"Purple Rain" by PRINCE and THE REVOLUTION – July 1984 Album on Warner Brothers (June 2017 UK Warner Brothers/NPG 3CD + 1DVD 'Ultimate Collector's Edition' Reissue with a Remastered Album, Unreleased Studio Material, B-sides and Single Mixes, a Live Concert and Bernie Grundman Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Let's Pretend We're Married..." 

 

Having only just turned 26 years of age mere weeks before its worldwide release, Prince was already a five-album veteran for a major respected record label (Warner Brothers). But platter number six - "Purple Rain" from late June 1984 - sent him, his world and the rest of ours - into serious reeling mode.

 

As if the double-album "1999" from 1982 wasn't enough, "Purple Rain" arrived like a frenzied storm-trooper ready to prove a point to his mommy who didn't love him enough and left a copy of Hustler lying around the little darlings crib. From the opening Guitar/Synth Pop attack of "Let's Go Crazy" to the stunning and indeed majestic title track "Purple Rain" that ended Side 2 with a string arrangement that still leaves me jaw-struck - the whole album was a take-no-prisoners assault by both the artist and his tighter-than-tight backing group - The Revolution (credited for the first time as his chosen band on the LP artwork).

 

But the famous records transition to digital has been a tale of woe for far too many decades. Well now - at last - we get the 'Ultimate Collector's Edition' and 'Super Deluxe Edition' treatment in 2017 - reissues that like the album 'pour it on'. We're dealing with the baby version. Here are the dove details...

 

UK released 23 June 2017 - "Purple Rain" by PRINCE and THE REVOLUTION on Warner Records/NPG 9362-49132-0 (Barcode 093624913207) is a 3CD + 1DVD 'Ultimate Collector's Edition' Reissue with Rarities, Unreleased Material and Bernie Grundman Remasters. It plays out as follows:

 

CD1 "Original Album – 2015 Paisley Park Remaster" (43:48 minutes):

1. Let's Go Crazy

2. Take Me With U

3. The Beautiful Ones

4. Computer Blue

5. Darling Nikki

6. When Doves Cry [Side 2]

7. I Would Die 4 U

8. Baby I'm A Star

9. Purple Rain

Tracks 1 to 9 are his sixth studio album "Purple Rain" (first credited to Prince and The Revolution – released 27 July 1984 in the USA on Warner Brothers 25110-1 and in the UK on Warner Brothers 925 110-1. Produced by PRINCE – it peaked at No. 1 in the USA and No. 7 in the UK.

 

CD2 "From The Vault and Previously Unreleased" (76:33 minutes):

1. The Dance Electric (11:29 minutes)

2. Love And Sex (5:00 minutes)

3. Computer Blue ("Hallways Speech" Version) (12:18 minutes)

4. Electric Intercourse (Studio Version) (4:57 minutes)

5. Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden (6:25 minutes)

6. Possessed (7:56 minutes)

7. Wonderful Ass

8. Velvet Kitty Cat

9. Katrina's Paper Dolls

10. We Can F**k

11. Father's Song

 

CD3 "Single Edits & B-Sides" Bernie Grundman Remasters (78:05 minutes):

1. When Doves Cry (7" Single Edit) – A-side, May 1984 US 45-single, Warner Brothers 29286

2. 17 Days (Edit) – B-side of "When Doves Cry", May 1984 US 45-single, Warner Brothers 29286

3. Let's Go Crazy (7" Single Edit) – A-side, July 1984 US 45-single, Warner Brothers 29216

4. Let's Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix) – August 1984 US 12" Single, A-side of Warner Brothers 20246

5. Erotic City (Edit) – B-side of "Let's Go Crazy", July 1984 US 45-single, Warner Brothers 29216

6. Erotic City ("Make Love Not War Erotic City Come Alive") – B-side of "Let's Go Crazy", August 1984 US 12" Single Extended Version, Warner Brothers 20246

7. Purple Rain (7" Edit) – A-side, September 1984 US 45-single, Warner Brothers 29174

8. God – B-side of "Purple Rain", September 1984 US 45-single, Warner Brothers 29174

9. God (Love Theme From Purple Rain) – B-side of UK 12" Single for "Purple Rain", September 1984 on Warner Brothers W 9174 T

