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Out This Week / on 27 September 2024

Reissues and releases

By Paul Sinclair

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56

Thin Lizzy / 1976: Jailbreak and Johnny The Fox SDE-exclusive blu-ray

Thin Lizzy / 1976: Jailbreak & Johnny The Fox CD, Vinyl, Blu-ray

Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak and Johnny The Fox albums are brought together for this reissue aptly titled 1976. The SDE-exclusive blu-ray (#27 in the SDE Surround Series) features both albums in Atmos, 5.1, instrumental versions and more. Available again for a limited period due to cancellations/contingency stock. Order here.

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Pet Shop Boys / Feel CD single

Pet Shop Boys / Feel CD

The Pet Shop Boys fourth single from Nonetheless is ‘Feel’. The 5-track CD single includes remixes and a previously unreleased song.

 

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Thomas Dolby / The Flat Earth Vinyl

Thomas Dolby’s 1984 album, The Flat Earth, is reissued as coloured vinyl pressing limited to 750 units. Sold out on the SDE shop.

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Therapy? / Troublegum 30th anniversary vinyl reissue

Therapy? / Troublegum Vinyl

Therapy?’s 1994 album Troublegum is reissued as two different vinyl editions for its 30th anniversary.

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Gilbert O'Sullivan / Songbook CD, Vinyl

Gilbert O’Sullivan will release a new album Songbook, that features newly recorded versions of songs from his back catalogue.

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Brand New Heavies / Brother Sister CD, Vinyl

The Brand New Heavies‘ 1994 album Brother Sister is reissued for its 30 year anniversary.

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Kim Wilde / Album reissues CD, Vinyl

The three albums Kim Wilde released in the 1990s are reissued as deluxe CD box sets and on vinyl.

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Bruce Springsteen / Born in the USA 40th anniversary 4CD in Japan

Bruce Springsteen / Born in the USA 4CD set CD

Sony Music in Japan are celebrating the 40th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 album Born in the USA as a special 4CD deluxe edition unavailable anywhere else!

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John Lennon / Mind Games book

John Lennon / Mind Games Book

The John Lennon Mind Games reissue has been out for a while, but now you have the opportunity to purchase the 288-page hardcover book by Thames & Hudson that offers the “definitive exploration” of the album. This expands considerably on the standard book that comes with the 6CD+2 x blu-ray version although this edition was included in the massive £1350 super deluxe that SDE unboxed.

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XTC / Skylarking (CD+blu-ray)

XTC’s 1986 album (produced by Todd Rundgren) is reissued as a CD+blu-ray edition with the blu-ray featuring a brand new Dolby Atmos Mix by Steven Wilson. Four additional tracks and instrumentals are also in Atmos. Order via the SDE shop.

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56 Comments

56 thoughts on “Out This Week / on 27 September 2024”

  1. XTC’s Skylarking seems to be backordered/not available in the US (not sure about elsewhere). I got notice that due to ‘supply chain’ issues its backordered, with no specific date given. Is that an issue in the UK as well?

  2. Anyone else surprised by the appearance of Sting’s Brand New Day album in an expanded version? 33 tracks, nearly 3 hours of content. Wasn’t expecting that. Am quite enjoying it, though, BUT like the last expanded versions (Nothing Like The Sun, The Soul Cages) only available on streaming services, sadly. A shock to realise that it’s 25 years old..

  4. Looking forward to the Pet Shop Boys single.
    A new Jon Spencer mini album called “Sick Of Being Sick” was released a couple of weeks ago.
    Available for preorder now is the second album by New Zealand dreampop artist Fazerdaze called “Soft Power”. I became a fan from her 2022 EP “Break!” and am really looking forward to this. The release date is 15 November.

  5. Also out this week is the 30th Anniversary edition of Amy Grant’s album “House of Love” It is being released on 2CD and Double Vinyl. The 2CD version has 19 bonus tracks including b-sides, alternate mixes, and remixes, with 8 of them included on the vinyl edition. Available through the webstore on amygrant.com

    CD Track Listing:
    Disc 1: 1) Lucky One 2) Say You’ll Be Mine 3) Whatever It Takes 4) House Of Love 5) The Power 6) Oh How The Years Go By
    7) Big Yellow Taxi 8) Helping Hand 9) Love Has A Hold On Me 10) Our Love 11) Children Of The World
    12) House Of Love (Michael Omartian Version)* 13) Oh How The Years Go By (Keith Thomas Version)*
    Disc 2: 1) The Power (2024 Version) 2) Helping Hand (2024 Version) 3) Politics Of Kissing* 4) Life’s Gonna Change*
    5) House Of Love (The Classic Philly Soul Mix)* 6) Lucky One (The Lucky Street Mix)* 7) Big Yellow Taxi (The Alternate Paradise Mix)* 8) House Of Love (The South Street Mix)* 9) Lucky One (The A/C Rhythm Mix) 10) Say You’ll Be Mine (Radio Mix)
    11) Lucky One (Remix) 12) Big Yellow Taxi (The Paradise Mix) 13) Children Of The World (w/Jesus Loves Me Intro)
    14) Lucky One (Kupper Radio) 15) Oh How The Years Go By (Radio Mix w/Intro) 16) Lucky One (Kupper 12” Mix)
    17) Lucky One (Churban 12” Mix)

    Vinyl contains tracks 1-11 of Disc 1 plus the bonus tracks indicated with *

  6. It appears (strictly based on the one cover art image) that the XTC Skylarking CD+BD won’t be considered part of their Surround Sound Series? Has anyone laid hands/eyes on this release who could confirm or deny?

      1. Thanks for the confirmation! Now on to my buying decision…

        Hopefully, XTC’s The Surround Sound Series isn’t at an end, even if we are waiting (with fingers forlornly crossed) for lost multitracks to be discovered. The SSS releases are stellar examples of high-value “super UNdeluxe editions”, packing in as much content & at a low price as most artists/record companies would put into big multi-disc box sets.

    2. Wait a minute…I have an ApeHouse CD/BluRay of Skylarking with tons of content, original cover artwork tucked inside the slipcase…what’s the difference between that one and this new one??

        1. Actually I think this is this release XTC – Skylarking (2016, CD) – Discogs Larry is writing about. It is a bluray indeed with loads of extra content:
          Album in Demo and Work Tape Form [24/96 LPCM Stereo]
          Andy’s Non-Album Demos And Other Recordings [24/96 LPCM Stereo]
          Colin’s Non-Album Work Tapes [24/96 LPCM Stereo]
          2016 Instrumental Mix [24/96 LPCM Stereo]
          2010 Corrected Polarity Remaster [24/96 LPCM Stereo]
          2001 Remaster [24/96 LPCM Stereo] tracks Bonus 2016 Mixes
          2016 Stereo and 5.1 Mix (no Atmos)

          So actually we just get an atmos mix on top of all that, and a different packaging.

          2. The new Atmos version does not have all the demo material or liner notes, from what I’ve read. My copy has been delayed. One really needs both sets to have everything. Thankfully they’re reasonably priced.

  7. Also out this week
    Marc Almond – The Dancing Marquis 2CD reissue (Cherry Red)
    Steve Kilbey [of The Church] – Bespoke Wheels and Winged Heels CD

    Last week:
    Johnny Marr + The Healers – Boomslang 2CD reissue (and vinyl). Saw singed copies of the vinyl at his show in Seattle Saturday.

    1. And, bizarrely Bespoke etc. does not include Sydney Rococo, both Steve Kilbey’s best and potentially most commercially rewarding song of the last 30 years and virtually the only chance Easy Action had of getting this epic reissue campaign off to a flying (pun intended) start. This is exactly the sort of willful foot-shooting that has blighted this great artist’s career from the start. Is it any wonder l drink.

    1. I have an original UK vinyl, the reissued ‘big box’ on Ape, the ‘phase corrected’ big box on Ape, the original UK CD, a MoFi CD, the APE CD/BD package. I reckon that’s 6 in total (I may have missed something).

  9. This, along with the cd boxset, is probably my most eagerly awaited collection since Live and Dangerous a couple of years back. The importance of Lizzy during this era is immense.

  10. Hello Paul,
    First of all let me say thank you for everything you have been doing, that being said I would like to leave a comment. As I live in the US, I had to skip on few SDE exclusive blu ray because the shipping is pretty expensive, that being said, is it possible to bundle some of the blu rays to ship them all together instead of each individually, therefore cutting down on shipping cost.

    Thanks

    1. Thanks for the support. Sadly we are unable to offer that service at the moment. Tracked and insured shipping to the USA is £8 which I think is a great price. I’ve yet to come across a US retailer who can offer the same shipping costs to the UK!!

      1. I’ll kiss the ring, Paul. I have found both your products and the shipping very reasonable. I greatly appreciate the care in the packaging of the products. I know that they will reach my mailbox safely and quickly. So, kudos to you!

      2. People get used to free Amazon shipping (in their country) so $10 for shipping from the UK to the US suddenly seems a lot, especially for a small item like a blu-ray. But even if you order from Amazon UK to the US, shipping is more than $10 in most cases so in that framework Paul’s $10 is quite reasonable.

        1. Bandcamp are the worst for US to UK shipping. With the exception of a few artists postage works out on average £15 when the CD itself costs about £13. Crazy!

          1. Try beating udiscover germany to the US: Triple Vinyl 180g Element of Crime for 43.00 Euro, shipping to the US 37 Euro. Highway robbery. Sadly jpc.de does not carry this version of the album. Oh, well.

