You Can Look At the Menu…

As previously speculated and promised, synth-pop stalwart Howard Jones is set to reissue his first two LPs on CD, digitally remastered for the first time. But fans have to wait a bit, or travel a great distance, for bonus material.

These versions of Human’s Lib (1983) and Dream Into Action (1985), the records that spun off hits like “What is Love?”, “New Song,” “Things Can Only Get Better” and “No One is to Blame,” will be released through Jones’ own Dtox label. They retain their original track listings as seen on CD (thus, bearing a few more tracks apiece than the original LPs did) and new cover art, but feature no other B-sides or 12″ remixes. However, a limited edition box set will pair these albums with a third disc of previously unreleased vintage live material. That box, limited to 1,000 copies, will be sold alongside the new remasters at Jones’ November 6 concert at the IndigO2 in London, where he will play both albums in their entirety. They will be available in Dtox Records’ online store two days later.

While some may bemoan the lack of extra material, the post on Jones’ Web site states that Dtox plans to release a remix compilation in 2011, along with reissues of the remainder of Jones’ Warner-era material. Let’s hope these plans materialize. Until then, have a look at the material after the jump.

Review: David Bowie, “Station to Station” (2010)

There are box sets, and then there are box sets. EMI’s hulking, monster of a box dedicated to David Bowie’s 1976 Station to Station (EMI BOWSTSD2010) is one such box set. It’s even more massive than The John Lennon Signature Box, itself a lavish and large affair containing 11 discs. The multi-disc box celebrating a single album isn’t a new concept, although in the past such offerings were largely based upon session material. The format has proliferated in recent times as record labels have sought new revenue streams (in this case, from collectors) for physical CDs. This holiday season alone will see such sets devoted to Paul McCartney’s Band on the Run, Bruce Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town, the Who’s Live at Leeds and the Monkees’ Head, to name four coming soon. Station to Station is available, however, in both the deluxe box and a less expensive – and expansive – edition. (Band on the Run will be offered a more affordable edition as well, while Springsteen will offer the two discs of Darkness outtakes as a separate set. Fans of Head and Live at Leeds will have to settle for previous expanded reissues should they opt not to purchase the big boxes!)

Is the 2010 Station to Station worth a substantial chunk of change? That may depend on how significant the original album is to you. At just six tracks over 38 minutes, the album itself could easily get lost among all of the extras in this 5-CD/1-DVD/3-LP monolith. Station to Station represented a transitional period in the oeuvre of its creator/co-producer. Bowie had already traversed multiple genres by 1976: theatrical whimsy, folk, psychedelia, so-called “plastic soul” and perhaps most crucially, glam rock. Many pundits today credit Bowie with creating the genre on 1970’s The Man Who Sold the World and epitomizing it two years later on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars and its follow-up, 1973’s Aladdin Sane. Elements of glam were present on 1973’s Pin Ups and 1974’s Diamond Dogs, but by the time of Young Americans in 1975, the chameleonic Bowie had abandoned the iconic hairstyle and the makeup. That album found him collaborating with Luther Vandross and even John Lennon on his own brand of Philly soul, recording at Sigma Sound in the City of Brotherly Love. The restless artist’s follow-up, however, couldn’t have been predicted by anybody. Hit the jump to read on…

Just in Case You Had No Rolling Stones LPs on Vinyl… (UPDATED 10/12)

…or if you have no idea what to do with the $1,000 or so you put aside for gifts for that Stones fan in your family this year, you finally have an answer. MusicTAP reports that UMe’s releasing a massive pair of remastered, 180-gram vinyl box sets that cover a good chunk of the band’s discography.

The Rolling Stones 1964-1969 features 11 of the band’s ABKCO-owned U.K. studio albums, from 1964’s self-titled LP to the 1975 outtakes compilation Metamorphosis, and also throws in two additional 12″ versions of the self-titled debut and Five by Five EPs. Meanwhile, The Rolling Stones 1971-2005 features every one of the group’s self-owned studio albums from Sticky Fingers to A Bigger Bang.

(UPDATE 10/12: A press release has been issued which specifies, in case you didn’t know, that the first five LPs in the first box set are in mono.)

Both sets will be out November 23. Reacquaint yourself with the track listings after the jump.