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Sony are releasing Prince and The Revolution’s classic Syracuse, New York 30 March 1985 Purple Rain tour show as a standalone release, remixed & restored in June 2022, as a 3LP vinyl set and a 2 CD / 1 blu-ray version.
For the visual side of the release, the original video source was rescanned, restored and colour corrected. The audio has been remixed from the original multitrack audio master reels by Grammy-nominated recording engineer Chris James.
The blu-ray has stereo, 5.1 surround and Dolby Atmos sound options.
Have a sneak peak of the quality with the official video of Let’s Go Crazy from this restored release. Whilst the video still displays it’s obvious 1980’s source, it is a marked improvement on the original VHS that was so dark, it was a difficult watch. This is the nearest thing to time travel, if you want to pop back to 1985 to experience Prince and The Revolution in their absolute purple pomp. This is one of Prince’s legendary 80s shows, so grab your tambourine and a front row seat for Prince and The Revolution live!
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CD 1 Let’s Go Crazy Delirious 1999 Little Red Corvette Take Me With U Yankee Doodle Do Me, Baby Irresistible Bitch Possessed How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore Let’s Pretend We’re Married International Lover God Computer Blue CD 2 Darling Nikki The Beautiful Ones When Doves Cry I Would Die 4 U Baby, I’m a Star Purple Rain
Blu-ray Let’s Go Crazy Delirious 1999 Little Red Corvette Take Me With U Yankee Doodle Do Me, Baby Irresistible Bitch Possessed How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore Let’s Pretend We’re Married International Lover God Computer Blue Darling Nikki The Beautiful Ones When Doves Cry I Would Die 4 U Baby I’m A Star Purple Rain
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Satellite Life: Recordings (1995-1996) is a 3 CD set from Billy Mackenzie, released by Cherry Red on 22 April 2022, re-assembling past recordings with plenty of previously unreleased songs.
Hailing from Dundee, Scotland, Billy Mackenzie formed The Associates with Alan Rankine and the band enjoyed huge critical acclaim, chart success and cult status but the pair parted company in 1983 and Billy continued to record, for a while as The Associates and also in collaboration with other musicians, as well as releasing music as a solo artist.
Around 1994, Billy met Steve Aungle. The pair sparked off each other, prompting a purple patch for making new music. Some recordings appeared on two posthumous albums, Beyond The Sun (1997) and Eurocentric (2001). A couple more surfaced on Auchtermatic (2004).
However, Steve had long felt that the recordings hadn’t been presented or sequenced appropriately and in conjunction with Cherry Red, he has curated this new triple-CD collection, which re-assembles past recordings with previously unreleased songs, including collaborations with Dennis Wheatley and Laurence Jay Cedar, who also contribute to the CD booklet notes.
Disc one in the three CD set is titled Winter Academy, and mainly features songs from Beyond The Sun and Eurocentric. This first disc is Billy at his most melancholic, with mainly down-tempo songs. It’s perfectly sequenced, with stripped back arrangements for the early songs such as the majestic Sing That Song Again, highlighting the pure magic of Billy’s vocals. Winter Academy is the Beyond The Sun mix, not the Transmission Impossible version. An ice-cold arrangement chills, with a diamond sharp vocal performance that sits so well with the strings.
Billy’s version of Wild Is The Wind is a great companion piece to David Bowie’s take on the song. They are both classic recordings, and although I’ve lived with Bowie’s version for much longer, the held note towards the end blows my mind every single time I hear Billy perform this standard.
“Like a leaf clings To the tree Oh my darling, Cling to me”
Another cover is Sparks Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth, with just piano, violin and vocals. When The World Was Young features Steve Aungle on piano, and Billy on vocals. The sixties influenced layered backing vocals make the track sound so much richer, and it’s a highlight of this first disc.
Two previously unreleased songs sit in the middle of disc one. Tallahatchie Pass is a Mackenzie/Aungle composition, and is a 70s sounding arrangement. I wonder if this song is a reference to Billie Joe McAllister and the Tallahatchie Bridge referenced in Bobbie Gentry’s Ode to Billie Joe? Tallahatchie Pass is a fine song, and offers us a style not really heard from Billy before, as a tantalising hint of what might have been.
Also previously unreleased is the dark cover of Randy Newman’s Baltimore, recorded with Dennis Wheatley. This is my favourite of the “new” tracks on this disc. The beatless, discordant and reverb drenched strings and vocals deliver an absolute classic, that could have easily been included on one of Billy’s studio albums. The arrangement reminds me of the mood of Bomb The Bass’s Winter In July (minus the beats, of course). Heavenly!
“Oh, Baltimore Ain’t it hard just to live, just to live”
I was not surprised to see Nocturne VII and Beyond The Sun appear on this compilation, and Return To Love dials in the electronica of the second disc, Consenting Holograms.
The tempo increases for disc two. Opening with Beyond The Sun‘s manic, Middle Eastern flavoured 3 Gypsies In A Restaurant and Eurocentric‘s Falling Out With The Future, the synths are bubbling and the beats are pumping. No torch songs here.
Put This Right was recorded and written with Laurence Jay Cedar, and features a Giorgio Moroder inspired synth-fest backing, and a fine vocal from Mr MacKenzie. The unreleased tracks are a revelation! A second Laurence Jay Cedar track follows, with Diamanda. A more experimental dance track than Put This Right, with acid synths and cold soundscapes providing the perfect backing to an insistently catchy song that burrows into your brain. Disc two is made to play loud!
Hornophobic always reminds me of the Rankine / Associates Sulk era, and has aged particularly well, remaining one of Billy’s best later period pieces.
“Just walk, walk through your TVs No room for deep thought, or heat-seeking missiles”
Fear Is My Bride features a touching vocal and an addictive chorus. Sadly, I wonder about the source material for this song (and to some extent, the vocal on Eurocentric), as the audio quality falls a little below the standard of the other tracks, but for the chorus alone, Fear Is My Bride deserves its inclusion.
14th Century Nightlife works well with another of the unreleased tracks, another lyric-less piece, the jittery Consenting Holograms Have More Fun.
