Go-betweens reissues - is it worth shelling out more for the extra tracks?

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I've got none of their albums on CD (apart from Friends of Rachel Worth) and only the 78-90 compilation on vinyl and will probably end up buying them all over time.

But my friendly local record shop has most of them at £5.99 for the original single disc reissues or £14 for the newer versions with the extra CD. Is it worth getting the extra stuff given that it'll take me longer to get them all and I don't know how often I'd listen to a bunch of B-sides etc anyway?

― James Ball (James Ball), Thursday, 14 November 2002 10:59 (twenty-three years ago)

Um, you could start with the last three albums, which have yet to be re-released with extra discs in any case(they're more accessible, too; at least, less angular, which may not amount to the same thing). I do think it's worth getting the first few on double CD, though; partic in the case of 'Spring Hill Fair', where the parent album suffers from a rather stilted 1980s production style - hearing the demos / B-sides afterwards is like easing some pinching shoes off.

Hello, by the way.

― Rayas Blancas, Thursday, 14 November 2002 11:59 (twenty-three years ago)

Hi, like the comment about pinching shoes!

Thanks for the feedback. Do you know whether they are going to bring out an extra disc for the later stuff by the way?

I guess I have to decide how much of a Go-betweens obsessive I want to be, but maybe I'll start with the double disc 'Spring Hill Fair' and go from there.

― James Ball (James Ball), Thursday, 14 November 2002 12:08 (twenty-three years ago)

There's some great stuff on the bonus cd of Spring Hill Fair (and I think it's 'previously unreleased' rather than b-sides). But soundwise I prefer the single cd unremastered versions. So buy them both! (If you can make a tape of the (out-of-print) 78-90 compilation, which I've wanted to get hold of for ages, I'd happily exchange it for a copy of the expanded Spring Hill Fair. Email me if interested.)

― neil, Thursday, 14 November 2002 12:09 (twenty-three years ago)

I would def recommend starting with the Spring Hill Fair re-issue, then maybe going for the single disc Liberty Belle or Beyond Hollywood re-issue depending on cash flow! To be honest you can't go wrong with any GB product so it doesn't really matter!

― Guy, Thursday, 14 November 2002 12:22 (twenty-three years ago)

i hate reissues. actually i'm just jealous because they didn't make it to me neck of the woods.

but anyway, i agree with gary. you simply can't go wrong with the go-betweens. i'd get the "before hollywood" reissue, because it's my favourite.

― cecilia, Thursday, 14 November 2002 13:09 (twenty-three years ago)

Blimey! hello Guy!! Very nice to see you posting!

― Tom (Groke), Thursday, 14 November 2002 13:40 (twenty-three years ago)

Liberty belle & The BLack Diamond Express is my fav - which means almost all of their albums have been recomended now.

― tigerclawskank, Thursday, 14 November 2002 14:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Hi Tom, I'm always reading FT and now I'm actually posting! Re my above post though - Beyond = Before of course (and I call myself a GoB fan)!

― Guy, Thursday, 14 November 2002 15:43 (twenty-three years ago)

I compared the sound on the mid 90's beggars banquet single disc versions to the recent 2CD reissues and it was practically the same. The reissue seemed to have a miniscule bit more high end resolution but this might not translate to "better sound". The bonus tracks are worthwhile for the most part though, almost like getting a whole extra album with each. But with all 3 of them i think, they could have fit it all on a single disc. I guess they wanted to be faithful to the original albums, but i personally would have preferred one disc. Also, the single CD versions had kind of nice co-ordinated design (as some one here or elsewhere said, it looked kind of like a wedding invitation, maybe a bit bland, - but the original art was all there too i think). I wish on these new ones they had done it the way the Talk Talk CDs were done, with the original artwork and coordinated design on the spines of the CDs. Of course, TT as a band was a bit more design oriented in the first place i think, very nice packaging, where as the go-betweens had some awful artowrk (16 lovers lane comes to mind). The TT reissues all sound incredibly good too, but no bonus tracks I don't think.

― g (graysonlane), Thursday, 14 November 2002 15:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Anybody know if they plan to re-release 78-90. That was a great compilation. Can't figure out why it's not on the market anymore.

― David Gunnip, Thursday, 14 November 2002 15:47 (twenty-three years ago)

I bought both the double CDs of Spring Hill Fair and Before Hollywood, only because I couldn't find them in any other form. With the sole exception of "Hammer the Hammer," I don't think the extras were essential. And anyway, I already had that song on a now out-of-print compilation (1978-1990) that I paid something like $30 for on eBay.

