July 21, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: art of noise, propaganda, ztt
Two items high on many a Zang Tumb Tuum fan’s wish-list are being issued together via the Japanese arm of the now 30-year old label, this month.
The CD+DVD combo package consists of the 1985 compilation Sampled – on CD for the first time – and the DVD debut of The Value of Entertainment, the video presentation of 1985 ZTT London ‘showcase’ where the Art Of Noise infamously ’jilted’ Paul Morley, leaving him on-stage with some dancers but sans band (Gary Langan explained more about this to SDE here).
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July 20, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1970s, Elvis Presley
Sony/Legacy’s 10-disc, 156-track boxed celebration of Elvis Presley‘s 1970 album and documentary That’s The Way It Is has dropped in price dramatically on Amazon UK.
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July 20, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1950s, Elvis Presley
Sony/Legacy will reissue their 2011 Elvis box set, Young Man with the Big Beat, in September.
This five-CD set – which celebrated 1956, that whirlwind year for the young Elvis – was originally a very lavish and expensive affair and included memorabilia items (ticket stubs, poster reproductions, promo photos etc) as well as a great large format booklet which took you through The King‘s schedule in 1956.
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July 20, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1990s, R.E.M., vinyl
As if to underline the marketing opportunity of Record Store Day, Rhino will release the RSD-only R.E.M. Unplugged 4LP vinyl edition as two separate double-LP sets in September.
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July 19, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1970s, deals, Queen
At last! After almost a month at over £100 on UK Amazon, the Queen Live at the Rainbow super deluxe is finally dropped to a sensible price.
Nearly £45 has been lopped off the four-disc set (2CD+DVD+Blu-ray) which comes with a 60-page book and lots of memorabilia items.
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July 17, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1980s, john foxx
The Virgin Years 1980 – 1985 is a new John Foxx five-CD box set that features the albums Metamatic, The Garden, The Golden Section and In Mysterious Ways.
Each CD features bonus tracks including B-sides and out-takes with more gathered on a fifth CD, Fusion/Fission (see full track listing below).
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July 16, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1960s, The Beatles
Journalist Terry Ott reviews the “Meet The Beatles!” Japan Box for SuperDeluxeEdition:
I suppose some fans of The Beatles could look at this latest repacking of five Fabs’ albums released in Japan during 1964 and 1965 as an unnecessary, pricey addition to the ever growing Beatles’ canon, seeing as all the music contained on these discs has already appeared in previous, relatively recent CD packages of one sort or another.
Or, this new superbly produced set could be viewed as the gift that keeps on giving from a spectacular back catalog and another chance to celebrate the nostalgia and the ongoing world-wide, 50th anniversary appeal of the Beatles.
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July 16, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1990s, smashing pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins’ 1998 album Adore will be reissued in September as a 6CD+DVD super deluxe edition box set.
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July 15, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1970s, crosby stills and nash, Neil Young
First significant price drop for the 3CD+DVD Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young set that was released just over a week ago.
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July 15, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1980s, George Michael, vinyl
George Michael‘s number one album Symphonica will be issued as a limited edition double LP vinyl in August.
The album was originally released back in March, with the standard CD offering 14 tracks and the deluxe edition and blu-ray audio versions adding three bonus songs (Roxanne, You Have Been Loved and Going To A Town).
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July 15, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: new music, Tom Petty
As previously reported, Tom Petty has a new album, Hypnotic Eye, out at the end of this month, and the pick of the formats for us is the blu-ray audio.
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July 14, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: abba, britpop, morrissey, The Average White Band, The Beatles
The Beatles / Meet The Beatles: The Japan box
Released in Japan a few weeks ago, this five-disc box set contains the Japanese versions of Meet The Beatles, The Beatles’ Second Album, A Hard Day’s Night, Beatles No. 5 and Help! for the first time ever on CD. Unique artwork and quality mini-LP CDs with OBI strips are all part of the attraction. 
Morrissey / World Peace Is None Of Your Business
Morrissey’s new album is out today. You can pick-up a deluxe version with bonus tracks or even opt for one of the pricey bundles.
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July 13, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1980s, The Dream Academy
The Morning Lasted All Day is a new Dream Academy retrospective compiled by frontman Nick Laird-Cowes.
Best remembered for 1985′s Life In Northern Town in, the band released three studio albums in the years that followed, eventually disbanding in 1991.
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July 12, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1980s, tears for fears
Universal Music will reissue a vinyl edition of Tears For Fears 1983 debut album, The Hurting at the end of this month.
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July 11, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1960s, The Beatles
A visit to Abbey Road studios on Wednesday this week for an early listen to (and look at) The Beatles in Mono vinyl box set has this writer convinced that this set really is about as good as it’s going to get when it comes to recreating the sound and the feeling of purchasing an original mono pressing back in the 1960s.
In studio 3, remastering engineer Sean Magee was on hand to answer questions and the remastering supervisor in this process, Steve Berkowitz, was also there to not only tell us all about how the work was carried out, but also to drop the needle on the record of the new mono albums.
Inevitably, some great nuggets of information came out in this one hour session, and here’s some highlights:
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July 11, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: Bronski Beat, Communards, jimmy somerville
Edsel Records will release a Bronski Beat rarities set in the autumn.
Dance and Desire: Rarities and Videos will be a 2CD+DVD collection which looks like it may be similar to the recent Cherry Red Remixes & Rarities collections (Paul Young, Thompson Twins etc.) although with the distinct advantage of containing a DVD in addition to the audio discs.
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July 11, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: ian anderson, jethro tull
Ian Anderson – or to use his full name Jethro-Tull’s-Ian-Anderson – took the classic Tull opus Thick As A Brick out on the road in 2012, combining it with his own Thick As A Brick 2, to give audiences the chance to hear the full story of Gerald Bostock in a live setting.
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July 10, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1970s, 1980s, Monty Python
Universal Music’s recent Monty Python box sets are a superb celebration of the audio-only exploits of the influential comedy group.
Monty Python’s Total Rubbish is available as a nine-CD set or a nine-LP vinyl box. Both come with an excellent hardcover books with entertaining notes by Robert Ross, guiding you from album to album. The graphic design is authentically Python, thanks to the hands-on involvement of Terry Gilliam.
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July 9, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1970s, The Allman Brothers Band
Having been £70 for quite a while, it was great news for Allman Brothers Band fans when Amazon UK reduced the price of the forthcoming 1971 Fillmore East Recordings 6CD box to just under £40 in recent weeks. I don’t think anyone expect this set to drop any further but that is exactly what has happened today.
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July 9, 2014 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1970s, abba
A new ABBA live album will be released this September as part of the group’s 40th Anniversary Celebration. ABBA Live at Wembley Arena presents the complete concert at the famous London venue from 10 November 1979.
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