Top 10: Deluxe Editions of the 1990s

For your pleasure, a look back to some special CD releases from the 1990s. Yes, we have dug out of the SuperDeluxeEdition archive some interesting 2CD sets. Deluxe editions before we even called them ‘deluxe editions’. Some were very limited, others less so, but all were issued in addition to a standard single CD version. How many have you got?

George Michael / Older & Upper 2CD (1997)

George Michael‘s third solo album Older was a phenomenal seller in the UK. Six singles were released from the record and all of them reached the UK top three (two number ones, three number twos and a sole number three). This special edition came with a six track bonus disc called Upper which contained a couple of remixes, two radio edits and the new studio recordings issued with the Spinning The Wheel single, namely Safe and You Know That I Want To. The bonus disc also contains ‘interative elements’ which means pixelated videos to Jesus To A Child, Fastlove, and Spinning The Wheel that require ‘Quicktime 2.5’. The bonus disc comes in a simple card sleeve, which slots into a special slip-case with the standard album.

Echo & The Bunnymen  / Evergreen 2CD (1997)

The 1997 Echo & The Bunnymen ‘comeback’ album featured UK top ten hit Nothing Lasts Forever. This 2CD special edition featured ten Peel Session tracks culled from 1979 (Villiers Terrace, Read It In Books), 1980, 1982, 1983 (Seven Seas, Ocean Rain) and 1997.

PJ Harvey / To Bring You My Love & The B-sides CD (1995)

Island Records snuck out this limited run of PJ Harvey‘s superb ’95 album To Bring You My Love with a bonus disc of nine B-sides from the (CD) singles.

Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach / Painted From Memory 2CD (1999)

The 1998 album from Costello and Bacharach came as a 2CD edition which included five ‘previously unreleased’ live tracks. All these bonus songs are from the album but only This House Is Empty Now is performed with Bacharach (on Late Night With Conan O’Brien), the rest are with Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve.

Supergrass / In It For The Money 2CD (1996)

The only indication that this Capitol issued version of Supergrass‘s 1996 album In It For The Money is any different from the normal release is the ‘2CD’ on the jewel case – there is no reference to it at all on any of the artwork. When discovered, the bonus disc reveals a nine track collection of debut album I Should Coco B-sides (including the excellent Caught By The Fuzz acoustic) but the disc also finds a place for Nothing More’s Gonna Get In My Way which featured on the Richard III, the lead single in the UK for In It For The Money.

Fine Young Cannibals / The Finest + The Rare and the Remixed 2CD  (1996)

A generous selection of bonus tracks and remixes featured on an extra disc with the Fine Young Cannibals 1996 hits collection Finest. Six out of the eight recently ended up on the recent reissue of The Raw & The Cooked but not She Drives Me Crazy (Phunk Phenomenon mix) and The Flame (Armand Van Helden’s Ghostpunk mix).

Wet Wet Wet / High On The Happy Side 2CD (1992)

The old-style double ‘fat box’ CD might give away that this is the oldest ‘deluxe’ edition in this selection. Wet Wet Wet‘s 1992 album High On The Happy Side featured UK number one Goodnight Girl and was issued as this limited edition double disc edition, featuring cover versions such as Carole King’s You’ve Got A Friend, The Temptations’ Get Ready, and Elvis Costello’s Town Crier. The bonus disc was credited to ‘Maggie Pie & The Imposters’ and even had its own title, Cloak & Dagger. Unusally, there was a double-vinyl version too, echoing this CD release.

Suede / Coming Up 2CD (1996/7)

There were two versions of Suede’s Coming Up album with a bonus disc –  a US version and a European release. Both feature the following tracks played live: She, By The Sea, Europe Is Our Playground, Saturday Night, Killing Of A Flash Boy and Lazy. The European issue has no reference to the tracks at all, other than a sticker which reads “featuring bonus 6-track live EP” (the disc itself just has ‘live’ on it). The US variant is much better with the back of the tray card giving a lot of detail around the bonus tracks. Unlike the European disc, this limited edition from North America also features ‘multimedia selections’ including three videos and some footage of the band larking around in the studio recording the album.

Alison Moyet / Singles & Live 2CD (1996)

Moyet’s Singles collection was issued with a bonus disc of 11 live tracks. Unlike some of the sets here which sneak a bonus disc in as cheaply as possible with no alteration to the main packaging, the live disc herein actually has its own separate booklet (called ‘Programme’), with some attractive artwork and photos.

INXS / The Greatest Hits + All Juiced Up 2CD (1994)

Another hits collection issued as a limited edition 2CD set, this time from INXS. Again, only the reverse of the tray card has any indication of this easy-to-miss special edition. The selection isn’t brilliant, but amongst the nine bonus cuts are Taste It (Youth Accapella Mix), Devil Inside (12″ Mix) and Suicide Blonde (Milk Mix). The bonus disc has the moniker All Juiced Up.

What limited edition 2CD sets of well known albums from the 1990s do you have? Leave a comment and let us know!