10. Another Lonely Christmas (Edit) – B-side of "I Would Die 4 U", November 1984 US 45-single on Warner Brothers 20291

11. Another Lonely Christmas (Extended Version) – A-side, December 1984 US 45-single, Warner Brothers 20291

12. I Would Die 4 U (7" Single Edit) – A-side, November 1984 US 45-single on Warner Brothers 29121

13. I Would Die 4 U (Extended Version) – A-side, December 1984 US 45-single on Warner Brothers 20291

14. Baby I'm A Star (Edit) – B-side to "Take Me With U", January 1985 US 45-single on Warner Brothers 29079

15. Take Me With U (7" Single Edit) – A-side, January 1985 US 45-single on Warner Brothers 29079

 

DVD – Prince And The Revolution Live at the Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, 30 March 1985

1. Let's Go Crazy

2. Delirious

3. 1999

4. Little Red Corvette

5. Take Me With U

6. Do Me, Baby

7. Irresistible Bitch

8. Possessed

9. How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore

10. Let's Pretend We're Married

11. International Lover

12. God

13. Computer Blue

14. Darling Nikki

15. The Beautiful One

16. When Doves Cry

17. I Would Die 4 U

18. Baby I'm A Star

19. Purple Rain

 

On first glance the silver-foil-look multi-foldout-panel cardpack certainly looks the part - a Remaster of the original album overseen by prince at his Paisley Park studios - a chockers CD2 with unheard rarities which are actually worth hearing - a third CD of myriad 7" and 12" single versions (promos included) and the icing on the cake - a concert DVD that amply shows why he and his band (on form) were one of the greatest live draws in the world. But you quickly begin to realize that the 36-page booklet (pretty as it is) is a truncated variant of the much larger version in the 'Super Deluxe' Box set and only comments on the album - then nada. No debate or enlightenment for fans on any of the rest of it.

 

Audio Engineer SUSAN ROGERS opens the text with reminiscences of the album's making and Prince's impact not just on the R&B and Soul scene, but what crossover appeal "Purple Rain" gave Prince with the Rock Crowd who after "1999" had woken up to his brilliance. It was his fusion of Hendrix going wild on Guitar, Sly Stone getting Funky in the keyboard department and James Brown's band The JB's meets Motown's locked-in rhythm section The Funk Brothers letting rip with the back beat. Pretty much irresistible stuff and yet Prince felt new - like you just weren't sure he would go next.

 

There's a slew of suitably outrageous outtake photos but perhaps best of all is a song-by-song analysis by the musicians of The Revolution - Singer and Keyboardist Lisa Coleman, Guitarist and Vocalist Wendy Melvoin, Drummer Bobby Z, Bassist and Vocalist Brown Mark and Keyboardist and Vocalist Dr. Fink - all filling out the section called 'Fearlessly Breathe In The...Purple Rain - The Revolution Track-By-Track'. Immediately you're hit by their affection - the sense of good luck too that they were part of such an extraordinary ride. All tasty - but in the end it was always going to be about the Prince Remaster of the Album (CD1) and BERNIE GRUNDMAN handling the rest. While obvious big hitters like "When Doves Cry", "Purple Rain" and "Let's Go Crazy" will get the immediate attention - it's those album gems like the ballad "The Beautiful Ones" and the Funk-a-thon "Baby I'm A Star" that fans will love - suddenly lifted up out of the mire - instruments and moments swirling around your speakers. I love it.

 

But little (apart from his reputation) will prepare you for the gems and excesses on CD2 - a haul of unreleased - some of which Funk-U-Up for eleven and twelve minutes - the lady vocals start in "Our Destiny" that then segues into Prince taking over for "Roadhouse Garden" only to end the five-minute two-parter with the rip-roaring-est geetar solo you've ever heard - the kind of thing that Hendrix might note with a smirk in the great blue yonder. He does the same on the massively extended "Computer Blue" version - in fact its fading out and he's still punishing that guitar for even existing. Of the outtakes "Velvet Kitty Cat" and "Father's Song" impress and you can't help thinking that a five-minute edit of the Funk workout that is eleven-minute "The Dance Electric" could easily have made the album itself.

