Britpop Statesmen Suede to Release a Best-of Compilation

After a band makes its return to the public eye, say, after a long hiatus or break-up, the best way to remind the public of what they were capable of is through a compilation of some sort. Suede, the influential Britpop band, looks to do just that with the release of The Best of Suede.

From their self-titled release in 1993, Suede were considered to be the act that got rock music back in the good graces of both British critics and the British public. With bands like Blur and Radiohead about to storm the charts, Suede became the accidental creators of a rock movement: Britpop. The band went from strength to strength for much of the next decade, putting four of their five LPs in the U.K. Top 5 (three of them were at No. 1) and amassing 19 Top 40 singles, including five Top Ten hits from their crowning achievement, 1996’s Coming Up.

Though they’ve been anthologized before – 2003’s Singles was released shortly before the band called it quits – this new, two-disc set includes singles, album cuts and B-sides for a more in-depth look at the band’s career. And the timing couldn’t be better; the band has embarked on a string of live gigs in the past year, though there’s no official word that they’ll hit the studio once more.

Hit the jump for the track list for The Best of Suede, due November 1.

Pet Shop Boys See Opportunity in Compilation

There’s a bit of a misnomer in the title. The Pet Shop Boys’ classic “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” is one of a few singles not on their forthcoming compilation Ultimate Pet Shop Boys. Such a long and prolific career sometimes leads to an occasional omission in a compilation, but this new set has some things to keep PSB fans satisfied, even as they scratch their heads and wonder why some tunes are missing.

This new set compiles 19 singles together, from monster hit “West End Girls” – a U.K. and U.S. chart-topper 25 years ago next year – to a brand-new track, “Together.” All in all, it’s been described by Vinny Vero, former marketing manager for the Boys at EMI (and, we humbly submit, a reader of The Second Disc), as “a perfect, pocket sized edition of PSB hits for the casual fan.”

But there’s a package built for the more in-depth PSB aficionado, too; a special edition will come with a DVD filled with 27 U.K. television performances and the band’s complete, much-lauded set at the Glastonbury Music Festival this past June. Something for everyone on this set, due out November 1.

Our thanks to Mr. Vero for posting the track lists for both discs on his blog. They are yours to read after the jump.

Short Takes: Legacy’s First Paul Simon Release, James Taylor Goes Gold, and Spector Set Due

With the fall officially underway, we’re now in the busiest time of the year for the music biz, and as this week hits its halfway point, we’re here to offer a few announcements you might have missed.

Audio Fidelity offers on November 2 a 24K Gold CD version of James Taylor’s seminal 1972 album originally released on Warner Bros. Records, One Man Dog. Remastered by audio guru Steve Hoffman, One Man Dog has among its highlights the now-standard “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight.” One Man Dog joins future Audio Fidelity releases of Stevie Wonder’s Music of My Mind (AFZ100) mastered by Kevin Gray, Billy Joel’s jazz-inflected 52nd Street (AFZ095) mastered by Hoffman, and vinyl versions of Kate Bush’s The Sensual World (AFZLP082) and Harry Nilsson’s Gordon Jenkins-arranged A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night (AFZLP083) with both LPs mastered by the Hoffman/Gray team.

Some interesting info arrives courtesy Rolling Stone’s September 30 edition. In David Browne’s article “Back to Mono: Dylan, Doors Reissues Unearth Classic Sound” focusing on the upcoming Bob Dylan: The Original Mono Recordings, Browne notes that the success of The Beatles in Mono box “has paved the way for a mono gold rush: the Dylan box, 2011 compilations of Phil Spector and Roy Orbison, and upcoming mono reissues of classic albums by The Doors (The Doors), the Yardbirds (Little Games) and John Mayall (Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton).” So perhaps Sony is finally opening those Spector vaults that have lain dormant since last year’s remastered but otherwise-untouched reissue of A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector?  (Ironically, though, many Spector fans have been waiting for stereo mixes to hit CD, despite the producer’s legendary preference for mono!)

Finally, thanks to our good friends at MusicTAP for their terrific reportage on a new batch in Sony’s ever-growing line of Essentials, all due October 26. And we’ve found a couple of titles still to report! Just two weeks after the October 12 deluge of Playlist releases, a number of artists will receive Essential volumes. Click on the jump to find out just who receives the Essential treatment this time around!