I was wondering what tracks may be included in the future Metadelic compilation.

Personally I would like to see all the 12" mixes that aren't available yet on CD be included - Endlessly,A Kind Of Wave,Like A Miracle,Stars On Fire and Enter The Angel.

Would the Zeus B Held remix of The Garden be worth including for completeness sake? I no longer have the 12" of Your Dress which contains this. At the time I couldn't notice any real discernible difference from the original version.Perhaps somebody could confirm otherwise.

I would also like to see the 1983 single edit of Endlessly also included as this is the only single that is as yet available on CD. It would also be nice to see all of John's other videos included in the release.

Perhaps I'm expecting a bit too much here but I can live in hope.

Absolutely agree with what you have said, spot on with track choices.

Cheers Gary. I'm something of a completist as you've probably guessed. Ha ha.

I'm not so sure Metadelic should automatically point to In Mysterious Ways. Aside from the remaster, John seems to avoid this album as though it never happened.

However, if it were to also include a DVD (though it equally might not...), then that would be the ideal final resting place for those IMW era videos.

If anything, it might be more appropriate if Metadelic, used the more romantic tracks from The Garden (such as the title track, "Europe After the Rain" etc) and The Golden Section (too numerous to list), as well as perhaps the more Beatlesy/psychedelic tracks from later albums such as "Through My Sleeping", "An Ocean We Can Breathe" and "A Room As Big As A City".

I think if he goes down the route of 2 x CD + DVD then agree with Alex re video's, 2nd CD would be great to have the 12 inch singles already mentioned.

Main CD definitely agree that TGS would feature, plenty on there that would suit the album and also a few tracks off "The Garden". I love IMW so would like to see a couple of tracks from that and of course material from his recent past.

I agree with both of you Gary and Alex. There are plenty of psychedelic style tracks that John has recorded throughout his career that could be compiled for Metadelic.If this release does consist of two CDs and a DVD as well,disc one could contain these,disc two the extended versions and the DVD all of the videos not contained on Metatronic.

Yes Alex,John does seem to almost disown IMW. However I would love to have Stars On Fire and Enter The Angel extended versions on CD and Metadelic would be the perfect opportunity to release these with the other unavailable extended versions.

On the subject of compilations, I wonder if a collection of John's various instrumentals will appear at some point... although I'm not sure what point or added value such a thing would have...

...sorry, that thought was totally OT!

.......although to bring it back on topic, I wonder if there are any instrumental tracks suitable for Metadelic...

Most of My Lost City was recorded during that '81 - '85 period, not forgetting the From Brussels With Love tracks and pieces like Fog etc.

Considering all that's been made available to us from that period over the last few years, there's either a Raiders of the Lost Ark size warehouse full of tapes or the vaults have been truly exhausted. I'm hoping for the former!

Packaged in a special mini John Foxx branded Ark of the Covenant?

Is that why Rob recently moved house

Well...there is the long-lost soundtrack to the Antonioni film "Identification Of A Woman" which was recorded round about 1981-82.

That said I only saw the film once many years ago and the only music I remember was an instrumental version of "Europe After The Rain" which consisted mainly of the outro with an extended piano improvisation over the top. I reckon it might fit in well with the Metadeic concept though.

As regards disc one, I think that with the exception of Shifting City there is very little of John and Louis other album work together that fit’s the bill. With Shifting City only recently having been re-released it seems a bit early to plunder all of the paisley patterned tracks that are on it, but it’s an obvious choice. Another more sympathetic body of work to the Metadelic call is of course The Golden Section, bursting with possibilities, but again I think it would be pointless to have a top-heavy selection of tracks taken from disc 1 and 2 of that album’s fairly recent ’08 remaster.

Metatronic has 17 tracks, so my here's my hope as to what I think should be on a psychedelic compilation disc of John’s work. In no particular order, just working backwards through the releases:


Underwater

A Room As Big As A City

Your Shadow

Uptown/Downtown *

Through My Sleeping

An Ocean We Can Breathe

Spin Away - (perhaps a contentious one given its clearly obvious inspiration! but this was a revelation and surprisingly became a beautiful plus point on an otherwise difficult album for me)

In Mysterious Ways

Someone

A Long Time (alternative version TGS ’08 remaster)

A Woman On A Stairway

This Jungle

Swimmer 1

Europe After The Rain

You Were There

The Garden

I'd thoroughly agree with that! Perhaps with the addition of Uptown/Downtown.

