Oooh, new Deluxe editions of classic St Et albums! YAY!

We've been holding back on this news for a while until we had all the info, but finally we can reveal the first bunch of Saint Etienne Deluxe editions: FOXBASE ALPHA and, for the first time outside Japan, CONTINENTAL.

They will be in the shops on May 18th, but we're hoping to have copies to sell at the Foxbase shows the previous week. They are 2cd sets, in shiny plastic wallets, with plenty of unseen photos and memorabilia from the period. As well as the relevant b-sides, and various alternate takes, each will include a clutch of unreleased songs. On FOXBASE ALPHA we have SALLY SPACE (pretty good, but oddly entirely forgotten by all three of us), CHASE HQ (as premiered on Resonance FM a couple of weeks back), and THE RECKONING (full spy mode instrumental); Continental premieres WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO (lost somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic according to this high-powered melancholic dancer), WE COULD HAVE IT ALL (celebrating the magic of teamwork) and the jagged UNDER HER SPELL.

You can pre-order both albums now from:

www.recordstore.co.uk/saintetienne/

FOXBASE ALPHA is also coming out in a gorgeous limited edition of a 1,000 set - as seen in the Guardian! Thanks to the international piracy problem (I'm not kidding) it will ship in July, but can be pre-ordered during May. We'll offer a link via the official Saint Etienne site first and will be available to international buyers. So what do you get?

1 x Six Inch tall Subbuteo Player in Saint Etienne strip
1 x reprint of the original album poster
4 x unique Foxbase Badges
1 x cd copy of the remastered double disc album.

All in a beautifully designed, vintage Etienne green presentation box. It's gorgeous. Something for your children, and your children's children, to go gooey-eyed over, before they tear the box to bits and pull the player's head off.

Beyond FOXBASE ALPHA and CONTINENTAL are similarly thorough reissues of SO TOUGH and SOUND OF WATER. More details as and when, but we've been rather shocked by how many forgotten relics are lurking in various cupboards and cellars.

going to the Foxbase Alpha performance on my birthday next week - v excited

I'm kicking myself for not getting tickets for that.

So Tough really needs a reissue. The CD sounds pretty crappy compared to my now-fucked cassette version.

yeah pretty psyched about these. foxbase alpha always sounded like it could use a remaster job too, tbh.

very happy to hear that continental will finally be coming out around here.

"foxbase alpha" and "so tough" both still sound perfect to my ears. hope they don't do any fancy remixing or anything

but wtf is this?
1 x Six Inch tall Subbuteo Player in Saint Etienne strip

looking forward to "sound of water" reissue; would really like to hear outtakes, etc from that era

AND what about the so-called "wilderness" years they allude to in "Nice Price"? Are those the tracks that made in onto Contiental?

All the Continental tracks were previously issued on b-sides, comps etc as far as I know. Maybe with one or two exceptions. I'm kinda surprised there's more in the vaults bearing in mind the amount of fanclubs cds and odds'n'ends compilations they've issued. Hopefully So Tough will come with You Need A Mess of Help as a bonus.

1 x Six Inch tall Subbuteo Player in Saint Etienne strip

I get the impression there's a 'deluxe box' version of a double LP remaster, but for all the 'contents' listings, that's one part of it that's not been mentioned.

xp yeah you're right, but i think it's closer to 2/3rds previous released, not to be nitpicky or anything :)

not so disappointed in missing foxbase alpha live as the live recordings i've heard from st et are pretty lousy performance-wise. it has the potential to be a total out-there O_o experience (wilson live? stoned to say the least?)

i've preordered from RecordStore.com but have no idea whether i'm getting the bonus goodies or not. I wish I was getting to see the Foxbase Alpha shows. Hopefully someone will record them.

really want that shirt with the "kiss and make up" sleeve art

me too!

there are people selling tix to the london shows on the St. Et. messageboards: http://saintetienneloversunite.yuku.com/topic/1808

The Et are a great live band! This show will be boss. Add me to the list of regretful non-attenders.

whichever reissue has 'you know i'll miss you when you're gone' included on it will get my $$

STOKED that they're remastering so tough! can't wait to buy it

I think the deluxe Foxbase Alpha release with the figurine and stuff will be a separate (and doubtlessly more expensive) item on their merch site. It's not up yet.

I'm a little bit nervous about this. To me a huge part of the appeal of Foxbase and So Tough was their kind of amateurish production. My fear is that they may make them sound "better", more "professional" etc. We'll see. Of course I could always just ignore them and go back to the originals.

I am v v excited for the live show (Steve - I still owe you for ticket, shall I give you money on night if I don't see you before?).

I saw them back in the day when FA came out and they were rather shambolic, but still great, since they've become a lot more polished but not to the detriment of the songs, Nothing can stop us has never sounded less than stellar (it is my personal favourite so I'm biased).

on the night yes mate

I have one ticket available for the friday show - anyone interested?

i thought pete wiggs was great in us crime series law and order

As the sort of person sad enough to compile myself CDs of saint etienne oddities, have to say i'm very much looking forward to these ...

going to the Foxbase Alpha performance on my birthday next week - v excited

― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Thursday, 7 May 2009 10:59 (3 weeks ago

I'm kicking myself for not getting tickets for that.

― DavidM, