SPAZ reviews BREATHE's All That Jazz (Deluxe 2CD Edition)

BREATHE

ALL THAT JAZZ

(Deluxe 2CD Edition)

Available NOW!

The late '80s was a strange time in music.  The New Wave movement was already a thing of the past, although many of the bands were still around making music. Metal was now giving birth to a whole new breed of Hair Bands, House Music was big in the clubs, and R&B was all over the charts. With such changes happening seemingly overnight, there didn't seem like there was enough room for a new Pop band to make a dent in the charts.  And for Breathe, it almost didn't happen...

Though they had been releasing singles since 1986, it took two years for the band to release their debut album, All That Jazz.  Issued in the UK on Circa and in the U.S. on A&M, All That Jazz seemed almost dead in the water.  When the trio of David Glasper (vocals), Marcus Lillington (guitar) and Ian 'Spike' Spice (drums) came over to the U.S. to do some promo work, there wasn't much hope.  I met the band when they stopped by Abbey Road Distributors and we had a nice chat about music.  They were a bit disappointed by their lack of success but really appreciative of my enthusiasm for the band and their album. Glasper signed my LP with the words "With a few more like you, it could have happened'. 

Shortly after our meeting, A&M released "Hands To Heaven" as a single and then everything changed.  Now, 25 years later, people may not always remember the band name but "Hands To Heaven" remains a radio staple.  It's one of those songs that everybody knows.  A gorgeous and haunting ballad, "Hands To Heaven" has become a classic slice of late '80s pop that still makes lovers swoon.

And since it's the album's 25th Anniversary, Cherry Pop has released the ultimate edition of the album.  It not only contains the original 10 tracks from the album ("Don't Tell Me Lies" was added to the U.S. edition and later UK pressings as well) but it also contains every b-side, single edit, extended remix and rarity that could fit on a double CD set. This deluxe edition now features a total of 33 tracks with roughly half of them making their CD debut here.

For anyone who loved the album's smooth blend of Pop and R&B are going to love the generous amount of bonus tracks.  The non-album b-sides equal anything off the album, although the production does date some of the recordings.  Sometimes sounding like a mix of Wham and Steely Dan, Breathe wrote some smart and sophisticated yet chart-friendly pop tunes including "All That Jazz", which is the song that first caught my ear all of those years ago when I first laid the needle down on the album.  With two more hit singles, "How Can I Fall?" and "Don't Tell Me Lies", the album was one of the strongest releases that year and earned the band a huge fanbase of devoted fans.

Unfortunately for Breathe, their next album, Peace Of Mind, was released in 1990 to little fanfare and, when the album didn't scale the upper regions of the charts, they quietly split.  But perhaps that was all A&M's fault.  They were already preparing to alter the band's name to David Glasper & Breathe and eventually make Glasper a solo artist.  But alas, that never came to fruition. Perhaps it was their shift in focus that made them drop the ball.  Peace Of Mind was actually a better album as a whole then All That Jazz but had fewer hits (only "Say A Prayer" got much airplay in the States)

This deluxe edition of All That Jazz is everything that a fan could want... and more.  But just because you may not be a fan doesn't mean you shouldn't get it.  If you loved late '80s bands like Johnny Hates Jazz, Go West, and Waterfront, then this is a no-brainer.  It was great Pop music then and it's great Pop music now.  

RIP Spike

Peace,

Stephen SPAZ Schnee

IAN McNABB/Head Like A Rock (Deluxe Expanded 2CD Edition): Available February 5, 2013!

IAN MCNABB

HEAD LIKE A ROCK

(Expanded 2CD Edition)

2.5.13

Who is Ian McNabb, you ask?  Well, first off, you should be ashamed of yourself for not already knowing.... but since you asked...

Ian McNabb is one of the UK's finest singer/songwriters.  From his amazing releases in the '80s with The Icicle Works to his inspiring solo work in the '90s and beyond, McNabb has not released anything resembling a bad record.  While Oasis, Blur and The La's may have garnered all the praise in the days of Britpop, Ian McNabb was making records that were better and far more consistent than those made by his commercially-accepted contemporaries. 

One of those albums, Head Like A Rock, is receiving the deluxe treatment from Cherry Red, which is pretty awesome.  There's a remastered version of the album plus a bonus CD that contains 9 bonus tracks.

