Madness to Reissue “Take It or Leave It” on DVD

Madness may be all in the mind, but in October it’ll be on your TV screens thanks to a new reissue of the band’s film, Take It or Leave It, coming from Salvo Music in October.

Directed by Stiff Records founder Dave Robinson and released in 1981, Take It or Leave It is a docudrama about the beloved British ska group, combining staged vignettes with live footage and other fun stuff. Released in conjunction with the band’s third album, 7, the film features various studio and live versions of songs from the band’s discography up to that point, including “One Step Beyond,” “Baggy Trousers” and many more. (One song, “Sunshine Voice,” remains unreleased on any album.)

Salvo’s new reissue of Take It or Leave It features, for the first time, a soundtrack CD. Alas, “Sunshine Voice” isn’t included, in favor of a simple compilation of released songs from the film (including two non-Madness tracks). The new DVD does, however, retain a 2002 commentary on the film recorded by Robinson with Madness guitarist Chris Foreman. (A bit of bad news for collectors outside of the U.K., though: Amazon lists the DVD as PAL formatted only.)

In any case, it’s due out on October 7; pre-order links and a track list for the soundtrack are after the jump.

Release Round-Up: Week of August 21

KISS, Destroyer: Resurrected (Mercury/UMe)

The 1976 classic gets a new mix from original producer Bob Ezrin for its 35th anniversary. (It’s also available on vinyl, too!)

Taj Mahal, The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal (Columbia/Legacy)

Tomorrow may not be your day, but today certainly is if you’re a Taj Mahal fan: two discs of unreleased material – one of studio tracks, one from a 1970 show at the Royal Albert Hall.

Los Lobos, Kiko: 20th Anniversary Edition / Kiko Live (Shout! Factory)

Arguably the finest album from that band from east L.A., Kiko has been expanded with five unreleased bonus cuts and a separate CD/DVD or CD/Blu-Ray set featuring a 2006 performance of that record in its entirety.

Madness, Total Madness: All the Greatest Hits and More! (Salvo/Union Square)

A pretty simple, brand-new compilation with which you can acquaint yourself with one of everyone’s favorite U.K. ska bands.

Release Round-Up: Week of April 10

Howard Jones, One to One / Cross That Line / In the Running: Remastered Edition (Dtox)

HoJo’s last set of remasters is a five disc set featuring his last three Warner-era albums from 1986 to 1992, plus two generous discs of B-sides and remixes. Parts of this era are really underrated, and if this box is as loving as the last one was, it may well earn your everlasting love.

Various Artists, Philadelphia International Classics: The Tom Moulton Mixes (Harmless)

This gorgeous four-disc set, coming from the U.K., features some of PIR’s greatest hits and deepest cuts, all mixed (or newly remixed) by disco master Tom Moulton. There’s a whole hard-to-find vintage remix album in here, along with some other great 12″ single masters.

World Party, Arkaeology (Seaview/Fontana)

Five discs of unreleased goodies from Karl Wallinger’s famed band, plus diary packaging for you to create with. (Sorry, U.K. fans, we’re actually getting this one first; the international release date is later.)

Kraftwerk, The Catalogue (MoMA Edition) (Kling Klang/Astralwerks)

The electronic icons first put their last eight remastered albums into a box in 2009. Now, to coincide with a weeklong residency at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, they’re reissuing that box through the MoMA exclusively, with new artwork.

Gilbert O’Sullivan, I’m a Writer Not a Fighter: Deluxe Edition (Salvo)

Released in the U.K. last week, Gilbert’s third album comes expanded with four additional tracks from single sides and includes the hit “Get Down.”

Bette Midler, Live at Last (Friday Music)

The Divine Miss M’s first live album (and a double, at that!) gets the red-carpet remaster treatment from Friday Music.

Madness, Forever Young: The Ska Collection (Salvo)

A compilation for everyone who might already know “Our House,” with a small helping of unreleased material for hardcore fans.

One Step Beyond: New Compilation Honors Nutty Band’s Ska Roots

Madness’ “Our House” is just one of those songs that’s impossible to forget. From that opening hook to the singalong chorus, you can recognize “Our House” from a mile away – even if you don’t know Madness was, first and foremost, a ska outfit.

And if you didn’t know that, there’s a new compilation coming from Salvo Records to fill in the gaps for you. Forever Young: The Ska Collection focuses on the tunes that made Madness a staple of the 2 Tone movement in the late 1970s as well as the tracks that pay homage to those roots in the present day.