Following on from the cover of Eurythmics Here Comes The Rain Again comes Eurocentric, propelled by a four to the floor kick-drum and an interesting vocal arrangement. We can only wonder how all of these previously unreleased songs would have developed over time, had Billy still been with us.
Mysterious Lover is sadly very much of its time, so not one of my favourites from the Consenting Holograms disc. Return To Love 2 is a previously unheard version of the Eurocentric track, and is a much brighter, and at times, lighter take on the song.
Give Me Time (remix) is a 9 minute exploration of the Beyond The Sun track, that also appears in it’s original form on disc 3 of this collection. The arrangement stretches and is almost a dub mix at times, with echoed percussion and deep-cut basslines. The last three minutes of this remix are a dream, with the music built around a Mackenzie harmony. Drop those depth charges baby! The original is still the definitive take, but this remix is worth returning to, and sounds so beautiful in the magical early hours.
Disc Three: Liberty Lounge includes six previously unreleased recordings, and rounds the collection off with some of Mackenzie’s more pop orientated material. Tomorrow People is a timeless piece of twisted pop-music. Possibly inspired by the early 70s UK television show, this would have made a great single, and would still sound good on the radio today. Release it to the airwaves, Cherry Red!
The Mountains That You Climb, with its whistle intro and deep strings, has a nostalgic 1960s feel. Hearing Billy’s vocals accompanied by Rhodes piano sends shivers. This song would have been the centrepiece of any future Billy Mackenzie album, in an alternative reality. The way he hold’s the vocal line before the chorus, is a Mackenzie trademark, built to tug on the heart-strings. I love the production (by White Label), and it soon became one of my favourites on the collection.
The quality does not drop with the next unreleased song, McArthur’s Son, another White Label production, benefiting from a fuller band line-up. Sounding like an out-take from a classic mid 70s album, I would have loved to have heard further recordings with this more organic style, so unlike any other songs we have heard graced with those angelic pipes. A genuine lost Mackenzie classic.
Reminding me of Bowie’s Lodger, Eurocentric‘s Liberty Lounge did not initially connect with me until I heard it on this compilation, which shows how this reimagining / sympathetic sequencing has done wonders for the material. There are no major audio improvements that I am aware of with the previously released tracks, but so many of the songs work so much better in this new environment.
We go back to Beyond The Sun for the next four tracks, and they are all killer, no filler, especially the Roxy Music art-rock of Sour Jewel and the aching Theme From Shaft meets Massive Attack influenced At The Edge Of The World. This song really highlights the raw emotion of Billy’s vocals. The album’s title track is from the Transmission Impossible album, and is another one that only really hit hard on this compilation.
A new version of a Beyond The Sun track is the next previously unheard songs. 14 Mirrors 2 strips back the instrumentation, with Billy accompanied by Steve Aungle on piano, giving this take a new, timeless appeal. Auchtermatic‘s Velvet whet’s your palette for the final two previously unreleased tracks.
Your Own Fire is a collaboration with Stiv Lestar, and sadly suffers compared to the other songs, sounding like it might have been sourced from a cassette master. Nonetheless Your Own Fire has an interesting arrangement, almost sounding like Billy backed by a rough and ready garage band.
The album ends with Von Hamburg, a haunting Mackenzie/Aungle composed piano and strings finale that is a fitting conclusion to a collection put together with so much love and respect.
I must admit to feeling a little worried about this compilation prior to hearing it, and whilst the audio quality dips on three of the songs, I agree with the inclusion of all of the unreleased material, which offers hints of what was possibly still to come from Billy, and definitely enhances his reputation as one of our most gifted singer / songwriters. Everyone marvels at his voice but don’t always give credit for his writing. Also bear in mind the timescale of these recordings – with so much quality to be heard, and such a wide musical vocabulary, all in the space of just two years, making this collection all the more remarkable, and a pure joy to listen to.
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An expanded and remixed 10th Anniversary version of Tim Bowness and Giancarlo Erra’s 2011 album Warm Winter (now issued as Memories Of Machines, the original project name) will be released on 25th February 2022 through Kscope.
Featuring contributions from Robert Fripp, Peter Hammill, Julianne Regan, Jim Matheos, Colin Edwin, Huxflux Nettermalm, Peter Chilvers, Aleksei Saks and members of Nosound and Tim Bowness’s live bands, the album contains 12 sweeping and majestic songs.
Available on cd/dvd-a/v – with hi-res stereo and 5.1 Surround mixes – and double vinyl, the reissue contains two 2020 recordings – an album outtake and a new version of the 2006 Nosound piece Someone Starts To Fade Away – created especially for this release.
This new expanded edition of the album features a 2021 remix from the original tapes by Giancarlo Erra, and results in a very different album, with a warmer, more natural sounding release. Much as I loved the original version, I prefer this take on the songs. The songs sound more widescreen, if that makes sense? Comparing the original to this new version, the vocals are more central and more prominent in the mix, and there is more warmth added to the instrumentation. New Memories Of Machines ushers in a new era / Erra (sorry for the pun) of this classic album.
“Stories Come out of other stories Lead to other stories New memories of machines”
Before We Fall features backing vocals from All About Eve’s Julianne Regan, and it’s always a joy to hear Julianne, and is a timely reminder that we need more music from one of our finest vocalists. The 2021 mix offers a smoother and more joined up version of this wonderful song. The chorus soars on this version, that contains a powerful guitar driven wall of sound.
“It’s not love when we meet up It’s not love when we speak It’s not love when I say I can’t feel”
Beautiful Songs You Should Know has a slightly altered arrangement, with synth strings underpinning the song from earlier in the track, and the acoustic guitar is lower and less percussive in the 2021 version. As with all the songs on this re-imagining, the production feels more sympathetic, and this is not a criticism of the original, its a different, more organic listening experience.
“I want to play you All the beautiful songs you should know.”
Warm Winter is slightly longer in this incarnation, and after all these years, it still cuts deep, with one of Tim’s finest vocals. On first listen, it was slightly jarring having the drums stripped from the majority of the arrangement, but their absence gives the song a different, more unique pace. When they do appear (in a more treated form) at the song’s conclusion, it highlights Giancarlo’s powerful guitar lines, that are also more distorted and layered than before.
