Category: Region crazy

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Gang of Four – ‘Another Day/Another Dollar’ US Special Edition 12″ EP (Warner Brothers Records, MINI 3646, 1982)

‘Another Day/Another Dollar’ is a 12″ vinyl EP by Gang of Four, released in January 1982 in the US. It gathers together stray tracks previously unreleased in the US from the two UK singles that were issued immediately before and after 1981’s ‘Solid Gold’ LP – plus some exclusive material in the form of a couple of live recordings, again of ‘Solid Gold’ tracks, only available on this EP.

Another Day/Another Dollar front cover design
^ Another Day/Another Dollar front cover design

For me, this period of the Gang of Four was absolutely spot on – whether it be the funk stylings bringing that extra edge to proceedings while the caustic intensity of Andy Gill’s guitar interrupts as much as it drives, or the multi-vocal barrage – in particular the ‘To Hell With Poverty’/’Capital (It Fails us now)’ single was something special. Sadly, it marked the last outing for Dave Allen on bass from this original line-up, who would depart during a US tour. Continue reading “Gang of Four – ‘Another Day/Another Dollar’ US Special Edition 12″ EP (Warner Brothers Records, MINI 3646, 1982)”

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Specimen – ‘Batastrophe’ US Mini-Album (Sire, 1-25054, 1983)

Ahhh, the mini-album. Here in the UK these tended to be fairly few and far between, more of a custom delicacy. An act would normally have precise intent to indulge in such a format – something more than an EP (which were the more popular format), but not the full-on assault of an album. Think of something such as the wonderful ‘Chimera’ by Bill Nelson, for example. But overseas… well. These territorial releases would be (more often than not) a chance to glue together several earlier single releases, 12″ remixes or the like into a more substantial offering. The most common markets to proffer these goodies would be Japan, the US and Canada. And I’ve certainly featured a few examples in the past, such as these Japanese examples from Flying Lizards and  John Foxx and an Australian Ultravox! item.

Best of all would be the releases that brought something new to the party. Not simply content with just cobbling a few old singles together, these would include a couple of otherwise unavailable tracks, or new versions/mixes. ‘Batastrophe’ by the Specimen is just such an example. Although the band had a fair repertoire to draw on, while they lived the first time around, they released very few records – not even so much as an album. ‘Batastrophe’ is as close as it would come in their first life.

Specimen 'Batastrophe' US Mini-Album front cover design
^ Specimen ‘Batastrophe’ US Mini-Album front cover design

Continue reading “Specimen – ‘Batastrophe’ US Mini-Album (Sire, 1-25054, 1983)”

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Side by side: Associates ‘Sulk’ UK / European / US variations

If you are a fan of the Associates then ‘Sulk’ needs no introduction, being easily a high water mark for them and their particularly unique take on pop – but the variations on this release cause some confusion and probably you have a different idea of what exactly constitutes this album depending on when or where you bought it…

^ Side by side: Outer and inner sleeves of the original UK (left-hand side) and later European issues of 'Sulk' (right-hand side) on vinyl
^ Side by side: Outer and inner sleeves of the original UK (left-hand side) and later European issues of ‘Sulk’ (right-hand side) on vinyl

For me, the definitive version is the one I bought just after it came out in Britain;

‘Sulk’ (Associates/Beggars Banquet, ASCL1, vinyl LP)
Side One:

  1. Arrogance Gave Him Up
  2. No
  3. Bap De La Bap
  4. Gloomy Sunday
  5. Nude Spoons

Side Two:

  1. Skipping
  2. It’s Better This Way
  3. Party Fears Two
  4. Club Country
  5. nothinginsomethingparticular

A few notes before moving on… prior to the album’s release, ‘Party Fears Two’, ‘It’s Better This Way’ and ‘Club Country’ had all been released on singles – the versions on this album edition are all different to any from the singles. Continue reading “Side by side: Associates ‘Sulk’ UK / European / US variations”

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Ultravox ‘New Europeans’ Japanese LP (Chrysalsis/Toshiba EMI Ltd, WWS-81465, 1982)

The Japanese record industry, much to the delights of collectors such as I, always seems to have acted with impunity when it comes to its releases, never shying away from taking a grab-bag approach to compile releases which probably have the artists themselves holding their faces in horror. Yes, we are talking about these albums and mini-albums that have no equivalent releases elsewhere and the early ’80s in particular was  a great period for this.

Insert (front) and label
^ Insert (front) and label

Continue reading “Ultravox ‘New Europeans’ Japanese LP (Chrysalsis/Toshiba EMI Ltd, WWS-81465, 1982)”

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John Foxx ‘Burning Car’ Japanese ‘Pic Label’ series 12″ single (Virgin, VIP-5903, 1981))

A companion release from the same series as the Flying Lizards ‘Move On ‘Up’ 12″ documented in a previous post. Taking the usual cavalier attitude to track selection and sleeve design that many Japanese releases of this period had, this little beauty gathers together a selection of tracks from three of John Foxx’s 1980 singles (‘Miles Away’, ‘Burning Car’ and the extra single from the ‘No-One’s Driving’ double-pack 7 inch) in a sleeve/label design unlike any other Foxx release.

John Foxx 'Burning Car' Japanese 12 inch mini-LP
^ John Foxx ‘Burning Car’ Japanese 12 inch mini-LP

Along the way, it has also managed to include a different mix of ‘Miles Away’, the same one as used in the promo video for the single, I believe. (This mix finally made it on to CD with the late-2008 2-disc re-issue of ‘The Garden’.) Continue reading “John Foxx ‘Burning Car’ Japanese ‘Pic Label’ series 12″ single (Virgin, VIP-5903, 1981))”