Kraftwerk ‘Computer World’ Japanese bonus track CD (Toshiba-EMI, TOCP-8974 / 0777 7460402 4, 1997)

To this day, Kraftwerk remain an act that does things its own unique way and more often that not flies in the face of the norms of the music business. If you expect to be able to find the band’s back catalogue re-issued every few years with a multitude of bonus tracks added, you will be very mistaken. For the most part, the albums come as the album’s were originally released, with no extra tracks such as remixes, alternative versions, etc. In some cases, you simply cannot find official releases at all – e.g. the bands first three albums (‘Kraftwerk’, ‘Kraftwerk 2’, ‘Ralf and Florian’) have never received any official re-release since 1980 and never on CD/digitally. One exception to Kraftwerk’s otherwise strict behaviour however is this CD dating from January 1997, a Japanese CD edition of ‘Computer World’ that contains… hold your breath… a bonus track!

Kraftwerk 'Computer World' 1997 Japanese CD re-issue - front cover and obi
^ Kraftwerk ‘Computer World’ 1997 Japanese CD re-issue – front cover and obi

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The Sisterhood – ‘Gift’ UK re-issue CD (Cadiz Music, CADIZCD248, 2023)

A previous post looked at the opening salvo from The Sisterhood, the ‘Giving Ground’ single released in early 1986. That same year the full on attack in the form of ‘Gift’ was released in the summer months. It has now returned to active duty with a long-promised re-release on CD, after many, many years in the wilderness.

The Sisterhood – ‘Gift’ UK re-issue CD (Cadiz Music, CADIZCD248, 2023) - front cover design
^ The Sisterhood – ‘Gift’ UK re-issue CD (Cadiz Music, CADIZCD248, 2023) – front cover design

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Suzanne Vega – ‘Live In London 1986’ Australian Mini-Album (A&M, L20054, 1986)

‘Live In London 1986’ is a curious yet appealing release I spotted amongst the racks way back in the day, styled to fit in with the UK single releases of ‘Left Of Center’ and ‘Marlene On The Wall’ (1986 re-release) by the looks of it. Turns out that it was only issued in Australia, New Zealand and Japan and it is made up of a variety of live recordings that in some cases found themselves spread across various B side and 12″ singles in the UK – but also a couple that look to be exclusive to this release. My copy is the Australian vinyl mini-album, picked up on import.

Suzanne Vega - 'Live In London 1986' Australian mini-album front cover design
^ Suzanne Vega – ‘Live In London 1986’ Australian mini-album front cover design

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Kraftwerk – ‘The Robots’ Brazilian 7″ EP (Capitol Records, 31C 016 85870, 1979)

From 1979, and an era where releases could be weird and wonderful depending on the region of the globe they hail from and how that region liked to do things, a unique picture sleeve four track 7” EP from Kraftwerk. This is the kind of release that, from roughly 1986 onwards, became something of a rare occasion for Kraftwerk, the more that they standardised releases across the world with the ‘Musique Non Stop’ single and ‘Electric Cafe’ album.

Kraftwerk - 'The Robots' Brazilian 7" EP front cover design
^ Kraftwerk – ‘The Robots’ Brazilian 7″ EP front cover design

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Nash The Slash – ‘Novel Romance’ UK 7″ (DinDisc, DIN33, 1981)

A non-album single from Nash The Slash’s brief period signed to the UK DinDisc label in 1981, this record brings together a few of my favourites for its one-off collaborative nature, namely Nash The Slash himself, Bill Nelson in the producers chair and Peter Saville on sleeve design work, under his ‘Dessin Controlee’ nom-de-plume.

Nash The Slash - 'Novel Romance' UK 7" front cover design
^ Nash The Slash – ‘Novel Romance’ UK 7″ front cover design

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