OMD - English Electric in a Tin

Look what arrived in the post today - English Electric, the new album by OMD, as a stunning box set and vinyl package.

So, here's what I got:

• An OMD embossed tin
• The album on CD
• A CD of demos
• A DVD
• A foldout cover to hold the above 3 items
• Three cards with artwork
• Three cards with photos of the band 'in concert'
• A blue vinyl 7" single with an exclusive b-side ('Frontline')
• A booklet with lyrics and photos
• A signed card - I think they call it a 'certificate of authenticity'
• Some foam packaging to keep the above safe in the tin
• The album on vinyl in a die cut sleeve, so you can rotate the inner sleeve to make different versions of the artwork (it's just like the OMD/Architecture and Morality/Dazzle Ships albums covers all over again, which kept me entertained as a child)

 

Oh, and there were two metallic badges as well, which I think were extras thrown in to the parcel as it was a pre-order and might not be part of the boxset.

 

Here's the vinyl "die cut" sleeve - see how I've radically changed the artwork.

And here's the tin... I know, taking photos of tins is possibly an all time low for me.

This Will Destroy You - Which Colour?

I got TWDY's towering 2nd album for my birthday and a couple of things confused me.

Firstly, why the different album sleeves? The CD appears to come in a slightly Gothic post rock-esque black sleeve with silver design, whereas the vinyl is housed in a couldn't-be-more-different wolf/tiger/eagle/snow/lightning drawing sleeve. At first I thought I'd be given the wrong album.

The second thing was the... err... colour of the vinyl. I had to check online to get some answers but I'm still not 100% sure what colour my records are supposed to be.

You see, the label, Magic Bullet, take pride in their vinyl issues and have made sure that each repressing of the album comes on different coloured vinyl. A quick search online reveals that the album appears to have been released in the following versions:

First Pressing:
Red vinyl
White vinyl
Blue vinyl
Blue/Red vinyl

Second Pressing:
Black/Green vinyl

Third pressing:
Grey/Grey Marble vinyl
Aquamarine/Grey Marble vinyl
Post-Rock Puke/Grey Marble vinyl

Fourth, Fifth, Sixth Pressing:
Mixed vinyl

Seventh Pressing:
Grey/Pink vinyl
Grape Taffy/French Mustard vinyl
Cherry Taffy/French Mustard vinyl

Eighth Pressing:
Aqua/Pink vinyl
Green/Yellow vinyl
Purple/THC vinyl

A nightmare for any collector of their records.

I'm guessing that mine is....err...any ideas?

TWDY on Discogs

TWDY on Magic Bullet Records

A Very Happy Birthday

Well, wouldn't yours be if you got all of these as presents from your wonderful family?

Expect further posts about some of these at some point. Maybe.

A Review of the Artwork for The Next Day

My Bloody Vinyl

After a lifetime's wait, the new My Bloody Valentine album is here and is now available as a real life physical format.

For those who are wondering about the vinyl version - here it is.

It  sounds great and has, according to the band, been "recorded on 2 inch 24 track analogue tape and mixed onto half inch analogue tape and mastered with no digital processing involved."

It also comes with the CD version of the album, so you can compare compare the difference between the digital and analogue sounds.

 

Good luck!

Richard Hawley Singles Club

Don't Stare At The Sun - the final instalment of the Richard Hawley Singles Club - has just arrived in the post. So, this is what the full set looks like.

The four singles from the Standing At The Sky's Edge album were all released on 10" vinyl, each with exclusive b sides.

     Leave Your Body Behind You / You Haunt Me
     Down In The Woods / Kindly Rain
     Seek It / Big Sister
     Don't Stare At The Sun / Run For You (Version Two)

The collector's box, designed to hold all four singles, is according to the website "a deluxe black, side-opening, rigid board box wrapped in wibalin buckram paper, with copper foil blocking". Which is exactly what I needed.

Oh, and if you like the decking and don't mind talking about Captain Beefheart, The Stooges and Funkadelic whilst it is being fitted, then ask James Mann to do it for you.

Reight good.

Push The Sky Away

Kicking off with lead single, the subdued but beautiful We No Who U R, the album makes it clear that this is going to be a long way away from Dig Lazarus Dig and all that Grinderman business. It's closest relative is 2001's lush No More Shall We Part.

What struck me was that there really isn't very much guitar on this album at all - not like previous Nick Cave albums - and, when the guitar does appear, it's often muted and found politely playing in the background, allowing the violin/viola and Rhodes to take centre stage. Oh, and the vocals too - this album is big on vocals, with Mr Cave's voice taking on an incredibly soothing tone (he's definitely given his rock voice the album off) and a whole load of lovely backing vocals.

Highlights for me so far (hey - I'm typing this as I'm listening to the album for the first time, so this may change) are Jubilee Steet (LOVE the chorus of backing vocals towards the end), Wide Lovely Eyes (with it's wide lovely Rhodes piano) and the rousing Higgs Boson Blues. But, seriously, it all sounds fantastic.

The album also features the welcome return of former Bad Seed Barry Adamson, who plays bass on Jubilee Street and the closing title track.

The two bonus tracks, Needle Boy and Lightning Bolt - available with a variety of exclusive or limited versions of the album (mine was a 7" that comes free with the vinyl LP from independent record shops) - offer something more unsettling but, great as they are, it's clear that they'd never have fit in with the rest of the album.

"Some people say that it is just rock'n'roll, oh but it gets right down to your soul" Nick sings on the title track. And getting down to your soul is exactly what this album does.