is a 6CD box, while Every Day Rocks is a 7LP vinyl picture disc collection with t-shirts and art cards
A new six-CD collection of Uriah Heep hits and ‘deep cuts’ from across the band’s fifty-year career, called Choices, will be released next month.
Created with the full collaboration of Uriah Heep themselves, the six discs, include personal selections from Ken Hensley and Lee Kerslake who sadly died in 2020.
Choices is a six-CD set and comes with a series of art cards (click image to enlarge)
New additions to the Choices collection come from lead vocalist Bernie Shaw and keyboard player Phil Lanzon, who have both been with the band for 35 years, and are completed with selections from Paul Newton and Mick Box.
This set contains 77 tracks and comes with six art cards with personal notations from each band member and their reproduced signature.
For vinyl fans, there is also news of another Uriah Heep box set called Every Day Rocks. This box set includes the first seven albums as vinyl picture discs and includes seven accompanying t-shirts, corresponding art cards (with motivational lyrics) and a Uriah Heep calendar wall planner!
Every Day Rocks box set features seven vinyl picture discs and seven t-shirts (click image to enlarge)
Five of the albums have never been available as picture discs before, while Demons And Wizards and The Magicians Birthday feature both ‘reimagined’ and original artwork by Roger Dean.
Every Day Rocks is currently only available to pre-order via the band’s official store and if you are worrying about T-shirt sizing, there’s lots of choice! Choices is widely available.
Every Day Rocks and the Choices CD box set are both released on 24 September 2021.
The 25th anniversary of Oasis’ legendary Knebworth concerts is being celebrated with Knebworth 1996, a raft of audio and video releases which offer the definitive live recording of the event along with a new feature length documentary (which gets a theatrical showing in September).
The two record breaking nights at Knebworth took place on 10th and 11th August 1996, with over a quarter of a million young music fans from all over the world converging on Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire to see the legendary sets.
The formats are as follows:
2CD+DVD – 20-song setlist taken from Sat and Sun plus documentary on DVD
3LP vinyl – 20-song setlist from best of Sat and Sun
Blu-ray – Documentary, Saturday gig in full, Sunday gig in full
3xDVD – Documentary, Saturday gig in full, Sunday gig in full
2CD – 20-song setlist taken from Sat and Sun
As detailed above, the DVDs and blu-ray include Oasis Knebworth 1996, the new feature-length documentary telling the story of the relationship between Oasis and their fans, directed by Jake Scott. The film is told entirely in the moment through the eyes of the fans who were there, built around extensive and never-before-seen archive concert and backstage footage from the event, with additional interviews with the band and concert organisers. In addition, the DVDs and blu-ray include both nights edited by Dick Carruthers with audio mixed by Will Shapland in Dolby 5.1 surround sound.
The 2CD+DVD set offers 20-track ‘best of both nights’ audio and the documentary on DVD (click image to enlarge)
The 2CD+DVD set (documentary only, on the DVD) comes in ‘casebound book’ packaging, the blu-ray is standard ‘amaray’ case, the triple vinyl comes in a six-panel gatefold sleeve and the two-CD is card ‘softpack’.
There is actually a super deluxe edition box set available only via the band’s website which brings together 3LP vinyl, 2CD, 3xDVD and double cassette along with various printed memorabilia like numbered concert ticket, AAA pass, show information booklet, art print, and “rare commemorative event binocular”. There is no blu-ray in this box set (go figure).
Knebworth 1996 will be released on 19 November 2021.
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s 1970 concept album Jesus Christ Superstar is being reissued for its 50th anniversary.
The record was a effectively a stepping stone to the full musical theatre production since Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber (unknowns at the time), were initially unable to find a producer to back their idea. MCA Records were willing to put out the album which used a full orchestra and included the talents of Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan, Murray Head, and Yvonne Elliman.
