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Side by side: Skids ‘The Absolute Game’ on CD in the UK

  • Captain Oi! records (AHOY CD304), 2008
    • + Re-pressing to correct errors, 2009
  • Track records (TRK1006CD), 2001

Well, another issue of Skids’ ‘The Absolute Game’ album has appeared on CD in recent months – bit of a botched route though. On Captain Oi! records (AHOY CD304), it first appeared on 17 November 2008, only to be withdrawn due to some errors and sleeve notes controversy, detailed below. This Captain Oi! issue is the second time the album has appeared on CD in the UK, it first appeared in the shiny silver disc format in 2001 courtesy of Track records.

Skids 'The Absolute Game' UK CD issues - Track records issue (left) and second Captain Oi! issue (right)

^ Side by side – Skids ‘The Absolute Game’ UK CD issues – Track records issue (left) and second Captain Oi! issue (right)

As well as the original album it also has a number of bonus tracks from singles of the period (‘Circus Games’ (7″ Single Version), ‘Goodbye Civilian’ (7″ Single Version), ‘Monkey McGuire Meets Specky Potter Behind Lochore Institute’) plus bonus tracks from the free album, ‘Strength Through Joy’ that originally came with the initial 20,000 copies of the vinyl album release (‘An Incident In Algiers’, ‘Grievance’, ‘Strength Through Joy’, ‘Filming Africa’, ‘A Man For All Seasons’, ‘Snakes And Ladders’, ‘Surgical Triumph’, ‘The Bell Jar’). Continue reading “Side by side: Skids ‘The Absolute Game’ on CD in the UK”

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Steven Severin ‘Kidnap Garden’, UK promo-only CD (Ryko, RMCD003)

‘Kidnap Garden’ is a promo-only CD featuring a variety of Steven Severin’s non-Banshees songwriting examples – not only his solo material but also examples from The Glove (his 1983 collaboration with Robert Smith of The Cure) as well as Marc and the Mambas.

'Kidnap Garden' front sleeve design

Commissioned by his publishing company of the period, Ryko, the CD is a promo-only affair released in 2004 and not commercially available. More’s the pity, as it is a nicely packaged selection, complete with sleeve notes including track by track comments courtesy of Mr Severin himself. Continue reading “Steven Severin ‘Kidnap Garden’, UK promo-only CD (Ryko, RMCD003)”

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Ultravox! – ‘Ha!-Ha!-Ha!’ Jap mini LP sleeve (Island/Universal, UICY-93074)

On the music side, this CD is as per the UK re-issue from 2006, so as well as the eight original album tracks it features six bonus tracks – ‘Young Savage’, ‘The Man Who Dies Every Day’ (Remix), Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alternative Version), Quirks, ‘The Man Who Dies Every Day’ (Live) and ‘Young Savage’ (Live). So, that is to say it is a bit of a mix up, from various different singles/EPs!

^ Front sleeve and insert designs, front cover of the booklet, label

The early copies of the original vinyl album came with a free 7″ single – it’s odd that only one side of that single is included (‘Quirks’), though the other side ‘Modern Love’ (Live) does feature as a bonus track on the ‘Ultravox!’ CD instead. Continue reading “Ultravox! – ‘Ha!-Ha!-Ha!’ Jap mini LP sleeve (Island/Universal, UICY-93074)”

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Gary Numan – ‘The Pleasure Principle’ Jap mini LP sleeve (Beggars Banquet/Imperial, TECI-24260)

This Japanese mini-LP of ‘The Pleasure Principle’ comes with 17 tracks in total – the 10 from the original album plus the same seven bonus tracks as found on the UK Beggars Banquet ’20th Anniversary Edition’ re-issue from 1999. As for packaging – it pretty faithfully recreates the UK LP sleeve design, as shown in the photos – outer and inner sleeve.

Front sleeve design, inner sleeve, additional booklet, label and obi

This edition also contains an additional black and white Japanese text-only info and lyric booklet (8 pages), plus an extra record company contact card and of course the outer ‘obi’ band. The label design is a red Beggars Banquet style as per side one of the original album release.

Back sleeve design, inner sleeve, additional booklet, label and obi