|
Post by nlgbbbblth on Mar 27, 2021 0:38:17 GMT
Level 42 looks like M People box size?
I thought it might be like the Heaven 17 / Five Star ones....
|
|
|
Post by Afdpj on Mar 27, 2021 1:02:58 GMT
From the screenshots/packshots, yes looks to be smaller sized. I prefer that, really. CD size with individual sleeves for everything. Those 12 x 12 ones with the pockets for discs can be a pain. I still wish the Sign O The Times deluxe hadn't been like that.
|
|
|
Post by Compact Dic on May 5, 2021 11:57:57 GMT
Aloha! What with the record and charity shops once more open for business and my general foruming skills being long out of practice, I once again ask for your forgiveness at my lack of input. Hope everyone is well... Did you see yesterday's announcement of Gary Crowley's Lost 80s 2? Out June 25th. Another really interesting mix of the good and the obscure. I was most interested to find Win's 'We've Got The Power' 12" mix on there. Last I heard, their debut album-era was a mess of red tape and ownership woes, with regards licensing, hence no CD reissue of the album... I do hope that has no changed! www.amazon.co.uk/Gary-Crowley-Lost-80s-2/dp/B093XGSJKW/
|
|
|
Post by Afdpj on May 5, 2021 12:45:00 GMT
I haven't seen the full tracklisting yet, but hopefully there are some rare gems included. I didn't get the first volume for some reason. It's still in print, I think!
|
|
|
Post by Afdpj on May 21, 2021 22:59:42 GMT
Think the next HoJo deluxe - In The Running - is still due 26/3/2021. It was delayed, of course, and still not available in some places for a while, but...this is a very nice set indeed. I'd sort of forgotten how lush an album it was. The total UK chart failure was a shock, given the lead single climbed 2 weeks in a row to get to 52. Maybe just too American. It's got more in common with Bruce Hornsby than the DIY tykes ripping up the British charts in 92. The mastering is perfect on the main album and CD1 bonus tracks (that's as far as I've got). Not sure WEA got the singles choices right, Tears To Tell is a bit of a plod and Two Souls ended up withdrawn before release. Delighted that this era of HoJo has been given the same attention and care as the earlier albums.
|
|
|
Post by Afdpj on Jun 6, 2021 0:46:08 GMT
Looks like the Fleetwood Mac 1980 Live set is being issued as a redux 3-disc edition on the 25th June. This should have the main double album, plus the disc of extras...so perfect for those of us who didn't want the vinyl or the 7" with exclusive tracks you couldn't benefit from other than playing it.
|
|
|
Post by Afdpj on Jul 6, 2021 21:05:19 GMT
Very disappointing Joni Mitchell boxset of her first 4 Reprise albums.
As well as the questionable "remix" of her debut, there is distortion on Ladies Of The Canyon.
Didn't want to send this set back, but off it goes...
|
|
|
Post by Afdpj on Jul 18, 2021 21:11:59 GMT
Like others, I found the £24 price-point for the Tina Turner boxset of Foreign Affair too tempting to resist. It looks like it's a better-than-average set, too. The remaster hasn't killed the sound, unlike on Amy Grant's Heart In Motion 30 (the DR is an astonishing 6 for that), the replica packaging for the inner discs is superb (good quality card, not too tight, no bending or crushing), and the remixes disc is very generous. Almost too generous at 86 minutes....I had a brief heart attack wondeing if the whole thing would play/rip!
Only two obvious mixes are missing, although I like the idea posted on Popjustice that the new tracks from Simply The Best, and the Rod duet, could have also been included somewhere.
Outer box artwork isn't great though, makes it look like a Queen release!
|
|
|
Post by Afdpj on Jul 30, 2021 10:45:55 GMT
Volume 2 of the Level 42 boxset series is out today, and down to £40.99 (that pre-order price always seemed excessive).
Hopefully it adheres to the same quality control as the first box.
