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Scritti Politti ‘Cupid & Psyche 85’ Japanese re-issue CD [Rough Trade / Beat Records, RTRAD695CDJP, 2022]

It’s a particular favourite of mine, this album, what with its high-tech, high-sheen finish of meticulously crafted pop – it got a vinyl re-release last year on Rough Trade and for some reason the CD issue was delayed… and now there is a Japanese issue too with one extra track…

Scritti Politti 'Cupid & Psyche 85' 2022 Japanese re-issue CD - front cover design and some of the additional inserts/disc
^ Scritti Politti ‘Cupid & Psyche 85’ 2022 Japanese re-issue CD – front cover design and some of the additional inserts/disc

It was going to be just a straight re-release of the existing CD incarnation, which featured the original album tracks plus four additional bonus tracks of some of the ‘Versions’ from the contemporary single B sides. As it turns out, it is not just a straight re-issue and there are differences… and to add to that, there is this, the Japanese CD re-release which comes with an extra bonus track for Japan only. Continue reading “Scritti Politti ‘Cupid & Psyche 85’ Japanese re-issue CD [Rough Trade / Beat Records, RTRAD695CDJP, 2022]”

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Associates – ‘The Very Best Of’ UK CD [Metro Select, METRSL123, 2016]

The recent announcement of yet another re-issue of ‘Sulk’ (this time to mark the 40th anniversary of its first release) got me reaching back to 2016’s selection of CD releases to refresh the memory banks of what versions were out there… and reminded me of this curious compilation and what it had to offer to justify the shelf space…

Did we need another Associates compilation? There were already ‘Popera’, ‘Double Hipness’ and ‘Singles’, after all. It was part of the 2016 CD re-issue campaign that saw the Associates first three albums issued on double CD sets with a welter of extras. This set pre-dated the new re-issues by a month or so, presumably to whet the appetite. Turns out, this ‘The Very Best Of’ 2 x CD set was a curious item. First off, the title – perhaps you might argue that CD 1 of the set could possibly fit the bill of the title – but it has nothing post-1982 in its tracklisting. And as for CD 2 – a round up of all kinds of odds and ends with the bait of three previously unreleased recordings as the lure for purchase. A rum do indeed… perhaps ‘Associates Anthology’ might have fit the bill better as a title.

Associates - The Very Best Of - front cover design
^ Associates – The Very Best Of – front cover design

First off, those three previously unreleased recordings salting disc 2… Continue reading “Associates – ‘The Very Best Of’ UK CD [Metro Select, METRSL123, 2016]”

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Side by side: XTC ‘King For A Day’ CD singles UK/US

When looking out these CDs to photograph for this post, and looking back on previous VersionCrazy posts for XTC… I was surprised to find nothing other than a passing mention in the ‘Machines’ 1980 compilation album on Virgin! How could I have managed not to feature this wonderful band in any detail in the 14 years of the blog so far? Anyway, what was exercising me was the various versions of a later period single, from when the band’s star was much higher stateside than in their native UK – ‘King For A Day’.

XTC 'King For A Day' UK and US CD singles front cover designs
^ XTC ‘King For A Day’ UK and US CD singles front cover designs

Lifted from 1989’s glossy album production, ‘Oranges and Lemons’, it seemed a fairly surefire selection from the album’s tracks as a radio-pleasing drive-time number in much the same style as Tears For Fears has scored a few years earlier with ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’ – it has quite a resemblance to that track. What’s interesting here is that there were major differences between the UK and US releases – the American release also saw fit to procure some radically changed remixes of the song for its outing. Continue reading “Side by side: XTC ‘King For A Day’ CD singles UK/US”

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Simple Minds – ‘X5’ UK/EU CD Box Set (Virgin, SMBOX2 / 50999 956473 2 6, 2012)

Bang for buck, in a world that has seen a proliferation of Simple Minds box sets and re-issues in numerous varieties (from budget no frills to kitchen sink ‘n’ all), this modest set from 2012, ‘X5’, was an instant go-to when announced.

Simple Minds 'X5' CD Box Set edition - box front
^ Simple Minds ‘X5’ CD Box Set edition – box front

Gathering together the first five Simple Minds albums (should be six if you count the pair from 1981 separately) with a small selection of bonus tracks on each and simplified facsimiles of the original cover art, it was a budget proposition when released but one which soon disappeared from the shelves and for which you might well be asked reasonable sums for now if you were to need a copy. The replica sleeves are just the outer sleeves and there is no accompanying booklet – but as a way to scoop up those early, seminal albums and good deal of bonus B side and extended mixes, you can’t go wrong with this set – it’s a pity it has not remained on catalogue longer.
Continue reading “Simple Minds – ‘X5’ UK/EU CD Box Set (Virgin, SMBOX2 / 50999 956473 2 6, 2012)”

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Button badge goodness: Landscape

A few 1981 vintage badges from Landscape… they had a short time in the glare of popularity – ushered in by association with the New Romantic / Futurist / Blitz / Scene With No Name (call it what you will) movement, with a run of singles (‘European Man’, ‘Einstein A Go-Go’ and ‘Norman Bates’ plus the parent album, ‘From The Tea Rooms Of Mars… To The Hell Holes Of Uranus’ and Richard James Burgess who seemed to be man about town and would seemingly appear here, there and everywhere at one point (such as production duties for other New Romantic scenesters Spandau Ballet and Hot Gossip, amongst others. The follow-up album, ‘Manhattan Boogie Woogie’ and subsequent singles as the slimmed down line-up of Landscape III failed to continue the success… but are worth checking out, nevertheless. A modest set of lapel-enhancing love for Landscape… enjoy nonetheless!

Landscape button badges
^ Landscape button badges

Continue reading “Button badge goodness: Landscape”