ReviewsSuede / CD Albums box set
Edsel Records today release the Suede CD Albums Box, a set which is effectively identical to the LP box from late last year but with optical discs rather than vinyl.
The CDs all come packaged in vinyl replica sleeves and while not up to Japanese level of detail, the label have done a decent job, with good quality, oversized spined card sleeves with two gatefolds (Dog Man Star and Bloodsports).
Whilst none of the original inner sleeve designs are replicated, these do at least have inner sleeves, albeit plain white.
The five studio albums of the original era (Suede, Dog Man Star, Coming Up, Head Music and A New Morning) are joined by Bloodsports and the 1997 compilation Sci-Fi Lullabies. In fact Sci-Fi Lullabies has also been given a separate CD release, styled as a digi-pack, but the card gatefold version in this box is presented totally differently (although they share the same actual discs).
One of the big attractions here is a fine booklet where the band discuss EVERY track from every album. This includes Bernard Butler with regards to the first two records. An oversized version of the same booklet came with the vinyl box, but it’s satisfying for fans that they can now enjoy this analysis of Suede’s output from the horse’s mouth for around £30 rather than the £130 that the LP set cost (much more now – it’s out of print)
Of course most fans will have all the music within, but these are rather nicely done. If the forensic detail of the 2011 three-disc deluxe editions was more Suede than you could comfortably digest, then you could do worse than to explore this set. The price tag is worth it for the first three albums, Sci-Fi Lullabies and Bloodsports, alone.
And if you are a massive Suede fan you know you’re going to *have* to buy this anyway, because it will look so good next to your CD Singles box!
A wider question is whether there is any more moisture in the chamois leather that is Suede’s back catalogue, or have Edsel wrung it dry? With the 20th Anniversary of Dog Man Star on the horizon, we think it’s probably still a little damp…
The Suede CD Albums Box Set is released today. Check out our picture gallery below.
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Mine arrived today and it’s just as lovely as the singles box, with much better sleeves than those used for the individual reissues.
@Stevie: I agree that the digipack reissue of ‘SFL’ should have had an extra disc, but it would make more sense to restrict it to the best of the ‘HD/ANM’ b-sides, surely?)
I can’t even think about buying this, as I still can’t get over the mastering nightmare that was ‘Bloodsports’. Sort that out and I may be interested in future reissues.
Steven , i’d so no to you’re question. I have the original Sci Fi on CD but i bought the digi pack just , well , just because ! i was hoping for upgraded sound but to me it’s slightly worse , harsher.
There’s actually LESS content because you get a lyric booklet but not the other booklet which had the singles artwork albeit very small photos.
They really should have included an extra disc with the B sides from the first 3 albums which were omitted . its by far the worse CD reissue of the original albums. oh well.
Stevie – – just an FYI…
I also bought the 2014 SHM Japan Edition of “Sci-Fi Lullabies”.
It features the latest masters on the dynamic Japan Super High Material CDs. I bring this up because it was $25 US and comes in the original all-clear on clear chunky Double Jewel Case and contain ALL Booklets like the original 1997 Nude Records release…
This SHM CD set, though, for the first time ever, sounds too bright and therefore, While I am a MASSIVE fan of remastering in most cases, sounds too harsh and actually sounds different that the 2011 remasters. So I – being the NERD I am – burned my own SCI-FI, using the 2011 remasters and this newest version of WSD because it was edited on the Deluxe Coming Up reissue…
Yes, it’s good but not quite Carling! I guess if you have the 2011 digipacks, content wise there’s nothing here for you apart form the book. It looks great with the CD singles box. My only minor gripe is that some of the card sleeeves are not quite stuck together properly at the top near the opening. Good to have paper inner sleeves (as opposed to a windowed data disc envelopes that the Koreans and others always seem to use). I didn’t get the 2011 deluxe issues, but apart from a few demos and studio jams, it seems the only reason for doing so now is the live footage on the DVDs. I hope there;s still more to come – what about Bret Anderson’s solo albums or the Tears album?
Really would like the booklet but have no interest in acquiring these songs for a second or third time in some cases.
There are definitely more Dog Man Star demos in Bernard Butler’s possession, a four-track of Black Or Blue (or “Jazzy” as it was called then) was once played on a 6Music show about producers which he contributed to but was not included on the comprehensive 2011 DMS reissue. I think Suede and Edsel have over-egged the pudding of rereleases in recent times so we may have to wait a few years for remaining vault-scraping. Worth noting too that the very early Suede material, including a single they released before being signed to Nude, Be My God/Art, has now reverted to the band in terms of publishing rights so that’s something that may well come out one day too.
So I bought this but not the digipak of Sci-Fi
Lullabies. Is there a reason I should order the digipak too?