Metamatic Forums News and Announcements John Foxx news Two Special Edition Double CDs...

Two Special Edition Double CDs of Crash And Burn, and Sideways - yes great stuff for avid collectors who yearn for all and as much from John as possible while it keeps on coming, and if you love live recordings, (I am not so fussed).

I’d never ever dispute having unheard or inaccessible material getting to see the light of day, or extended variations and the material of deleted titles given another opportunity, but… and possibly you could tell there was a but coming here - as I go putting the cat amongst the pigeons… and its early in the day too… but, could all of these previously unreleased, unavailable songs not have just been compiled on one special disc? Perhaps a neater way to celebrate the John & Louis years, rather than re-releasing C&B, and Sideways, and was C&B not meant to be undergoing a 'remastering treatment' much as Shifting City and Pleasures’ have done?

These new tracks – Labyrinth Generator, Storm Warning, Broadway Submarine, Haunted, and the extended versions of previously released songs – Running In Traffic (Full Version), Impossible (Jori Hulkkonen Mix), Neuro Video (Jori Hulkkonen Mix), A Room As Big As A City (Extended Version), Freeze Frame (Extended Version), Impossible (Extended Version) - these songs surely all hail from the same stable/decade, so I really think that one album could have been a neater way of marking that chapter, (I hate to say closing that chapter, as there’s still hope for a continuation of that partnership).

I’m going to take the philosophical outlook on this one. With John there is always a choice, it’s one of something old and loved, something re-purposed, and something completely new to look forward too, so thankfully each and everyone of us will be happy with what we choose.

To be honest, I thought exactly the same when I read the news. Both albums are too recent to benefit from 'remastering' in the traditional sense, surely. Although I'm not fussed on the recent live recordings, they're nice enough to have if you were at one of the gigs. But it's the unreleased/extra tracks that I'm really/only interested in.

It does look like there was enough to compile a 'new' standalone CD. That would have been great.

I would be very happy to be able buy all of these 'new' tracks as digital downloads. That way it gives you a choice. Maybe they will be available to purchase digitally – given that's the way music sales are increasingly going, it might be a mistake to exclude that option. As it stands, I don't want or intend to re-buy 2 albums I have perfectly good versions of, and gone are the days when I get excited over the booklet. I'll look at it once perhaps.

Crash & Burn has been unavailable for a while (at least in the shops.. copies online seem fairly frequent), so I can see the need for a re-issue of that album, especially because a lot of people still want The Drive EP. But the reissue of Sideways seems totally un-necessary. It was originally a limited pressing, wasn't it? So now the novelty and value of the original will be diminished somewhat (perhaps not completely because of the interview disc), and as it was already re-pressed last year (or was it made digital - I can't remember!), I would think anybody who was really desperate to get a copy will now have it.

I suppose you have to remember that there's no obligation to buy any of these reissues and that there are many more fans out there beyond the small group of us here. And if anything, these are two albums that really warrant a place on the shelves in the music shops.

I agree, C&B really should be in the shops, and I've noticed its sad absence, I also think that Sideways (with the exception of one annoying song) is one of John's very best electro albums of that period, so its deserving of a much wider release.

Oh well, I guess that's it all done and dusted, QED an all, and I also rest my case and respectfully bow to the wiser wisdom of the learned Gentlemen in the room. I shall take my leave now and go for my afternoon constitutional, whereupon I shall reflect on my earlier judgement. Please my peers, do not think too harshly of me if I decide to wait awhile till making my purchase of John's audio finery, till a few years have passed and it has climbed down in price so that I may acquire these for 2 shillings and tuppence apiece

I have to agree with Alex and Core Memory with regard to having to rebuy albums in order to obtain previously unavailable tracks. I already own two copies of Crash And Burn - the original release and the edition in the Cinemascope box set. As I'm a completist I will have to buy the new edition too.

I am imagine that From Trash won't get the same re-release treatment. Sideways contains extended versions and tracks presumably from the From Trash sessions.I have to say that I'm not mad on Sideways.For me Sailing On Sunshine is one of the poorest tracks that John has ever recorded. Sorry if any of you particularly like that track.

It's not JUST the extra tracks tho' is it? With these re-issued editions, you also get significantly extended booklets including more artwork and photographs, and the full text of the lyrics as approved/written by Foxx.

The albums now become much more widely available to a record-buying public that wasn't 'on the radar' when these albums were first released.

It should not be overlooked how much John's profile and contemporary presence has increased over the past three to five years, and Steve Malins deserves a huge pat on the back for that (among other things), as do all the other people working behind the scenes to promote John Foxx.

Considerably more people know who he is now, and have much wider access to his music than ever before. Makes perfect sense to me that as much material as possible should be 'on the shelf' to reach as far as possible into the consciousness of as many people as possible.

But the albums could be simply re-pressed to reach these goals...?

No, instead they are given a polish, extra material added and packaging extended to give us loyal fans something extra, but we are (probably) only a relatively small percentage of the intended market for these releases. Otherwise they would be download only through exclusive channels - but how would that benefit the marketing objectives if the material was only 'preaching to the converted'??

I'm sorry to rant, but I do quite strongly disagree with most of the above posters and I've been more cheesed off than usual lately with people knocking what's going on.