          2. JPC seem to be the last holdouts on low shipping costs to the US. Have two orders in with them – Euro 4.59 shipping for two CD+Blu-ray sets + a separate blu-ray and Euro 4.00 for the TP Fear of a Blank Planet deluxe set and the TFF live 2CD (with the extra track). And they take off German VAT as well!

  12. The blue vinyl edition of The Flat Earth by Thomas Dolby has also sold out on the Music On Vinyl website, there is now only a black vinyl edition available. Ordered the blu vinyl edition on the SDE shop as soon as I found out so looking forward to hearing that on vinyl for the first time in years.

    Glad to see the Thompson Twins getting some love again with their upcoming expanded reissue of Into The Gap on a 3CD set. There’s also a red vinyl LP and a CD single of Hold Me Now (exclusive to the band’s store)

  13. Getting the 3 Kim Wilde releases on cd/dvd this week. So quite an expensive week really. I noticed these and the Altered Images deluxe cds that were released a few weeks ago seem to be getting more and more expensive. Least the new Thompson Twins deluxe cd box seems a more reasonable price.

  16. Here in Sweden (and Scandinavia I guess)
    Benny Anderssons Orkester release their new album ‘Alla kan dansa’ (Everybody can dance)
    12 new songs with music by Benny Andersson and lyrics by Björn Ulvaeus. The entire album is 
    sung in swedish by Tommy Körberg and Helen Sjöholm.
    I haven’t heard anything from the new album but usually they play dancemusic as it sounded
    in 40’s and 50’s before rock- and popmusic was born.

  17. More broadly in relation to new releases, something that was confirmed to me today, although I had long believed it could be the case.

    Most vinyl is being cut from exactly the same compressed master used to create the digital formats and as such cannot be truly any more dynamic than the digital version.

    Unfortunately for us vinyl lovers any apparent improved dynamics is actually distortion caused by pushing compressed masters through the vinyl chain, mostly at the cutting stage.

    The vinyl cut may be less fatiguing to listen to and seem like it is more dynamic but it can not be more dynamic than the source…. the vinyl is an inaccurate representation of the source.

    Of course this may be a very good reason to listen to the vinyl but let’s be clear this is inaccuracy.

    I got confirmation from Real World today that the vinyl mixes of I/O were cut from exactly the same master used to produce the digital formats and the same amount of compression entered the vinyl cutting process.

    It has also be shown that a digital master with a DR5 when cut to vinyl and the vinyl ripped back to digital results in a DR11 outcome….

    I will only buy expensive vinyl now if I can confirm it has been cut from a separate more dynamic master.

    Let’s just hope Blu Ray will enable the inclusion of more dynamic masters.

    1. Hifi streaming systems that can downfold Apple Music dolby atmos (not lossy) to stereo where are they? Probably Apple and record labels will refuse this. Why are labels so hateful against die hard audio fans. They seem to prefer the people that won’t pay for music over loyal music fans.

        1. But less dynamic range compression! Many new albums have DR4-DR5! Even DR3! Seems like they all master with Tik Tok in mind nowadays. Who said the loudness wars were over…??? Quite the contrary. It’s frustrating.

          1. DR is a rather crude measure but overall I’m ok with DR 10-12, a little compression brings more punch but less than 10 is unacceptable in my mind.

            Some artists still ask for reasonable dynamics but not many and even then the record company may have the final say.

        2. At the risk of going all Steve Hoffman forum on you the compression on Atmos streaming is lossy data compression (low res) as opposed to audio dynamic range compression. My compliant is with audio dynamic range compression.

          Atmos mixes (and 5.1) tend to not suffer from audio dynamic compression and this applies equally to lossless Atmos on Blu Ray and lossy Atmos on streaming but of course on streaming you suffer the low res lossy format.

          I am increasingly listening to lossless 5.1 and Atmos stereo fold downs ripped from Blu Ray and they result in very dynamic stereo mixes but it can be hit or miss especially Atmos.

          TFF Tipping Point 5.1
          Peter Gabriel I/O Atmos
          Duran Duran Danse Macabre 5.1
          Blur Ballad of Darren Atmos

          All folded down nicely.

          1. What I have come to realise after doing almost 30 of these projects is that labels do not care and most of the time artists also do not care, either. Saying to them “you know that audio that you are really happy with and has been approved by artist, producer, mastering engineer and various other people… I’d like you to change it for my product and give me something special that will need a whole other raft of approvals”. i.e. loads of extra work, hassle, talking to artist / management, mastering personnel. THAT is the harsh reality of why it rarely happens. It IS happening for Tears For Fears but that’s because Steven Wilson cares and has the trust of the band.