 

Directed by Paul Becher with the Audio also remastered by Bernie Grundman - the video concert shows his smarts by mixing in rarity material like "Do Me, Baby", "Possessed" and "Irresistible Bitch" into his live set thereby keeping uber-fans happy and the casual audience on its toes. The final three of "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm A Star" and the epic "Purple Rain" show that fine line he tread - egotist, sexpot and genius too - and man did he know it.

 

Despite the annoyance of having a chunky booklet that doesn't actually tell you about the contents of its three CDs and 1DVD - this is a fabulous reissue and of course, my bank manager has booked cardiac-relief sessions as I now pursue the 'Super Deluxe Edition' because more of the same isn't just a good idea, but on the evidence presented here, damn near essential...

"1999" by PRINCE - October 1982 Studio Double-Album on Warner Brothers Records featuring Members of The Revolution - 'Dez' Desmond Dickerson on Guitar, Brown Mark on Bass with 'J.J.' (Jill Jones), 'Lisa' (Lisa Coleman) and 'Vanity' (Denise Matthews) on Lead and Backing Vocals (November 2019 UK Warner Brothers/NPG '2CD Deluxe Edition' Reissue with Rarities and Bernie Grundman Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

 

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"...A Pocket Full Of Horses..."

"1999" was probably the true beginning of Prince's legend and for fans - the start of serious collecting mania. 

 

Composed, Arranged, Produced and Played entirely by Prince Rogers Nelson - few artists put out double-albums like this and then followed them with absolute corkers - "Purple Rain" in 1986 and "Sign O' The Times" in 1987 (another double). 

 

His fifth outing "1999" was also The Purple One's first album to break the Top 10 in his native USA. So it's year and a half long success produced five singles across various territories - each with a myriad amount of edits and those tasty 7" and 12" Promo-Only Mixes in tandem (CD2 crams 18 of them onto one disc with a fantastic 78-minute playing time).  

 

And (at last) after decades waiting for decent Remasters of his highly desirable Warner Brothers catalogue - along comes Audio Engineer El-Supremo Bernie Grundman to answer all our delirious needs (he was the Engineer on the original 2LP set in 1982 anyway). A Pocket Full Of Horses indeed. Let's get millennial...

UK released 29 November 2019 - "1999" by PRINCE on Warner Records/NPG R2 604568 - 603497850037 (Barcode 603497850037) is a '2CD Deluxe Edition' Reissue and Remaster of the October 1982 2LP set originally on Warner Brothers Records that plays out as follows:

CD1 "1999 Remastered" (70:23 minutes):

1. 1999 (6:14 minutes) [Side 1]

2. Little Red Corvette (5:04 minutes)

3. Delirious (4:05 minutes)

4. Let's Pretend We're Married (7:20 minutes) [Side 2]

5. D.M.S.R. (Dance, Music, Sex, Romance) (8:18 minutes)

6. Automatic (9:26 minutes) [Side 3]

7. Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) (4:02 minutes)

8. Free (5:07 minutes)

9. Lady Cab Driver (8:17 minutes) [Side 4]

10. All The Critics Love U In New York (5:58 minutes)

11. International Lover (6:38 minutes)

Tracks 1 to 11 are the double-album "1999" - released 27 October 1982 in the USA on Warner Brothers Records 9 23720-1 and in the UK on Warner Brothers 923 720-1. 

 

CD2 "1999 Promo Mixes & B-Sides Remastered" (77:59 minutes):

1. 1999 (7" Stereo Edit - 3:37 minutes)

2. 1999 (7" Mono Promo-Only Edit - 3:35 minutes)