Lucky You Lucky Me is a revelation, with the chorus sounding like sparkling audio diamonds have been dropped into the mix by Mr Erra. Some of the synth backing has been removed from the second verse, and simplifying the arrangement makes the chorus hit even harder. The guitar solo is different on this take – with a psychedelic, bluesy double riff suiting the more earthy arrangement and mix.
Change Me Once Again has the drums sat further back in the mix, which lets the gorgeous guitars take centre stage. A fine vocal by Mr Bowness, underpinned by the layered vocals of Julianne Regan, make this one of the album’s most rewarding songs. The Gilmour-esque guitars help make this a key track.
The piano and electronics are dialled down in the new mix of Something In Our Lives, which makes the layered chorus richer. The atmospherics and brooding mood marks a shift in tone for the album from this point on.
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again – the music of Lost And Found In The Digital World has a real feel of Brilliant Trees era David Sylvian, with the aching synths and the haunting trumpet of Aleksei Saks adding a new flavour to the soundscapes. This new version is one of the most improved by Giancarlo’s new mix, especially with the solos at around the half-way mark. In the original, the trumpet and the lead solo are competing for space, whereas in the new mix, they complement each other perfectly.
“It’s time for letting go.”
Schoolyard Ghosts loses some of the intro section here, and the song that takes some of it’s cues from no-man’s Mixtaped is here as a definitive version of this well-travelled song. The end section has a flavour of the restrained power of David Bowie’s Blackstar.
“You and Jules down vodka shots To hide the feelings that you’ve got. You love her eyes, you love her mouth, You love her put on Rock-chick pout.”
The final track of the album proper is here in an extended form. At The Centre Of It All is a behemoth of a composition, and at the time of release was my favourite track on the album back in 2011, and my opinion has simply solidified hearing this new version. The funereal pace is interrupted by jagged solos bursting out like spikes of pain to disturb you and make you feel the hurt in the lyrics.
In my original review, I said: Porcupine Tree’s Colin Edwin contributes double bass to the song, as Giancarlo’s restrained guitar bookends the deep synth lines, as the “Beautiful Songs You Should Know” sadly become “Just pointless lists at the centre of it all.”
One of the most emotional and hard-hitting pieces of music from the entire rich catalogue of songs from Bowness and Erra, At The Centre Of It All has never sounded better.
“All the things that were meant to be, All the love you were meant to feel, Became too hard to reveal.”
The album concludes with two bonus tracks. Recorded in 2020, Dreamless Days feels like a long-lost no-man track. A discordant, slowly evolving riff underpinned by bass and an accordion gives way to a Mono band / avant-rock sounding end section, as Tim’s vocal loops see the song out.
The final extra track is a 2020 recording of the Nosound / Bowness piece Someone Starts To Fade Away. The original version was the first Bowness / Erra recorded collaboration, from the 2008 album Lightdark. This new recording features a similar riff based backing as Dreamless Days, as the sharp kaleidoscopic pieces replace the piano of the original recording. I hear hints of Flat Earth era Thomas Dolby in some of the arrangements twists and turns. Someone Starts To Fade Away fits so well on this album, and I do hope that these 2020 sessions lead to a new album from Tim and Giancarlo.
I can see this Kscope re-imagining of Memories of Machines leading to the album being heard and treasured by a larger audience than the original. And if you already own this album, the new version is a massive upgrade on the already amazing original, so I would urge you to buy this definitive version too.
Memories Of Machines is available as a 2 disc (CD/DVD), 2LP and digital album.
New Memories Of Machines [01:25] Before We Fall [05:10] Beautiful Songs You Should Know [05:37] Warm Winter [06:00] Lucky You Lucky Me [04:26] Change Me Once Again [05:46] Something In Our Lives [04:08] Lost And Found In The Digital World [05:25] Schoolyard Ghosts [04:53] At The Centre Of It All [09:49] Dreamless Days (outtake) [04:31] Someone Starts To Fade Away (2020 TBGE) (04:51)
The 5th David Bowie box-set, Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001), has been announced. Released on 26th November 2021 Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) is an eleven CD box, eighteen-piece vinyl set and standard digital download box set. The collection is named after the Koto led instrumental penultimate track from the ‘hours…’ album. The box sets include newly remastered versions, with input from the original producers and collaborators.
The box-set brings together remastered versions of the following albums:
Black Tie White Noise / The Buddha Of Suburbia / 1.Outside / Earthling / ‘hours…’ / BBC Radio Theatre, London, June 27, 2000 / the previously unreleased Toy / Re:Call 5 (non-album singles, edits, single versions, b-sides and soundtrack music).
