"... Superman's Big Sister..."
Edsel of the UK have
reissued six of Ian Dury's albums in these 2015 Deluxe Edition Hardback Casebound sets – and natty
looking things they are too. Here are the reasons to be cheerful...
UK released 2 March 2015 – "Laughter" by IAN DURY and THE BLOCKHEADS on Edsel EDSK 7082 (Barcode 740155708238) is a 'Limited Edition 2CD Deluxe Edition in Hardback Casebound packaging' that pans
out as follows:
Disc 1 (49:12 minutes):
1. Sueperman's Big Sister
2. Pardon
3. Delusions Of Grandeur
4. Yes And No (Paula)
5. Dance Of The Crackpots
6. Over The Points
7. (Take Your Elbow Out The
Soup) You're Sitting On The Chicken [Side 2]
8. Incoolohol
9. Hey, Hey Take Me Away
10. Manic Depression (Jimi)
11. Oh Mr. Peanut
12. F***king Ada
Tracks 1 to 12 are the album "Laughter" - released 28 November 1980 in the UK on Stiff Records SEEZ 30
BONUS TRACKS:
13. I Want To Be Straight -
August 1980 UK 7" single on Stiff Records BUY 90, A
14. That's Not All - August
1980 UK 7" single on Stiff Records BUY 90, B
15. You'll See Glimpses –
October 1980 UK 7" single on Stiff Records BUY 100 – non-album B-side of
“Superman’s Big Sister”
Disc 2 (52:53 minutes)
ALBUM OUTTAKES
(Recorded October 1980 at The Producer’s
Workshop, Fulham, London)
1. Duff 'Em Up And Do 'Em
Over (Boogie Woogie)
2. You Are Here
3. Come In No. 9
DEMO INSTRUMENTALS by THE
BLOCKHEADS
4. Chicken (Take Your Elbow
Out Of The Soup)
5. CC's Rock
6. I Know Your Name
7. Public Party (Dance Of
The Crackpots)
8. Black And White [Yes And
No (Paula)]
9. Manic Depression
10. More Turns For Everyone
11. Blue Light (That's Not
All)
12. Back To Y-Front
13. Fatback
14. On The Spot (Do The
Block)
15. Duff 'Em Up And Do 'Em
Over (Boogie Woogie) [Oh Mr Peanut]
16. Peter Gunn
The 26-page booklet inside
the hardback covers features full annotation by known expert WILL BIRCH (done
in 2004), lyrics to all the songs (including the stand-alone singles),
publicity photos, original artwork front and rear (including photos of the “Superman’s
Big Sister” single and a montage of British trade magazines like NME and Melody
Maker) and so on. These are the 2004 Edsel remasters done at Alchemy Mastering and
they sound amazing while all of Disc 2 was Previously Unreleased at the time.
Following on from their huge
1977 album “New Boots And Panties!!”, the number one single “Hit Me With Your
Rhythm Stick” in December 1978 - and the No.2 album placing of “Do It Yourself”
in June 1979 – LP number three for Ian’s Blockheads saw the beginning of the
end for the band in the public’s eye and affections. “Laughter” scraped into Number
48 on the charts in December 1980 – a far cry from the huge popularity of their
two predecessors – even with the involvement of Dr. Feelgood’s wild guitarist
WILKO JOHNSON. That’s not to say that the song quality control had slipped in
any way - far from it in my book.
"Superman's Big Sister" shows
Dury's knack for catchy melodies aligned with witty lyrics and wacky themes. "Delusions Of Grandeur" struggles a bit to take flight for sure - but the
wickedly good "Yes & No (Paula)" would have sat comfortably on 1977's "New
Boots & Panties!!" with its Ska-Rock rhythms and scat-spoken lyrics. Fun
and anger collide on "Dance Of The Crackpots" with Davey Payne's great
harmonica playing warbling away in the back of the mix. The band starts to
finally sound slightly manic Feelgood on the acidic "Hey, Hey, Take Me Away" while "F***ing Ada" finishes the album half-laughing, half-crying with its
angry chorus offset by chorus line strings.
Disc 2 features the
full-blown version of "Duff 'Em Up And Do 'Em Over (Boogie Woogie)" (a long
sought after fan fave) while the Instrumentals it has to be said feel like good
backing tracks but without the lyrics – they're a curio more than anything
else.
"I'm sick and tired of
taking drugs and staying up late..." - our Ian sang on "I Want To Be Straight".
I never tire of Dury's intelligence and wit and the nerd in me is loving these
gorgeous looking reissues...
IAN DURY March 2015 Deluxe Edition Hardback Casebound CD
Reissues on Edsel are:
1. New Boots And Panties!!
(Edsel EDSK 7080, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708030)
2. Do It Yourself (Edsel
EDSK 7081, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708139)
3. Laughter (Edsel EDSK
7082, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708238)
4. The Bus Driver's Prayer
(Edsel EDSK 7083, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708337)
5. Mr. Love Pants (Edsel EDSA
5034, 1CD, Barcode 740155503437)
6. Warts 'N' Audience [Live]
(Edsel 5035, 1CD, Barcode 74015550536)
PPS: Amazon lump all the
2004 and 2015 reviews together in the one place (a nasty habit of theirs) – so
if you want the Hardback Book Edition I've just reviewed from 2015 – make sure
to use the Barcode I've provided above to get the right issue...
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