PET SHOP BOYS – ‘CATALOGUE’ AND 2017 FURTHER LISTENING RELEASES. RE-RELEASED FURTHER LISTENING RELEASES TOO *UPDATED*

News of the Pet Shop Boys ‘Further Listening’ releases is here.  Finally.  7 July 2017.  *SEE THE UPDATE AT THE END OF THE TRACKLISTINGS BELOW!*

RELEASE (all tracks 2017 Remasters)

CD1

1. Home & Dry
2. I Get Along
3. Birthday Boy
4. London
5. E-Mail
6. The Samurai in Autumn
7. Love is a Catastrophe
8. Here
9. The Night I Fell In Love
10. You Choose

CD2

1. Between Two Islands
2. Searching For The Face of Jesus
3. Time On My Hands
4. Motoring (Demo)
5. Love Life
6. Transparent
7. Sexy Northerner
8. The Night Is A Time To Explore Who You Are (Demo)
9. Closer To Heaven (Slow Version)
10. Run, Girl, Run (Demo)
11. I Didn’t Get Where I Am Today
12. Always
13. Home & Dry (Ambient Mix)
14. Bright Young Things (Demo)
15. Kazak (Demo)
16. A Powerful Friend (BBC Live Session)
17. If Looks Could Kill (BBC Live Session)

CD3

1. Try It (I’m In Love With A Married Man)
2. Here (PSB New Extended Mix)
3. If Looks Could Kill
4. A Powerful Friend
5. Party Song
6. No Excuse (Demo)
7. Blue On Blue
8. Jack & Jill Party (Demo)
9. Baby (Demo)
10. Flamboyant (Demo)
11. Miracles
12. Flamboyant (7″ Mix)
13. Numb (Demo)
14. In Private (featuring Elton John)
15. Alone Again, Naturally
16. Reunion (Electro Mix)
17. Bright Young Things
18. We’re The Pet Shop Boys
19. It’s a Sin (Barfly Version)

FUNDAMENTAL (All Tracks 2017 Remasters)

CD1

1. Psychological
2. The Sodom and Gomorrah Show
3. I Made My Excuses and Left
4. Minimal
5. Numb
6. God Willing
7. Luna Park
8. I’m With Stupid
9. Casanova in Hell
10. Twentieth Century
11. Indefinite Leave to Remain
12. Integral

CD2

1. Fugitive (Richard X Extended Mix)
2. Ring Road (Demo)
3. The Performance of my Life (Demo)
4. One-Way Street (Demo)
5. Girls Don’t Cry
6. The Resurrectionist
7. The Sodom and Gomorrah Show (Original Demo)
8. Dancing in the Dusk (Demo)
9. After The Event
10. The Former Enfant Terrible
11. No Time For Tears (Orchestral Mix)
12. God Willing (Original Full-Length Mix)
13. I’m With Stupid (PSB Maxi Mix)
14. Answer The Phone (Ringtone)
15. Where Are You? (Ringtone)
16. Water (Ringtone)
17. Numb (Single Edit)
18. One Night
19. A Certain ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’
20. Transfer
21. Integral (PSB Perfect Immaculate 7″ Mix)
22. Integral (PSB Perfect Immaculate Mix)

NIGHTLIFE (All tracks 2017 Remasters)

CD1

1. For Your Own Good
2. Closer to Heaven
3. I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Any More
4. Happiness Is An Option
5. You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk
6. Vampires
7. Radiophonic
8. The Only One
9. Boy Strange
10. In Denial (featuring Kylie Minogue)
11. New York City Boy
12. Footsteps

CD2

1. Vampires (Demo)
2. For All Of Us (Demo)
3. Call Me Old-Fashioned (Demo)
4. Friendly Fire
5. Believe / Song For Guy (featuring Elton John)
6. Sail Away
7. It Doesn’t Often Snow At Christmas (Fan Club Mix)
8. Nightlife
9. Playing in the Streets
10. Tall Thin Men
11. Radiophonic (Demo)

