…features 28 unreleased tracks and takes the listener on a journey from the band’s earliest demos and BBC Radio One Sessions through the singles to the album and beyond. Each disc contains rare and, in most cases, unreleased versions of songs.
Universal Music Recordings are shooting a new box set in the right direction, covering Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s U.K. pop landmark Welcome to the Pleasuredome in exhaustive new detail.
Though it’s already been exhaustively been reissued – once on a 2CD set from Salvo Music, on 2014’s vinyl/cassette/DVD set Inside the Pleasuredome (along with a 2018 Record Store Day box set of 12″ singles and the 2022 RSD comp Altered Reels, which brought a pair of…
Category: box-set
Keith Moon’s death three weeks after its release added a tragic coda to The Who’s eighth album. In truth, Pete Townshend had threatened to sack Moon during the protracted sessions for Who Are You, his booze-addled antics by then eclipsing his ability to actually do the job.
Contemporary reviews bemoaned the guitarist’s infatuation with synthesizers, but on a record frequently concerned with slipping into irrelevance – ‘New Song’, the still barnstorming title track – it’s one of the most interesting elements, elevating what might otherwise have been stodgier rockers.
Extras on the new multi-format reissue include Glyn Johns’ rejected mix (not enough Ox); 1979 live tracks with replacement Kenney Jones (not enough Moon); demos and rehearsals,…
Chameleon: The Very Best of Toyah is the first career-spanning collection to encompass Toyah Willcox’s full recording history.
…Spanning 45 years of music, the impressive collection includes the top 40 singles ‘I Want to Be Free’, ‘It’s a Mystery’, ‘Thunder in the Mountains’, ‘Brave New World’, ‘Good Morning Universe’, ‘Rebel Run’ and ‘Don’t Fall in Love’, alongside classic cuts right up to the 2021 Top 20 album Posh Pop. Chameleon lives up to its name and highlights Toyah’s musical longevity as a singer/actress that burst out of the punk/new wave scene in the late 1970s, became a pop icon in the ’80s and who has remained an ever-evolving creative force across five decades. Toyah has made an indelible mark on the entertainment industry with…
…The box set collects the two albums the band recorded for Atlantic Records during their peak commercial period: ‘Spend the Night’ (2002) and ‘Gold Medal’ (2004). The third disc is a collection of bonus tracks, B-sides, acoustic versions, and live performances.
So said the publicity at the time of its release, this despite these four girls being, “Every mother’s nightmare, every school boy’s dream,” according to Spin magazine. Spin also reckoned they were, “The coolest band in America,” whereas Kerrang! recognised their, “Grimy, glorious rock ‘n’ roll… dripping star power and packing irresistible pop-rock.”
Taking inspiration from the punky pop rock of the Ramones and The Runaways, mixed with..
5-CD Super Deluxe Edition that features Zappa’s entire October 31, 1978, performance as well as a bonus gig from earlier in the Palladium residency on October 27.
…Zappa’s annual Halloween shows took root at New Jersey’s (also sadly demolished) Capitol Theatre in 1972 before moving to Chicago in 1973 and then, finally, New York City in 1974. Zappa knew how special these yearly events were, even filming Baby Snakes: The Movie at the 1977 shows. Sadly, the tradition was short-lived, taking a break in 1979 and 1980 (the latter year for health reasons) before returning in 1981 with two shows taped for broadcast on MTV and therefore designed as much for the at-home viewing audience as those in the Palladium’s seats.
Andromeda was a psychedelic/progressive rock trio formed by singer-guitarist John Cann (also known as John Du Cann), formerly of the psychedelic garage band the Attack, Mick Hawksworth (bass, vocals), and Ian McClane (drums, vocals). The group performed in various London venues including Middle Earth and the Marquee Club. Cann’s guitar was the dominant instrument, leading listeners through classically based psychedelic and progressive directions and creative dissonances, contributing to the trio’s impressive live sets. Andromeda combined their own original writing with elements appropriated out of familiar classical material. They were signed to RCA in 1969 but before that they’d appeared live on the BBC’s Top Gear program in 1968, and in…
The Smashing Pumpkins are revisiting the material that initially marked their final bow with a sprawling, unusual box set.
…a new box set, Machina (Aranea Alba Editio), offer a remixed and resequenced, 48-track quintuple-album drawing from Machina, its sequel Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music and assorted B-sides, plus a further three LPs of 32 rarities and outtakes, with more than 30 tracks entirely unreleased.
