*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE
2012 REISSUE ***
"...This Train Is Full Of Songs..."
Named after the last track on
Side 1 of Steely Dan's 1977 masterpiece "Aja" - 1989 was a
breakthrough year for the Scottish Soul-Rock band DEACON BLUE. Following on
from the promise and songwriting sophistication of their 1987 major-label debut
"Raintown" - their bombastic 2nd album "When The World Knows
Your Name" delivered them a deserved Number 1 slot in the UK album charts
in the Spring of that explosive year.
Featuring a truckload of hit
singles (5) and a flashy gatefold sleeve with a lavish inner - this was CBS
telling the world they believed in their boys and girl. And they were right
too. Even now on this superb 2012 comprehensive Edsel reissue - the album still
sounds incredibly confident (if not a little dated production-wise). Here are
the finite details...
Released 22 Oct 2012 in the
UK (16 Oct 2012 in the USA) as a 3CD/1DVD mini hardback book set - "When The
World Knows You Name" by DEACON BLUE on Edsel EDSJ 9003 (Barcode 740155900335)
breaks down as follows:
Disc 1 (78:04 minutes):
1.
Queen Of The New Year [Side 1]
2.
Wages Day
3.
Real Gone Kid
4.
Love And Regret
5.
Circus Lights
6.
This Changing Light
7.
Sad Loved Girl
8.
Fergus Sings The Blues [Side 2]
9.
The World Is Lit By Lightning
10.
Silhouette
11.
One Hundred Things
12.
Your Constant Heart
13.
Orphans
Tracks 1 to 13 are the album
"When The World Knows Your Name" released April 1989 on CBS 463321
(1, 4 and 2 after the catalogue number for LP, MC and CD).
BONUS TRACKS:
14. Real Gone Kid (Extended
12” Version)
15. Little Lincoln
16. Born Again
17. It’s Not Funny Anymore
Tracks 14 to 17 are non-album
sides from the "Real Gone Kid” UK 7”, 12”and CD single formats on CBS
Records DEAC 7
18. Wages Day (Extended 12”
Version)
19. Take Me To The Place
20. Take The Saints Away
Tracks 18 to 20 are non-album
sides from the “Wages Day” UK 7”, 12” and CD Single on CBS Records DEAC 8
Disc 2 (62:42 minutes):
BONUS TRACKS
1. Trampoline
2. Fergus Sings The Blues
(Extended 12” Version)
3. Long Window To Love
4. London A – Z
5. Back Here In Beanoland
6. Love And Regret (Extended
12” Version)
7. Down In The Flood
8. Undeveloped Heart
9. Love And Regret/It’s All
In The Game (Live)
10. Spanish Moon/Down In The
Flood (Live)
11. Dark End Of The Street
(Live)
12. When Will You (Make My
Telephone Ring)? (Live)
13. Down in The Flood
(Minimal Mix)
Tracks 1 to 13 are more
non-album sides from all formats for "Wages Day", "Fergus Sings
The Blues" and "Love And Regret" on CBS Records DEAC 8 [track
1], DEAC 9 [tracks 2 to 5] and DEAC 10 [tracks 6 to 13]
Disc 3 (69:26 minutes):
BONUS TRACKS
1. Queen Of The New Year
(Extended 12” Version)
2. My America
3. Las Vegas
4. Sad Loved Girl (Long
Version)
5. Circus Light (Acoustic
Version)
6. Queen Of The New Year
(Live)
7. Chocolate Girl (Live)
8. Undeveloped Heart (Live)
9. Town To Be Blamed (Live)
Tracks 1 to 9 are more
non-album sides and versions from "Queen Of The New Year" on varying
formats of CBS Records DEAC 11
10. Love You Say
11. Let Your Hearts Be
Troubled
12. Is It Cold Beneath The
Hill?
13. Killing The Blues
14. Gentle Teardrops
15. That Country
16. Christine
Tracks 10 to 16 first
appeared on the 2LP/2CD compilation album "Ooh Las Vegas" in
September 1990 [reached Number 2 on the UK LP charts]. It featured "When
The World Knows Your Name" outtakes and other unreleased material.
