Versions, versions

28 December, 201918 April, 2024

Side by side: New Order – ‘Ceremony’ 2019 12” reissues and 1981 originals

Rounding off 2019, time to look back to earlier in the year and also 1981, with New Order’s ‘Ceremony’ re-issues and originals (at least the UK 12” ones anyway).

New Order - Ceremony - 2019 UK 12 inch version 1 re-issue front sleeve design. — *^ New Order – Ceremony – 2019 UK 12 inch version 1 re-issue front sleeve design.*

Accompanying the super deluxe box set re-issue of the ‘Movement’ album, the bands first four 12” single releases were re-pressed and issued afresh in March 2019 to support it. Let’s not get into the whole debate on whether this was a rather odd way of going about things, given that the super deluxe box set did not include any of the recordings from these 12” singles… Ho hum. And when I say the first four… well, two of these are versions of the one song, ‘Ceremony’, of course. Continue reading “Side by side: New Order – ‘Ceremony’ 2019 12” reissues and 1981 originals”

28 October, 201914 November, 2019

Joy Division – ‘Unknown Pleasures’ UK CD (Factory FACD10, 1986)

Sometimes it is enough just to celebrate something for what it is without needing to explore any obscure variations. With this post, I focus on the first time Joy Division’s wonderful ‘Unknown Pleasures’ made an appearance on CD and where Factory attempted to overcome the tyranny of the ’80s CD jewel case and somehow tap into the spirit of the original sleeve design.

For starters, the ‘car carry case’ – a miniaturised revision of the original sleeve design. Shorn of any need to include the tracklisting on the reverse, it kept things minimal. The tracklisting was provided only on one of the jewel case inserts. Yes, in addition to the carry case, the CD jewel case comes with not one but two inserts. Both of which come printed on similar ‘textured’ card stock to that used on the original album sleeve and the car carry case this time round. I hope that the photos help to capture the textured card stock so you can see for yourself.

One odd thing about it though – at some point in the design process, it looks like the photograph from one side of the inner sleeve has gone awol from this redesign – the originally uncredited photo, ‘Hand Through a Doorway‘ by Ralph Gibson.

Joy Division 'Unknown Pleasures' original UK CD car carry case - front. — *^ Joy Division ‘Unknown Pleasures’ original UK CD car carry case – front.*

Continue reading “Joy Division – ‘Unknown Pleasures’ UK CD (Factory FACD10, 1986)”

14 October, 201922 October, 2022

Heaven 17 – ‘Penthouse and Pavement’ Canadian LP (Virgin VL 2225, 1981)

It was initially a surprise to me when the ‘Penthouse and Pavement’ LP was released that their second single, ‘I’m Your Money’,was overlooked for inclusion, whereas their debut single, ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, was all present and correct. I was quite partial to ‘I’m Your Money’, its sequenced rhythm had a touch of the ‘Trans-Europe Express’ to it and it’s multi-lingual speech inserts also hinted at that Kraftwerk-like ambition to cross borders. But it was left off and that was that, until I came across this pressing that is…

Heaven 17 - Penthouse and Pavement - Canadian LP front cover design — *^ Heaven 17 – Penthouse and Pavement – Canadian LP front cover design*

Continue reading “Heaven 17 – ‘Penthouse and Pavement’ Canadian LP (Virgin VL 2225, 1981)”

28 September, 201914 October, 2019

Skids – ‘Fields’ UK 7″ and 12″ (Virgin VS401 and VS401-12, 1981)

When first released in the summer of 1981, ‘Fields’ was quite a challenging release for Skids fans to get used to and it never really gained the success the new vision that the remaining band members, Richard Jobson and Russell Webb, had in mind for the band. The departure of Stewart Adamson was obvious, his familiar sonic hallmark missing from the A side, replaced by a somewhat more twangy guitar and a more pastoral scene fashioned from acoustic guitar, flute, traditional drums and layered, choral vocals. In retrospect it is not nearly the radical departure it was made out to be, though much of the subsequent ‘Joy’ album certainly would be.

Skids - 'Fields' 7" - Richard Jobson sleeve design, front — *^ Skids – ‘Fields’ 7″ variation 1 – Richard Jobson sleeve design, front*

Skids - 'Fields' 7" - Richard Jobson sleeve design, rear — *^ Skids – ‘Fields’ 7″ variation 1, rear*

Continue reading “Skids – ‘Fields’ UK 7″ and 12″ (Virgin VS401 and VS401-12, 1981)”