Read the sell sheet info below and get yourself caught up.  Its McNabb time!

After the Icicle works split up Ian went solo and signed for Andrew Lauders This Way Up Label after releasing the well-received Truth and Beauty McNabb was allegedly inspired to a rockier sound by the engineer who mastered that record, telling him "Aye, Ian, your rocking days are behind you." Legend has it that McNabb went back to his home in Liverpool, and recorded a demo of what would become the coruscating opener of Head Like a Rock, "Fire inside My Soul".

 Label boss Andrew Lauder then suggested that McNabb go to record in America, which McNabb was sceptical about. He facetiously suggested to Lauder that his new material sounded like Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and if Lauder could get Crazy Horse to play on the record, he would go to America. A few phone calls later, McNabb found himself in a Los Angeles studio with Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina and bassist Billy Talbot. This cast-iron rhythm section appeared on four of the ten tracks on Head like a Rock, including the No. 54 UK hit "You Must Be Prepared to Dream". The album's other single, "Go into the Light", did not feature Crazy Horse and peaked at UK No. 66.

Head like a Rock was subsequently nominated for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize, and although M People would end up taking the award home, the attendant publicity surrounding the award-nominated album propelled Head like a Rock into the UK album charts, where it peaked at No. 29.

DAVID BOWIE/Station To Station: Special and Deluxe Editions available September 28th, 2010!

DAVID BOWIE

STATION TO STATION

SPECIAL & DELUXE EDITIONS

9.28.10

Hollywood, California – Virgin/EMI is pleased to announce September 28 as the North American release date for David Bowie’s hugely influential 1976 album, Station To Station, in two expanded packages: a 3CD Special Edition and a limited edition 5CD, DVD (Audio) and three 180gram vinyl LP Deluxe Edition. Both new editions include the original album, remastered from the analogue master, and the much-bootlegged, but previously unreleased concert favorite, Live Nassau Coliseum ’76, as well as new liner notes by Cameron Crowe.

The 3CD Special Edition features the remastered original studio album on disc one, plus Live Nassau Coliseum ’76 on discs two and three. Packaged in a lift-top box, the set also includes a 16-page booklet and three David Bowie postcards.

The Deluxe Edition is the ultimate experience, featuring extensive additional content:

A 24-page booklet, including NEVER SEEN BEFORE photos

CD: Station To Station – RCA CD Master

Double CD: Live Nassau Coliseum ’76

CD: 5-track Singles Versions EP including a previously unreleased version of Station To Station, and for first time on CD, Word On A Wing

3 x 12” heavyweight vinyl

DVD Audio

6 panel folded poster

Replica Backstage pass, 97 x 67 mm, fabric with adhesive back

Replica Biog, A4-size

Replica Ticket on art paper matt

3x10x8” press shots

Replica Fan club folder

Replica Fan Club Membership card, 60 x 90 mm

Fan club certificate, 195 x 255 mm, 4/0clr, 200 gsm art paper matt

2 small Collectors cards

2 A4-size photo prints

Replica 4-page biography

2 x badges

Plus, it’s all housed in a foam-packed box, 325x325x50mm.

DURAN DURAN/Rio (Deluxe 2CD Edition) review

While I was never a hardcore Duran Duran fan, I must admit that their first two albums were (and are) amazing slices of '80s pop.  From Funk-inspired rhythms to soaring melodies, Duran Duran successfully melted their influences (Chic, Roxy Music) into a sound that was unique, glossy and commercial.

Originally part of the New Romantic movement alongside their biggest rivals, Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran hit all the right buttons (literally and figuratively) and broke away from the pack with a successful self-titled debut album and a sound that was more instantly loveable than any of their contemporaries.

When the band released Rio in 1982, it became a bigger monster than anyone could ever imagine.  The album single-handedly destroyed the band's link to the New Romantic movement and created something entirely unexpected: Duran Duran as a teenybopper band!  No one was more surprised than the band themselves! They did not, in their wildest dreams, ever imagine that they'd be embraced by a generation of teenage girls who loved their look just as much as the music they created. 

This teenage adulation pretty much killed the band's chances of ever winning over the critics, but then again, they became millionaires almost overnight so they weren't complaining! 

