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Air / twentyears: new 5-disc anthology

By Paul Sinclair

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27

This June, French band Air will release their first anthology, Twentyears, which will be available in a few different formats, including a five-disc super deluxe edition box set.

The two CD edition of Twentyears features a ‘best of’ disc with classic selections from the Air discography, chosen by Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. The second CD in this set features 14 rarities including the previously unreleased Roger Song.

A third CD is available in the super deluxe edition only, and is the Air version of the Pet Shop Boys Disco 4. In other words it groups together remixes the band have created for other artists. These included David Bowie, Depeche Mode and Neneh Cherry.

The numbered and limited box set adds a ‘random’ coloured vinyl version of the 2LP set and includes a poster.

Twentyears is released on 10 June 2016.

pre-order

air20_sde

Twentyears Super Deluxe Edition (3CD+2LP)

air20_2cd

Twentyears 2CD Deluxe

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Twentyears 2LP vinyl

track_listing

SUPER DELUXE EDITION (3CDs+2LPs)

CD 1: Best Of

  1. La Femme D’Argent
  2. Cherry Blossom Girl
  3. Kelly Watch the Stars
  4. Playground Love
  5. Sexy Boy
  6. Venus
  7. All I Need
  8. Alpha Beta Gaga
  9. Moon Fever
  10. Don’t Be Light
  11. How Does it Make you Feel
  12. Once Upon A Time
  13. Alone in Kyoto
  14. Talisman
  15. Run
  16. Le soleil est près de Moi
  17. Land Me

CD2: Rarities

  1.  Planet Vega
  2.  Flowerhead
  3. Crickets
  4.  The Duelist featuring Charlotte Gainsbourg & Jarvis Cocker
  5. High Point
  6. Au fond du rêve doré  featuring Françoise Hardy
  7. Danger Zone
  8. Indian Summer
  9. The Way You Look Tonight
  10. Roger Song (Previously unreleased)
  11. J’ai dormi sous l’eau live BBC 1998
  12. Remember David Withaker version
  13. Trente millions d’amis live KCRW 1998
  14. Adis Abebah (Previously unreleased)

CD3: Remixes

  1. Ollano – Latitudes
  2. Crustration – Purple (La Femme d’argent Mix)
  3. Neneh Cherry – Kootchi (Air Remix)
  4. Depeche Mode – Home (Air ‘Around The Golf’ Remix)
  5. David Bowie – A Better Future (Remix by Air) (4:56)
  6. Beck – Heaven Hammer (Missing Remixed by AIR)
  7. MGMT – It’s Working (Air Remix)
  8. Nosferatu (Remix by The Flower Pistols)
  9. Money Mark – Rock in the Rain

 

LP1: A-Side

  • La femme d’argent
  • Cherry Blossom Girl
  • Kelly Watch the Stars
  • Playground Love (with Gordon Tracks)

LP1: B-Side

  • Sexy Boy
  • Venus
  • All I Need
  • Alpha Beta Gaga (Edit 91)

LP2: C-Side

  • Moon Fever
  • Don’t Be Light
  • How Does It Make You Feel
  • Surfing on a Rocket

LP2: D-Side :

  • Alone in Kyoto
  • Talisman
  • Run
  • Le soleil est près de moi

BEST OF 2CD

CD1: Best Of

1. La Femme D’Argent
2. Cherry Blossom Girl
3. Kelly Watch the Stars
4. Playground Love
5. Sexy Boy
6. Venus
7. All I Need
8. Alpha Beta Gaga
9. Moon Fever
10. Don’t Be Light
11. How Does it Make you Feel
12. Once Upon A Time
13. Alone in Kyoto
14. Talisman
15. Run
16. Le soleil est près de Moi
17. Land Me

CD2: Rarities

1. Planet Vega
2.  Flowerhead
3.  Crickets
4.   The Duelist featuring Charlotte Gainsbourg & Jarvis Cocker
5.  High Point
6.   Au fond du rêve doré featuring Françoise Hardy
7.  Danger Zone
8.   Indian Summer
9.   The Way You Look Tonight
10.  Roger Song (Previously unreleased)
11.  J’ai dormi sous l’eau (live BBC 1998)
12.  Remember (David Withaker version)
13.  Trente millions d’amis (live KCRW 1998)
14.  Adis Abebah (Previously unreleased)

BEST OF / 2LP

(2 x 180gram vinyl gatefold sleeve)

LP1 : A-Side
1. La femme d’argent
2. Cherry Blossom Girl
3. Kelly Watch the Stars
4. Playground Love (with Gordon Tracks)

LP1: B-Side

1. Sexy Boy
2. Venus
3. All I Need
4. Alpha Beta Gaga (Edit 91)

LP2: C-Side

1. Moon Fever
2. Don’t Be Light
3. How Does It Make You
4. Surfing on a Rocket

LP: D-Side :

1. Alone in Kyoto
2. Talisman
3. Run
4. Le soleil est près de moi

pre-order

air20_sde

Twentyears Super Deluxe Edition (3CD+2LP)

air20_2cd

Twentyears 2CD Deluxe

air20_vinyl

Twentyears 2LP vinyl

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27 Comments

27 thoughts on “Air / twentyears: new 5-disc anthology”

  1. Does anyone know when the AIR remix of Money Mark’s “Rock In The Rain” was made?
    I guess 1998, when the original track was released, but is there any mention of a production/mix date for the remix anywhere?

    And the same question for “Roger Song” and “Adis Abebah”, the two other previously unreleased tracks. Thanks!

  6. Disappointing – this should have included the Japanese bonus tracks Time Capsule & Easy Going Woman, rather than the widely available David Whitaker version of Remember.