128 Page hardback book Black Tie White Noise (remastered) (1CD) The Buddha Of Suburbia (remastered) (1CD) 1.Outside (remastered) (1CD) Earthling (remastered) (1CD) ‘hours…’ (remastered) (1CD) BBC Radio Theatre, London, June 27th, 2000 (remastered and expanded 20 track version) (2CD)* Toy (previously unreleased) (1CD) Re:Call 5 (non-album singles, edits, single versions, b-sides and soundtrack music) (remastered) (3CD)*
*Exclusive to BRILLIANT ADVENTURE CD box
CD Tracklistings
BLACK TIE WHITE NOISE
The Wedding You’ve Been Around I Feel Free Black Tie White Noise (featuring Al B. Sure!) Jump They Say Nite Flights Pallas Athena Miracle Goodnight Don’t Let Me Down & Down Looking for Lester I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday The Wedding Song
THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA
Buddha of Suburbia Sex and the Church South Horizon The Mysteries Bleed Like a Craze, Dad Strangers When We Meet Dead Against It Untitled No. 1 Ian Fish, U.K. Heir Buddha of Suburbia (featuring Lenny Kravitz on guitar)
1.OUTSIDE
Leon Takes Us Outside Outside The Hearts Filthy Lesson A Small Plot of Land Baby Grace (A Horrid Cassette)” (segue) Hallo Spaceboy The Motel I Have Not Been to Oxford Town No Control Algeria Touchshriek (segue) The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (as Beauty) Ramona A. Stone/I Am with Name (segue) Wishful Beginnings We Prick You Nathan Adler (segue) I’m Deranged Thru’ These Architects Eyes Nathan Adler (segue) Strangers When We Meet
EARTHLING
Little Wonder Looking for Satellites Battle for Britain (The Letter) Seven Years in Tibet Dead Man Walking Telling Lies The Last Thing You Should Do I’m Afraid of Americans Law (Earthlings on Fire)
‘hours…’
Thursday’s Child Something in the Air Survive If I’m Dreaming My Life Seven What’s Really Happening? The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell New Angels of Promise Brilliant Adventure The Dreamers
BBC RADIO THEATRE, LONDON, JUNE 27, 2000 2xCD
CD1
Wild Is the Wind Ashes to Ashes Seven This Is Not America Absolute Beginners Always Crashing in the Same Car Survive The London Boys I Dig Everything Little Wonder
CD2
The Man Who Sold the World Fame Stay Hallo Spaceboy Cracked Actor I’m Afraid of Americans All the Young Dudes Starman “Heroes” Let’s Dance
TOY
I Dig Everything You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving The London Boys Karma Man Conversation Piece Shadow Man Let Me Sleep Beside You Hole In The Ground Baby Loves That Way Can’t Help Thinking About Me Silly Boy Blue Toy (Your Turn To Drive)
RE:CALL 5 3xCD
CD1
Real Cool World (Sounds From The Cool World Soundtrack Version) Jump They Say (7” version) Lucy Can’t Dance Black Tie White Noise (feat Al B. Sure!) (Radio Edit) Don’t Let Me Down & Down (Indonesian Vocal Version) Buddha Of Suburbia (Single Version) (featuring Lenny Kravitz on guitar) The Hearts Filthy Lesson (Radio Edit) Nothing To Be Desired Strangers When We Meet (edit) Get Real The Man Who Sold The World (Live Eno Mix) I’m Afraid Of Americans (Showgirls Soundtrack Version) Hallo Spaceboy (Remix) I Am With Name (Alternative Version) A Small Plot Of Land (Long Basquiat Soundtrack Version)
CD2
Little Wonder (Edit) A Fleeting Moment (aka Severn Years In Tibet – Mandarin Version) Dead Man Walking (Edit) Seven Years In Tibet (Edit) Planet Of Dreams – David Bowie and Gail Ann Dorsey I’m Afraid Of Americans (V1 – Edit) I Can’t Read (The Ice Storm Long Version) A Foggy Day In London Town – David Bowie and Angelo Badalamenti Fun (BowieNet Mix) The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell (Stigmata Soundtrack Version) Thursday’s Child (Radio Edit) We All Go Through No One Calls
CD3
We Shall Go To Town 1917 The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell (Edit) Thursday’s Child (Omikron: The Nomad Soul Version) New Angels Of Promise (Omikron: The Nomad Soul Version) The Dreamers (Omikron: The Nomad Soul Version) Seven (Demo) Survive (Marius De Vries mix) Something In The Air (American Psycho Remix) Seven (Marius De Vries Mix) Pictures Of Lily
Black Tie White Noise (remastered) (2LP) The Buddha Of Suburbia (a very limited release on vinyl previously, remastered) (2LP) 1.Outside (remastered) (2LP) Earthling (remastered) (3 sided – 2LP) ‘hours…’ (remastered) (1LP) BBC Radio Theatre, London, June 27, 2000 (remastered and expanded 20 track version, previously unreleased on vinyl) (3LP)* Toy (previously unreleased) (3 sided – 2LP) Re:Call 5 (non-album singles, edits, single versions, b-sides and soundtrack music) (remastered) (4LP)
*Exclusive to BRILLIANT ADVENTURE LP box
LP Tracklistings
BLACK TIE WHITE NOISE 2xLP
Side 1
The Wedding You’ve Been Around I Feel Free
Side 2
Black Tie White Noise (featuring Al B. Sure!) Jump They Say Nite Flights
Side 3
Pallas Athena Miracle Goodnight Don’t Let Me Down & Down
Side 4
Looking for Lester I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday The Wedding Song
THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA 2xLP
Side 1
Buddha of Suburbia Sex and the Church South Horizon
Side 2
The Mysteries Bleed Like a Craze, Dad
Side 3
Strangers When We Meet Dead Against It Untitled No. 1
Side 4
Ian Fish, U.K. Heir Buddha of Suburbia (featuring Lenny Kravitz on guitar)
1.OUTSIDE 2xLP
Side 1
Leon Takes Us Outside Outside The Hearts Filthy Lesson A Small Plot of Land
Side 2
Baby Grace (A Horrid Cassette)” (segue) Hallo Spaceboy The Motel I Have Not Been to Oxford Town
Side 3
No Control Algeria Touchshriek (segue) The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (as Beauty) Ramona A. Stone/I Am with Name (segue) Wishful Beginnings
Side 4
We Prick You Nathan Adler (segue) I’m Deranged Thru’ These Architects Eyes Nathan Adler (segue) Strangers When We Meet
EARTHLING 2xLP
Side 1
Little Wonder Looking for Satellites Battle for Britain (The Letter)
Side 2
Seven Years in Tibet Dead Man Walking Telling Lies
Side 3
The Last Thing You Should Do I’m Afraid of Americans Law (Earthlings on Fire)
Side 4 – etching
‘hours…’
Side 1
Thursday’s Child Something in the Air Survive If I’m Dreaming My Life
Side 2
Seven What’s Really Happening? The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell New Angels of Promise Brilliant Adventure The Dreamers
BBC RADIO THEATRE, LONDON, JUNE 27, 2000 3xLP
Side 1
Wild Is the Wind Ashes to Ashes Seven
Side 2
This Is Not America Absolute Beginners Always Crashing in the Same Car
Side 3
Survive The London Boys I Dig Everything Little Wonder
Side 4
The Man Who Sold the World Fame Stay
Side 5
Hallo Spaceboy Cracked Actor I’m Afraid of Americans All the Young Dudes
Side 6
Starman “Heroes” Let’s Dance
TOY 2 x LP
Side 1
I Dig Everything You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving The London Boys Karma Man
Side 2
Conversation Piece Shadow Man Let Me Sleep Beside You Hole In The Ground
Side 3
Baby Loves That Way Can’t Help Thinking About Me Silly Boy Blue Toy (Your Turn To Drive)
Side 4 – Etching
RE:CALL 5 4xLP
Side 1
Real Cool World (Sounds From The Cool World Soundtrack Version) Jump They Say (7” version) Lucy Can’t Dance Black Tie White Noise (Radio Edit) (featuring Al B. Sure!)