Lloyd Webber remembers the challenges well: “A musical about Jesus Christ! Back in 1969 the mere thought had theatre producers falling about with laughter. But somehow Tim Rice and I persuaded MCA to record a single. It came at a time when fusion was all the rage. The Rolling Stones had recorded with the London Bach Choir. Deep Purple’s Jon Lord composed a symphony for rock band and orchestra. So I was like a kid in a sweet shop when I was able to combine a rock band, a symphony orchestra and a gospel choir in what was the first track to be recorded, simply titled ‘Superstar’.“
The enormous success of the album at the time (it topped the American charts) led to Broadway and West End stage productions in 1971 and 1972 respectively.
The 3CD deluxe edition offers rare and unreleased audio on the bonus CD and a 100-page book (click image to enlarge)
The album is being reissued as a 3CD deluxe package in a 10-inch box set with 100-page hardcover book. This offers the original album remastered (by Miles Showell and Nick Davis at Abbey Road) and a bonus CD of previously unreleased guide vocals and demos from the project, plus B-sides and rarities.
The book has been edited by music writer Lois Wilson and provides an ‘an extended oral history of the album’ with new interviews with all key members of original recording (including Andrew and Tim, Ian Gillan, Murray Head, Yvonne Elliman) and there’s also contributions by fans Nile Rodgers and Matt Berry on what Jesus Christ Superstar means to them.
A standard 2CD set is available along with a 2LP half-speed mastered (by Miles Showell) vinyl edition. There’s a special version of the latter featuring a replica of the original 1970 fold-out envelope sleeve and will only be available direct-to-consumer (D2C) via Universal Music channels.
Jesus Christ Superstar is reissued on 17 September 2021.
77-81 is the four-CD version of the Gang of Four vinyl box that came out earlier this year. This set contains Entertainment! and Solid Gold (both remastered from the original analog tapes), seven exclusive singles, the never officially released Live at American Indian Center 1980 and [paging Mr. McCartney] a download code featuring 26 never-before-issued outtakes, rarities and studio demos from Entertainment! and Solid Gold. Also included is a 100-page, full-colour hand-bound book.
Craft Recordings re-release Travis‘ fourth album. Featuring ‘Re-Offender’ and ‘The Beautiful Occupation’ this vinyl was cut at Metropolis Studios and pressed on heavyweight black vinyl.
A new listing on Amazon in the UK suggests that a vinyl reissue of Paul Weller‘s 2001 live album Days of Speed is on the cards for later this year
This would be a 20th anniversary edition of the live album which documented Weller’s solo/acoustic tour with its setlist that included Jam material and songs from the five studio albums he’d released to that point.
Although this 2LP set isn’t exactly cheap, nudging towards the £40 mark, that’s much better than paying over £200 on Discogs for a used copy of the original release!
There’s 18 tracks on the record, although at the time, iTunes offered a couple of bonus selections (‘The Butterfly Collector’ and ‘Carnation’). Whether the label will attempt to include them in the physical reissue remains to be seen, although it’s probably quite unlikely.
Days of Speed should be reissued on 1 October by Concord Records.
Black Sabbath‘s seventh studio album, Technical Ecstasy, will be reissued as vinyl and CD super deluxe edition box sets in October.
The 1976 long-player saw the band embrace a new sound, incorporating keyboards and synthesizers. Recording took place in Criteria Studios in Miami (the Eagles were making Hotel California in the same studios, at the same time) and Tony Iommi was left, relunctantly, to produce the album.
The reissue comes as 4CD and 5LP super deluxe editions. They offer a newly remastered version of the original album mix, along with a brand new Steven Wilson stereo mix. SW’s remix doesn’t include the Bill Ward penned-and-sung ‘It’s Alright’, which is included in its original single mono mix. One presumes they couldn’t locate the multi-track from this song.
The third disc in the CD box offers unheardouttakes and alternate mixes (also remixed by Wilson) while the final CD provides 10 previously unreleased live tracks from concert recordings from the 1976-77 world tour.
Technical Ecstasy 5LP vinyl super deluxe edition (click image to enlarge)
The content is identical across vinyl and CD boxes. The only difference with the vinyl set is that the live disc requires two LPs, hence that’s a five-LP set compared to the CD’s four.
