A Very Strange Circle is Completed: New John Spencer Blues Explosion Reissues from Shout! Factory

Shout! Factory concludes its exhaustive series of reissues with a pair of expansive editions of Orange (1994) and Acme (1998).

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion became one of the most unusual alt-rock bands of the ’90s because they were bizarrely unique. In a review of their 2010 compilation Dirty Shirt Rock N’ Roll: The First Ten Years (which kicked off this whole reissue campaign), Pitchfork called their music “highly crafted and gloriously messy, heavily conceptual but still visceral, serious while also being funny.” If that isn’t bizarre but effective praise, I’m not sure what is.

Each set will feature two discs: the original albums appended with some bonus tracks, and an expanded edition of a relevant EP from the time of the album’s release. For Orange, it’s Experimental Remixes, featuring remixes of Orange Tunes by Beck, Moby, UNKLE, Prince Paul and Mike D of The Beastie Boys; Acme is paired with an expansion of Acme-Plus, a U.K. compilation of relevant B-sides (released Stateside as Xtra-Acme USA with a few exclusive tracks which also appear on this set).

Both sets drop October 19. Read the track lists after the jump!

(Note: The JSBX discography is incredibly confusing. Where we could not find an original release source for certain tracks, we have designated them with an asterisk. They may be previously unreleased.)

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Orange + Experimental Remixes (Majordomo/Shout! Factory 826663-11765, 2010)

Disc 1: Original LP and extras

1. Bellbottoms
2. Ditch
3. Dang
4. Very Rare
5. Sweat
6. Cowboy
7. Orange
8. Brenda
9. Dissect
10. Blues X Man
11. Full Grown
12. Flavor
13. Greyhound
14. Showgirl
15. Miss Elaine
16. Haircut
17. Bellbottoms (original long ending rough) *
18. Brenda-BX Man-78 Style-Greyhound (Live @ CBGB’s) *
19. Woman Love (VPRO session) *
20. Very Rare (VPRO session) *

Disc 2: Experimental Remixes and bonus material

1. Bellbottoms (Old Rascal Mix) (remix by UNKLE)
2. Flavor Part 1 (remix by Beck, Mario Caldato Jr. and Mike D)
3. Flavor Part 2 (remix by Beck, Mario Caldato Jr. and Mike D)
4. Soul Typecast (remix by Dub Narcotic Sound System)
5. Greyhound Part 1 (remix by Moby)
6. Greyhound Part 2 (remix by GZA, featuring Killah Priest)
7. Tour Diary
8. Implosion (remix by MC HyperCRad)
9. Explo (remix by John Oswald)
10. Blues “XXX” Man (remix by Prince Paul)
11. Talk About the Blues (Saints & Sinners remix)
12. Attack (Detroit remix)
13. Shakin’ (Slick Sixty remix) *
14. Lapdance (Benzel-Waters remix)
15. Calvin (Zebra Ranch remix)

Disc 1, Tracks 1-13 from Orange (Matador, 1994)
Disc 1, Track 15 was the B-side to “Bellbottoms” (Matador, 1995)
Disc 2, Tracks 1-7 from Experimental Remixes EP (Matador, 1995)
Disc 2, Tracks 8-10 from U.K. reissue of Experimental Remixes EP (Mute, 2000)
Disc 2, Track 11 from Acme-Plus (U.K.) (Mute, 1999)
Disc 2, Track 12 from “Heavy” U.K. 12″ (Mute, 1999)
Disc 2, Track 14 from “Lap Dance” 12″ (In the Red, 2000)
Disc 2, Track 15 from Acme-Plus USA (Matador, 1999)

John Spencer Blues Explosion, Acme + Acme-Plus (Majordomo/Shout! Factory 86333-11818, 2010)

Disc 1: Original LP and extras

1. Calvin
2. Magical Colors
3. Do You Want to Get Heavy
4. High Gear
5. Talk About the Blues
6. I Wanna Make it All Right
7. Lovin’ Machine
8. Bernie
9. Blue Green Olga
10. Give Me a Chance
11. Desperate
12. Torture
13. Attack
14. Right Place, Wrong Time
15. The Black Godfather
16. New Year (Destroyer)
17. Confused (Nick Sansano Remix)
18. Hell (Benzel-Waters) *
19. Bacon (Techno Animal Dub)
20. Lap Dance (Thirlwell)
21. Blues Power

Disc 2: Acme-Plus and more

1. Wait A Minute
2. Get Down Lover
3. Confused
4. Magical Colors (31 Flavors)
5. Not Yet
6. Get Old
7. Bacon
8. Blue Green Olga (Waters Remix)
9. Heavy (Stimulated Dummies Remix)
10. Lap Dance
11. Leave Me Alone So I Can Rock Again
12. Soul Trance
13. Electricity
14. New Year
15. Lovin’ Machine (Automator Remix)
16. Chowder
17. Talk About the Blues (Demo)
18. Hell (Zebra Ranch Remix) *
19. Torture (Waters)
20. Blues Explosion Attack (Dub Narcotic)
21. Calvin (Bagel)
22. Shhh *

Disc 1, Tracks 1-13 from Acme (Matador, 1998)
Disc 1, Track 15 from Andre Williams…is the Black Godfather (In the Red, 2000)
Disc 1, Tracks 16-17 and Disc 2, Tracks 17, 19 and 21 from Ura-Acme (Toy’s Factory, 1999)
Disc 1, Track 19 from “Techno Animal Remixes” U.K. 12″ (Mute, 2000)
Disc 1, Track 20 from “Lap Dance” 12″ (In the Red, 2000)
Disc 1, Track 21 from “Heavy” U.K. CD single (Mute, 1999)
Disc 2, Tracks 1-14 and 16 from Acme-Plus (U.K.) (Mute, 1999)
Disc 2, Track 15 from Xtra-Acme USA (Matador, 1999)
Disc 2, Track 20 from Selector Dub Narcotic (K Records, 1998)