CD3

1. Somebody Else’s Business
2. Silver Age
3. Screaming
4. For All Of Us
5. The Ghost of Myself
6. Casting a Shadow
7. I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Anymore (The PSB Extension)
8. Was It Worth It? (Live)
9. Lies
10. Paris City Boy (Full French)
11. Postive Role Model
12. Somebody Else’s Business (Extended Mix)

*UPDATE!*

Pet Shop Boys announce ‘Catalogue: 1985-2012’ – a landmark series of reissues of their Parlophone studio albums.  This definitive edition will feature each album from the duo’s Parlophone discography, remastered and accompanied by ‘Further Listening’ albums of master quality bonus tracks and demos created in the same time period as each album, as well as Pet Shop Boys own remixes of their tracks.  Many tracks are being released for the first time.

The first three of the ‘Catalogue’ albums are listed above, and are released on 27 July.  All are available for pre-order now.  ‘For All Of Us’ is available now when you pre-order the digital version of Nightlife / Further Listening.

The remastered original single albums will also be issued on 180gm heavyweight vinyl and made available on streaming services on 28 July.

‘Catalogue’ reissues will continue over the next year until all PSB Parlophone albums have been released with ‘Further Listening’ albums.  The reissues of ‘Please’, ‘Actually’, ‘Intospective’, ‘Behaviour’, ‘Very’ and ‘Bilingual’ which were originally released with ‘Further Listening’ albums in 2001 are being newly remastered with their original track listings for this project.

Yes / Further Listening – 2008-2010
Elysium / Further Listening – 2011-2012
Please / Further Listening – 1984-1986
Actually / Further Listening – 1987-1988
Introspective / Further Listening – 1988-1989
Behaviour / Further Listening – 1990-1991
Very / Further Listening – 1992-1994
Bilingual / Further Listening – 1995-1997

All designs are by Farrow.  Of course.  *Rolls eyes*.

John Noakes, 1934-2017

Terrible news today in that we’ve heard of the sad passing of television presenter John Noakes.  John started on Blue Peter in 1965 and stayed until 1972, which saw the breakup of the triumverate of John, Peter Purves and Valerie Singleton.  John’s constant companion was his Border Collie, Shep, who was given to John in 1971.  Shep joined John in his series Go With Noakes in 1976, travelling the country and taking part in activities such as rowing, painting and motor racing, among many other things.  The programme finished in 1980.

John had been living with Alzheimers for some years, and went missing for a time from his home in Spain.  He was found the same day, having taken a fall.

An absolute star.

Star Wars: Happy 40th Birthday – 25-5-1977/2017

Roger Moore. RIP.

Best.  Bond.  Ever.  Rest in Peace.

Boot Fair Find: Yamaha DD-10 Digital MIDI Drum Machine

Released in 1988, the Yamaha DD-10 was aimed at those who wished to annoy the hell out of their neighbours at 2am.  The machine featured 8-bit sounds, with some sounds reused at a different pitch, two-level velocity sensing pads and 26 drum, percussion and sound effect samples.  MIDI In also features, so you can trigger drum sounds with an external device.

Found this recently at a local boot fair.  Fiver.  Contained my excitement so the seller didn’t put the price up.  Boxed with polys and foamy wrapper.  No manual, strap or foot pedals sadly, but hey – what do you want for a fiver?

Another dream item for circuit-bending, as digital delay, resonant filters and other such larky modifications can be added if you know what you’re doing.  Inputs and outputs include External Power Source, Aux Out (L&R/L), Aux Out R, Headphones, Foot Pedal Jack and MIDI In.

98 Auto Rhythms, Power Switch, Volume, Tempo, MIDI Mode, Metronome, Roll, Restart, Stop, Intro/Fill, Manual Tempo.  A small keypad is used to enter numerical data for drum patterns, which is displayed on a 2-digit large LED display.