Side 2
Don’t Let Me Down & Down (Indonesian Vocal Version) Buddha Of Suburbia (Single Version) (featuring Lenny Kravitz on guitar) The Hearts Filthy Lesson (Radio Edit) Nothing To Be Desired Strangers When We Meet (edit)
Get Real
Side 3
The Man Who Sold The World (Live Eno Mix) I’m Afraid Of Americans (Showgirls Soundtrack Version) Hallo Spaceboy (Remix) I Am With Name (Alternative Version) A Small Plot Of Land (Long Basquiat Soundtrack Version)
Side 4
Little Wonder (Edit) A Fleeting Moment (aka Severn Years In Tibet – Mandarin Version) Dead Man Walking (Edit) Seven Years In Tibet (Edit) Planet Of Dreams – David Bowie and Gail Ann Dorsey
Side 5
I’m Afraid Of Americans (V1 – Edit) I Can’t Read (The Ice Storm Long Version) A Foggy Day In London Town – David Bowie and Angelo Badalamenti Fun (Bowienet Mix) The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell (Stigmata Soundtrack Version)
Side 6
Thursday’s Child (Radio Edit) We All Go Through No One Calls We Shall Go To Town
1917
Side 7
The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell (Edit) Thursday’s Child (Omikron: The Nomad Soul Version) New Angels Of Promise (Omikron: The Nomad Soul Version) The Dreamers (Omikron: The Nomad Soul Version) Seven (Demo)
Side 8
Survive (Marius De Vries mix) Something In The Air (American Psycho Remix) Seven (Marius De Vries Mix) Pictures Of Lily
Cherry Red Records are releasing a deluxe 4 disc boxed set of Al Stewart’s 1978 album, Time Passages. A 2-CD version (without the extra live disc / 5.1 DVD) is also available.
The album has been newly remastered from the original first generation master tapes by Alan Parsons, and features bonus tracks, including single versions, demos and live tracks.
Disc four is a high resolution 96 Khz / 24-Bit 5.1 Alan Parsons surround sound mix, from the original multi-track tapes and the comprehensive booklet includes an exclusive interview with Al Stewart.
I (slightly) prefer Time Passages to it’s predecessor, the still wonderful Year Of The Cat. It captures that late 70s pop / rock feel so well.
The title track features some fine guitar work from Tim Renwick and the drums on the album are provided by Stuart Elliott (Kate Bush / Paul McCartney), with an appearance from the legendary Jeff Porcaro on the second track, Valentina Way.
Time Passages was recorded in Los Angeles, and the sound of the city seeps through on many of the tracks. The Palace of Versailles is an exception to this – with a European feel befitting the subject matter. Almost Lucy is driven by a fabulous percussion arrangement and contains one of the album’s most affecting vocal performances.
The acoustic flavoured Timeless Skies could have sat comfortably on one of America’s earlier albums. The second single from the album, Song on the Radio, has a delicious chorus, accompanied by a very much of it’s time sax solo. End of the Day is a gentle, jazzy end to the album. Disc one is complete with the up-tempo bonus track, Tonton Macoute, one of those songs where once you’ve heard it, it sticks in you brain for hours.
Disc two collects together single mixes, demos and live tracks. The demos are decent quality. Life In A Bottle reminds me a little of John Lennon in it’s arrangement. It’s a shame that a studio version of this song was not included on the main album. The Palace of Versailles demo is largely intact, but obviously lacking the final technicolour magic that would be applied by Alan Parsons.
The Hollywood Sign (on St. Stephen’s Day) aka TimeLess Skies finishes off the demo cuts (that also include an early demo of Tonton Macoute)
The remainder of disc two and the whole of disc 3 is made up of a good quality recording of Stewart’s show in Chicago from late October 1978. Al Stewart being a storyteller pays dividends in a live setting, with lots of gentle between song chat and background info for some of the tracks. Time Passages, The Palace of Versailles, a 10 minute Year of the Cat and The Pink Panther Theme (as a way of introducing the band) are my favourite live cuts in this collection.
Disc 4 (not supplied for review) contains the new high resolution 96 Khz / 24-Bit 5.1 surround sound mix & original re-mastered stereo mix By Alan Parsons. This is the definitive version of a classic late seventies album, that still hits the spot if you love music from this era.
The set includes the following studio albums: Knife (1984), Love (1987), Stray (1990), Dreamland (1993) and Frestonia (1995) plus In Concert 1984, Remixes, B-Sides And Live 1986-1988, Remixes, Rarities And Live 1990 and Live At Ronnie Scott’s.
The box set opens with Aztec Camera’s second album, 1984’s Knife, that was produced by Dire Straits Mark Knopfler. The Back Door To Heaven and the title track are my favourites from the album. This version also includes two versions of the Van Halen cover, Jump, that has picked up popularity as the years have passed since its initial release.
The second disc is In Concert, 1984, that includes songs from the band’s debut album, including Walk Out To Winter (two versions), We Could Send Letters and Oblivious.
The Love album from 1987 saw Roddy Frame expanding the band’s sound, working with legendary musicians such as bassist Marcus Miller and Steely Dan drummer Steve Gadd, and including production credits for David Frank (electro band The System) and Michael Jonzun of The Jonzun Crew. Love has a smooth sound that really fits the time of release. Deep & Wide & Tall has some sweet synth and vocal lines, and an 80s staple, timbale breaks! How Men Are is a classic Roddy Frame ballad, but the album will likely be remembered for the singles Somewhere In My Heart and Working in a Goldmine.
