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

‘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. Continue reading “Joy Division – ‘Substance’ cassette (Factory FACT250C, 1988)”

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

‘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. Continue reading “Ultravox – ‘Moments From Eden’ 10″/CD EP (Absolute, 10EDENRL1, 2011)”

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

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. Continue reading “New Musik ‘Greatest Hits’ Promo 7″ EP (GTO, XP112, 1981)”

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

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. Continue reading “The Compact and Mercurial Bill Nelson Part 2: The Love That Whirls (Diary Of A Thinking Heart)”

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Danielle Dax – ‘Fizzing Human Bomb’ / ‘Yummer Yummer Man’ / ‘Bad Miss ‘M” (Awesome AOR3 / AOR3T, 1985)

Dating from late 1985, this single originally came in two variants which swapped around the running order depending on whether you went for 7″ or the more luxurious 12″ versions. Perhaps it was down to budget, but the 12″ version seemed to get the better deal – as well as the extra track, for the packaging it came with full colour print on the cover and gold ink on the record labels, whereas the 7″ came with black and white print on the edited cover (though metallic ink for the type) and yellow ink for the type on the labels. It even found space to include the lyrics for all three tracks, whereas the 7″ could only make do with the musician credits.

Danielle Dax 'Fizzing Human Bomb'/'Yummer Yummer Man'/'Bad Miss M' double A side 12 inch single - front cover
^ Danielle Dax ‘Fizzing Human Bomb’/ ‘Yummer Yummer Man’/’Bad Miss ‘M” double A side 12 inch single – front cover
Danielle Dax 'Fizzing Human Bomb'/'Yummer Yummer Man'/'Bad Miss M' double A side 12 inch single - rear cover
^ Danielle Dax ‘Fizzing Human Bomb’/ ‘Yummer Yummer Man’/’Bad Miss ‘M” double A side 12 inch single – rear cover

The 12″ extra track, ‘Fizzing Human Bomb’, occupied side A exclusively. Meanwhile, side AA featured the two tracks that formed the 7″ single, ‘Yummer Yummer Man’ and ‘Bad Miss ‘M”. Does that make this a triple-A side single then?! Continue reading “Danielle Dax – ‘Fizzing Human Bomb’ / ‘Yummer Yummer Man’ / ‘Bad Miss ‘M” (Awesome AOR3 / AOR3T, 1985)”