Haynes Mk1-2K16 Synth Kit *Updated With Build Video*

Yes, the people who bring you those repair manuals for cars, vans and suchlike, have produced a DIY mini synthesizer kit.

Packaged in a picture-card box (above (which also doubles as the housing for the synthesizer)), the kit contains all the parts and instructions to make your own Stylophone-like synth (without the unnecessary stylus).

The kit contains a pre-assembled circuit board, potentiometer/switch, four micro push-buttons, a blue and green LED, loudspeaker, battery box, a whole metre of wire and a couple of nuts and screws.  The unit is powered by three AA batteries.

My soldering techniques are a source of national humour, and not wanting to ruin the kit (a present from my dear partner) I posted it off to the only person I know who can wield an iron in anger and come out the other side having for the job done quickly and efficiently.  I’m talking about none other than the fabulous Dr Andrew Armstrong, whose BackOffice Shows are the talk of YouTube (any one of those preceding links will take you to the same place – please take the time and courtesy to check out The Doc’s Channel as there’s something in there for everyone, I promise you.  And make sure you subscribe to his Channel too.

Don’t forget to click on any of the images for the BIGGER picture.

The synth kit is based on a processor made by a company called Holtek, a Taiwanese-based semiconductor design centre and provider.  The processors themselves aren’t widely used in the hobby community, and as a result, we don’t really know the type of chip used or its part number.  The source code of the CPU hasn’t been published either, and the manual of the kit only outlines the basic modes of operation.

When assembled and batteries fitted, the synth is operated with your finger by running it up and down the copper track (the manual helpfully notes that breathing on your fingertip first makes a better contact!)

The effects buttons allow for tremelo and envelope modulation.  On the opposite side of the keyboard are buttons allowing for sharp & flat notes.  The envelope modulation is enabled by pushing the lower right-hand button next to the green LED.  The amplitude of the sound signal is periodically changed, and the green LED begins to flash.  The range and speed of the amplitude change can be modified in ten steps by using the same push-button.  Each press of the button advances the effect by one step.  The flashing sequence of this green LED is changed accordingly.  The rapidly flashing LED indicates a rapid change of the amplitude by small amounts.  The the eleventh push of this button, the envelope modulation is disabled and the LED becomes constantly lit once more.

The tremelo button is next to the blue LED.  It changes the frequency of the note played periodically.  The blue LEd flashes this time, and the range of the frequency change can again be modified in ten steps by using this push-button.  The tremelo is advanced one step by each push of the button.  The slower the LED flash, the larger the frequency change.  The eleventh button push, again, stops the LED flashing and switches off the tremelo function.

It’s a nice little kit – well thought-out – and nicely presented in a stiff card box with faux synthesizer sliders and buttons printed on it.  If I ever get competent at soldering (don’t hold your breath) I may have a go at making projects for myself.  Meantime, I really DO suggest you go look at the BackOffice videos on YouTube.

Sincere thanks again to Andrew for his perseverance!

*Update*

Here’s a LINK to Andrew’s build video of the Haynes kit.  Enjoy!

Kraftwerk 3-D Catalogue Live Box Set

VIDEO

On 26 May 2017, on more formats than I care to mention, Kraftwerk release ‘3-D Catalogue’, a stunning series of album live performances.

Most notable is a 4-Disc Blu-Ray set, featuring live performances of Autobahn, Radioactivity, Trans-Europe Express, The Man Machine, Computerworld, The Mix, Technopop and Tour de France.  Filmed in 3D (2D compatible for those of us still in the 20th century), the discs also feature the tour projections and films.  There’s also a 228-page book stacked with images from the tours.

There’s a 9-LP vinyl set, 8-CD set and two abridged versions of the 3D Catalogue collections.

The Blu-Ray set is going to cost £144.95.  Better get that house remortgaged.