UK EMI will be releasing a 5-CD set by Be Bop Deluxe in early October. Discs one through four purport to include the complete EMi/Harvest studio recordings including single edits(however, it's not quite complete:AGAIN "Face in The Rain" from "The Best of and The Rest of" is not released on CD!). However, the set does include a Disc Five for avid fans: 11 previously unreleased tracks: an assortment of demos & live tracks.

Certainly, there must be more in the vaults, but barring a resolution of the long-term problems between Be Bop Deluxe leader Bill Nelson & EMI(a situation for which EMI are to blame), it is unlikely that we will get more archival material any time soon.

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Added by Linda:



Disc 1
1. Axe Victim (2004 Digital Remaster)
2. Love Is Swift Arrows (2004 Digital Remaster)
3. Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus (2004 Digital Remaster)
4. Third Floor Heaven (2004 Digital Remaster)
5. Night Creatures (2004 Digital Remaster)
6. Rocket Cathedrals (2004 Digital Remaster)
7. Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape (2004 Digital Remaster)
8. Jets At Dawn (2004 Digital Remaster)
9. No Trains To Heaven (2004 Digital Remaster)
10. Darkness (L'Immoraliste) (2004 Digital Remaster)
11. Stage Whispers (2004 Digital Remaster)
12. Love With The Madman (2004 Digital Remaster)
13. Maid In Heaven (2004 Digital Remaster)
14. Sister Seagull (2004 Digital Remaster)
15. Sound Track (2004 Digital Remaster)
16. Music In Dreamland (2004 Digital Remaster)
17. Jean Cocteau (2004 Digital Remaster)
18. Between The Worlds (2004 Digital Remaster)
19. Swan Song (2004 Digital Remaster)

Disc 2
1. Between The Worlds (Original Single Version) (2004 Digital Remaster)
2. Maid In Heaven (Live) (2004 Digital Remaster)
3. Fair Exchange (2004 Digital Remaster)
4. Heavenly Homes (2004 Digital Remaster)
5. Ships In The Night (2004 Digital Remaster)
6. Crying To The Sky (2004 Digital Remaster)
7. Sleep That Burns (2004 Digital Remaster)
8. Beauty Secrets (2004 Digital Remaster)
9. Life In The Air - Age (2004 Digital Remaster)
10. Like An Old Blues (2004 Digital Remaster)
11. Crystal Gazing (2004 Digital Remaster)
12. Blazing Apostles (2004 Digital Remaster)
13. Shine (2004 Digital Remaster)
14. Speed Of The Wind (2004 Digital Remaster)
15. Blue As A Jewel (2004 Digital Remaster)
16. Ships In The Night (Single Edit) (2004 Digital Remaster)

Disc 3
1. Orphans Of Babylon (2004 Digital Remaster)
2. Twilight Capers (2004 Digital Remaster)
3. Kiss Of Light (2004 Digital Remaster)
4. The Bird Charmers Destiny (2004 Digital Remaster)
5. The Gold At The End Of My Rainbow (2004 Digital Remaster)
6. Bring Back The Spark (2004 Digital Remaster)
7. Modern Music (2004 Digital Remaster)
8. Dancing In The Moonlight (All Alone) (2004 Digital Remaster)
9. Honeymoon On Mars (2004 Digital Remaster)
10. Lost In The Neon World (2004 Digital Remaster)
11. Dance Of The Uncle Sam Humanoids (2004 Digital Remaster)
12. Modern Music (Reprise) (2004 Digital Remaster)
13. Forbidden Lovers (2004 Digital Remaster)
14. Down On Terminal Street (2004 Digital Remaster)
15. Make The Music Magic (2004 Digital Remaster)
16. Futurist Manifesto (B - side 1977) (2004 Digital Remaster)
17. Quest For The Harvest Of The Stars (2004 Digital Remaster)
18. Autosexual (2004 Digital Remaster)
19. Japan (A - side 1977) (2004 Digital Remaster)