Alex, that was actually meant to be on my list!
well said, consider it added now *

Huh? I thought it was just the album version on the B-side. And that's why I never got the 12" single. What's the length of this remix? Is it radically different to the album version?

Totally agree with you on the choices though Andy, definitely want to have those on CD.
You and me both, mate!

Originally posted by Ion-ah:
I thought it was just the album version on the B-side. And that's why I never got the 12" single. What's the length of this remix? Is it radically different to the album version?

I haven't heard this mix for years Ion-ah. To me it sounded no different to the original version. The length is the same as the album version. If there are differences they are very subtle.

it's the video to "Dancing Like A Gun" that really demands a wider audience

Some interesting ideas there. But, and this relates to other posts in this thread too, I think that more care will be taken to ensure Metadelic is a consistent, themed package in keeping with its objective... even if that's as when it was first mooted in 97 ish... rather than just somewhere to put things that aren't otherwise available.

It's not going to be a 'catch-all' for everything that hasn't been released so far.
That would be a mistake.

It is the album version.

Originally posted by MintyTux:

It is the album version.

To call it the Zeus B Held remix he must have done some minor tinkering with it. Not that you would notice.

I have the Your Dress 12" and it doesn't say it was remixed....it is the album version.

Where is all this remix information taken from? Is it the labels of the 12” to Your Dress?

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=135571

It also says that The Garden was published in 1983 by Island and we know that’s not true.

If the information regarding a Zeus B Held remix is just taken at face value from the record labels – then the chances are it’s just someone was very sloppy at the printers – and that there’s no remix.

It is indeed a very subtle remix. The only change Zeus B Held made was to replace the starling you hear chirping at 00.05 with a chaffinch after the starling's agent demanded additional royalties.

Blimey! If that's true, Cathedral Oceans must of cost millions to make!

It was never called a remix, just sloppiness by the record label in naming Zeus as co-producer, it is the album version, so let's have no more silly talk of a remix please.....I thank you.

You have been a wonderful audience ... please don't forget to tip the waitress

I just looked up "metadelic".
There is an artist on myspace with that name.
All the tracks sound the same. I mean exactly the same.. *aaargh!*

Considering the generous expanded releases of his 80's albums, I doubt he has enough material left to release a compilation of never released material. Thus, the only tracks I don't have in digital format are the 12" version of "A Kind of Wave" and the 7" version of "Like a Miracle" - unless the latter is the DJ Edit on Modern Art. Any leads?

Speaking of Metadelic... here's an exclusive first look at the front cover artwork...



Metadelic will be similar in format to Metatronic in that it will contain two CDs and a DVD. It's currently scheduled for release during April.
The full track-listing will be announced shortly.

Rob

Very good news!

I'm not overly keen on the cover design.

I'm interested in and hoping that a few unrealeased tracks will be included, then it'll be worthwhile purchasing. I'm gonna guess the DVD is the Virgin era tape.

Peter

That's fair enough - but it needed to be an image from that particular era of John's career - and something with a psychedelic feel to it.



I don't think that you'll be disappointed...



And more besides...

Rob

Nice bit of news. Look forward to it.

Yeah, me too! It's been a long time coming!

A Looooooooooooooooooooong Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime...

...sorry, I'll get my coat

Thanks for the feed back Rob.

And the DVD will have all John's 80s videos on it? Unabridged? Including him and Oppenheimer waltzing in crowded streets in chromakey? GO ON!!!!! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!

I'm really looking forward to this release. Hopefully we will get all the extended mixes that are still unavailable on CD and by the sound of it some unreleased goodies.

Personally I like the cover. Obviously it's from the photo session for the 1982 single release of Endlessly. As Rob points out it fits the time period and theme of Metadelic.

A wonderful idea as I really enjoyed Metatronic. So much wealth John has in his archives. Will really enjoy this as much as I enjoy the Maths stuff.