Rio contained a handful of successful singles including "Hungry Like The Wolf", "My Own Way", "Save A Prayer" and "Rio". The rest of the album's tracks also recieved plenty of exposure on radio stations like KROQ (Los Angeles) including "Hold Back The Rain", "Last Chance On The Stairway" and "Lonely In Your Nightmare".  Of all the Duran Duran albums, this is the one that EVERYBODY seemed to own. While the first album was an exciting glimpse inside a new band and a new scene, Rio was a slicker, more confident album that deserved every bit of it's success.

After Rio, everything went downhill. Seven And The Ragged Tiger was a mess and pretty much every album they've released since then has been a missed opportunity: great singles mixed with barely tolerable material. All these years later, they still haven't managed to create a single album that is worthy enough to stand in the same room as Rio...

But that's not so bad, because EMI have chosen to release the ULTIMATE Rio experience with a two CD deluxe edition of the album that not only reminds us of what a great album it is, but also offers up an insider's view of the album by adding remixes, demos, non-album b-sides and so much more.

For 25 years, I was never aware that the US pressing of the album contained alternate mixes to the UK version (but maybe that's because I never owned the import vinyl?)!  Disc One of this set contains the original UK mix of the album (which is way better in my opinion) plus five of the US mixes from the American version of the album. These are the mixes that all of us yanks know backwards and forwards, so it's really exciting to hear the original mixes.  They do sound much better and, while I can still appreciate the US mixes, I'll forever swear by the UK mixes now!

Disc Two features early demos of four tracks plus non album singles/b-sides (including the single version of "My Own Way", which is as close to Disco as the Duran boys ever got) plus extended mixes and more.

If you thought that Rio was perfect already, then prepare to be gobsmacked because this is even better!

Up to this point, no UK band had managed to create an album that summed up the times so perfectly. Ironically, it was their old rivals, Spandau Ballet, who actually bettered the Duranies the following year when they released their classic album, True.

But that's another story....

Rio (Special Limited Edition) (2CD)

Disc 1

Original U.K. album mix U.S. album & EP remixes

1. Rio 10. Rio (U.S. album remix)

2. My Own Way 11. My Own Way (Carnival Remix)

3. Lonely In Your Nightmare (U.S. 12” Carnival EP)

4. Hungry Like The Wolf 12. Lonely In Your Nightmare

5. Hold Back The Rain (U.S. album remix)

6. New Religion 13. Hungry Like The Wolf (U.S. album remix)

7. Last Chance On The Stairway 14. Hold Back The Rain (U.S. album remix)

8. Save A Prayer

9. The Chauffeur

Disc 2

Manchester Square demos (recorded August 28, 1981)

1. Last Chance On The Stairway

2. My Own Way

3. New Religion

4. Like An Angel

Non-album U.K. singles & B-sides

5. My Own Way (original 7” version - U.K. single A-side, released Nov. 1981)

6. Like An Angel (U.K. single B-side, released Nov. 1981)

7. Careless Memories (live - U.K. single B-side, released May 1982)8. The Chauffeur (Sing Blue Silver) (U.K. single B-side, released Nov. 1982)

Alternate versions & re-mixes

9. My Own Way (Night Version) (U.K. 12" single A-side, released Nov. 1981)

10. Hungry Like The Wolf (Night Version) (U.K. 12" single A-side, released May 1982)

11. Rio (Night Version) (Dutch 12" Carnival EP, released Sept. 1982)

12. New Religion (Carnival Remix) (Japanese 12" Carnival EP, released Sept. 1982)

13. Hold Back The Rain (Carnival Remix) (U.S. 12" Carnival EP, released Sept. 1982)

 

 

Hungry Like The Spaz,

Stephen SPAZ Schnee

LEVEL 42: The Deluxe Reissues on Edsel Records/Review

Thanks to those fine folks over at Edsel Records, a pair of overlooked albums in the LEVEL 42 catalog have just been upgraded and are being released in DELUXE two CD sets:

Guaranteed and Forever Now!

Level 42, led by bassist/vocalist Mark King and keyboardist/vocalist Mike Lindup, had already achieved great success worldwide throughout the '80s with their unique blend of Jazz, Funk and Pop. By the time they scored a U.S. hit with "Something About You" in 1985, their sound had become instantly identifiable and the hits just kept coming.