The CD box comes with a 60-page book and poster. The vinyl edition has a 40-page book, again with the poster. The extras sounds good, but the prices seem extraordinarily high, at least in the UK, something which I’m sure will be reflected in the SDE reader rating, above.
Technical Ecstasy will be reissued on 1 October 2021.
George Harrison/All Things Must Pass 50th anniversaryCD, Vinyl, Blu-ray
George Harrison‘s classic 1970 album All Things Must Pass is reissued for its (belated) 50th anniversary. It’s available in SEVEN different physical editions including an ‘Uber Deluxe Edition’ which comes in wooden crate!
OMD‘s 1993 album is reissued on black vinyl with the audio remastered from the original tapes at Abbey Road. The album features the singles ‘Stand Above Me’ and ‘Dream Of Me’.
SDE takes a look at the newLevel 42Complete Polydor Years 1985-1989 box set which contains classic albums and bonus material across 10 CDs. Watch the video…
The Complete Polydor Years 1985-89 box set is out now and is now just over £40 at the time of writing in the UK
76/77 is a new four-CD box set featuring recordings of the Sex Pistols before the release of Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols in 1977.
The set features 80 alternate versions of tracks recorded between May 1976 and Sept 1977 and while most of these have been issued on various previous collections, the record label have still found eight previously unreleased versions.
The band formed in the summer of 1975 but it would be some 10 months before they first ventured into a recording studio with Chris Spedding, on May 15th 1976 at Majestic in London. Later that summer they’d record first at Decibel and then at Riverside with Dave Goodman and subsequently at Landsdown and Wessex later that October.
76/77 features 80 tracks (click image to enlarge)
All these early recording sessions are included on 76/77, along with the EMI sessions at their Manchester Square studio. EMI dropped them, of course, in January 1977 and further sessions with Dave Goodman at Eden and Gooseberry studios. Around this time Glen Matlock left to be replaced by Sid Vicious. Recording sessions continued after the A&M signing/dropping of the band in March the same year and the in May Virgin finally signed the Sex Pistols.
There was plenty more recording in August and September of 1977 leading up to the release of Never Mind The Bollocks... which eventually came out in October 1977.
The 76/77 four-CD box set is released on 24 September 2021. SDE Members can ‘rate this release’ at the top of the page.
Sony go Screamadelica mad this autumn with multiple formats and offerings around Primal Scream‘s 1991 album.
This includes Demodelica, a 16-track album of demos (available on CD and 2LP vinyl) that offers a new insight into the album’s creation, with a variety of early demos and work-in-progress mixes. This comes with notes by Jon Savage.
Also being issued is a 2LP vinyl picture disc of the original Screamadelica album – that classic artwork should look good on the wall – and a 12-inch vinyl box set featuring 10 singles with remixes.
The Screamadelica 12” Singles box set (click image to enlarge)
The 12-inch box set includes a download code and features nine replicas of the singles from the original campaign, all pressed on 180 gram heavyweight vinyl – as well as a tenth disc, which consists of a previously unheard remix (and accompanying instrumental) of ‘Shine Like Stars’ by the album’s late producer Andrew Weatherall. The box also features three art prints by the album’s cover artist Paul Cannell.
Both format of Demodelica are out on 15 October 2021, but the vinyl picture disc of Screamadelica and the 12″ Singles box are released on 17 September 2021.
Last weekend saw UK music retailer HMV issue a number of special ‘centenary’ vinyl editions which were available via their (remaining) shops across the UK, with limited availability online. One of the most popular was a recycled coloured vinyl edition of Kate Bush‘s 1985 album, Hounds of Love.
SDE takes a look at this new edition and compares the presentation to previous releases, including an original pressing, the 2010 Audio Fidelity version and the more recent 2018 remaster. Watch the SDEtv unboxing video below…
It appears HMV have now sold out in-store, although you could get lucky. These are definitely no longer available via the HMV website, so re-sellers are your only option, if you are desperate and missed out (or live outside the UK, of course).
This October, Mark Knopfler’s first five studio albums will be issued as The Studio Albums 1996-2007 as 6CD set of an 11LP vinyl box.