The London septet, along with bands like The Beat and The Specials, were cornerstones of the 2 Tone ska movement, which combined elements of ska along with traditional reggae, punk and New Wave. The band’s first single, U.K. Top 20 hit “The Prince,” was in fact released on 2 Tone Records, founded by The Specials’ Jerry Dammers.

In addition to featuring singles and album cuts from their Stiff Records discography from 1979’s One Step Beyond… to 1984’s Keep Moving, as well as subsequent studio albums Wonderful (1999) and The Liberty of Norton Folgate (2009), the compilation includes two previously unreleased covers: one of Jimmy Cliff’s “Vietnam,” and a version of Edvard Grieg’s classical “In the Hall of the Mountain King” recorded during The Dangermen Sessions, Vol. 1 in 2004.

This is, of course, the latest in a long line of catalogue activity for Madness from USM/Salvo, including reissues and a box set over the past few years.

The new disc, which also features a fold-out poster and new interviews with saxophonist Lee Thompson and guitarist Chris “Chrissy Boy” Foreman, is out on April 2. A pre-order link and track list follow after the jump.

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 September 20

Miles Davis Quintet, Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1 (Columbia/Legacy)

A three-CD/one-DVD collection of live stints from Belgium, Germany, France and Sweden, and the inaugural title in a new series of archival material for Miles. And Joe’s got the review this week! (Official site)

DeBarge, Time Will Reveal: The Complete Motown Albums (Hip-o Select/Motown)

All four of DeBarge’s classic ’80s R&B LPs on two discs, with a further bonus disc of remixes and rarities. (Hip-o Select)

Twisted Sister, Live at the Marquee Club (Rhino Handmade)

Go under the blade with this down-and-dirty live set from the band’s early days on Atlantic. The unique TS-logo-shaped sleeve is worth the price of purchase if you’re a hardcore fan. (Rhino)

The Grateful Dead, Europe ’72 Vol. 2 (Rhino)

For those of you who are fine with just a small sample of the mega-box from the whole tour. (Official site)

Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam Twenty (Epic)

Live tracks and studio rarities make up the soundtrack for the new documentary (which your humble catalogue correspondent is absolutely anxious to see). (Official site)

The Jesus and Mary Chain, Psychocandy / Darklands: Deluxe Editions (Edsel)

The revered Scottish alt-rock outfit, celebrated in definitive two-CD/one-DVD reissues with bonus audiovisual content. (The next four of the band’s albums will be reissued in the next two weeks.) (Official site)

Madness, A Guided Tour of Madness (Salvo)

After a heap of great expanded Madness reissues, Salvo releases a career-spanning box set with a brand-new track and the DVD debut of the band’s Madstock 1992 performance. (Official site)

Various Artists, Divine Hair/Mass in F, By Jupiter: Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording, Paris ’90: Original Broadway Cast Recording, Noël Coward in Las Vegas, Noël Coward in New York (Masterworks Broadway)

The latest crop of Arkiv/Masterworks downloads and reissues features a special find in particular: Divine Hair/Mass in F, a sacred piece featuring songs from the Broadway musical! (Masterworks)

A Salvo of Madness Coming in September

Many of the box sets announced this year have been pretty nuts, in some way, shape or form. But none have been quite as nutty as this one: a career-spanning box by those nutty boys in Madness.

The long-running British ska band, whose large handful of U.K. hits like “Our House” and “One Step Beyond” have filled dance floors the world over, has had an exceptionally busy few years with their catalogue, offering nearly all their discography, from their early hits on Stiff Records to their late-’90s comeback Wonderful on the Virgin label, as generously expanded multi-disc editions through U.K. label Salvo Music.

Salvo’s work culminates with A Guided Tour of Madness, a four-disc package featuring three discs of hits and notable album cuts and B-sides (including one new-to-CD track, “Le Grand Pantalon”) along with a video recording of the group’s Madstock reunion performance in 1992 (which has only seen release on an out-of-print videocassette).

A Guided Tour of Madness is in U.K. shops on September 19. You can order this box at Amazon U.K. and read the track list after the jump.

Short Takes: (Almost) Trackless Reissues from Sabbath, Madness and Howard Jones

With the holiday reissue bonanza in full swing, it’s no surprise that announcements of expanded titles and box sets are coming in fast. Some of them, it seems, are coming in faster than the actual information behind them, like track listings and such. These next couple titles you’re about to read about have nothing more than rough information about them right now, but we wanted to at least bring them to your attention when more info springs up.

