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Out This Week / on 28 April 2023

Reissues and releases

By Paul Sinclair

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49

Various Artists / Now Yearbook '78 CD, Vinyl

The Now That’s What I Call Music team move their focus back on to the late 1970s with a NOW Yearbook ’78, the ninth in the ongoing series that now spans from 1978 to 1986. 4CD deluxe and 3LP coloured vinyl are the pick of the formats.

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Whitesnake / Still Good to be Bad CD, Vinyl, Box Set

Whitesnake will reissue their 2008 album Good to be Bad as STILL Good to be Bad. There are four physical formats, including a 4CD+blu-ray box set.

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Tomorrow / Permanent Dream CD, Vinyl

The debut album of short-lived psychedelic 60s pop group Tomorrow has been ‘reimagined’ by guitarist Steve Howe and is reissued as Permanent Dream.

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Rush / Signals Vinyl, Box Set

Rush’s 1982 album Signals is reissued for its (belated) 40th anniversary. There’s only two physical formats and at the time of writing the super deluxe edition has an SDE Reader Rating of only 1.5 (out of 5) which isn’t a ringing endorsement.

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Ace of Base / Beautiful Life: The Singles CD

The delayed Ace of Base 26-disc CD singles box set is released this week. Beautiful Life: The Singles features a phenomenal 341 tracks including hits such as ‘All That She Wants’, ‘The Sign’, ‘Don’t Turn Around’, ‘Life Is A Flower’, ‘Cruel Summer’ and many more.

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Mariah Carey / The Rarities 4LP vinyl

Mariah Carey / The Rarities Vinyl

This Mariah Carey compilation of fan favourites, rare songs and unreleased tracks also includes the full length audio from Live at the Tokyo Dome. Released on vinyl for the first time outside the USA.

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Britney Spears / Coloured vinyl reissues Vinyl

The third and final batch of Britney Spears coloured vinyl reissues are released this week. They are Britney Jean, Femme Fatale and Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.

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Family / Anyway 2CD deluxe

Family / Anyway CD

English rock band Family’s 1970 album Anyway is reissued as an expanded 2CD set.

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Various Artists / Now That's What I Call Eurovision Song Contest CD, Vinyl, Box Set

As the UK prepares to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in May, this new collection features “the ultimate collection of winners, memorable and enduring classics, and fan favourites” from across the decades. 5LP clear vinyl, 2LP and 4CD are the formats.

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49 Comments

49 thoughts on “Out This Week / on 28 April 2023”

  1. Also released this week was the self-released reissue of Norfolk Coast by the Stranglers. Strong album. None of the Stranglers limited self-released reissues make their way onto SDE, just the big label reissues. Not complaining as it means only fans who look at the Stranglers site know about them.

  2. Last month I got sent details about the Ultravox Quartet deluxe reissue,which had a 5th of May release date.Was expecting a good article on this site about it but nothing came.Anybody know whether the release date been pushed back?Was the details sent me too premature and its release date not as they stated?

      2. Horizons music and Amazon listed the Ultravox Quartet deluxe and all its tracklisting contents c.mid March,offering pre-orders.Not heard anything since,so do not know if it has since been removed. It mirrors the previous two releases with the Steve Wilson mixes, Cassette rehearsal audio,a full live show,and all the b-sides/extended versions etc..I cannot be the only one who saw this.For those like me who bought the first two this is a must buy,so it is a bit annoying when they release details in a non-official way without accurate release dates.

  3. I hate when expanded re-issues don’t try to conform to a certain format. Rush started off fine with the studio album and 2 other CDs but then nothing for Signals? Marillion should take a bow for keeping the format structure roughly the same for all 8 releases of the EMI/Parlophone albums.
    I think a good chunk of the readers to SDE would of liked a BR audio to the Signals album as a stand-alone.

    1. I think they are kissing a good number of potential buyers goodbye with this release (or perhaps giving them the finger [or two]). I know many Rush fans are very happy that Signals is getting a deluxe treatment but for those of us who prefer a full resolution digital experience, their mixed media sets are hard to justify. I also know some who want the vinyl and Blu-ray and not the CD, though the cost of the extra single CD in this box is negligible extra cost.

      I have repeatedly pleaded that CD+Blu-ray sets are what a good number of buyers want but are being denied. It is asinine to ask an obvious portion of potential buyers buy so much that they don’t want (in this case one LP and 4 x 7″ singles), in order to get what they do want (the Bu-ray and maybe the CD). Streaming on Apple or Tidal is not the same experience as hearing the Blu-ray as they only provide 384 to 768 kbps for their Atmos versus a Blu-ray which averages 6,000 kbps and can go as high as 18,000 kbps across the channels i.e. 15 to 23 times as much information. No wonder Blu-rays sound better. Kudos to Marillion, Jethro Tull, Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree, Tears for Fears, Everything But The Girl, Air, Yes, Ultravox, and all others who issue CD+Blu-ray or lossless DVD sets for providing value for money. And a pox on those who mix digital and analogue media just because they can or who use Apple Music and Tidal as their outlets for lossy Atmos mixes when audiophiles want lossless Atmos. .