3. Free (Promo-Only Edit - 4:36 minutes)

4. How Come U Don't Call Me anymore? (Non-LP B-side of "1999" single - 3:55 minutes)

5. Little Red Corvette (7" Edit - 3:08 minutes)

6. All The Critics Love U In New York (7" Edit - 3:16 minutes)

7. Lady Cab Driver (7" Edit - 5:06 minutes)

8. Little Red Corvette (Dance Remix Promo-Only Edit - 4:34 minutes)

9. Little Red Corvette (Special Dance Mix - 8:31 minutes)

10. Delirious (7" Edit - 2:39 minutes)

11. Horny Toad (Non-LP B-side to "Delirious" - 2:13 minutes)

12. Automatic (7" Edit - 3:40 minutes) 

13. Automatic (Video Version - 8:21 minutes)

14. Let's Pretend We're Married (7" Edit - 3:45 minutes)

15. Let's Pretend We're Married (7" Mono Promo-Only Edit - 3:44 minutes) 

16. Irresistible Bitch (Non-LP B-side to "Let's Pretend We're Married" - 4:13 mins)

17. Let's Pretend We're Married (Video Version - 4:03 minutes)

18. D.M.S.R. (Edit - 5:06 minutes)

The double opens with three stormers in a row that had most people disbelieving their good luck (man could he pen a hit) - "1999", "Little Red Corvette" and "Delirious" filling dancefloors and FM Radio airwaves the world over. But the gorgeous remaster will allow fans to hear deep album cuts like the lovely "Free" - a track that could easily have made single number six in edited form (the right to be free - free to change my mind). Check out those companion vocals by J.J., Lisa, Wendy and Vanity - subtle but 'so' there - and his guitar that is Rawk but in that very Prince kind of way. The Sly & The Family Stone naughtiness of "Lady Cab Driver" is the same - funky as anything - all those slap Bass notes, subtle doubled vocals, brass stabs, flicked guitars, stunning axe solos later on - what a genius arrangement too even if the orgasmic vocals by the gals is a tad over someone's top. 

 

Prince gets all Velvet Underground and old school sarcastic for "All The Critics Love U In New York" - a sinister little belter that has an incessant beat set against wild guitar soloing and lyrics that barely contain his contempt for falsehood. I'm loving the fuller sound on "International Lover" - possibly single number seven? The wall of voices and the clear piano and beats really giving it such muscle - seduction 747 with Pilot Prince at the controls. And remember as the great man advised - in case of over-excitement - use the cushions provided as a flotation device - oh behave!

I always thought the nine and half minutes of "Automatic" on Side 3 was indulgent, but the 45-single edit at 3:40 minutes finally allows to digest the groove - and I've never heard the 'Video Version' which gives full reign to the song at over eight minutes. Don't know if the 'Mono' mixes add anything other than being rare, but fans have waited so long for easy access to those Non-LP flipsides - "Irresistible..." being my fave. I'm still dipping into CD2 - so that's cool by me.

 

"...I'm going to listen to my body tonight...party like it's 1999..." 

 

I still remember the thrill of this album and the realization that a huge talent had finally caught our eyes and ears. It kills me that musical giants like David Bowie, Prince and Tom Petty are no longer with us. But there is at least this - his fantastic and varied legacy finally done proper by an Audio Engineer of serious respect. And for that, I am genuinely delirious. 

 

Onto the Super Deluxe edition bigger box and threatening letters from the bank manager...

"Music By Ry Cooder" by RY COODER - Soundtrack Music from 1980 to 1993 featuring Guest Musicians Van Dyke Parks, Jon Hiatt, Jim Dickinson, David Lindley, Jorge Calderon, Milt Holland, Freddie Fender, Jon Hassell and more (August 1995 UK Warner Brothers 2CD Anthology with Allen Sides Remixes and Bernie Grundman Mastering) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Bound For Canaan..."

 

In his own quiet and unassuming way, Ry Cooder has always been a bit of a revolutionary. After a Bluesy stint with The Rising Suns in 1968, from 1970's "Ry Cooder" to 1979's hugely successful and popular "Bop Till You Drop" - Cooder had brought all manner of genres to the wider attention of the music buying public - old timey tunes, Americana, Tex Mex, Zydeco - and all of it wrapped up his trademark slide guitar that hogged the classy ropes of the boxing ring but rarely got showy with his pyrotechnical upper cuts. And long before Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel broke open other nationalities and themes in music - Ry Cooder had been doing it like a goodun for an entire decade on Reprise Records.

 

But come the Eighties, Ry seemed done with it - played out on that schtik. So he migrated towards Soundtracks - instrumentals where he could 'mood' the music instead of all the time having to find words to support the tune. And that's where this very cool (and still very cheap) twofer from 1995 comes a romping-in. 

