Box Set Watch: Edsel Collects The Sound, Suede, The (English) Beat

Demon Music Group’s Edsel Records has a packed release slate this week from a number of artists returning to the label’s roster.

From Britpop heroes Suede (a.k.a. The London Suede), the label has Royal Albert Hall, 24 March 2010, a 2-CD/1-DVD set preserving the band’s reunion concert (with Brett Anderson, Neil Codling, Simon Gilbert, Richard Oakes and Mat Osman) benefiting Teenage Cancer Trust; and Sci-Fi Lullabies, a reissue of the original 2-CD anthology of the group’s B-sides released between 1992 and 1997. Edsel’s reissue adds a new booklet with full lyrics. Both of these titles anticipate the May 26 arrival of the 8-CD box set The Albums Collection with seven albums (including Lullabies) in mini-LP replica sleeves and an 80-page book featuring band comments on every song.

In 2011, Edsel overhauled Suede’s catalogue in deluxe editions; in 2012, the label gave its most lavish treatment to the albums from Birmingham ska-pop legends The (English) Beat.   This week, the 4-CD set The Complete Studio Recordings arrives from The Beat, a.k.a. Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger Charlery on lead vocals, Andy Cox on guitar, bassist David Steele, drummer Roger Morton and Lionel “Saxa” Martin on saxophone. The box, the latest in a string of Beat catalogue projects from labels on both sides of the Atlantic, presents the original configurations of the band’s three original albums on three CDs and adds a bonus disc of singles and seven dub versions plus a new booklet.

We’ll soon be detailing Edsel’s future expansions of titles from more returning artists – Todd Rundgren, Belinda Carlisle and Jim Croce – but this week also sees the U.S. arrival of a new 3-CD/1-DVD box set from British post-punk rockers The Sound.  The group, formed in South London in 1979 by Adrian Borland (vocals/guitar), Graham Bailey (bass), Mike Dudley (drums) and Benita “Bi” Marshall (keyboard/saxophone/clarinet), disbanded in 1988, leaving behind just a handful of album. Their first three, from 1980-1982, are collected here: Jeopardy, From the Lion’s Mouth and All Fall Down. These three seminal recordings on the Korova and WEA labels are joined by the DVD BBC Live in Concert featuring performances at the Beeb from 1981 and 1985.

Edsel intends this box set as “the perfect opportunity to reappraise the career of The Sound,” noting that the band “should have had an impact on the post-punk era on the level achieved by the likes of Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, or The Cure.” Each disc features copious bonus material. Jeopardy adds four live recordings from October 1980 at the BBC as well as the Live Instinct EP, “Physical World” from the Physical World EP, and “Brute Force,” the non-LP B-side of “Heyday.” From the Lion’s Mouth adds another four live tracks from a November 1981 BBC performance plus four non-LP flips. All Fall Down adds four session outtakes and the 1983 EP This Cover Keeps Reality Unreal from singer-songwriter Kevin Hewick and The Sound.

All of the discs are housed in mini-LP replica sleeves and have been remastered by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering. A 36-page booklet is also included, with eight pages of detailed liner notes from Record Collector contributor Tim Peacock and full lyrics for all three albums. It’s all housed in a sturdy clamshell case.

Take a closer look at these titles after the jump! You’ll find order links and track listings for all of Edsel’s titles mentioned above!

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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)

Suede Catalogue Overhaul Coming This Summer

Back in September, we reported on a hits/B-sides compilation for legendary Britpop band Suede. Now, the recently-reunited band have announced a major catalogue expansion through U.K. label Demon/Edsel.

In five weeks starting May 30, the label will release massive three-disc editions of each of the band’s studio LPs, from 1993’s self-titled debut to 2002’s A New Morning. The sets will feature two CDs featuring the remastered original albums, the band’s many non-LP B-sides and many unreleased demos and outtakes, along with DVDs that combine music videos and vintage live performances with new interviews with principal members of the band.

The new sets will be released around a new European tour for the band, which will take them into several major venues across the continent. More information on that tour, as well as pre-order links, can be found here. A full discographical breakdown of each release is after the jump.

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.