DVD (NTSC) contains 6 Promo
Videos - "Real Gone Kid" Version 1 and 2", "Wages
Day", "Fergus Sings The Blues", "Love And Regret" and
"Queen Of The New Year".
The album opens strongly with
"Queen Of The New Year" and just never lets up - hit and after hit.
But I particularly like the lesser-heard "Joshua Tree" feel to
"Circus Lights" and the Talking Heads jaunt of "Silhouette"
combining so well with the unexpected loveliness of "Sad Loved Girl"
and "Orphans" (lyrics from it title this review) showing the band
actually had real soul amidst all the pop. Mark Feltham of Nine Below Zero adds
great harmonica backing to "Love And Regret" and while RICKY ROSS
seems to grab the lion's share of the songwriting limelight - keyboardist JAMES
PRIME is due an honorary mention too - especially for "Fergus Sings The
Blues" and the truly gorgeous "Sad Loved Girl". The PHIL KINRADE
remaster doesn't seem to have messed with the original that much - it's just
punchier. Superb B-sides "Little Lincoln" and the happy vibe of
"Born Again" have benefitted from that sonic upgrade. In fact
"Born Again" could easily have been another hit single -
"...Feel like a new man...with the whole world in my hand...ooh babe...I'm
born again..." Those lyrics must have felt true to Ricky Ross and Lorraine
McIntosh back in 1989 - as the songs flowed like wine.
BONUS MATERIAL.
There was a time when DEACON
BLUE 12" and CD singles used to go for real money precisely because their
non-album sides were considered to be so good - and in some cases - better than
what was on the album (with all its need to be commercial). Listening to Disc 2
and 3 - it's easy to hear why. There is some amazing stuff on here -
"London A to Z" and "Back Here In Beanoland" while the
'Long Version' of "Sad Loved Girl" running to 3:17 is truly gorgeous
stuff - as opposed to the album cut which is a snippet at 1:11 minutes. The
only real dogs on here are the extended 12" mixes which all sport the
usual Eighties excesses that now sound so unlistenable.
Another downer for me is the
uber-polished Eighties production which drenches everything is super-slick
sound and huge drums. Tracks like "The World Is Hit By Lightning"
seems to want to hit you with instrument pop-ups every few seconds instead of
concentrating on getting an actual song out. In fact I've found that many
remastered 1980's albums are like this - there's something about the way they
were recorded that gives a subsequent remaster a slightly disjointed feel to
the whole sound stage. A personal opinion but one worth mentioning...
But these are minor quibbles
in what is an astonishing overview of a great album. As you can see in the list
provided below, Edsel have done Deluxe Editions on their whole catalogue and
more - and they're to be praised for these superb presentations pitched at a
more than reasonable price. Coming after the questionable and hugely
disappointing reissue of Peter Gabriel's "So" which offers bugger all
to long-suffering fans - this is one of those rare occasions where quality and
quantity make good bedfellows.
In "Fergus Sings The
Blues" Ricky Ross sings "...Can this white man sing the blues?"
Hell yes is the answer. And
his band played a blinder too...
The 2012 Series of DEACON BLUE UK CD Reissues on EDSEL are:
1. "Raintown"
(1987 Debut Album)
Deluxe 3CD/1DVD Edition on Edsel EDSJ 9002 (Barcode 740155900236)
2. "When The World Knows
Your Name" (1989)
Deluxe 3CD/1DVD Edition on Edsel EDSJ 9003 (Barcode
3. "Fellow
Hoodlums" (1991)
Deluxe 2CD/1DVD Edition on Edsel EDSG 8021 (Barcode 740155802134)
4. "Whatever You Say,
Say Nothing" (1993)
Deluxe 2CD/1DVD Edition on Edsel EDSG 8022 (Barcode 740155802233)
5. "Homesick"
(2001)
1CD Expanded Edition with 7 Bonus on Edsel EDSA 5015 (Barcode
6. "The Rest" (2012
Compilation)
Deluxe 2CD/1DVD Edition on Edsel EDSG 8023 (Barcode 740155802232)
7. "The Hipsters" (2012 New Album) - Edsel DEACON 001 (Barcode 5014797138681)