Great! Another one to tick off that original list

Don't want to seem over impatient but we're already halfway through April. Any news of a release date yet Rob, or has it been put back to avoid clashing with Rhapsody?

I'm waiting on further / final confirmation myself - but it's likely to be (slightly) delayed. You'll have doubtless noticed that the track-listing hasn't even been announced - and that's because there's still some work to do in order to clear the last few tracks. Once that's been done, then the artwork can be finished off and it can go into production. I will post full details (release date and track-listing) just as soon as everything's been confirmed.

Rob

If we go really particular on the era that picture was taken then I'd say we finally get to hear the recordings he trashed before getting Zeus B Held on board and doing The Golden Section. Now that would be my wish come true since the early Endlessly/Young Man release was about the last thing he did that I really liked.

Aren't these available among the extra tracks on the 2CD set issue a couple of years ago...?

A number of years ago, John said that he'd scrapped an entire albums worth of material - this was after The Garden, but before The Golden Section. That album was even given a title - In The Glow - but a final track-listing was never published.

However, some of the material that was due to appear on that album - tracks like Dance With Me and A Woman On A Stairway - did get formally released as B'sides and extra tracks on some of the singles taken from The Golden Section. All of that material, together with some previously unreleased Early and Alternative tracks, appeared back in 2008 on the second disc of The Golden Section CD.

Rob

Lol, never realised these were released as "early versions" on the Golden Section double CD
Thanks guys, I've just ordered Underpass from Townsend and see if I can add that title to the order.

Cheers,
John

The track-listing for the second disc of the 2008 edition of The Golden Section was as follows...

01. Endlessly (Single Version)
02. My Wild Love (Early Version)
03. A Long Time (Alternative Version)
04. Annexe
05. Sitting At The Edge Of The World (Alternative Version)
06. A Kind Of Wave
07. Twilight's Last Gleaming (Early Version)
08. Running Across Thin Ice With Tigers (Extended Mix)
09. A Woman On A Stairway
10. The Lifting Sky
11. Shine On Me
12. Young Man
13. Wings And A Wind
14. The Hidden Man (Alternative Version)
15. Dance With Me
16. Endlessly (Extended Mix)

Rob

Thanks Rob.
So which of these tracks are actual recordings from In The Glow?
And I don't mean tracks which were originally from this era and later re-recorded.

Endlessly
Young Man
My Wild Love (early)
Twilight's ... (early)

And the rest? (pre- Zeus B Held)

This is something I'm interested in too. We know from what Rob's told us that the "in The Glow" tracks have already been released as B sides/ bonus discs and so forth, but these were I believe Zeus B Held productions (as evidenced by those awful Simmons electronic drums that really date the tracks) and thus would date from 1983. So like Nisei I'm curious as to if there are still "In The Glow" versions dating from 1982 which might be similar in sound and feel to the original Endlessly/ Young Man single?

I'm enjoying Metadelic, it's nice to get access at last to decent quality copies off all those 12" mixes, radio sessions and of course the videos

If I were to make one teensy criticism:
nowhere on the booklet does it list the names of the other musicians playing on these recordings. There is some small-print with the songwriting credits, but not a sausage for who-played-what. There must above been well over a dozen different musicians played on these tunes for John. It would be a simple courtesy to give them a credit!

Yeah I thought that but I suppose they (gordon/benge et al) must have agreed to all of that.

My teensy critique (of the CDs) would be lack of precise info on the BBC sessions - recording and broadcast dates?

(relieved to see on the DVDee that TOTP was in fact broadcast 03.09.1981!)

It all flows quite well although I prefer the middle section best (Endlessly -> Shifting City). Amazing how Ghosts on Water flows into Ocean We Can Breathe with over a decade between 'em..

Doubt it - the general deal is that musicians get paid for the session, and the record company then owns it and can do whatever they like with it, including flogging it on cheap compilations where they don't even get a credit.

In *princple*, the record company has to log the details of who played what with PPL, and then if the recording is *broadcast* (TV, radio, etc) then the musicians get tiny amounts of royalties. But PPL are crap, most of the data never gets registered properly (both in terms of logging who played what, and in broadcasters reporting what they've used) and even then most of the money is "micropayments" of the "I got 70 million Spotify plays and they sent me 2.85 cents" variety.