Disc 4
1. Electrical Language (2004 Digital Remaster)
2. New Precision (2004 Digital Remaster)
3. New Mysteries (2004 Digital Remaster)
4. Surreal Estate (2004 Digital Remaster)
5. Love In Flames (2004 Digital Remaster)
6. Panic In The World (2004 Digital Remaster)
7. Dangerous Stranger (2004 Digital Remaster)
8. Superenigmatix (2004 Digital Remaster)
9. Visions Of Endless Hopes (2004 Digital Remaster)
10. Possession (2004 Digital Remaster)
11. Islands Of The Dead (2004 Digital Remaster)
12. Blimps (2004 Digital Remaster)
13. Lovers Are Mortal (2004 Digital Remaster)
14. Lights (2004 Digital Remaster)
15. Electrical Language (Single Edit) (2004 Digital Remaster)
16. Love In Flames (Single Edit) (2004 Digital Remaster)
17. Panic In The World (Single Edit) (2004 Digital Remaster)

Disc 5
1. The Saxophonist (Demo)
2. Visions Of Endless Hopes (Demo)
3. Blue As A Jewel (Demo)
4. Speed Of The Wind (Demo)
5. Possession (Rough Mix)
6. Maid In Heaven (Top Of The Pops Backing Track)
7. The Modern Music Suite (Live)
8. Forbidden Lovers (Live)
9. Down On Terminal Street (Live)
10. Swan Song (Live)
11. Heavenly Homes (Flashman Remix)

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003OPUZZ8/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003OPUZZ8/?tag=imwan-21

A very underrated band IMO; I look forward to getting this.

Sign me up. I have their catalog scattered between LP & CD, and I love everything they did. This would be a nice way to get (almost) everything in one place...if the price is right.

I've tried to like them twice, once at the time and again with the remasters a few years ago, but I'm just not getting it.

Third time's the charm, Harry ....

It turns out that the song "Face in The Rain"(from "The Best of & The Rest of") has never been released on CD.......because Bill Nelson considers the track to be an embarassment, particularly the lyrics. Nelson himself confirms on the forum of his own website that he doesn't like the song. I would add, that its original release on vinyl may have been EMI's decision. "The Best of and The Rest of" double album was a record company creation with sides 3 & 4 being an outtakes collection created by EMI, largely from songs recorded at the "Drastic Plastic" sessions.

I'm a big fan, but the only thing out of this I need is the last disc so I'll pass. I don't need other copies of all the albums. This is like that UFO Chrysalis years "collection" - repeat of all the albums (that I already have bought like 6 times over) plus just one disc I want (a live show).

Supposedly the "remasters" of the albums aren't even remasters anyway, if I understand what I read at the SH forum correctly.

Probably not an ez band to get into. My hook was that I am a nut for extraordinary guitar solos, and Bill Nelson did some really fantastic stuff back then.

If you like guitar playing, check out 9. No Trains To Heaven (the song that turned me onto BBD), or almost anything off of the second record, Futurama. For Futurama they were only a 3 piece & the guitar playing dominates. The entire record (except for 17. Jean Cocteau) is a guitarist fan's wet dream. 14. Sister Seagull still gives me chills. The dueling guitars on 16. Music In Dreamland is breathtaking. The next record has some good songs but is overproduced and not as raw IMO (with keyboards + horns), but the followup Modern Music is probably their "masterpiece". They really lost me with their last record "Drastic Plastic". Unfortunately this set doesn't look like it has the Live! In The Air Age album, with Bill's incredible solo on the song Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape.

Holy Ferocious Fretwankery, Batman!

Just dipping in again now (the 1990 EMI releases, incl Live In The Air Age). I'd always just cast them aside as mid 70's, mid tempo, bit quirky but nothing special. Little did I know that if you just let 'em play for a couple of minutes, they turn into Freebird!

Or Samba Pa Ti, in the case of the live ...Yorkshire Landscape that I've got playing right now. Thanks so much for the recommendations - that's my listening pleasure sorted for this week!

AmazWAN (USA) is showing a release date of October 18 2011, currently.





True, and that's really a shame, because the live disc is an essential piece of their output.

At least the boxset includes the great instrumental "Shine", which I first heard on an EP released with the live album.

Has anybody gotten this yet?

AmazWAN USA is showing a status of "Temporarily Unavailable". I just had to approve a delay in my order with them, even though I ordered this more than two months ago. I probably should have ordered from Amazon UK, but at the time I placed my order, the price was about the same for both sites and I figured that I would receive it earlier from the U.S.-based Amazon.

