Following the success of the Steven Wilson remixed ‘Brave’ and accompanying box set earlier in 2018, the Marillion reissue campaign continues with an expanded ‘Clutching At Straws’ this November.
Although not as commercially successful as its predecessor ‘Misplaced Childhood’, the 1987 album reached the UK top ten, spawned hit singles and remains a firm favourite with long-time fans.
For a year or so now, there have been rumours that Howard Jones would be releasing his 1984 debut LP ‘Human’s Lib’ as a super deluxe box set. It has now been confirmed that will be released in November, along with a similar box set for the follow up ‘Dream Into Action’.
A full press release from Cherry Red follows.
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Over the past few years, Jethro Tull fans have been utterly spoilt. The lion’s share of their classic albums have been reissued as multi disc sets at very affordable prices. Typically, each reissue has contained the main album of the chosen title, alongside all available associated recordings, plus a 5.1 remix by Steven Wilson.
Over the past couple of years, there has been a little grumbling amongst fans regarding the lack of Wilson remix for the debut album, 1968’s ‘This Was’.
The American power pop scene from the mid-70s to the early 80s provided a goldmine of great music. Over the years various compilations have provided a great insight into the burgeoning scene’s classics, self-released gems and genuine obscurities. Delving far deeper than Cheap Trick and the Raspberries, recordings by The Flashcubes, Fotomaker and Earth Quake have become much loved favourites for music fans looking for the melodic charms of Badfinger, but also for the flair and sparkle of the soon-to-be in vogue new wave scene. …And then there were Shoes. In a land where band names didn’t need to be easy to find with search engines Shoes were potential kings, but so much of their early work proved elusive to find. For the many power pop geeks who’ve fallen in love with a couple of their later records – 1979’s ‘Present Tense’ and 1981’s ‘Tongue Twister’, specifically – this finely put together 3CD anthology throws a lot of light upon music that led the band to that career pinnacle.
The sounds of psychedelia’s peak from 1967 and going into 1968 have been well documented. Whether delving into the classics of the era or digging for obscurities, there are a wealth of great tunes to be found within an eighteen month period. By 1969, the musical tide was very much turning; British whimsy and three minute pop gems about myriad cups of tea and talking gnomes had largely been pushed aside for harder rock sounds. Various bands clung on for dear life, of course, and even well into 1969 there were bands across Britain knocking out various 7” pieces of plastic for the psychedelic cause. In another volume of musical history, Grapefruit Records have dug deep to bring three discs of interesting cuts from the year. The results are quite often less gaudily coloured, but you’ll still find a few bands sticking to familiar formulae. While at least half of the material gathered here is more of the well-honed pop/rock variety than flat out psych, the journey is one that’s still more than worth taking. Covering over seventy tracks in all, such a box set could seem daunting, but the curators have included at least ten familiar names, which actually adds to the commercial appeal without detracting from the potential obscurities and rarities.