It’s an unusual release plan for an unusual series of albums, which brought the Smashing Pumpkins back to their roots and then closed the book on them entirely a quarter-century ago. Machina/The Machines of God was a back-to-basics, grunge-adjacent guitar album that…
9-disc box set featuring their groundbreaking first two albums alongside a wealth of previously unavailable material.
Everything is Now – Vol. 1: 1978-1982 collect the band’s first two LPs, Journeys to Glory (1981) and Diamond (1982); collections of 7″ and 12″ material from each album on CD; a rare full remix of Diamond issued on a 12″ box set edition of the album; two discs of BBC sessions and concert recordings (including an unissued 1982 set at the Paris Theatre in London); stereo and instrumental remixes of select tracks by Steven Wilson.
…Formed by guitarist/keyboardist Gary Kemp, his brother Martin on bass, singer Tony Hadley, saxophonist Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble, Spandau Ballet represented…
Forevermore is the eleventh Studio album in the career of the multi-platinum-selling group. Whitesnake are still one of the most successful rock groups of all time. Since the release of their self-titled album in 1987, which alone won several platinum awards, and the two number one hit singles “Here I Go Again” and “Is This Love”, the group has become an integral part of the rock and radio landscape. Whitesnake are an institution in the international music world and one of the few “old warhorses” who still produce credible albums today. With his eloquent, always well-groomed, British-polite manner, frontman David Coverdale is not only regarded as a rock idol, but also as an idolized gentleman in the rock business. Hardly any other musician deals with the themes…
In Genesis’ incredible body of work, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is a landmark record. Originally released on 22 November 1974, at the pinnacle of their early success, it came at a pivotal point in Genesis’ history. It is rated as one of the greatest albums of its era and one of the most influential progressive rock albums of all time.
This 50th anniversary Super Deluxe Edition is a true celebration of a remarkable album that embraces the groundbreaking music, gives the whole band’s insight alongside evocative imagery and unseen photos. Ultimately it celebrates the huge magnitude of what this record is, which Alexis Petridis sums up perfectly in the opening paragraph of the liner notes… “Perhaps it makes sense that an album as complex as The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway…
Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator fame, started his solo career back in 1971 and was signed to both Charisma and Virgin.
The Charisma & Virgin Recordings 1971-1986 comprises all 13 albums all newly remastered from the original master tapes, along with rare BBC sessions and live recordings.
…The 18 CD collection begins with 1971’s Fool’s Mate, Hammill’s first solo offering after the brief dissolution of Van der Graaf Generator, the legendary progressive rock group for which he was the founding member and vocalist. Next is 1973’s Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night which also features songs recorded at a July 1973 BBC Radio John Peel session; 1974’s The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage come with recordings…
A deluxe 4-CD box set bringing together the seminal Columbia recordings of Terry Riley. A landmark reissue from one of the most pivotal figures in 20th-century music. The Columbia Recordings brings together the four seminal albums that Terry Riley created for Columbia Masterworks between 1968 and 1980-a body of work that redefined the possibilities of minimalism, electronic music, and compositional freedom. The deluxe 4CD box set includes In C (1968), A Rainbow in Curved Air (1969), Church of Anthrax (1971, with John Cale), and Shri Camel (1980). Each title marks a critical moment not only in Riley’s evolution but in the wider cultural shift of American music: where avant-garde practice collided with high-fidelity production, and radical sonic ideas…
Live in Europe 1992 is a 13 LP boxset archival release by the The Smashing Pumpkins released exclusively on Madame ZuZu’s featuring 90 live songs over 8 hours of soundboard recordings from 9 different shows during the 1992 European tour.
The boxset includes never before seen photos taken during the tour from Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin’s personal archives, as well as live concert photos by Paul Baines. Also, a personal essay from Billy Corgan on the highs and low of the tour with never before shared insights and reflections.
Featuring soundboard recordings from 9 different shows from Billy Corgan’s personal audio archive – all mastered by the band’s longtime friend and legend Howie Weinberg.
4CD anthology comprising all of Skin Alley’s recordings for CBS and Transatlantic Records between 1969-1973. Includes all the tracks from the albums ‘Skin Alley’, ‘To Pagham & Beyond’, ‘Two Quid Deal’ and ‘Skintight’, along with all tracks from ‘Stop Verushka!’, the band’s ‘lost’ 1970 soundtrack album and rare singles.