I feel your pain - have had similar experiences ordering on one Amazon vs. the other. When I decide to order an import via the UK to get it earlier plus save a few bucks it then gets delayed or lost in the mail, so I end up waiting like 3-4 months. If I decide to order something via US it goes to "unavailable status" and I could have it 2 months prior if I just ordered via UK. You can't win....

I don't have it yet, but after some recent discussions on it at the SH forum and clarifying the mastering confusion with someone at EMI, I broke down and ordered it from the UK Amazon site yesterday - less than $25 including shipping! What swayed me is that the albums ARE newly remastered this year (at Abbey Road) so they are different from what I've already got soundwise, and people seem to like what they're hearing so.....I'm in at $25. I really only wanted the bonus disc but if the albums sound better then that tips the scale for me since it is affordable (unlike say the Floyd boxes, Quadrophenia, or Lizzy BBC, which I'd like to get but the prices are too high).



I just realized a dumb mistake I made in earlier my post above. When I said this: "The dueling guitars on 16. Music In Dreamland is breathtaking."

I really meant to say this:
"The dueling guitars on 15. Soundtrack is breathtaking."

I was off by one song. Soundtrack is the one with the dueling guitar riffs/solo at the end. It was the last song on side one of the LP. Music In Dreamland is a great song but it doesn't have that amazing guitar wankery at the end.

I just received a shipping notice so I should have this soon. I sold my UK cds and the fact that this very inexpensive this was a easy decision. The mastering I had read is very good so this will be a nice sonic upgrade as well as material I do not have.

Rick A.

Rick, let us know how the package looks when you get it. I'll definitely be ordering this soon, but I'd like to know what kind of liner notes, lyrics, album credits, etc. are included. Thanks.

Will do Rich.

Rick A.

Hey Rich, I finally got it today and playing it as I write this.

Packaging is a clam shell box very much what EMI has been doing. Examples would be the recently reissued Ten Years After, UFO and Frankie Miller sets. The booket is OK, not many pictures but a good write up for each album.

The saving grace is the music, once again very good remastering by Peter Mew at Abbey Road studios. They do a good job their with their archives and they prove here again with very good master tapes to work with and many bonus tracks, rare b-sides and foreign releases. Also disc 5 has demos and remixes that Bill Nelson is most happy with.

Personally I would like to see abit better packaging but with EMI financial issues I understand. At least they didin't skimp us with the remastering and bountiful of tracks.

The price is very good so I highly recommend this set!

Rick A.

Thanks for following up on this, Rick. I had a feeling the packaging would be exactly as you described, and I'm glad to hear the music sounds great I will definitely be ordering this soon. I'm also considering purchasing the new Bill Nelson 8-CD box set. I only have a couple of his solo albums on vinyl, so this could be a great way for me to catch up a little on such a prolific artist.

Don't know how to do the linky thingy, but I just bought this from one of Amazon's sellers for £7.14.

Ironically, my copy arrived from an Amazon 3rd party seller about 5 minutes ago. Packaging looks pretty nice. Looking forward to delving into this soon.

Here, Harry:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003OPUZZ8/?tag=imwan-21

The link is in the first post too. Wow, this got cheap!

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Without the Live LP, I would bet that the version of Shine included here is the original
45 w/vocal; vastly inferior to the live version which followed later. The live Shine was one of the highlights of the Live LP/EP
along with Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape. Its a real Santana trip.

Since I didn't spring for this box set, can someone confirm or deny.

I listened to this boxset again today, and it turns out that you are absolutely correct, Sekander.

The version of "Shine" that appears on Futurist Manifesto set is the exact same one that appears as a bonus track on the previous CD issue of Sunburst Finish, the shorter 7:48 version with vocals and voices on it. (I don't own the original "Kiss of Light" 7" single with "Shine" as the b-side, but a little research shows that it contains the 7:48 length song, credited to "Funky Phaser And His Unearthly Merchandise" which apparently consists of the members of Be Bop Deluxe without Charles Tumahai)

The live version of "Shine" which appears on "Live! In The Air Age" is a minute-and-a-half longer, with no vocals at all, and agreed that it is the superior version of the song. Good catch!

At the current price, now would definitely be the time to spring for the boxset, it is a quality release