Disc Four contains Remixes, B-Sides And Live 1986-1988, that opens with three versions of Somewhere In My Heart, including a 7 minute 12″ remix. Other highlights include a silky version of Working in a Goldmine, recorded live at Pinewood Studios, and a glorious stripped down version of How Men Are from the ITV show that kept me from sleep way into the small hours over the weekend in the late 80s, Night Network.
1990’s Stray is probably the most eclectic Aztec Camera album. Stray still sounds delicious as do the Big Audio Dynamite / The Clash influenced Get Outta London and Good Morning Britain (that features Mick Jones). A bonus on this reissue is a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors, that is a warm homage to the original.
“Make a promise, break a promise in the same day”
Disc Six is for the completists only, and a disc I will not play again in all likelihood, made up of seven versions of Good Morning Britain and a couple of other tracks from the era.
Live At Ronnie Scott’s works well as it is the majority of the concert at the legendary London Jazz Club from 1991 and is just Roddy Frame and Gary Sanctuary (piano and saxophone), so there is a real continuity in the performances. Spanish Horses and How Men Are work particularly well in this stripped back format.
The final two discs are the final two Aztec Camera studio albums. Dreamland is my favourite Aztec Camera album, and was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Roddy Frame, with mixing duties delivered by Julian Mendelsohn. The Sakamoto influence in the sound is a welcome addition, and the album is worth investigating just for the track Black Lucia, one of Frame’s finest songs.
Spanish Horses is a masterclass and evokes the sound of early America (A Horse With No Name / Ventura Highway) but with a Catalonian twist. The production is widescreen, with lots of space and free from the shackles of the late 80s production. Pianos And Clocks also benefits from the Ryuichi effect, with an interesting keyboard run underpinning the song.
Vertigo is a fine pop song, with a playful arrangement that lifts the song to another level.
“Man, I’m going back To where I’m captured and caressed And life’s undressed and left where living belongs”
The Belle Of The Ball is a more traditional arrangement and performance to close the original album running order.
Aztec Camera’s final studio album Frestonia was released in 1995, with a powerful and warm production from Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. ZTT / ABC percussionist Luís Jardim makes several key contributions to the album, which has more of a full band sound than previous Aztec Camera albums, particularly on the opening track Rainy Season.
On The Avenue has a touch of the magic that constitutes a classic Paul McCartney song in it’s DNA and Imperfectly has a wonderful drum intro and moving organ lines throughout.
The Vapors are releasing a 76 track deluxe 4CD clamshell box set containing the band’s first two studio albums New Clear Days and Magnets along with B-sides & single versions. The set also includes two discs of previously unreleased demos, rough mixes, alternative and live versions, including the band’s performance at The Rainbow, supporting The Jam on their Setting Sons tour in December 1979.
The material has been mastered from the original master tapes retrieved from the EMI Archives, and still sounds crisp and powerful.
The first disc contains The Vapors debut album New Clear Days from 1980. Containing the band’s signature track Turning Japanese, the album is much more than the massive hit single. Cold War captures perfectly the post-punk influenced new wave sound of 1979 / 1980.
My favourite track on the album is the nuclear paranoia riddled Bunkers.
“I went down the road to see the end of the movie ‘Cause I really like the part where the heroine dies She takes away so many million secrets But she tells just a few before she closes her eyes”
The agitated bass-line and wonderful drums and percussion backbeat drives this frenetic album highlight. Waiting For The Weekend and the album closer Letter From Hiro also serve as powerful statements.
The remainder of disc one collects the remaining tracks released during this period, including the single Prisoners, b-side Here Comes The Judge (Live), a single edit of News At Ten, a shortened edit of Turning Japanese and the first of three previously unreleased tracks, Move (Demo), which has a guitar sound reminiscent of the style of John McGeoch, who was a member of Magazine around this time.
The expanded version of second album Magnets from 1981 opens with single Jimmie Jones, followed by the Bowie influenced, more experimental sound of Spiders, which showed that the band’s musical vocabulary was expanding. Spiders should have been a hit single, it was made for the airwaves of 1980.
Isolated Case is a Banshee’s influenced, post-punk slice of pop, and has aged well. Live At The Marquee has an interesting, intelligent arrangement and a killer, speed infused 60s pop chorus.
“But we’re alive at the marquee”
Its a real shame that the lack of record company promotion harmed the prospects of Magnets, as it has a much more varied sound than the debut, and deserved to be heard by more people. Maybe that time is now?
I have a lot of love for Daylight Titans, with it’s Banshees meets The Comsat Angels flavour.
“But what hurts me is I never get the time To say or do even half of what I’m feeling”
Can’t Talk Anymore adds some Dave Edmunds / Nick Lowe pop sensibility to a dark lyric. The haunting title track Magnets closes the original album running order, with a slow-burning arrangement and a powerful mantra to close the song.
“The motorcade is never-ending…”
B-side Galleries For Guns and the single / remixes, plus an archive interview with Dave Fenton, complete disc two.
Disc Three is New Clear Days (Alternative Versions). Containing demos, alternative versions and rough mixes of the songs from the album. One of the highlights is Turning Japanese (Alternative Version), which has added synths and percussion and sounds like it could be from slightly later than 1980. Its interesting to hear, but the original is still the best! Another highlight is the spirited Letter From Hiro (Rough Mix).
Just as interesting is the final disc, which comprises Magnets (Alternative Versions) & Live At The Rainbow 03/12/1979.
This disc contains two previously unreleased songs. A studio cut of Secret Noise, which probably would have been more suited to the debut album, and a live version of Caroline recorded at The Rainbow in 1979. The Rainbow show highlights the band before they were successful. Its strange hearing a live performance of Turning Japanese with no roar during the iconic intro.
The Vapors – Waiting For The Weekend: The United Artist & Liberty Recordings is a great way to collect the recordings from the first incarnation of the band, and its also a good opportunity for a timely reappraisal of the band’s second album, Magnets.
The Vapors reformed in 2016 and in 2020 released their excellent third album studio album Together, that included a career highlight in Girl from the Factory. So hopefully lots more to come from this great band.