Formed in 1968, Skin Alley were part of the infamous Clearwater stable that included fellow acts such as Hawkwind, High Tide, Trees and Cochise. The band’s infectious fusion of jazz and rock was suited to the time and the band became a regular attraction on the underground festival and concert circuit. Skin Alley recorded their self-titled debut album for CBS Records in November 1969 with former Pretty Things…
As the late ’60s rolled unsteadily into the early ’70s, the U.K. music scene was in understandable flux. The last stages of psychedelia were burning out, and musicians were looking for new sounds to fill the void. Some turned to the freedoms of jazz, others looked to the countryside for laid-back vibes, while some rocked up the blues or started heading in the direction of prog. A few intrepid explorers even tried to meld it all together into something new and magical, though most bands just seemed happy to be free of the influence of the Beatles and Carnaby Street.
Strawberry’s 2025 collection Feelin’ Alright: Mod Rock, Funky Prog & Heavy Jazz 1967-1972 is a fun and educational survey of groups and artists who tried one or more of these paths.
After a period of nearly four years, David Bowie’s series of “Eras” box sets is returning with a new, final volume. 13-CD or 18-LP box I Can’t Give Everything Away (2002-2016) picks up where 2021’s Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) left off, capturing the final years of an artist who never stopped innovating.
The set contains new pressings of: Heathen (2002); Reality (2003); A Reality Tour (recorded 2003, released 2010); The Next Day (2013); The Next Day Extra (2013); Blackstar (2016); and the No Plan EP (2017). All but the last two have been newly remastered for this set. The set also premieres Montreux Jazz Festival: July 18, 2022 on 2 CDs and includes a sixth and final volume of Re:Call, featuring 41 tracks on 3 CDs.
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…the legendary singer-songwriter’s Archives series continues with its first themed compilation, appropriately entitled Joni’s Jazz. These 61 selections draw from nearly every core album in the Mitchell discography with just a couple of exceptions (Clouds, Ladies of the Canyon) and reflect the breadth of the artist’s immersion into the jazz idiom in all its many varied forms.
Last year, in her liner notes to Archives Volume 4 (1976-1980), Mitchell teased, “People ask me my favorite of my albums, it’s going to be Joni’s Jazz.” It’s not difficult to see why; many of her greatest songs and performances can be found among these 61 tracks. What’s clear, too, is that Mitchell is keen to disrupt conventional notions of…
72-track / 3 CD box set containing four hours of both groove-laden and downright rocking music from the (mostly London) Pub Rock scene’s heyday of the mid ’70s through to the early ’80s. Every track expertly and lovingly remastered by renowned studio wizard Tim Turan.
In some respects, a lavish follow-up to Grapefruit’s highly successful 2019 Surrender to the Rhythm set which highlighted Pub Rock’s pioneers. Time! Gentlemen! features a selection of cuts from many of the usual suspects of the genre such as Brinsley Schwarz, Dr. Feelgood, Chilli Willi and The Red Hot Peppers and Kokomo, but excitingly, goes beyond the usual fare by including some of their lesser-known gems. Not only a virtual treasure trove of great ’70s rock, the set also…
Unique among the 1960s pop landscape, and facilitated by his own home studio set-up, Joe Meek pursued and expressed a passion for his countless hobbies through his hit records and studio productions. From the legendary ‘I Hear A New World’ sonic landscapes and the Tornados’ global hit ‘Telstar!’ to several successful horror-themed records with Screaming Lord Sutch and his smash hit laments to both Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran, Meek’s fascinations were never far from his thoughts, often resulting in wildly imaginative and way ahead of their time recordings.
Laden with sound effects, experimental electronics, eccentric lyrics and themes that often stretched the boundaries of what pop music could be in the early 1960s, A Curious Mind showcases…
If the 1970s were when power pop was invented and made into one of the more exciting styles of music around, and even occasionally very popular, the ’80s were when the style permeated the music scene as it split into multiple tendrils of guitar-based pop. Following up on their excellent collection Looking for the Magic: American Power Pop in the ’70s, Grapefruit Records delivers another brilliant set of freshly scrubbed power pop tracks on I Wanna Be a Teen Again: American Power Pop, 1980-1989. On the three-disc set, one gets to listen as the classic power pop sound of the previous decade shoots off in different directions. Its chiming guitars and swirls of sound inform the paisley underground, a slicked-up version wends its way through the new wave…