  7. I’m so disappointed with AIR lately! Their last release says it all. Why would you make an exclusive release like ‘Music for Museum’ only on vinyl then follow it with a garbage best of compilation? Not even a digital download option for MfM?!?! A limited 3-disc with rarities shouldn’t be limited to an expensive 5-disc option! At least there’s a 2-disc pre-order, but as a long time fan the 3-disc isn’t really an option now. I do like the clever title ‘twentyears’ & that’s all sadly. Also, I agree with what other fans have said about all that’s missing from ‘Pocket Symphony’ and ‘Love 2’ is another shame. Please don’t overlook these 2 albums.

  8. Why can’t record companies release separate cd and vinyl versions instead of throwing them together and charging a rip off price for it? Many people just want the cds, so why not offer people what they want, at a reasonable price? Once again record companies haven’t learned from past mistakes and are putting off potential buyers like myself, by still being greedy and screwing ccustomers for every penny.
    As for “random” coloured vinyl, if fans are paying top whack for the box why not offer them all as coloured vinyl and give ghem what they want?
    Greed, greed, greed will be the final nail in the coffin of the already flagging music industry.

  9. Incredible Anthology!!! But my personal favourite songs are excluides. (Another Day, Biological, Readhead Girl, Photograph, Parade, Wonder Milky Bitch, Tropical Deasease….. I will buy it!!!!

  10. I don’t know their music but that cover artwork is very stunning indeed. It’s very Mark Farrow. Does the artwork have a credit?

    I’m not so impressed with the black version, but the white version is vert striking!

    If that is printed with a nice foil and a slight embossing on the AIR typography then that would be particularly nice.

    I can image a large format such as vinyl would be cool.

    Cheers.
    A.

  11. Wouldn’t it be false advertising to call it “3 discs” when in fact two vinyl records are also part of it? Direct your irritation where it’s due – at the label for “double dipping” and providing us with a repetitive product for a much higher pricetag, rather than at Paul for simply reporting on it!

    From a marketing perspective, the “bonus” disc in the super deluxe makes sense. But I join the large chorus of music fans who is tired of the big boxes being filled with duplicated material on both CD and vinyl. Sure, it probably increases the sales of the super deluxe to a certain extent, as some fans will want the bonus material enough and be big enough fans to shell out, even if the vinyl records aren’t a draw. What I’d be curious about is whether or not this makes up for the sales that are lost by not providing separate options. I suspect that if they had an additional editions available (making it overall: standard 2CD, deluxe 3CD, standard 2LP and super deluxe 3CD/2LP), the overall sales would probably be higher even if the super deluxe sold slightly less as a result. With the huge gap between cost (disproportionate to content differences) for the 2CD and super deluxe, I suspect that more sales are being lost than gained. They could always throw in a signed print/lithograph or further bonuses to make it even more “premium” for that slice of the market.

    I’d be interested to hear your thoughts, Paul. It seems like some artists (e.g. Rolling Stones) seem to fall more into the camp of making many options available to fans, but others are a bit more predictable in terms of obviously money-making choices. What balance of generosity to fans and stinginess/cynical marketing makes for the biggest returns?

    1. Sorry, was thinking more of how labels and/or retailers tend to advertise their wares in such fashion. Discs are discs are discs, not false advertising per se. There was another tedious overlong discussion about this while back, fair enough. We’re all used to deciphering Amazon listings anyways (this one describes the larger set as “[VINYL] box set” at top). In this case, was initially excited over a 5-disc Air box…and then , not so much.

  12. Seeing this promoted as a 5-disc set (that which is above the 2-disc offering) is bothersome. Not so much that it is CD+vinyl (although that is indeed tiresome), but more that 2 of the “discs” in this case are repeats of material from one of the other discs. I guess “5-disc” can’t be taken at face value anymore to actually mean 5 discs worth of material as it was customarily understood in past times.

  14. Lovely idea to collect the Best Of the band at last, nice cover art…but…there’s always a but! Not enough from the later albums (as already mentioned), no “Radio #1”, and once again this fad for bunging in vinyl with CDs for the Super editions. Overall, probably a “non” from me.

      1. No doubt. The 2 disc set for me. Even so, the tracklisting is an odd one. Surprised about the exclusions of Radio #1, Do The Joy, & Surfing On A Rocket…

  16. Hopefully they use the radio edits of Kelly Watch The Stars and Sexy Boy.

    Would be nice to have tracks like Soldissimo and Cosmic Bird.

  17. if it was me i like to have 3 cd super deluxe version separate from the vinyl i don,t have a record player it is just waste of time put it all together the greatest hits cd just the same as the vinyl so whats a point is that

  18. Looks like you can save a little money ordering it from Amazon france. $68 vs $99 from Amazon US.
    Just wanted to add that I pre-ordered a hard to find box set from amazon france and it never got to me in the united states. Then they shipped it to me again and it never got to me. We ended up having to cancel and I got a refund but the worst part was the box had become very hard to find after waiting so long.

  20. I feel so-so about this. On one hand, the rarities disc is nice and I’m intrigued by the remixes disc, however they’ve done the classic SDE move of combining vinyl and CDs. Wish you could just buy a 3CD version for cheaper! Will wait for a sale price for the 2CD edition (as CD1 doesn’t have much to entice longtime fans). Interesting that there’s nothing from “Love 2” and that the vinyl has a track swap (which then also ignores “Pocket Symphony”). Guess they don’t think all that highly of their later albums?

    1. Interesting the lack of later material. I think “Love 2” is possibly their best album, and at least has a couple of singles that would work well on a comp. I don’t understand putting out such a collection, calling it 20 years, and then only focusing mostly on the first 8 of those years. 0nly 3/17 tracks are post 2004.

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