|
|
|
Post by Compact Dic on Aug 9, 2021 18:04:06 GMT
Hello! Been a while, eh? I really wanted somewhere to have a good old moan about the Kim Wilde box set. Lucky you! OK, so, I love Kim. The last 15 years have been a bit up/down for her music wise - the first two comeback albums were great, the Christmas and covers albums, less so. She really deserves a Bananarama-like reissue campaign, but that's not happening, so... the box set. CD1 - all MCA material? Opening a greatest hits set with a forgettable (to all but the die-hards) #29 hit. It didn't need to be chronological, but there should've been some semblance of structure. I've seen comments about it supposedly feeling like a playlist - well, that's what playlists are for! I'd have found it hard not to open with 'Kids In America' (woah) were I doing the sequencing. CD2 - only 5 RAK era songs, after 80 mins dedicated to MCA. Hmmm. A messy disc, huge gaps - because all the MCA stuff is on CD1 only! CD3 - 4 more RAK era tracks here, 5 MCA too, and this is the first disc organized chronologically? Why? CD4 - B-sides, chronologically again. Not complete, but most of them. CD5 - Remixes. Poor selection! Some from vinyl and mp3 sources*... very little from MCA era and none of these are particularly inspired or classic, with the exception of Ian Levine's 'You Keep me Hanging On'. DVD1/2 - This is the biggest thing going for the box set... but of course, quality is mixed, with the 'Love Is...' era videos looking the worst. Ugh. Generally, the lack of quality photos is disappointing. None of Kim in her infamous black/white stripe t-shirt and blazer, none from the 'Tease And Dares' era, none from the hugely popular 'Close' era or supporting MJ. I could go on... The design lacks the impact and cool of 'The Singles Collection', which really looked effortless and had the fantastic montage inlay. Classy! This is just the Dollar box set, from size/shape to colour scheme, with Kim Wilde plonked on it. All those white cardboard wallets with slightly different bleached, angry and uncomfortable looking Kim photos. Face white, neck brown and what looks like a target on everything. I get very little joy from it all... and those inner wallets?! Each photo included is nothing more than a cropped 7" single sleeve photo. It really does look cheap. It doesn't know what it wants to be. COLLECTORS EDITION (shouldn't that have an apostrophe in there somewhere?). What is there to collect? Far too much material we already had, and almost completely devoid of rarities. There were more treats on the 3 RAK album reissues (unreleased songs, early mixes, demos, new remixes). And dear God, how can 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' still never have been released on ANY Kim Wilde release? The proper 7" version remains unreleased on CD (it is digitally available as a 2 track bundle, as per the original 45), as does the 12" version. Where's the Nena duet? I do think this set would have benefited from an actual rarities disc - all unreleased, rare and never on CD before material. I get the feeling this was done on a tight budget, with a minimum spend on photos, audio and design. All very mates rates, on the cheap and lacking it's own identity. So, yeah... I'm not thrilled with it. As you were.
|
|
|
Post by Afdpj on Aug 9, 2021 19:01:00 GMT
Anfunny strikes again! I've not delved too deeply into the set, I only managed to open mine up late last night and play half of CD1. But I can definitely see your point on a lot of things.
It's a strange box - some of it looks as though a lot of detail/work went into it, but the overall style just doesn't feel very Kim at all. It does have an air of being a cottage industry product. Most of my inner card wallets are spoiled in some way...long creases along the fronts, indentations etc. Maybe because everything is just rattling around loose inside. There isn't even a moulded inner tray to house it all. And there being 7 discs means the booklet doesn't lay absolutely flat which could cause it to be spoiled over time.
It suffers in comparison to the Dollar box, which it now sits next to on my shelf (how gay!), with its shiny box and that 2020-era Kim on the front. I get that she maybe is sick of being seen through the lens of how she was in the 80s or 90s, and she is trying to forge a fresh indentity with the new albums and their imagery. It's just an acquired taste. Probably most fans are not saying too much because they don't want to be seen as rude or ungrateful.
CD1 (so far) does flow quite well, but it's mostly a lot of minor Top 40 entries and a couple that didn't even manage that. So an odd decision. I'm up to Track 10 and there's only been two or three genuine hits...and all from that 86-88 period. I would have spread the material from each era more evenly. I'll still need to create my own Kim anthology, I think.
The mastering's okay (so far) but a bit "hot". At least everything's the same level.
I'm now a bit concerned about the DVD, as this was a massive part of the set's appeal for me. Likewise the mp3 sourced mixes.
Still, it's Kim and I want to support what she does and this looks like some well-meaning effort has gone into it.
|
|
|
Post by Afdpj on Aug 9, 2021 19:57:44 GMT
Had a quick browse through the DVDs. Yeah, the Love Is Holy material (especially one of them) is a bit wobbletastic at times. But I suppose they were never meant to be watched on big HD TV screens.
The menu's a bit of a faff....unless I'm missing something obvious, you have to keep going back to the main menu and scrolling down...and if you miss the next icon at the bottom, you have to start again from the top (could be my older machine). The disc authoring of the 2nd DVD seems a bit off, too...noisy playback and shifts from menu/screen to menu/screen. Again could be my old-school player.
But...what is it...49 videos all in one place? Hard to complain too much!
|
|