  4. The Man Who Fell To Earth gets its US 4k debut tomorrow via a Best Buy steelbook exclusive ($22). Features different artwork compared to the steelbook released last month in the UK and Germany. US artwork below.

    1. I have the deluxe “platinum” version of Jessie Ware’s last album What’s Your Pleasure and it’s brilliant, so I’m interested in hearing her new album.

    2. Looking forward to the new Jessie Ware…have all her prior work & she has been consistently tops, have the Platinum Edition of the last one too…

  8. This week:

    Rickie Lee Jones Pieces Of Treasure Modern Recordings (Warner)

    Shakin’ Stevens Re-Set BMG Rights Management (warner)

  9. I shudder when I read “reimagined” . It seems that has become the new go-to description any time someone decides to re-record a watered down version of a song: not remixed, revisited, or remodeled, or even re-recorded, those are still ok, it’s “reimagined” that makes me squirm. Honestly, I can’t recall ever hearing a song described as “reimagined” and thought, wow, they really have a lot of imagination, and finally nailed it this time.

    1. I am not so keen on re-recorded either. Artists are rarely the best judges of their own material or talents when you have millions of fans to cater for. My case in point is always Wuthering Heights (New Vocal) can’t imagine for the life of me why that was needed see also: Director’s Cut. Jeff from one of the two best bands in Birmingham also re-did his greatest hits and that was kinda OK, but other than for the money, pointless.

      I guess for most artists it is actually about the money, particularly if they are re-recording material when still fairly young. But nobody (YMMV) will want a 68 year old voice re-working something they first did to perfection at age 23. If anyone has any examples of improvement, I am all ears.

      2. Don’t forget some re-recordings are done for financial reasons so the artist can own the recording themselves rather than be a slave to the Label.I recall the late Black recorded a near identical version of Wonderful Life that was hard to distinguish from the original so he could use and earn from his famous song without ever having to license his own stuff from his ex-label.And Taylor Swift was so annoyed by the politics of losing the rights to her own recordings that she has done the drastic step of re- recording her whole catalogue;but unlike Black she chose to do most of the songs slightly differently rather than just identically copy the originals.Whether Swift fans like the old or new versions best is not for me to say as I aint a fan.

        1. Gary Numan is re-recording his Sacrifice, Exile, and Pure albums which pulled him out of his late 80s through early 90s funk, with Ade Fenton trying to mimic the sound of the originals as closely as possible using modern equipment and production techniques. The originals were recorded on poor quality equipment, Sacrifice being notably bad. It will also give him the rights to those recordings whereas I think Eagle Records hold the rights to the originals.

          1. In theory this may work as like you say the originals were poorly produced although to be fair Gary was working solo if I recall particularly on Sacrifice.
            Brilliant albums regardless although there hasn’t been any update on these new versions in ages so I wonder if they’ll actually see the light of day.

            I’d wager he’ll concentrate on another live release to mark the recent 1,000th show and/or pushing his daughter’s album which Ade worked on. With the latter I’d also hazard a guess Gary himself features heavily on the album.

          2. Agreed. There’s much less money in releases versus touring for most artists. I really hope the re-recorded versions come out, especially Sacrifice which was released as my firstborn son was losing his battle with cancer. The music and lyrics were a perfect fit for my mental state at the time.

        2. I was going to mention Squeeze’s ‘Spot the Difference’ in this context. It’s a re-recording of their greatest hits, mainly done to ensure that they get a larger share of the proceeds from streaming services. The re-recordings pretty much sound the same…

        3. Actually, Taylor Swift wanted to rerecord her first 6 albums almost exactly like the first versions…that way she can own her masters & license them herself & maintain control over her catalogue AND make the purchase worthless & a tax write-off for those who purchased them against her will…it’s basically a middle finger to them, a total punkrock move…not only that, these rerecordings include unreleased songs from the vault, so everyone benefits…”Red (Taylor’s Version)” includes the full 10 minute version of fan fave “All Too Well”, which became the longest song to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 ever…the next rerecording is for “Speak Now”, one of my faves…and hey, if I want to hear the original versions, I have this semi-legal Russian 2CD Greatest Hits that goes through Reputation…I didn’t want to give her early label any money for masters they stole from Taylor frankly…

          1. Thanks for highlighting that interview. I was really pleased with that conversation with Suzanne.

      3. Well, “Wuthering Heights” was done in a style that sounded more contemporary to the hits package it was created for, It was my introduction to the song and I confess that I actually like the new vocal a lot more than the original, and I love all of Kate Bush’s music, I like both really, one sung as a girl and one as a woman. I think Taylor Swift was also wise to re-record her early music as an adult at the peak of her popularity. I respect a solid retouch of an original concept, it is more problematic when U2 or Rick Astley “reimagine” something watered down. It’s worse when I see “acoustic reimagining” I know nothing good can come of that. However, if it says unplugged, that could be better than the original.

      4. Director’s Cut is wonderful…dare I say, a masterwork…that I still play all the time. It re-imagines the idea of how we change as we grow older, both for the creative spirit and the listener and the dangers to always wanting things to be the same. It’s one of the key, liberating, works in Kate’s recording and without it we’d never have Before The Dawn.

