Archive for the ‘Joy Division’ Category
U.K. Joy Division Box Collects Singles (and More) on Vinyl (UPDATED 11/17/2011: and CD)
Original post: As reported by Slicing Up Eyeballs, Rhino’s U.K. branch is releasing a special collector’s box of Joy Division singles in December, to commemorate the 30 years since iconic frontman Ian Curtis died.
The vinyl box, +- (Plus Minus), will feature ten 7″ records containing all the Joy Division singles. Now, of course, that math may seem a bit off to you if you know that Joy Division didn’t have ten singles to their name. Instead, curator/journalist Jon Savage combined the singles with some other notable tracks on their own unique singles for this compilation. The tunes were all remastered by Frank Arkwright (of Metropolis Studios) and original drummer Stephen Morris, with Factory Records co-founder Peter Saville designing the box it came in.
The set will also feature free digital downloads of all the tracks therein; the first 500 copies will include an art piece as well as all the music on two CDs. Order it here; it’s expected December 6.
Start of a New “Movement”: EMI Releases New Peel Sessions Compilation
Last week’s revelation that American media conglomerate Clear Channel had let go of dozens of local radio DJs made music fans yearn for the simpler times of when jockeys weren’t limited to playlists from on high and could shape the public’s music taste in a positive way.
Ironically, as the Clear Channel news spread, EMI prepares the release of a new compilation devoted to one of England’s most famous radio presenters, the late, great John Peel. Peel, a jockey on BBC’s Radio 1 from 1967 until his death in 2004, was a pioneering force on the British music scene, embracing the cutting edge of music in every new decade, particularly the wild punk, reggae, ska and indie sounds that were emerging as the 1970s gave way to the 1980s.
Of course, playing the singles wasn’t enough: Peel frequently invited his favorite new acts to BBC’s Maida Vale Studios to record live sets for his shows. These “Peel sessions” fast became treasured recordings for serious music fans, and while the BBC often erased their tapes not long after they were done airing them, Peel’s tapes have enjoyed years of commercial release, first on his own label, Strange Fruit, in the 1980s, then on various major labels, either as part of standalone releases or bonus tracks on expanded reissues.
Very little of the tracks on this new comp – Movement: BBC Radio 1 Peel Sessions 1977-1979 – are being released for the first time. (At the very least, many of these tracks came out on Strange Fruit EPs and compilations, and are making their debut on a CD distributed by EMI, the project deriving from material commonly controlled by the label and the BBC.) But the idea of a sampler of tracks from such greats as The Jam, Joy Division, The Specials, XTC, Adam and The Ants, The Psychedelic Furs and others is pretty appealing – particularly given EMI’s announcement, which ends with the promise of more Peel compilations in the future.
Movement is available today in the U.K., and the track list is after the jump.
Release Round-Up: Week of June 7
Marvin Gaye, What’s Going On: 40th Anniversary Edition (Motown/UMe)
Two CDs feature the original album and a host of rarities, single mixes, and all the best outtakes leading up to the making of this R&B classic (almost a dozen of which are unreleased). The deluxe package is rounded out by the great Detroit mix of the album on vinyl. (Check out our two-part interview with Harry Weinger on the set!) (Amazon)
Paul Simon, Paul Simon / There Goes Rhymin’ Simon / In Concert: Live Rhymin’ / Still Crazy After All These Years (Columbia/Legacy)
The Rhino reissues (plus Simon’s first live album with two unreleased tracks, which was never released when Warner reissued his catalogue) are back in print, only on Legacy instead. Plenty of worthwhile stuff if you missed it the first time around, and not a total loss thanks to Live Rhymin’. (Official site)
Frank Sinatra, Ring-a-Ding-Ding! Expanded Edition (Concord)
The Chairman’s first release for his own label, Reprise, comes out on Concord with two bonus tracks (including the unreleased “Have You Met Miss Jones?”). (Joe has a review coming up later today.) (Official site)
INXS, INXS Remastered (Universal U.K.)
A 10-disc boxset featuring straight remasters of all the band’s albums, from INXS (1980) toElegantly Wasted (1997). Don’t forget, though, that expanded reissues of some of these albums exist – and another reissue of Kick is allegedly in the works. (Official site)
Suede, Suede: Expanded Edition (Demon Music Group)
The Britpop band’s first album was reissued in the U.K. last week as a 2 CD/1 DVD package, and it’s now available on U.S. shores. The remainder of the band’s catalogue shall be expanded over the next month. (Official site)
Dean Martin, Classic Dino: The Best of Dean Martin / Dino: The Essential Dean Martin (Capitol/EMI) / Cool Then, Cool Now (Hip-O/UMe)
On the very day of Dino’s birth, three(!) compilations are released: a single-disc set, a double-disc reissue of Martin’s 2004 compilation (with an unreleased track), and another two-disc CD with book from Hip-O featuring some rarer tracks. (Official site)
Depeche Mode, Remixes 2: 81-11 (Mute)
A hefty collection of remixes old and new, including some mixes by Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder – essentially reuniting the band’s original lineup. (Official site)
Joy Division/New Order, Total: The Best of Joy Division and New Order (Rhino U.K.)