 

Covering O.S.T.'s from 1980 to 1993 - Cooder handpicked the tracks - three of which are from the unreleased "Southern Comfort" film soundtrack (they debut on CD here). The 10-leaf double-sided foldout inlay provides credits for each song showing us a tasty line-up of guests -  Van Dyke Parks (Piano), John Hiatt (Guitar and Vocals), Sam Samudio, Harry Dean Stanton and Freddie Fender (Vocals), Jim Dickinson (Keyboards), Flaco Jimenez (Accordion), David Lindley (Guitars, Mandolin and Fiddle), Jorge Calderon (Bass), Jim Keltner and Milt Holland (Drums and Percussion), Jon Hassell, Steve Douglas (Saxophone) and even George Clinton of Parliament and Funkadelic fame co-writing and doing arrangements ("Bound For Canaan..."). Lots to take about...to the shimmering details...

 

UK August 1995 - "Music By Ry Cooder" by RY COODER on Warner Brothers 9362-45987-2 (Barcode 093624598725) is a 34-Track 2CD Compilation of Soundtrack Music from 1980 to 1993 that plays out as follows: 

CD1 (54:17 minutes):

1. Paris, Texas 

2. Theme From Southern Comfort 

3. Theme From Alamo Bay

4. Across The Borderline

5. Highway 23

6. Bomber Bash 

7. Greenhouse 

8. Nice Bike 

9. I Like Your Eyes 

10. Main Theme

11. See You In Hell, Blind Boy

12. Feelin' Bad Blues  

13. Swamp Walk 

14. Angola

15. Viola Lee Blues

16. The Long Riders 

17. Archie's Funeral (Hold To God's Unchanging Hand)

18. Jesse James

Track 1 from "Paris, Texas O.S.T." (August 1985) 

Tracks 2 and 13 from "Southern Comfort O.S.T." (September 1981) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED on CD until this compilation

Track 3 from "Alamo Bay O.S.T" (April 1985) 

Tracks 4 and 5 from "Across The Borderline O.S.T." (November 1987, with John Hiatt)

Track 6 from "Streets Of Fire O.S.T." - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED on CD

Tracks 7 and 8 is from "Blue City O.S.T" (1986)

Tracks 9, 10 and 14 from "Johnny Handsome O.S.T." (October 1989)

Tracks 11, 12 and 15 from "Crossroads O.S.T." (July 1986)

Tracks 16, 17 and 18 from "The Long Riders O.S.T." (April 1980)

CD2 (48:08 minutes):

1. King Of The Street  

2. Sunny's Tune 

3. No Quiero 

4. Cruising With Rafe 

5. Klan Meeting 

6. I Can't Walk This Time/The Prestige 

7. East St. Louis

8. Goose And Lucky 

9. Goyakla Is Coming 

10. Candes Upstream

11. Canción Mixteca

12. Maria 

13. Bound For Canaan (Sieber Davis)

14. Bound For Canaan (The 6th Calvary)

15. Train To Florida 

16. Houston In Two Seconds

Tracks 1, 7 and 8 from "Trespass O.S.T." (1992)

Tracks 2, 4 and 6 from "Johnny Handsome O.S.T." (October 1989)

Track 3 from "The Border O.S.T." (1982)

Track 5 from "Alamo Bay O.S.T." (August 1985)

Tracks 8, 9, 13, 14 and 15 from "Geronimo: An American Legend O.S.T." (1993)

Track 10 from "Southern Comfort O.S.T." (September 1981) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED on CD until this compilation  - see also CD1

Tracks 12 and 14 is from "Paris, Texas O.S.T" (February 1985)

Remixed by ALLEN SIDES and Mastered by the legendary BERNIE GRUNDMAN - the Audio is fabulous - clear - powerful - clean - each track imbibed with the muscle they have always lacked on vinyl. The fold-out inlay is functional, has a new note from Cooder about the music, but just about does its job and not a whole lot more - which is a tad disappointing. But it's all about the great audio and the lesser heard dead interesting soundscapes Cooder made for movies. 