It remains absolutely not up to us what material John Foxx releases, or when he chooses to do it.
I appreciate the lengths that John and his team go to to maintain the quality and integrity of each release.

We can exercise our choice not to buy it of course (so that's at least three sales that won't happen if the above are anythng to go by) but I doubt if that will make much difference to the level of profile or revenue generated.

Anyway, Christmas is coming. You might ask Father Christmas to buy it for you...?

I tweeted a Thought Experiment recently, inspired by Eno's "Oblique Strategies":

The opposite is true

In our own small way, we can all help to promote John Foxx and champion his work, pointing people here and there to his music and media.
We may not agree with the logic or intention behind a release, but that doesn't have to be a barrier to our exclamation of its quality, presence and availability.

Next time I am raving about the complete brilliant genius-ness of tracks like Underwater Dreamsex or In A Silent Way, it gives me great pleasure and re-assurance to know that people can actually get hold of those pieces quite easily now.

Which means that more people experience them.

And therein lies the pointy thing, surely?

Well, when you get to my age, it does pretty much seem like these albums came out practically yesterday, and so I don't *really* want to buy them again with a few bonus tracks that weren't considered good enough to release at the time :p

But if I have the cash, I may do so anyways, just for completeness.

If I remember rightly, John's version of YOUNG SAVAGE at Cargo was extremely ropey, with him being totally out-of-breath and barely managing to sing all the words..... it was an good-for-laff at the gig, but I'm not sure I'd want to hear it again on CD!

I definitely agree. I haven't been a fan for as long, but if I have to prioritize my buying, I'm going to go for something I don't have rather than a re-issue--even if it has a couple of new tracks. When I have the money, I'm sure I'll get it.

I remember Young Savage at Cargo--particularly that John sang the second verse twice, and the last verse not at all. Plus--an all-electronica version just doesn't have the same impact as the original. It was all right, but I don't think I'd choose it for a CD.

Forums are always a difficult place, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and also they can choose to purchase reissues or not. I do agree with Martin in that respect. I suppose I did sigh a bit when I think that I'll be buying Sideways for the second time and C&B for the FOURTH (I've got the vinyl as well!) But it's just the way of the world now - look at films: Video, Deluxe Edition, DVD, Extended DVD, Bluray, Directors Cut etc etc. As soon as new technology comes out everything gets 'repurposed'. Personally I would only really be looking forward to the four 'new' tracks across these two albums, but at a time of life when I can never think of anything i want for Christmas/Birthdays my list of JF albums is getting longer!
Cheers
Roll on Feb 2011 and The Maths album

Indeed! From everything we've heard so far, it's going to be one of his best releases and well worth the wait.

I used to regard myself as a completist when John's discography was much smaller, but as it's expanded along with his musical styles, I've come to realise that some of the recent releases just haven't been for me, so I don't see the point in buying something I'm not that interested in, 'just because'. For me, it's become more about picking and choosing the parts that really move me, which personally is mainly his lyrical/song based electronic work. For that aspect I would still like to get everything, and that's where I would personally like the option of downloading tracks digitally, so I can build up the electronic song catalogue, to be complete in that area, without having to re-buy multiple albums just for half a dozen previously unreleased tracks.

There was a time when less was more, and the small number of Foxx albums felt like something very special and exclusive. Since that time, John's public profile has grown dramatically and continues to do so (I never thought I'd see a multi-page feature in Creative Review!), which is great; and I suppose with all the reissues and compilations etc, it surely proves that there is a much, much wider audience for his music now, than say compared to 7 or 8 years ago. Of course this is the way it should be, as he doesn't make music just for a few dozen online regulars.

I guess, personal preference aside, the thing to focus on is that John's music is widely available now. You can pick and choose, and people can discover his music and easily obtain it – which is superb, compared to when I first Googled him and found everything to be unavailable!

I can see both sides of the argument, but on balance once again find myself falling on the “no thanks” side of the fence.

Yes, like many on here, I have bought most of John’s albums several times over; however there comes a point where you have to ask yourself whether yet more reupurposing is being done for artistic or commercial reasons, and in this case it tends more towards the latter.

I can see why these albums are being repackaged in such a way with a £10.99 price tag – it’s hard to see how artists like John can make a living out of music these days, when much of their work is freely available as illegal downloads and in these harsh economic times, few people have the cash to pay £20-£30 for a live show.

Many other artists (such as Depeche Mode and OMD) are going down the “deluxe” road; offering extravagant packages for the diehards consisting of the album, plus the demos, artwork, lyrics, a bonus DVD and a couple of signed prints. These two albums fall just a tad short – there isn’t enough new material or bonus content to make either an essential purchase, especially if like me, you already own the Drive EP and the “Live From A Room” tracks.

The other thing is that – like Alex – I’m not too fussed about album artwork any more. These days when I buy a CD, I’ll bung it into Soundforge, convert to MP3 and stick the CD in a drawer, where it’ll stay for the next couple of years. If anything, I find a physical product something of an annoyance as I already have acres of shelf space devoted to CDs that I never play!

I do think digital downloads is the way forward where unreleased tracks are concerned. Were the new tracks offered for download through Townsend, I’d happily pay 79p for each one, making John an extra fiver or so out of those of us who can’t see the point of buying the CDs. But as it stands, paying £22 for 6 unreleased tracks just doesn’t come across as good value for me.