Spring Collection Turning Japanese Cold War America Trains Bunkers News At Ten Somehow Sixty Second Interval Waiting For The Weekend Letter From Hiro
Bonus Tracks
Prisoners Sunstroke Here Comes The Judge (Live) News At Ten (Single Version) Wasted Talk Talk Waiting For The Weekend (Single Version) Billy Turning Japanese (Edit) Move (Demo)
Disc Two: Magnets (Expanded Version)
Jimmie Jones Spiders Isolated Case Civic Hall Live At The Marquee Daylight Titans Johnny’s In Love (Again) Can’t Talk Anymore Lenina Silver Machines Magnets
Bonus Tracks
Galleries For Guns Jimmie Jones (Single Version) Daylight Titans (Single Version) Spiders (Single Version) Interview With Dave Fenton
Disc Three: New Clear Days (Alternative Versions)
Spring Collection (Demo) Turning Japanese (Alternative Version) Cold War (Rough Mix) America (Demo) Trains (Rough Mix) Bunkers (Demo) News At Ten (Alternative Version) Somehow (Instrumental) Sixty Second Interval (Demo) Waiting For The Weekend (Demo) Letter From Hiro (Rough Mix) Turning Japanese (Edit) (Demo) Prisoners (Demo) Wasted (Rough Mix) Spring Collection (Rough Mix) Turning Japanese (Alternative Extended Mix) Cold War (Rough Mix Edit) America (Instrumental) Waiting For The Weekend (Rough Mix) Cold War (Alternative Rough Mix) Turning Japanese (Instrumental)
Disc Four: Magnets Alternative Versions & Live At The Rainbow 03/12/1979
Jimmie Jones (Rough Mix) Civic Hall (Rough Mix) Live At The Marquee (Rough Mix) Johnny’s In Love (Again) (Rough Mix) Galleries For Guns (Rough Mix) Secret Noise Galleries For Guns (Alternative Rough Mix)
Live At The Rainbow 03/12/1979
Caroline Somehow Bunkers Sunstroke Cold War Waiting For The Weekend Sixty Second Interval Spring Collection Turning Japanese America Prisoners
Level 42 are releasing a 10 CD set titled The Complete Polydor Years: Volume 2 (1985-1989), that contains all the Level 42 albums from that era plus further discs containing B-Sides, 7” mixes, remixes and rare tracks.
Regarded as the bands most commercial period, this collection features all the hits from the era including Running in the Family, Lessons in Love and Leaving Me Now.
Discs 6 -10 contain all the B-Sides, 7” mixes, remixes and rare versions from 1985-1989. Level 42 – The Complete Polydor Years: Volume 2 was compiled in conjunction with Level 42 and band experts Paul Wallace, Paul Waller and Simon Carson.
The comprehensive sleeve notes were written by Record Collectors Daryl Easlea who has spoken to band members current and past.
The collection kicks off with the 1985 live album A Physical Presence on the first two discs. I spent my teenage years in Woolwich, but had moved away and so missed this tour, that included a show at The Coronet in Woolwich, one of the gigs featured on this album, along with tracks recorded at The Hexagon (Reading) and Goldiggers in Chippenham.
A Physical Presence captures the band at their jazz-funk peak, before the more mainstream success that followed with the next few albums. Highlights include a crowd-participating Turn It On and the flawless second disc, with six killer tracks in a row, including a powerful version of Hot Water.
World Machine saw the band start to move away from their signature style, towards a more electronic pop sound. Known for the massive hit singles – Something About You (a truly great pop song) and Leaving Me Now, other highlights include the sublime arrangement of the title track, the percussive Coup D’etat and the Rhodes driven Lying Still, with some wonderful Steely Dan sounding harmonies.
Disc four contains the Running In The Family album from 1987. The album opens with a staple of 80s nostalgia radio stations, Lessons In Love, which is simply one of the band’s finest singles. There is a real consistency in the song-writing and performances on this album, resulting in 5 of the 8 album tracks being released as singles.
“All the dreams that we were building We never fulfilled them”
Children Say has a lovely refrain and other highlights include It’s Over, the band’s final UK Top 10 hit and album closer Freedom Someday. Brothers Phil and Boon Gould left the band after the release of Running In The Family.
Guitarist Alan Murphy (Kate Bush / Go West) and drummer Gary Husband joined for Staring at the Sun, the last studio album in this collection, which appears on disc five.
Heaven in My Hands was the biggest hit from the album, peaking at No12 in the UK single charts. I love Alan Murphy’s guitar style, particularly from his work with Kate Bush as well as his strong contributions to this album, sadly his only appearance with the band, as he died in 1989. Sting guitarist Dominic Miller also features on the album.
Staring at the Sun feels very different from earlier Level 42 albums, with a shift towards a more pop/rock sound. Key tracks include the top 30 single Take A Look (what a chorus, by the way), the addictive Silence and the rare later period instrumental Gresham Blues.
The final five discs round up b sides, 7″ and 12″ mixes plus live tracks from the period. My personal highlights from these tracks include one of my favourite 80s 12″ mixes, Something About You (Sisa Mix), World Machine (Shep Pettibone Remix), the very much of it’s time, drum-less Heaven In My Hands (Guitarpella Mix), the surprisingly effective “funky drummer” take of Take A Look (Remix) and the 2nd version of Starchild (Remix) on disc 9, that clocks in at nearly 8 minutes.
The Complete Polydor Years: Volume 2 (1985-1989) is a great way to collect the Level 42 albums from the most commercially successful period of the bands career, and is an 80s music fans dream.
Karisma Records are releasing a remastered version of Oslo band Airbag’s 2009 debut album Identity in June 2021 on CD and in early August on double vinyl.
The original, according to my Last.FM stats, was my most played album in 2009, so I’m obviously a big fan of this album. Identity has been lovingly remastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow, The Opium Cartel).
Identity is a wonderful mixture of Pink Floyd influenced, melodic prog with quite wide-ranging pop influences such as later period Talk Talk and at times, hints of modern electronica.