The first commercially-available compilation of both bands on one package. Outside of the one New Order track on the set, though, there isn’t much for anyone but brand new fans. (Rhino U.K.)
David Bowie, Golden Years (Digital EP) (Virgin/EMI)
Some new digital-only remixes of the Station to Station classic. (iTunes)
AC/DC, Let There Be Rock (Warner Bros.)
The DVD/Blu-Ray debut of the Aussie rockers’ 1980 concert film, shot in Paris at the end of 1979, mere months before original lead singer Bon Scott died. (Official site)
Iron Maiden, From Fear to Eternity: The Best of 1990-2010 (EMI)
Two discs of Iron Maiden from 1990 to now, including one rare live B-side. (Official site)
Black Sabbath, Born Again: Deluxe Edition (Sanctuary/UMC U.K.)
The only Sabbath album with Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan on lead vocals, this import reissue – already available in the U.K. – comes with an unreleased live show and a few outtakes. (Amazon U.K.)
Roger Waters, Roger Waters Collection (Sony Music U.K.)
Remasters of all of Roger Waters’ solo studio LPs plus the live CD/DVD set In the Flesh from 2000. Worth picking up if you’d like to catch up with all of the ex-Pink Floyd member’s solo work at once. (Official site)
Justin Bieber, My Worlds Acoustic (Island)
Nope, not making this one up! This cash-grab EP is making its debut to general retail, having been a Wal-Mart exclusive since last Christmas. (Official site)
Joy Division, New Order United for the First Time on New Comp (UPDATED 5/18)
UPDATE (5/18): Rhino has released the unreleased track “Hellbent” for your streaming pleasure! Listen to it here.
Original post: Can you believe, in this crazy world of music catalogue titles, that nobody’s ever thought to do this before? Rhino’s U.K. arm is releasing Total: From Joy Division to New Order next month, marking the first time a commercial compilation collates the best of both bands. (A 2001 New Order promo compilation tacked a few Joy Division songs on the end of its running time.)
Of course, the bands share an immense amount of musical DNA. The moody post-punk sound Joy Division – vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris – was intensely critically acclaimed in England, the darling of then-new indie label Factory Records. But Curtis, suffering from epilepsy and depression, took his life a day before the band was slated to embark on their first U.S. tour. Ultimately, later that year the band soldiered on as New Order – with Sumner taking on vocal responsibilities and keyboardist Gillian Gilbert added to the mix – and gained the kind of sustained commercial success Joy Division never earned on both sides of the Atlantic.
This new 18-track compilation also features a previously-unreleased New Order track, “Hellbent.” Featuring a cover by Peter Saville, the well-known former graphic designer for the Factory label, Total is out in the U.K. on June 6. (Thanks as always to Slicing Up Eyeballs for breaking this story.) Hit the jump for the track list!
Release Round-Up: Week of December 7
ABBA, ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits – Special Edition / The Vinyl Collection (Polydor/UMe)
The most popular ABBA compilation ever gets expanded with a DVD of music videos, including a previously unreleased animated clip. Also, a deluxe box of the band’s eight LPs on vinyl alongside a ten-track record of single and non-LP tracks will be released the same day. (Official site)
A box of ten partially fictional singles on vinyl to honor deceased frontman Ian Curtis, 30 years after his death. (Rhino U.K.)
Bob Dylan, The Original Mono Recordings (Vinyl) (Columbia/Legacy)
Dylan’s mono albums, just recently released to CD, get the same reissue treatment on vinyl. (Amazon)
New Order Box in the Cards?
+-, the new U.K. vinyl singles box from Joy Division, may be followed up with a New Order box set, drummer Stephen Morris said recently.
In an interview with The Quietus, Morris – a member of the short-lived post-punk outfit and its post-Ian Curtis New-Wave counterpart, oversaw the remastering of the new vinyl set, which collates 10 7″ singles from the band’s short tenure (some of them crafted just for this box). When asked about the possibility of a similar box for New Order, he had this to say:
Funny you should say that – yes, we are thinking of doing a complete New Order singles boxset. I still like the idea of doing just an empty box (a really nice empty box of course) and putting out absolutely everything as a series of records/CDs/downloads that you could choose to customise your box with. That’s my Pick and Mix idea – probably extremely expensive and a bit mad really. One of the problems that I find with box sets generally is that no matter what you do there is always something missing; leaving the final selection to the listener might get round that.
