Small objects of desire

28 June, 202227 March, 2023

Year by Year: Cocteau Twins – 1986

Much like 1985 had been, 1986 was another productive yet non-standard year, with the band shying well away from the traditional album and accompanying singles music business way of doing things. This year saw a stripped-down duo version of the band release a unique, subsequently well-loved minimal sounding album, one full-band, full-blooded EP and a collaborative album that didn’t even mention the band by name… plus a few more compilation releases yielding different versions or exclusive tracks once more…

CD: ‘The Pink Opaque’ (4AD CAD CD513 / Relativity EMCD 8040)

Cocteau Twins - 'The Pink Opaque' UK/US CD - front — ^ Cocteau Twins – ‘The Pink Opaque’ UK/US CD – front

1986 got off to a start with the first ever CD release by 4AD (apparently), in the form of the compilation album ‘The Pink Opaque’ – this CD version was issued in the UK with a release date of 17th January 1986 and I’m unsure of the US release date – the significance being that this was a joint pressing between 4AD in the UK and Relativity in the US. The CD has an identical track listing to the vinyl/cassette release of this compilation from the previous year. So, it is primarily of interest as far as versions go of containing the remixed/re-recorded ‘Wax and Wane’ and the non-album previously cassette-only ‘Millimillenary’. It’s worth noting too that the version of ‘Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drops’ is the 7″ version. Continue reading “Year by Year: Cocteau Twins – 1986”

21 June, 20227 July, 2022

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*

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

7 June, 202214 July, 2022

The Human League – ‘Holiday ‘80’ Japanese ‘Pic Label’ series 12″ single (Virgin, VIP-5906, 1981)

Another post documenting one more of the ‘Pic Label’ series of Japanese 12” compilation mini-albums that were such a collector’s delight – so far we have covered The Flying Lizards, John Foxx, and Japan – this time around the release is less unique, as it is based on the existing ‘Holiday ‘80’ EP from 1980, though no less appealing.

Human League - 'Holiday '80' Japanese Mini-LP - front cover design — ^ Human League – ‘Holiday ’80’ Japanese Mini-LP – front cover design

Continue reading “The Human League – ‘Holiday ‘80’ Japanese ‘Pic Label’ series 12″ single (Virgin, VIP-5906, 1981)”

28 April, 202214 July, 2022

Japan UK ‘Old Gold’ 3 Track 5″ CD Single (Old Gold, OG 6187, 1992)

After I had finally taken to the charms of the silver CD disc as a format, there was no stopping me, and that included re-issues of all kinds – even these rather generic, budget-price compilation series – not least because on occasions they were useful for tracking down hard to find versions (or even hitherto unreleased versions, in the case of another Japan CD-only compilation, ‘Souvenir From Japan’ and its exclusive mix of Life In Tokyo’ – another story…

Japan 'Old Gold' 3 Track 5" CD Single front cover design — ^ Japan ‘Old Gold’ 3 Track 5″ CD Single front cover design

Continue reading “Japan UK ‘Old Gold’ 3 Track 5″ CD Single (Old Gold, OG 6187, 1992)”

21 April, 202214 July, 2022

Side by side: 1988 Japan 3” CD singles

These two small objects of desire were 1988 era 3” CD format singles from a range of releases by Virgin that ostensibly looked to mimic original vinyl releases from back in the day. But the devil is in the detail…

First up was ‘Ghosts’ (Virgin, CDT 11, 1988) and it is the more interesting of the two releases by way of its inclusion on CD of the 3’55” single remix of ‘Ghosts’ as well as the 1981 live ‘version’ of ‘The Art Of Parties’ that was the B side of the original 1982 UK 7” and 12” singles. The live take is an interesting alternative as this was the tour that saw Steve Jansen play a Simmons electronic drum kit (as briefly mentioned on Steve’s excellent Sleepyard blog and on stereoklang.se) while the scorching lead guitar duties are from the wonderful David Rhodes on a short-lived stint as live guitarist with Japan on the 1981 ‘Visions of China’ tour, his distinctive tones more familiar from his work with Peter Gabriel, Talk Talk and Kate Bush amongst others. There is a third track this CD by way of ‘Visions Of China’ (in its familiar 3’38” album mix) – it bears no relation to the original ‘Ghosts’ single and seems an odd inclusion here. Continue reading “Side by side: 1988 Japan 3” CD singles”