The albums included are: Golden Heart (1996), Sailing To Philadelphia (2000), The Ragpicker’s Dream (2002), Shangri-La (2004), and Kill To Get Crimson (2007) – and both sets include an exclusive bonus disc of studio b-sides from this period: Gravy Train: The B-Sides 1996-2007. Neither Golden Heart nor Sailing To Philadelphia have been released on vinyl before.
The 6CD edition of Mark Knopfler’s The Studio Albums 1996-2007 (click image to enlarge)
The audio of each album has been newly remastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. The albums are pressed on 180g black vinyl and the box set includes six embossed art prints of each album cover. The CD box gets the ‘mini-me’ treatment of this and comes with six art cards.
The Studio Albums 1996-2007 will be released on 1 October 2021 via UMC/Mercury. SDE Members can use the ratings tool at the top to offer feedback on the CD box set.
The Now That’s What I Call Music team follow up April’s Now That’s What I Call 12″ 80s compilation with a new four-CD collection that makes an effort to offer some genuine rarities, amongst the more familiar fare.
SDE called the last set ‘predictable’ – but the same cannot be said this time around, for what they are calling Now That’s What I Call 12″ 80sExtended with the four discs peppered with some interesting choices.
The most exciting for this writer is the John “Jellybean” Benitez 5.40 12-inch remix of Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson’s ‘Say Say Say’. This has never been issued on CD before, since McCartney chose to create a new remix for his Pipes of Peace reissue, and didn’t include this original one. Say Say Say was number one in America for six weeks at the end of 1983 and sold a million copies. It was also Paul McCartney’s first extended version of a single to be remixed by a third party.
Remarkably, the ‘Say Say Say’ 12″ has never been issued on CD
Other notable inclusions are the 6.26 12-inch Extended Version of Queen‘s ‘A Kind Of Magic’ (previously on CD only on via the 1992 mail-order only Box of Tricks set), the 12-inch version of Malcolm McLaren’s ‘Double Dutch’ (the seven-inch was on NOW 1, of course), the Bazooka Mix of Red Box’s ‘For America’ (previously unreleased on CD), the extended mix of Eurythmics‘ brilliant ‘Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)’ only on CD on a 1988 three-inch CD single (don’t forget the 1984 album wasn’t part of the 2005 reissue campaign), the Extended Mix of Strawberry Switchblade’s ‘Since Yesterday’ (previously only on CD on the Japan-only The 12″ Album) and Man 2 Man’s ‘Male Stripper’ has never been on CD in its long eight-minute version.
Of course, almost by definition these sets will have some familiar tracks, and thus Now That’s What I Call 12″ 80sExtended includes the 12-inch versions of a-ha‘s ‘Take On Me’, Spandau’s ‘Gold’ and Alison Moyet‘s ‘Love Resurrection’ but a shout out must go to the person who sequenced the end of CD 3 which offers long versions of Eighth Wonder‘s ‘I’m Not Scared’, Liza Minnelli‘s ‘Losing My Mind’ and Dusty Springfield‘s ‘Nothing Has Been Proved’. I’m sure I don’t need to spell out what connects those three superior pop songs!
Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four) was the only major hit from Eurythmics ‘inspired by’ soundtrack album.
Nice also to see the Young Person’s Guide to the 12-inch of Frankie Goes To Hollywood‘s ‘Rage Hard’ NOT on this compilation in favour of the much rarer Freddie Bastone Mix. Also known as the “Vocal / Remix” this seven-minute version last got an outing on CD in the UK in 2014, on the third volume of Salvo’s The Art of the 12″.
So credit where it’s due, this is good stuff from the Now team and builds on the positivity generated by the excellent Now Yearbook 83. You won’t need everything on here, but Now That’s What I Call 12″ 80sExtended is effectively an essential purchase for fans of 80s pop who still buy and enjoy CDs.
Now That’s What I Call 12″ 80sExtended will be released on 27 August 2021.
Compare prices and pre-order
Various Artists
Now Thats What I Call 12-inch 80s Extended - 4CD set
