Killing Joke Remasters Part DEUX!

Even YOU weren't waiting for a remastered Outside the Gate, c'mon now.

I'm sure I'll still buy it. Because I'm an idiot.

You all suck, by the way.

I'll get the two earliest.

do they have more cd's than the fall yet?

I'm totally salivating over the previously unreleased stuff on the Night Time one. Yikes! Have you even heard this stuff before, Alex?

I've got those sessions but it'll be great to have clean versions. And they do kill, indeed.

WTF is the deal with _Brighter_, though?
- The original release of the Brighter Than A Thousand Suns album featured mixes of many of the tracks by Julian Mendelsohn. These mixes replaced the original mixes done by Chris Kimsey. At the request of the band Chris Kimsey’s original mixes have been restored to the album and the CD you are now holding.

Great, so now I have to keep both versions?

I'm not holding a Killing Joke remaster!

....yet!

Have you even heard this stuff before, Alex?

Yeah, I have most of it already, honestly.

Okay, wait a minute, wait a minute. Mixes done by a different guy for tracks on Brighter? Where is this CD that is supposed to be in my hand?

Listened to the _Extremities_ remaster today, what an absolute monster. Is there ANYONE else making this kinda of intelligent, angry music that both confronts and comforts? Surely there must be...

October File would invariably shoot their arm up, Arnold Horseshack style and say "Ooh Ooh Us Us Us!", but forget it.

There is only one Killing Joke.

I tried to find Extremities at the store today, it wasn't there. :(

Should anyone care, the re-release date for these is January 28th.

Well, I'm excited.

yay!

They're out. They're fantastic (surprise). Go get them or face a life dimmed by a paucity of excellence.

No, seriously!

I'm not holding a Killing Joke remaster!

-- Mark G, Wednesday, 10 October 2007 15:01 (3 months ago) Bookmark Link

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

....yet!

-- Alex in NYC, Wednesday, 10 October 2007 16:08 (3 months ago) Bookmark Link

Funnily enough, I did have four in my hand, earlier this week. Then I gave them back to a colleague.

are they good or are they overly loud and generally unnecessary?

Who, KJ?

"are they good or are they overly loud and generally unnecessary?"

Are the two mutually exclusive?

the remasters (xp)

they can be, yes

The sound is, of course, louder, and less muddled. The real bonus, I think, is the extra tracks. Widely circulated bootleg recordings of songs (notably "All Play Rebel," "New Culture" and "Blue Feather") are finally presented without Kid Jensen's irritating radio banter in the preludes and with new, lovely sonic clarity.

Liner notes by Tony Raven (no relation to the late Paul Raven) are nice as well.

If they're out, how come Amazon keeps showing a release date of Feb. 5th? This has been pissing me off because last weekend it said they would be out Monday. I would preorder them but I don't trust Amazon to send me the right thing unless I order it through amazon.co.uk and I don't want to do that.

"New Day". Was it posted as a bonus track? If so, right version this time?

The UK editions are out.

"New Day" (the 7" version) is indeed included at last, yes.

Oh, and the version of Brighter Than A Thousand Suns restores Chris Kimsey's original mix, which is just a tad burlier than the version that's been available since 1986.

Haven't listened Outside the Gate, but what's that expression about polishing a turd?

Listening to these now (well, not OTG). Much like with The Fall, this poppy 80s version of Killing Joke was my entre. Eventually I worked my way back and then forward and while I love each period for very different reasons, this stuff sounds so tame in comparison to the rest of their catalog.

yeah this is where I discovered Killing Joke and it's my favorite period too. I like "love like blood". call me a pussy, whatever

Anyone who calls you a pussy for liking any period of Killing Joke's illustrious career should be pushed off a perilously high cliff onto a merciless field of jagged, pointy rocks.

And then shat on from a great height, like the top of said cliff. And make it splatter.

Don't let your trope die Alex!

"Sanity" was my first exposure to Killing Joke.

"Eighties" was my second exposure to Killing Joke. This is where I hopped on.

"America" was my third exposure to Killing Joke. This is where I went huh

Extremeties was my fourth exposure to Killing Joke and I was wondering who Ministry was trying to rip off at the time, but not as well.

etc.

I AWAIT THE MAILMAN/WOMAN TOMORROW WITH BAITED BREATH

I CAN'T STAND THE SUSPENSE ABOUT THE GODDAMN BRIGHTER THAN A THOUSAND SUNS!!!

I mean please someone at least describe it to me...Alex only said it was "burlier" which I thought was a funny thing to describe music.

Needless filligree excised. Cleaner. Crisper. Goopy keyboard syrup lessened.

I got them in the mail today!!!

I understand why you said 'burlier'! They're beefier! Meatier!

And now...

"LET'S KAMIKAZE TIL WE GET THERE!!!!"

Damnit A New Day is on this! I can't contain my excitement! "New Culture" with improved sound quality! Yes!

But it's Blue Feather that slays me. Holy shit. God, that is just gorgeous. BOTH versions! I'm speechless. What the hell?

But that Kings & Queens mix. Oh my god. I can't wait to put on Brighter again after this! I must be in heaven.

Should anyone give a toss, I've recently composed a needlessly exhaustive rumination on these remasters from my entirely stupid weblog. Enjoy!

http://www.redferns.com/ln_pictures/sysiphus/redcom/100/DCO_181583_KILLING_JOKE_1.JPG

"It's good, innit!"

Regarding "A New Day"...

According to discogs.com, the 7" version of "A New Day" contains:
A New Day (3:45)
Dance Day (3:40)
and the 12" contains:
A New Day (Dub Mix) (4:20)
A New Day (4:08)
while we have:
A New Day (from Wilful Days) (4:02)
A New Day (from new reissue) (4:11)

Discogs isn't perfect, but - wah? The reissue version would seem to be the 12" undub/undance version but the Wilful Days version doesn't jibe with any of them!

Anyone have the original 7" or 12" with which to compare?

Ok, I did a quick A/B comparison of the new _Brighter_ mix and the previously released CD version, comments below all refer to the reissue mix:

Adorations - clearly different
Sanity - much earlier fade
Chessboards - not that different
Twilight Of The Mortal - same version
Love Of The Masses - not that different but much longer
A Southern Sky - same version
Victory - much different and half as long!
Wintergardens - not that different and a slightly longer fade
Rubicon - not very different but has a much earlier fade and the drums sound more natural
Goodbye To The Village - not that different but a slightly earlier fade
Exile - not that different but a much earlier fade

Overall, the reissue mix is punchier, the reverb has been stripped from Jaz' vocals & there's more prominent bass. So, interesting but not as radically different as I expected.

Thanks for the assessment. I'm not sure I'd have the patience to go through with that kind of detailed comparison.

Alright so I went to the record store. I was going to buy the CD reissue of Joy Division's Still, that was the whole point of me being there.

But here was this young guy working at the store and I said "I can't find any Mary Jane Girls CD's are they in a different section?" (yes I know anyone reading this thread hates Mary Jane Girls but just bear with me, here) so he's like "no they should be in the section you're talking about". So he goes to look for them and I follow him, only strangely he stops right at Killing Joke's "Night Time" CD, fingers it, and I notice King Crimson nearby. My head spins. He tells me soon after that they are out of Mary Jane Girls CD's, but I still wonder what made him stop at Killing Joke. At the counter, I ask him if he likes Killing Joke. He says he's never heard of them.

I'm going to put on Night Time, now okay?

8-TEES!