 

Across 16-years of work, highlights are many - the menace of the swamps in "Southern Comfort" - Sam (The Sham) Samudio on Vocals and Organ for the foreign language take in "No Quiero" and that huge lingering guitar note that hovers in "Paris, Texas" - a CD we regularly put on shuffle play in Reckless in Soho. Harry Dean Stanton does his talking actor thing on "Canción Mixteca", Van Dyke Parks plays piano on "Theme From Alamo Bay" and arranges Horns on "I Can't Walk This Time/The Prestige", John Hiatt shows on "Across The Borderline", "Highway 23" and "No Quiero" while Freddie Fender handles the vocals on "Across The Borderline" where his larynx sounds like its shredded and then some. Jo Hassell plays trumpet on "King Of The Street" whilst the lovely "I Like Your Eyes" has RC just by himself - guitar and piano. 

 

Filmmaker WALTER HILL fills his 1995 liner note with thanks for what Cooder did to add textures to his movies - but mostly Hill is thankful for Cooder's bemused detachment because somehow his music was/is perfect for such endeavors. Buy and dip into it when you need something different, moody, but uplifting too...Great.

"Hotel California: 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition" by EAGLES (November 2017 Elektra/Asylum 2CD Reissue - CD1 1999 Remaster - CD2 2017 Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Passage Back To The Place I Was Before..."

There's something about THE EAGLES that occasionally gets my goat. Don't get me wrong - as a Seventies kid - I lived and breathed the band and this music like so many of my pals. But on CD reissue - this quintessential Americana Country-Rock band have always seemed greedy to me - just two shades short of rip-off city. And I'm afraid this '40th Anniversary Expanded Edition' 2CD Reissue of "Hotel California" does feel like yet another cash-in on a monster album. Having said all of that, infuriatingly, there is much to love here...

First up - they can't even get the date right. December 2016 would have been the '40th Anniversary' and not November 2017 - a whole year late. Second – although the 'Original Album' is a superb Bernie Grundman Remaster – it was done over 17 years ago in 1999 - so there's no upgrade or anything new studio-wise. There's no outtakes, no lyrics, no original poster repro, no inner repro, not even a dedication to Glenn Frey whose horrible passing in January 2016 took everyone by surprise and saddened so many. And although the expanded booklet looks pretty enough in places (see photos supplied) it's over in seconds and hasn't bothered with piddly little things like liner notes or even a posted history of the copy-shifting beast of an album so newbees can get an inkling of its place in Rock's History.

Over on the PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED CD2 things are at least new - the HC band line-up with Joe Walsh on fire - but again we learn it's a truncated disc! You get a well-recorded and exciting live gig from October 1976 taped across three days at the LA Forum which debuted tracks like "Hotel California" and "New Kid In Town" as well as containing other concert killers like Walsh's "Funk 49" from his James Gang days. But we now know that there's more to the concert - yet it's only available on the lavish and ludicrously expensive 'Super Deluxe' Edition. So all tongue-lashing and finger-wagging aside - is this 2CD worth having at all - I'd still argue yes! The album is a gem of course, but that second disc has fantastic-sounding Eagles live material - Joe Walsh with the band - their playing and singing is immaculate. So here are the not-so-new details from the not-so-new kid on the block...

UK and Europe released Friday, 24 November 2017 - "Hotel California: 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition" by THE EAGLES on Elektra/Asylum 081227933234 (Barcode 081227933234) is a 2CD Reissue and Remaster. BERNIE GRUNDMAN remastered the Original 1976 Album in 1999: a team of Engineers in 2017 (see list below) have handled the unreleased Live Concert from October 1976 on CD2.

Disc 1 – "Hotel California" - The Original Album (43:27 minutes):

1. Hotel California [Lead Vocals, Don Henley] – Side 1

2. New Kid In Town [Lead Vocals, Glenn Frey]

3. Life In The Fast Lane [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]

4. Wasted Time [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]

5. Wasted Time (Reprise) [Instrumental] – Side 2

6. Victim Of Love [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]

7. Pretty Maids All In A Row [Lead Vocals, Joe Walsh]

8. Try And Love Again [Lead Vocals, Randy Meisner]

9. The Last Resort [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]

Tracks 1 to 9 are their fifth and biggest selling album "Hotel California" – released December 1976 in the USA on Asylum 7E 1084 and in the UK on Asylum K 53051 - Produced by BILL SZYMCZYK. It went to Number 1 in both countries and has subsequently sold over 30 million copies. "New Kid In Town", "Hotel California" and "Life In The Fast Lane" were all US 45s in December 1976, March and May 1977 – with both "New Kid In Town" and "Hotel California" hitting the coveted No. 1 spot.

