Kraftwerk – ‘The Robots’ Brazilian 7″ EP (Capitol Records, 31C 016 85870, 1979)

From 1979, and an era where releases could be weird and wonderful depending on the region of the globe they hail from and how that region liked to do things, a unique picture sleeve four track 7” EP from Kraftwerk. This is the kind of release that, from roughly 1986 onwards, became something of a rare occasion for Kraftwerk, the more that they standardised releases across the world with the ‘Musique Non Stop’ single and ‘Electric Cafe’ album.

Kraftwerk - 'The Robots' Brazilian 7" EP front cover design
^ Kraftwerk – ‘The Robots’ Brazilian 7″ EP front cover design

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The Human League – ‘Holiday ‘80’ Japanese ‘Pic Label’ series 12″ single (Virgin, VIP-5906, 1981)

Another post documenting one more of the ‘Pic Label’ series of Japanese 12” compilation mini-albums that were such a collector’s delight – so far we have covered The Flying Lizards, John Foxx, and Japan – this time around the release is less unique, as it is based on the existing ‘Holiday ‘80’ EP from 1980, though no less appealing.

Human League - 'Holiday '80' Japanese Mini-LP - front cover design
^ Human League – ‘Holiday ’80’ Japanese Mini-LP – front cover design

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Tones On Tail – ‘Tones On Tail’ UK compilation album (Situation Two, SITU 12, 1985)

Early 1985 is when this compilation album was released in the UK (there are also releases from the US, Canada and Greece) and on paper it should be a straightforward round up of the tracks from the band’s first three single releases – things are never quite that straightforward though.

Tones On Tail 1985 UK compilation LP front cover design
^ Tones On Tail 1985 UK compilation LP front cover design

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Vangelis – ‘The Collection’ compilation CD (Rhino, 2564658108, 2012)

So, farewell Vangelis – in a long life, we have been richly rewarded with his music for so long and the grace of how he went about his art. He may now be gone, but there remains so much of his music to explore and be thankful for now.

Vangelis - 'The Collection' compilation front slipcase design
^ Vangelis – ‘The Collection’ compilation front slipcase design

I feature this CD since – well, it is VersionCrazy after all and its always about the obscure details of versions and variations – so, why not… ‘The Collection‘ on the face of it is yet another compilation CD of the man’s work – and there is no shortage of them to choose from over the years. But I’ll focus on this one today as it is the one official outing on CD for a version of the opening titles theme for ‘Blade Runner’ that has remained strangely elusive from the multiple variations of the main soundtrack release over the years. Continue reading “Vangelis – ‘The Collection’ compilation CD (Rhino, 2564658108, 2012)”

Japan UK ‘Old Gold’ 3 Track 5″ CD Single (Old Gold, OG 6187, 1992)

After I had finally taken to the charms of the silver CD disc as a format, there was no stopping me, and that included re-issues of all kinds – even these rather generic, budget-price compilation series – not least because on occasions they were useful for tracking down hard to find versions (or even hitherto unreleased versions, in the case of another Japan CD-only compilation, ‘Souvenir From Japan’ and its exclusive mix of Life In Tokyo’ – another story…

Japan 'Old Gold' 3 Track 5" CD Single front cover design
^ Japan ‘Old Gold’ 3 Track 5″ CD Single front cover design

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