          2. I suppose it the artists likes the final master than really that’s how they want their work to be presented.

            I just don’t understand why they would want their music to be so fatiguing and often harsh sounding.

            As always I think a compromise is best here, something like DR11-12 so you get the punch and power with most of the dynamics.

          3. Even Steven Wilson does some limiting (or the released media gets produced this way without his knowing).
            But in Ultravox’s new SDE blu-ray you get Wilson’s RSD-remixes in a less limited way than the two that are on the box-set’s CD.
            So, sometimes there is a possibility to get the better.

            There is no reason to artificially limit a 24bit reproduction.

            The only reals reasons are a) artist’s choise (shouldn’t be on EVERY song), b) reducing the weakness of 16 bit, streaming or traditional radio: the quiet parts and c) to compete with other products on streaming and radio (which often get an equal end-loudness nowadays, what makes the limiting/loudness redundant)

        3. I wish to emphasize that there are two non-interchangeable terms that are spelled the same, “compression” (sound vs. data), and a further two uses of the latter (lossy vs. non-lossy). It’s important to discern between them all when reading or writing about audio.

          (1) SOUND compression (AKA dynamic range compression or limiting): overuse of this is what has led to the “loudness wars”. The more compressed an audio signal, the more the sound engineer can push the level, making it sound louder. (2a) lossy DATA compression: this is what Atmos streaming uses to keep the bitrate down (it cuts the data rate down by roughly 80%). It has ZERO to do with dynamic range compression, as described in 1, but can have audible compression artifacts. (2b) Lossless DATA compression also has ZERO to do with 1. Compared with 2a it’s bit for bit the same as the original, and exhibits no audible compression artifacts, yet reduces the streaming bandwidth by roughly half compared with raw data.

          1. I know all this. Data compression is hardly a good thing…and you’re wrong about audible compression artifacts, because it’s really obvious in the height channels in streaming atmos.

          2. LOSSY data compression bad.
            LOSSLESS data compression good.

            I agree with what you’re saying about streaming Atmos, it’s not as good as lossless Atmos from a physical disc. Just know that Atmos on a disc is still compressed, but losslessly with Dolby TrueHD compression.

    2. I don’t know how things are in your neck of the woods, MS but pretty well the only way to get a record pressed nowadays is to present the record company with a stereo digital master file, and this has been the case since, depending on the company, 1990.
      PS. This is a ‘in a nut shell’ type explanation not the full book, individual experience may vary.

      1. I have no issue with vinyl being cut from a digital file, my issue is the level of audio dynamic compression applied in creating that digital file.

        A digital file does not have to have any audio compression applied it is a choice.

    3. The stereo versions of I/O have a DR of 6 even in the higher-res Blu-ray with the DR 6 CDs and I will assume the 96/24 version on the Boxed set Blu-ray. Atmos has mandated higher DR (I/O Atmos is DR 13).

      I assume that vinyl does not have the physical capacity to carry all sounds at the same volume so some signals are weakened creating the illusion of higher DR, though perhaps not as the artist may have intended.

      1. All the stereo I/O digital formats use exactly the same master (including the 24/48 on the Blu Ray and the 24/96 downloads)

        The 24/48 Atmos is significantly more dynamic with no obvious use of any audio compression at the mastering stage and the stereo down mix has DR of 13/14.

        The vinyl is exactly as you say and the reason for my original post, it has been mastered from the same DR5 digital master but somewhere in the vinyl chain distortion is creating increased dynamics as you say.

      2. Yes, one reason why vinyl can sound less fatiguing is because most energy is concentrated in the low frequencies. Cut them (by using a highpass filter for instance) and the DR values shoot up. I did this myself with the Rush album Clockwork Angels, which was headache inducing on CD. It doesn’t really make the music more dynamic but helps to bring out some of the dynamics that were previously buried by the bloated bass. And if you know vinyl cutting, you’ll know that the bass is often tinkered with (i.e. reduced and summed to mono) before it gets cut, so that helps to clean up the sound a bit.

  18. Nice release by XTC. So I guess we are not getting the albums unreleased in surround sound anymore. Word is that those masters are lost. Now we are getting dvd’s in 5.1 replaced by blu-rays in Atmos. I was so happy with my cd/dvd in 5.1 but will have to buy this Atmos version too. Outstanding album.

    I ordered the 4cd Born In The USA from cdjapan. Sometimes they ship with a poster or so. I have a feeling they do something with this as well but you never know until you get it in the mail.

    Thompson Twins announced a 3cd version of Into The Gap. I’m hoping for a SDE exclusive blu ray in Atmos? Fingers crossed.

    1. This will be my first copy of Skylarking, glad I waited as it will likely be my last. I hope the Thompson Twins set is not compressed. Remixes & Rarities was DR 12 and sounded wonderful. And I have also heard there is an Atmos mix which I would love to see as an SDE release.

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