Disc 2 – "Live At The Los Angeles Forum, October 20-22, 1976" (48:38 minutes)

1. Take It Easy [Lead Vocals, Glenn Frey]

2. Take It To The Limit [Lead Vocals, Randy Meisner]

3. New Kid In Town [Lead Vocals, Glenn Frey]

4. James Dean [Lead Vocals, Glenn Frey]

5. Good Day In Hell [Lead Vocals, Glenn Frey]

6. Witchy Woman [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]

7. Funk No. 49 [Lead Vocals, Joe Walsh]

8. One Of These Nights [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]

9. Hotel California [Lead Vocals, Don Henley]

10. Already Gone [Lead Vocals, Glenn Fry]

Original Production by Bill Szymczyk - Reissue Produced by Don Henley and Richard F.W. Davis - Mixed by Jeff Balding at Sonic Boom Room, Assistant Engineers Matt Coles and Zack Johnson with Additional Engineering by Kell Katero, Alan Black and Tom Scott.

The three-way foldout card digipak has blurry repro photos of the original artwork and both CDs reflect the iconic label artwork. The 16-page booklet has ‘Rare Photos and Memorabilia’ pictured – concert posters, ticket stubs, the ’77 Tour Program cover, a Trade Advert from the summer of 1978 as they toured July and August as well as period live photos of the famous line-up. The BERNIE GRUNDMAN Remaster has always been great – only amplifying an already beautifully recorded album. And you forget how good tracks like Joe Walsh’s "Pretty Maids All In A Row", Randy Meisner’s "Try And Love Again" and the magnificent Don Henley/Glenn Frey compositions of "Wasted Time" and "The Last Resort". Band fave and almost sixth Eagle J.D. Souther gets two credits – one for the impossibly catchy "New Kid In Town" and a co-write with Felder, Henley and Frey on the hard-hitting guitar-chug of "Victim Of Love". The big surprise comes with how good Disc 2 is...

The Audio for instance on the live "New Kid In Town" is fantastic - almost a good as the album version - plus of course it has a 'newness' to it - the band debuting it for an ecstatic hometown crowd two months the album hit the shops. The guitar solos are almost note-for-note perfect and the group harmonies are superlative. I suspect "James Dean" was the opening song - Walsh ripping into that trademark guitar sound of his - Meisner harmonising with Frey while Felder licks away on his axe - Walsh following in that stunning two-guitar combo they had. Huge slide guitar kicks "Good Day In Hell" into Boogie Mode while stretching back to the 1972 debut album "Witchy Woman" slinks into the set with the first lead vocal from Don Henley. It has meaty guitar solos coursing in its veins as they run alongside that tom-tom beat. What you also notice is that although Timothy B. Schmit had a gorgeous lead and harmony voice with the later line-up - unsung hero here is Randy Meisner's high falsetto that adds so much to a lot of the tracks as he harmonises with either Frey or Henley.

Joe Walsh breaks up the Folk-Rock and Americana repertoire with his stunning "Funk No. 49" - a guitar chomping Funk-Rocker that livens up proceedings before they give the crowd the number-one hit they crave - "One Of These Nights" - Henley oohing and aahing and coming up behind you - searching for an angel in white. Felder and Walsh give it some fab guitar pings as the song romps home - Henley sounding uncomfortable with those impossibly high notes. Even without introduction "Hotel California" elicits cheers from a crowd who are clearly digging the multiple guitars and brilliant words. This could be Heaven or this could be Hell, Henley sings - luckily this is an audio in-between. The duet guitars are wildly impressive - Henley finally getting his amazing voice around lyrics he actually likes and believes in – but there are moments when the in-and-out audio mix just seems to lose it a tad. The band then brings the whole thing to a rip-roaring guitar-wailing finish with the bopping rocker "Already Gone" – feeling strong and singing a victory song.

I suppose you could argue that "The Studio Collection" 6CD Mini Box Set (1972 to 1979) is a far better way to spend your money - all those great hits and the one in-between that you've forgotten. But if you must own a snazzy variant of "Hotel California" - then this belated 40th Anniversary twofer will make your diddly-daddy happy...his expanded waistline digging this expanded edition...