A New Order singles box should be as comprehensive as possible, but done in a way that is still listenable. It’s going to be quite a challenge but hopefully a lot of fun. It’s something that will take a lot of thought.
The “pick and mix” approach would be fun for a variety of artists, if crazily expensive for labels. Would you buy a box like this from your favorite artists? Sound off below.
Every Day Should Be Record Store Day
And perhaps it is, depending on how often you buy from one. The fourth annual Record Store Day is happening in less than a month (April 17) but already a lot of releases have been announced for the occasion. Best of all, there are some neat releases for catalogue fans out there, too. You can have a look at the full list here, but here are some of the neatest catalogue offerings coming on Record Store Day.
Devo, Duty Now for the Future (1979) (Warner Bros.)
As previously mentioned, Devo’s sophomore album is getting a reissue on CD and vinyl, presumably with some extra content of sorts. This LP is known for typically oddball tracks like “The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize,” “Devo Corporate Anthem” and a cover of “Secret Agent Man.” (A 7″ of Devo’s newest single, “Fresh” b/w “What We Do,” from their upcoming record, will also be available.)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions, Live at Hollywood High (1979) (Hip-O)
The complete Hollywood High Show from June of 1978 was recently released as part of Universal’s “Costello Show” series of live reissues. For collectors, though, Hip-O is reissuing the original three-track EP, originally included with copies of Armed Forces, on individually-numbered 7″ vinyl.
Elvis Presley, “That’s All Right” b/w “Blue Moon of Kentucky” (Single) (Sun/Legacy)
Legacy keeps the Elvis 75 celebration in full swing by releasing a vinyl repressing of the King’s first single, with a digital download code included.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Live at Clark University (1968) (Experience Hendrix/Legacy)
A colored vinyl version of this previously released concert (available with audio interviews on Hendrix’s official bootleg label Dagger Records). The set includes four of his best songs from the Are You Experienced era (“Fire,” “Red House,” “Foxey Lady,” “Purple Haze”) and a cover of “Wild Thing.”
Buddy Guy, A Man and the Blues (1968) / Doc Watson, Doc Watson (1964) / Joan Baez, Joan Baez (1960) / John Fahey, The Yellow Princess (1968) / Mississippi John Hurt, Today! (1966) (Vanguard)
To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Vanguard label, five of the label’s best-loved artists will have some of their classic LPs reissued on vinyl with the original artwork reproduced.
Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros, Global A Go-Go (2001) / Streetcore (2003) (HellCat)
The last of The Clash frontman’s work with his last band, The Mescaleros, will get their first-ever vinyl issues.
John Lennon 7″ Box Set (Capitol)
A specially reissued, individually-numbered box includes reproduced 7″ singles to “Mother” B/W “Why” (1970), “Imagine” b/w “It’s So Hard” (1971) and “Watching the Wheels” b/w “Yes, I’m Your Angel” (1981) along with three postcards, a 24″ x 36 ” poster and a custom 7″ adaptor hub.
Joy Division Box Set (Rhino)
A quadruple LP box of unknown content, limited to 82o copies.
Modest Mouse, The Moon and Antarctica (2000) (Epic/Legacy)
A double LP reissue of the band’s first major label release, in honor of its 10th anniversary.
Pantera, Cowboys from Hell (1990) / Vulgar Display of Power (1992) / Far Beyond Driven (1994) (Rhino)
Vinyl reissues of three albums from the metal legends, limited to 5000 copies each (except Far Beyond Driven, limited to 3000).
Pavement, Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement (Matador)
The first career-spanning compilation by the recently-reunited alt-rockers was already released in March, but one lucky contest winner with the most imaginative track listing for the set saw his playlist pressed onto a limited double vinyl set just for the occasion.
R.E.M., Chronic Town (1982) (Interscope)
An individually-numbered, blue-vinyl version of the band’s debut EP (available on the Dead Letter Office CD).
The Ramones, Ramones Mania (1988) (Sire)
Double-vinyl reissue of the first-ever compilation by one of the best punk bands of all time. Includes thirty singles, including the then-unreleased stereo film version of “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School.”
The Rolling Stones, “Plundered My Soul” b/w “All Down the Line” (Universal)
A hand-numbered 7″ single featuring two tracks from the forthcoming Exile on Main St. reissue.
The Second Disc 