Category: Design crazy

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Year by Year: Cocteau Twins – 1988

1988 saw the band return from what, to the outside world, probably looked like some kind of extended break, but had witnessed the band finesse their studio in Acton and record the album ‘Blue Bell Knoll’. Along the way, it also saw the band make changes in their relationship with 4AD records, including signing a new deal for five further albums for the label and their American releases made via Capitol records, as well as further worldwide territories.

Blue Bell Knoll LP / CD / Cassette / DAT

LP version (4AD CAD 807)

The original release of the vinyl album came packaged in a tri-fold sleeve and, unlike previous releases, it was not the work of 4AD’s in-house designers 23 Envelope, but by designer Paul West and Jeremy Tilston, with photography by Juergen Teller.

Cocteau Twins 'Blue Bell Knoll' 1988 UK LP fold-out front cover design
^ Cocteau Twins ‘Blue Bell Knoll’ 1988 UK LP fold-out front cover design

Continue reading “Year by Year: Cocteau Twins – 1988”

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New Musik ‘From A To B – The Sony Years’ 2023 CD box set (Lemon Recordings, CDLEMBOX249, 2023)

New Musik will always be a favourite of mine and there has been no shortage of previous VersionCrazy coverage, what with ‘The Planet Doesn’t Mind’ version craziness, ‘Greatest Hits’ Promo 7″ EP (GTO, XP112, 1981) and New Musik ‘Anywhere’ UK cassette (GTO, GTMC044, 1981) posts. They have also been relatively fortunate in that their back catalogue has been re-issued fairly regularly since the 1990s onwards, so they have never been left behind and forgotten about. My slightly sanguine ‘relatively fortunate’ is because over the years the re-issues have had a tendency to play a little fast and loose when compiling extra tracks as bonuses to the standard album track  lists.

New Musik 2023 CD box set - front box design
^ New Musik 2023 CD box set – front box design

Continue reading “New Musik ‘From A To B – The Sony Years’ 2023 CD box set (Lemon Recordings, CDLEMBOX249, 2023)”

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Button Badge Goodness: The Cure (Part 1)

One of a short series on button badges from back in the day dedicated to The Cure that I was more than happy to make space for on jacket lapels and the like to show off that eager teenage fandom!

The Cure - button badge selection #1
^ The Cure – button badge selection #1

In part 1, some early badges of various nature, including the three badges sold on the tour to promote the ‘Pornography’ album, ‘Fourteen Explicit Moments’. (Its a wonder that there has never been a bootleg release of that name from the tour given that’s what the band themselves named it…) Continue reading “Button Badge Goodness: The Cure (Part 1)”

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Side by side: Xmal Deutschland ‘Sickle Moon’ UK singles (Xile/Phonogram XMAL2 / XMAL212, 1987)

Another post of mine that holds a torch for Xmal Deutschland, who I was seriously into in the 1980s and was fortunate to see play live a few times. This time around, the final single release by the five-piece version of the band, ‘Sickle Moon’, the second single from the ‘Viva’ album of 1987.

Xmal Deutschland - Sickle Moon UK 7" single front cover design
^ Xmal Deutschland – Sickle Moon UK 7″ single front cover design

Released in 7″ and 12″ formats in the UK, it managed to contain two versions of the A side, ‘Sickle’ Moon’, and two versions of the shared B-side, ‘Illusion’, as well as 12″-only track, ‘In Onyx’. Continue reading “Side by side: Xmal Deutschland ‘Sickle Moon’ UK singles (Xile/Phonogram XMAL2 / XMAL212, 1987)”