News Catch-up 01 February 2024

And we are back! What a summer it has been so far. And 2024 is already shaping up to be a magnificent year for music releases. Don't believe us? Well then check these out...

Before the band became one man, and before that man shocked the world with Welcome To My Nightmare, Alice Cooper released their operatic, shock rock concept album, Billion Dollar Babies. Now, in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary, we are being treated to a deluxe 3 LP vinyl edition.

As will as the original album tracklisting, this set will include an entire live rendition of the album recorded in 1973, as well as never-before-released outtakes and original single mixes of Elected, Hello Hooray, and Billion Dollar Babies. All three discs will be housed in a replica of the original snake-skin wallet gatefold, and include the $1 Billion note poster and booklet containing liner notes from the original band members, describing the making of the album.

Alice Cooper Billion Dollar Babies deluxe 3 LP is available to pre-order HERE

Billion Dollar Babies will also be available as a deluxe CD edition. Spread over two discs, this edition will include all the bonus tracks that are on the LP release.

Alice Cooper Billion Dollar Babies deluxe 2 CD is available to pre-order HERE

Although the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon has come and gone, it does not mean that there aren't a few more special releases popping up around the corner. Case in point:

The Dark Side Of The Moon 2 LP crystal clear vinyl with UV artwork print on the non-goove sides of the disc (or dare I say: the "dark side" of the discs...)

This is the first time that Pink Floyd has used this pioneering UV printing process for a picture disc. The images are printed with a high end UV printer, using UV-Led light to dry the permanent ink on the sides without audio on which the image is printed. This combination of one-sided audio and the UV print (on the side without audio) combines the best of both worlds: perfect audio and a beautiful image to enjoy.

Pink Floyd The Dark Side Of The Moon 2 LP picture disc collector's edition is available to pre-order HERE

March of this year will see the release of a brand new album from rock legend, Mark Knopfler. Having been planned for some time, Knopfler waited until the pandemic lockdown had died down before reuniting with usual collaborators Guy Fletcher, Danny Cummings, Richard Bennett, Glenn Worf, Jim Cox and others at his British Grove Studios to record the album.

In discussing the the new album, Knopfler had this to say:

"It was back to the old-fashioned idea of a band making a record together in the room, which maybe in the more youth-oriented side of the industry has become quite rare, because everyone uses loads of technology. We do too, but what we do is we combine the old and the new. If it works, I use it. With these songs, you can see them coming together very quickly, with a band like this.  You're in a game where you're making the thing and it's happening whether you like it or  not. You could push the pace, but I try and give myself a little bit more breathing room. The fatal thing a lot of the time would be to want to rush everything. Something creative  always happens by not panicking."

Mark Knopfler One Deep River is available to pre-order on double black vinyl HERE

There will also be an indie store exclusive light blue vinyl edition available to pre-order HERE

And last, but certainly not least:

The Who's legendary rock opera, Quadrophenia is being re-released as a special half-speed mastered double LP edition.

This new version has been mastered by long time The Who engineer Jon Astley from the original tapes and is packaged in original sleeve with booklet, obi and certificate of authenticity. The discs themselves have been engineered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios using a half-speed mastering technique which produces a superior vinyl cut.

The Who Quadrophenia half-speed mastered 2 LP edition is available to pre-order HERE