― Jim McGaw, Thursday, 14 November 2002 16:19 (twenty-three years ago)

It's not on the market = record company politics, almost certainly. There's another best-of available so why have two to compete? Obv. 78-90 rules. NB. the non-remastered Liberty Belle CD used to come with 2 B-sides. There was talk many ages ago of a pure B-sides compilation, which would at least have stopped fans ending up with up to 3 copies of some albums.

― alext (alext), Thursday, 14 November 2002 16:55 (twenty-three years ago)

I guess this answers one of my questions (about the later albums). From pitchfork:

The Go-Betweens' first three albums were jointly re-released this summer by Circus Records (UK) and Jetset (US), as double-disc packages filled with scads of bonus tracks, b-sides, alternate versions, and other rarities, including the original videos. No word yet as to when the remainder of the Go-Betweens' 1980s catalog will be revamped: "Given the success of the first three reissues, the band wants to do the same with [the rest]," Jetset's Robert Vickers told Pitchfork via e-mail. "But unlike the first three, these albums are not owned by the band... I would not expect to see them in 2003 but it will happen someday."

Also, there's some info about the next album:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/02-11/21.shtml

― James Ball (James Ball), Friday, 22 November 2002 16:27 (twenty-three years ago)

eight months pass...

Did anyone else see the mention of 16 Lovers Lane being a new release on Allmusic.com today?

16 Lovers Lane [Expanded}
Artist The Go-Betweens
Album Title 16 Lovers Lane [Expanded}
Date of Release Aug 5, 2003

I looked on their webpage and on a few retail outlets, but didn't see it. Is this true or just a mix up on allmusic's part?

― svend, Monday, 18 August 2003 20:13 (twenty-two years ago)

i think it must be a mixup. i also can't see them reissuing that one before the older ones..

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 18 August 2003 22:42 (twenty-two years ago)

They are reissuing it... But there's not any extra material on it.

They're reissuing it because (somehow) they've resolved whatever issues with relasing it in the US... That's why it wasn't redone 5 years ago when Beggar's Banquet rereleased everything else...

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 19 August 2003 10:53 (twenty-two years ago)

But there's not any extra material on it.

bastards! there's stacks of b-sides from that period, not to mention the demos for the legendary unfinished post 16LL GoB's album..

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 19 August 2003 11:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I know ... I'm trying to find the details about it again .. but I'm not buying it until it's released with extras...

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 19 August 2003 12:29 (twenty-two years ago)

eight months pass...

Bit of a wait, but now:

"Circus Records are proud to announce the reissue of three of the greatest albums of the 80s - The Go-Betweens' "Liberty Belle and The Black Diamond Express", "Tallulah" and "16 Lovers Lane" - in sumptuous new packages. All the albums feature bonus disks of carefully selected material, much of which has never been commercially available before. All the material has been fully remastered and and each album contains two videos. The booklets for each record feature full lyrics, essays and previously unpublished photos. Full tracklistings will be announced shortly. The albums are scheduled for release in early June 2004."

Looking forward to getting 16LL in particular.

― James Ball (James Ball), Tuesday, 27 April 2004 07:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Tallulah and 16LL have dated more than the earlier ones, I find, probably because of tinny 80s production. Frustrating, because the songs are mostly so good. I have a CD of the 16LL demos which I maybe like more than the actual release.

― Jonathan Z. (Joanthan Z.), Tuesday, 27 April 2004 07:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I've got my fingers crossed for a version of 'Head Full of Steam' scrubbed clean of the bovine lowing of Tracey Thorn.

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 27 April 2004 08:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I think Tracey Thorn's contributions to LBATBDE are great. The extra CDs on these three reissues aren't as esoteric as the previous three. They're bloody obvious in many places, sadly. But there are some gems - I Work In A Health Spa finally excavated, for instance.

― Canada Briggs (Canada Briggs), Tuesday, 27 April 2004 08:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Is "Casanova's Last Words" on any of them?

― MikeB, Tuesday, 27 April 2004 08:52 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

Yup MikeB, it is on the 16LL reissue. I love the extra cd on this one.

― Jim Reckling (Jim Reckling), Friday, 30 September 2005 23:33 (twenty years ago)

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