Jacob Holm-Lupo’s remaster is a revelation. Comparing the two versions side by side, the new version is less sharp on the ear, the guitars are not always at the top of the mix and there is space for the electronics to breathe. Ride cymbals shimmer, the bass is deep and cuts through perfectly, and production touches such as effects on vocals and keyboards sit so much better in the mix. The original, which sounded pretty good back in the day, has been polished and cleaned, and is now a sparkling diamond of an album.
The instrumental Prelude sets the scene, with emotional solos from guitarist Bjørn Riis. The album is a definite pop your headphones on, sit back and close your eyes, listening experience. If you give the album your full attention, you will be rewarded.
No Escape is one of the key tracks on Identity. The pace is steady and constant, but the arrangement dips in and out of it’s intensity, with a heady mix of David Gilmour influenced guitar lines and simple but effective vocal arrangements. The ending, with processed drums and an emotional piano refrain, is a joy to listen to.
“Why does it feel like I’ve been here before, please pull me out of this dream.”
Safe Like You has a Massive Attack sounding drum pattern, and infectious keyboard lines that underpin the emotive guitar parts. This is one of the songs that really benefits from Holm-Lupo’s warm, widescreen and colourful remaster.
“My stomach aches when you look at me as if I was fake”
Steal My Soul makes good use of soundscapes and Robert Fripp influenced guitar textures before the more traditional arrangement kicks in. This is the track that is likely to appeal to fans of 70s prog and classic rock.
The remaster of Steal My Soul is another noticeable improvement, and Colours, with its clearer vocal and acoustic guitar mix, sounds like it was recorded yesterday, rather than 12 years ago. How time flies…
The final two tracks – How I Wanna Be & Sounds That I Hear – thrive on the atmospherics, and work as if they are one long piece, rather than two distinct tracks.
Sounds That I Hear is one of my favourite Airbag songs, with delicate organ washes, snatches of distant radio conversations and a powerful classic progressive rock arrangement that sits comfortably (numb) alongside the dark lyrics.
“The memories we had are left behind”
So if you already own this album, should you buy it again? For me, its a genuine sonic improvement, and the best version of one of my favourite albums of the past 20 years, and so yes I will be buying it again, on vinyl rather than CD. My original copy will go to a charity shop to hopefully turn someone else on to the band. Got to spread the prog love, right?
Cherry Red Records are releasing a newly remastered and expanded version of Toyah’s 1980 album The Blue Meaning, the second in a reissue programme of Toyah’s entire Safari Records catalogue. The Blue Meaning will be released on 28 May 2021.
The reissue comes in two formats:
A 2CD+1DVD digipak with a fully illustrated 24-page booklet containing a brand new introductory note from Toyah, plus rare and unseen imagery including album cover outtakes taken at Wykehurst Place. This expanded edition features 27 remastered bonus tracks including single mixes, live tracks, rarities and unheard demos.
I would imagine anyone reading this review will be familiar with The Blue Meaning, so no in-depth review of the main album is needed. The album has been remastered by Nick Watson at Fluid Mastering, and is the best the album has sounded.
The Blue Meaning is often both musically and lyrically darker than its predecessor Sheep Farming In Barnet, and it works well as a complete album, with a real continuity of sound and lyrical themes. Opening with fan favourite Ieya (I bet you are chanting Zion Zooberon Necronomicon in your head now), other key tracks include Ghosts, the addictive Mummies, the percussive Tiger! Tiger!, the obtuse Insects and my personal favourite, the post-punk delights of She, which still sounds great today.
As with the Sheep Farming In Barnet deluxe reissue, The Blue Meaning is overflowing with extras, and pulls together all the key live and out-take recordings from this era. Silence Won’t Do and Jack & Jill hint at the next stage in the band’s career, with the Four from Toyah EP and 1981’s Anthem album. The Merchant & The Nubile was reworked, with fresh lyrics added on top of a more fleshed out production for Four From Toyah‘s War Boys the following year.
Session versions of Sheep Farming In Barnet‘s Danced and Last Goodbye, along with Love Me from The Blue Meaning are included on the first disc. My favourite from these sessions is the version of Danced, with a Mike Oldfield sounding guitar solo.
The shortened single mix of Ieya and its b side, Helium Song (Spaced Walking), the full version of the album track, rounds off CD one in this deluxe edition.
The second disc opens with a trio of tracks recorded at the ICA London, Love Me, Waiting and Ieya. A couple of alternative vocal takes, including a longer version of Blue Meanings and a version of She with less reverb lead into a weirder, acapella version of Spaced Walking. This is crying out for someone to add their own music and give us a 2021 version. Go on, you know you want to!
Three album songs in instrumental form are next, followed by different takes of Silence Won’t Do, Jack & Jill and The Merchant & The Nubile (these are different recording takes and alternate vocals). Its interesting to hear the development of these songs, presented here in their more raw incarnations.
It’s A Mystery (Original Version) is performed by Blood Donor Feat. Toyah Willcox, and would go on to reach #4 in the UK Singles Charts when re-recorded and released in 1981 as the lead song on the Four from Toyah EP. Most of the original parts of the song are intact in this older take. The only time I saw Toyah live was around this time, in February 1981 at The Rainbow, London. I remember enjoying Huang Chung who were also on the bill. Founder member Jack Hues has said that their early album’s will be re-released on CD soon, so something to look forward to. Huang Chung later renamed themselves as Wang Chung, and went on to have huge hits in the UK and the USA in the mid to late 80s.
Back to Toyah, sorry about the slight digression. The rest of disc two is made up of good quality demo recordings, recorded at Pete Townshend’s Eel Pie Studios in late 1980. I prefer the arrangement of the demo version of Angels & Demons, and another highlight is the Banshees meets The Cure instrumental version of Sphinx. Anthem will also be familiar to fans, as this track formed the basis of the top 10 single I Want to Be Free from 1981, although the punky guitars are the stars on this version.
The final disc (not provided for review) contains three brand new features – an interview with Toyah Willcox about the album/period, a track-by-track album commentary plus an exclusive acoustic three-song session of songs from the era, filmed in October 2020. The DVD also includes rare archive BBC TV performances of Mummies and Danced from Friday Night, Saturday Morning (November 1980).
Mr Kinski's Music Shack 