But with success comes pressure and by 1987, the band's other two long-time members, brothers Phil and Boon Gould, had left the fold. King and Lindup carried on in a harder, slicker direction for the album Staring At The Sun (1988) but then cooled their heals and plotted their next move.

In 1991, with a new label (RCA) and a new confidence, King and Lindup (along with drummer Gary Husband and a few different guitarists including Alan Holdsworth and Dominic Miller) released Guaranteed, a mature and focused collection of songs that moved forward but also retained the Jazz/Funk feel of their hit '80s albums. The album was filled with stunning musicianship (everyone involved was at the top of their game) and gorgeous songwriting. The melodies of the album may not have been immediate at times, but would take root after a spin or two. The album's key tracks, "Guaranteed", "Overtime" and "My Father's Shoes", took the band to a new... er... level in terms of maturity and artistry. But as usual, when a band moves forward, their audience sometimes gets left behind in the confusion, which was the case with Guaranteed. All their audience wanted was another World Machine or Running In The Family but L42 were not content with living in the past. While the album was adored by the hardcore fan, the public at large were only mildly interested.

Nearly 20 years later, the album is now seen as a milestone in their career. With this double CD reissue, fans old and new can revisit a new and improved version complete with bonus tracks! Not only do you get every track from the original release (including the bonus cuts only available on cassette and CD versions) but you also get a bonus CD containing 16 single edits, 12" remixes, b-sides and live cuts! Personally, I'm a big fan of extended mixes like the ones included here, simple because you are able to hear musical elements of the song that may be buried or mixed down on an album or single version. And with Level 42, there is often so much going on in a song that you may understandably miss a little guitar line here or piano riff there. On these extended mixes, those wonderful moments are there for you to enjoy in all their splendor!

Not a moment is wasted in this package, which has been lovingly and respectfully compiled with the fan in mind. The package looks beautiful and includes lyrics, bio, photos and more. Totally ace!

(Review continues after this video break)



Three years later (which can be a lifetime in the world of Pop music unless you are Guns 'N' Roses), King and Lindup returned with Forever Now, one of the finest albums of their career. On Forever Now, Level 42 moves forward even further, incorporating then-current dance rhythms into some of their tracks while remaining true to their original Jazz/Funk/Pop fusion. Originally issued as an 11 track album, Forever Now featured career-defining tracks like "Love In A Peaceful World" and the title track alongside songs that have become firm fan favorites like "Billy's Gone", "The Sunbed Song" and "All Over You". The brief return of original member Phil Gould adds extra excitement to the proceedings as well.

The album was eventually reissued in 1996 with different artwork, a different running order and a handful of tracks replacing two that were dropped from the original release. As confusing as it was, this reworking of the album may have dropped the immediacy of the original release, but it added a new atmosphere and better musical understanding of the project as a whole.

This expanded reissue retains the original release's artwork but features the second edition's tracklist on Disc One. The bonus disc begins with the two tracks that were dropped from the initial release then adds 10 remixes and single edits, making this the ULTIMATE version of Forever Now! Once again, it's jam packed with great music, great liner notes and so much more.

So, there you have it: many great reasons to pull out a few bucks, slap 'em on the counter and yell "So, where are my LEVEL 42 Deluxe editions, mate??!!!"

GUARANTEED and FOREVER NOW: the Deluxe 2CD Editions available June 9th, 2009!

Your Level 42-lovin' buddy,

Stephen SPAZ Schnee

LEVEL 42 reissues coming from Demon/Edsel

Great

LEVEL 42

news, gang!

Two sorely overlooked albums by LEVEL 42 are getting the deluxe two CD treatment from the fabulous UK label Demon/Edsel: Guaranteed (1991) and Forever Now (1994)!

Each of the CDs will contain all tracks from the original releases (including the bonus tracks found on the cassette and CD versions plus the extra tracks found on the reissue of Forever Now) and each will also include a bonus CD filled to the brim with b-sides, remixes and more!

Both albums are worth your while if you are a fan of their earlier material. In fact, it'd be safe to say that Forever Now is one of their best albums!

Just check out some of these great songs!

From GUARANTEED








From FOREVER NOW: