Kraftwerk – ‘Home Computer’ Promo 7″ (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981)

July 14th, 2019

This curious 7″ single hails from Brazil and the background to its release I presume to be its use in a television series from late 1981 into 1982, ‘Brilhante‘. What is of particular interest is that both sides feature unique edits of the track. When I say edits, I really mean they are faded out at specific points – in the case of the A side at the 2 minute 17 mark and in the case of the B side 4 minute 47 mark. The A side edit is abrupt, while the B side edit had a somewhat more generous use of the fader control. Not terribly exciting in comparison to some of the editing scissor work on single edits from around the world, such as ‘Autobahn’. Mind you, that was a case of whittling down 22 minutes down to a mere 3 to 4 minutes. Still, it is an interesting curio to have ‘Home Computer’ as a single on its own. The labels don’t mention it, but the the record pls at 33 1⁄3 RPM for some reason, rather than the more common 45 RPM.

Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7" (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) front

^ Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7″ (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) front

Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7" (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) rear

^ Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7″ (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) rear

Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7" (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) label - A side

^ Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7″ (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) label – A side

Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7" (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) label - B side

^ Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7″ (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) label – B side

Posted in Obscurios, Promo only, Region crazy, Versions, versions | No Comments »

Joy Division – ‘Substance’ cassette (Factory FACT250C, 1988)

June 28th, 2019

‘Substance’ was the second compilation album of Joy Division non-album tracks released on Factory, dating from July 1988. Along with 1981’s ‘Still’, it gathers up many of the tracks that first appeared on the band’s single and EP releases, none of which were featured on either ‘Unknown Pleasures’ or ‘Closer’. (Well, other than a different version of ‘She’s Lost Control’, I suppose.)

^ Joy Division – ‘Substance’ cassette – Factory FACT250C, 1988, front case design.

I have chosen to feature the cassette version, since this hails from my pre-CD buying days and therefore was the only access I had to the full version of the release. You see, the vinyl LP version only came with ten tracks, whereas the cassette version came with those same ten tracks on side 1 and an ‘Appendix’ on side 2 that added an additional seven tracks. (The CD version also came with the full seventeen tracks.) Somewhat annoyingly, rather than present everything in chronological order, the ‘Appendix’ device ensures that things get mixed up. Which is quite a thing considering some of the recordings are rough and ready productions hailing from Joy Division’s first EP release, ‘An Ideal For Living’, compared to the cleaner, far more meticulous later Martin Hannett productions. This is the cassette I bought when it was first released, which comes in a black plastic shell. Apparently there are version where the cassette is in a clear plastic shell, still with paper labels though. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Cassette pets, Design crazy, Factory, Small objects of desire | No Comments »

Ultravox – ‘Moments From Eden’ 10″/CD EP (Absolute, 10EDENRL1, 2011)

June 14th, 2019

‘Moments From Eden’ was a very attractive, limited edition live EP featuring the tracks that Ultravox added to their set for the second ‘comeback’ tour in 2010, ‘Return To Eden 2’. Rather than release multiple versions, the nicely designed package included a red vinyl 10″ single along with a CD version housed inside the gatefold spread of the cover, with further themed artwork featured in an additional booklet.

^ Ultravox ‘Moments From Eden’ vinyl side A and front cover.

If you ordered the record online from Townsend Records, the release also came with a limited edition A4 sized print, as displayed in the photo below, a variation on the design from the back cover of the record. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Design crazy | 1 Comment »

New Musik ‘Greatest Hits’ Promo 7″ EP (GTO, XP112, 1981)

May 28th, 2019

This unusual release gathered together New Musik’s six singles to date, all tracks being edited down to lengths unique to this release, playing at 33 1⁄3. I am unsure of the date of release, but perhaps it either came around about the ‘Anywhere’ LP in early 1981 or the ‘Planet Doesn’t Mind’ single from late 1981. Although the label design is plain white, it seems to be before the period where GTO records were fully absorbed into the Epic roster, which their 1982 releases from ‘All You Need Is Love’ were the case.

^ New Musik ‘Greatest Hits’ Promo 7″ EP (GTO, XP112, 1981)

The first four singles run, all from the ‘From A To B’ LP are pretty strong, catchy and gave the band their biggest successes. By the time of the two singles from ‘Anywhere’, the sound was polished to perfection but the music took longer to absorb and its sophistication proved to be a harder sell – neither ‘Luxury’ nor ‘While You Wait’ would repeat chart placings of the earlier singles. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Promo only, Small objects of desire, Versions, versions | No Comments »

The Compact and Mercurial Bill Nelson Part 2: The Love That Whirls (Diary Of A Thinking Heart)

May 14th, 2019

Welcome back to the second part of our look at the wonderful world of Bill Nelson on CD, a small number of CD variants that played fast and loose with running orders, which may either leave you smacking your lips in anticipation of the otherwise unavailable obscurities to be found, or bamboozled at the wrecking ball taken to otherwise fine original tracklists. We already looked at Bill’s first solo release on Mercury records, ‘Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam’ – now, we move on to his second, ‘The Love That Whirls (Diary of a Thinking Heart)’.

Bill Nelson 'The Love That Whirls' CDs

^ Bill Nelson ‘The Love That Whirls’ CDs

Cocteau Records, JC CD 16 (1986)

The first UK release on CD for ‘The Love That Whirls (Diary of a Thinking Heart)’, released 25th July 1986 (along with ‘Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam’) four years on from the original release date, under the ‘Cocteau Collectors’ imprint/series. From the off, this edition played around with the original running order by landing two period B sides in the middle of the running order. ‘Flesh’ and ‘He and Sleep Were Brothers’ (both originally hailing from the ‘Eros Arriving’ double-pack 7″ single) were placed in the space between the original side 1 and side 2 of the vinyl album. On top of this a further change was made by swapping in a remix of ‘Hope for the Heartbeat’ in place of the original vinyl LP version of the song. The remix adds in an additional oriental sounding synth melody as well as a prominent additional layer of electronic percussion not a million miles away from that used by Gary Numan on ‘Cars’ – and the harmony vocals toward the end of the track seem to be boosted in volume too. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Region crazy, Versions, versions | 3 Comments »

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