        And imagine never having that.

      5. I hear what you’re saying Chris. One exception could be Chris Rea’s New Light Through Old Windows. Takes balls to bring out your first greatest hits compilation with re-recordings but he pulled it off magnificently.

      6. Sorry Chris,

        but i have to respectfully disagree regarding Kate Bush.
        She sure made some erratic and for fans not understandable decisions during her career so far, but the new vocals for ‘Wuthering Heights’ and the ‘re-imagined’ versions on ‘Director’s Cut’ ain’t among those.

        On ‘Wuthering Heights’ i really like the impression that the singer has aged between versions and it’s quite interesting to listen to both versions back to back, in the case of ‘Director’s Cut’ i nowadays find myself more often listening to that than to the source albums ‘The Sensual World’ and ‘The Red Shoes’ as i not only think the ‘new’ versions are sometimes the better ones but also that DC has a better flow than the two earlier albums.

        1. I love In a Blue Light. Played it frequently when it came out and again recently. Saw him on his ‘final’ tour and he had some of those musicians with him. It was a great show.

    2. The recent U2 set proves that theory 100%. I really tried to like it but found the new versions just bland and insipid. It’s like when Hollywad reimagines past movies franchises they’ve clearly just ran out of new ideas.
      In U2’s case I’d have preferred 4 discs worth of remixes or a decent orchestral take on tracks but what they released was godawful. Sounded like they’d teamed up with a pub band after one too many pints of Guinness and thought let’s do a karaoke skit on the back catalogue.

      1. Yup. Too mellow for me as well. The 4CD edition could of fit on 3 CDs with room for more or remove 3-4 tracks and all could fit on 2 CDs.
        I’m tired of all these “re-imaged” releases.

      2. Genuinely the blandest thing I’ve ever heard. There are supermarkets and elevators playing more exciting cover versions. (TBF I quite liked Red Hill Mining town, but I’m not sure it’s that different from the original).

    5. I wonder if Neil Sedaka is to blame for this! He re-recorded his uptempo 1962 U.S. #1 “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” as a ballad in 1975…and hit #8 in the U.S.

      I actually like both versions.

  10. This week I’m partying like it’s 1978. Can’t wait for that Yearbook to land.

    Oh and Jesse Ware’s new album is out Friday, itself with a 70s disco sound, I expect.

    1. Looking forward to 1978 also, kinda dreading 1977 as I feel we are moving in to Karaoke territory.

      I don’t know what *that* point is but there is a point backwards where all of that material will have been done to death on thousands of cheapo 1970s compilations. NOW are going to have to work very hard to keep it fresh the further they go back from 1978. Curiously I haven’t even opened my 1986 yet whereas everything up to this point has had a jolly good airing, 1979 in particular. So I imagine I am also done for the forwards direction too. I am up against my completist DNA. However since I don’t have 1984 on Vinyl I feel there is an out for me there. I am already not complete so stopping won’t hurt.

      1. What, music from the 1980’s hasn’t already been done to death on thousands of cheapo compilations? Seems like there’s always room for one more. Or 56 CDs more, even.
        I’m not sure how far my semi-completist urges will take me, but as I’ve got ’86 and ’78 on order, I guess the answer so far is, “further”.

      2. 1984 is the hardest of the vinyl releases to find. I eventually located a copy a few months ago – fairly pricey but sealed. Sadly the seller packaged it in a plain envelope so the sleeve was full of gouges, bends and creases. Looking at his feedback afterwards, he seems to have adopted that casual attitude to other LP sales as there were a number of disappointed customers. Maybe he ran out of mailers and cardboard stiffeners. Really disappointing as it was totally avoidable.

    1. One of the very best bands in the world.A run of stunning albums going back 15 years.
      Also in archival releases Stephen Stills Live At Berkeley 1971 on both CD and vinyl.Hopefully an expanded Manassas is next in this new program.

  12. Also out this Friday is the long delayed new album by VNV NATION “ELECTRIC SUN” which is easily a contender for best synthpop album of the year (so far). Some will label them industrial or future pop but this release is pure synth driven joy with a serious nod to peak period Ultravox.

    2. I am hoping they keep the the upward trend going. Automatic and Transnational just seemed like they were phoning it in – with the same suite of styles they had used on Judgement (sic) and Of Faith, Power, and Glory. Noire was a return to form though I know some think they haven’t done a good album since Empires which was when I caught on to them.

      1. I doubt you’ll be disappointed, I’ve heard 7 of the 12 tracks and pretty much each one is single material. Half of those I heard were live and a bit raw so didn’t even have the precision or sheen of a studio release so should be amazing on the album. Of particular note is “Run”, Ronan attempting a cross between his own “Nova” and Ultravox’s “Vienna”.

        For a band this far into their career to deliver what is likely to be their best album is highly unusual. And unless the 5 tracks I haven’t heard are complete filler it’s going to be on constant repeat here.
        My neighbours on the other hand aren’t going to be so ecstatic…

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