Hit the jump to check out some developments on a pair of reissues from Black Sabbath, two from Howard Jones and another piece of the Madness collection.

News Round-Up Part II: Expansions All Over, TV Treasures and a Bon Jovi Compilation

With the calendar about to turn over to September, it’s definitely catalogue season. We’ve seen a lot of reissues, expansions and box sets announced – enough to make my post-vacation-hazed head spin – and plenty more are certainly on the way.

Before we get into that, though, I want to thank not only Joe for holding the fort down expertly while I was away, but to you, the reader, for sticking with us. The rest of the year is going to be awesome for catalogue enthusiasts, and The Second Disc is more than pleased to help bring awareness of it to your door.

Now here are a few more releases to keep you in the know.

• Not only did Hip-o Select announce Tammi Terrell‘s Come On and See Me: The Complete Solo Collection last week, they also unveiled two other titles. First, the Dinah Washington singles set that Harry Weinger promised us last month only has a title – The Fabulous Miss D: The Keynote, Decca and Mercury Singles – and a cover photo (viewable here) – but more info on this set should be available soon. Then there’s a limited, double-disc live set from The Neville Brothers ready for order; Authorized Bootleg: Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA – February 27, 1989 captures Aaron, Art, Cyril and Charles delivering New Orleans-style soul ahead of that year’s hit album Yellow Moon. Order that here.
• Yet another Madness LP is being expanded by Salvo Music: this time, it’s Wonderful, the 1999 LP that saw the original line-up of the band reunited for the first time since 1984. Remixes and B-sides abound on this set, available here.
• Rhino Handmade, in addition to unearthing The State’s unreleased Comedy for Gracious Living record, announced a deluxe edition of Shoot Out the Lights, the final album by Richard and Linda Thompson released in 1982. This set includes the original LP (minus the non-LP B-side “Living in Luxury” included on an earlier reissue on Rykodisc Records) with a bonus disc of unreleased live tracks recorded during the famed American tour in which Richard and Linda – headed for divorce and full of contempt for each other – put on a mesmerizing show. Preliminary information is available from Rhino right here.
• Film Score Monthly has announced a clutch of television titles. One is another volume of Alan Silvestri’s early work for the hit show CHiPs, the other is TV Omnibus Volume One (1962-1976), an intriguing five-disc collection of obscure television works by some of the most recognized composers in film and television history, including Jerry Goldsmith, Dave Grusin, John Williams, Lalo Schifrin and others. Find them here and here.
• Again we turn to the genius (or geniuses, I honestly have no idea) of Slicing Up Eyeballs, who got two neat reissue stories while your catalogue correspondent was on holiday. Last week they sorted through potential future catalogue titles for The Cure – including a potential expansion of remix LP Mixed Up (1990), a box set of BBC recordings and the premiere DVD release of The Cure in Orange – and then, in a great Q&A with Martyn Ware of Heaven 17, got him to shed some light on some recently unearthed demos to be included in a forthcoming reissue of the band’s 1981 debut LP Penthouse and Pavement. Good stuff all around.
• Finally – for now, anyway – we come full circle with some news from Universal Music Enterprises. That promised reissue of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ Damn the Torpedoes, expected October 26 from UMe/Geffen, is said to have some unreleased outtakes from the original album sessions as bonus material. (This is coming from a little blurb in the latest issue of Rolling Stone.) And Island will stuff the stockings of Bon Jovi fans with a new compilation. Greatest Hits will street November 9 and include 14 hits alongside two new tracks, including new single “What Do You Got?” A double-disc set with 28 cuts in total will have two additional new tracks.

Our Castle and Our Keep

After yesterday’s Miles Davis pricing madness, The Second Disc brings you some much more appreciable madness, through another set of reissues by Madness, one of the best-known ska acts of the ’80s.

Continuing the band’s ongoing reissue project, Salvo and Union Square Music has prepped the band’s fourth and fifth LPs, The Rise & Fall (1982) and Keep Moving (1984), as double-disc deluxe reissues. Both sets will feature various remixes, B-sides and promo videos to boot.

It’s notable that The Rise & Fall, which spawned the beloved single “Our House,” never got a U.S. release; the song (and several other tracks from that album) was incorporated into a self-titled compilation released only in North America on Geffen Records.

Put on your Sunday best and check out the track lists (and pre-order links here and here, courtesy of Amazon U.K.) after the jump.