Category: Region crazy

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Kraftwerk – ‘Home Computer’ Promo 7″ (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981)

This curious 7″ single hails from Brazil and the background to its release I presume to be its use in a television series from late 1981 into 1982, ‘Brilhante‘. What is of particular interest is that both sides feature unique edits of the track. When I say edits, I really mean they are faded out at specific points – in the case of the A side at the 2 minute 17 mark and in the case of the B side 4 minute 47 mark. The A side edit is abrupt, while the B side edit had a somewhat more generous use of the fader control. Not terribly exciting in comparison to some of the editing scissor work on single edits from around the world, such as ‘Autobahn’. Mind you, that was a case of whittling down 22 minutes down to a mere 3 to 4 minutes. Still, it is an interesting curio to have ‘Home Computer’ as a single on its own. The labels don’t mention it, but the the record pls at 33 1/3 RPM for some reason, rather than the more common 45 RPM.

Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7" (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) front
^ Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7″ (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) front

Continue reading “Kraftwerk – ‘Home Computer’ Promo 7″ (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981)”

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The Compact and Mercurial Bill Nelson Part 2: The Love That Whirls (Diary Of A Thinking Heart)

Welcome back to the second part of our look at the wonderful world of Bill Nelson on CD, a small number of CD variants that played fast and loose with running orders, which may either leave you smacking your lips in anticipation of the otherwise unavailable obscurities to be found, or bamboozled at the wrecking ball taken to otherwise fine original tracklists. We already looked at Bill’s first solo release on Mercury records, ‘Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam’ – now, we move on to his second, ‘The Love That Whirls (Diary of a Thinking Heart)’.

Bill Nelson 'The Love That Whirls' CDs
^ Bill Nelson ‘The Love That Whirls’ CDs

Cocteau Records, JC CD 16 (1986)

The first UK release on CD for ‘The Love That Whirls (Diary of a Thinking Heart)’, released 25th July 1986 (along with ‘Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam’) four years on from the original release date, under the ‘Cocteau Collectors’ imprint/series. Continue reading “The Compact and Mercurial Bill Nelson Part 2: The Love That Whirls (Diary Of A Thinking Heart)”

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Tones On Tail – Burning Skies/OK, This Is The Pops versions

The versions

Burning Skies [12″ Version] (6’20”)

Burning Skies [7″ Edit] (4’13”)

Burning Skies [Gothic Rock compilation Edit] (5’15”)

Burning Skies [‘Something!’ promo CD ‘Single Edit’] (4’34”)

OK, This Is The Pops (7″ / 12″ version)

OK, This Is The Pops (fade-in start)

OK, This Is The Pops (‘phased’ version)

NB: All timings are approximate and intended as a guide for differentiation only

Tones On Tail - Burning Skies / OK This is The Pops 7 inch single front cover
^ Tones On Tail – Burning Skies / OK This is The Pops 7 inch single front cover

I never imagined there was going to be quite so much version craziness when I sat down to listen to these original vinyl releases and compare them against what has subsequently emerged across various compilation LPs and CDs. First off, it was a surprise to realise that the 7″ edit of ‘Burning Skies’ had never appeared on CD at any point – and in the end, no less than four different variants of ‘Burning Skies’ came to light when I dug the vinyl out for a spin. Similarly, ‘OK, This Is The Pops’ in the version as was released on vinyl back in 1983 (the versions on 7″ and 12″ are the same) hasn’t quite made it to CD unscathed either. I would love to know how these things come to be – can there be so many different tape boxes at Beggars Arkive that it is so easy to confuse? Or are these accidents that happen during remastering? Continue reading “Tones On Tail – Burning Skies/OK, This Is The Pops versions”

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The Compact and Mercurial Bill Nelson Part 1: Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam

Welcome to the wonderful world of Bill Nelson on CD – a small number of CD variants that played fast and loose with running orders, which may either leave you smacking your lips in anticipation of the otherwise unavailable obscurities to be found, or bamboozled at the wrecking of otherwise fine tracklists. Starting with Bill’s first solo release on Mercury records, ‘Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam’.

Bill Nelson 'Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam' CDs
^ Bill Nelson ‘Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam’ CDs

Cocteau Records, JC CD 15

The first UK release on CD, released 25th July 1986 according to one of my Bill Nelson fan club newsletters from June 1986, five years in from the original release date. Continue reading “The Compact and Mercurial Bill Nelson Part 1: Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam”

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Love and Rockets – ‘Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven’ on CD – UPDATE

With this post I’m going to look at the various releases on CD of ‘Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven’, the debut album by Love and Rockets, released in Late 1985 and a particular favourite of mine through the years – and specifically digging about at the various different mixes of some of its tracks and bonus tracks which were added to the numerous CD issues. This updated post adds a few additional points that have become known since the original post, mostly thanks to the wonderful comments left by well-informed readers of this blog – thank you! In short, these are a slight edit to ‘The Game’ on the US version of the album and the US 12″ promo version of ‘Dog End of a Day Gone By’ being a unique mix that is not simply an edit of the US album remix.

Original UK CD (front)
^ Original UK CD (front)

Continue reading “Love and Rockets – ‘Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven’ on CD – UPDATE”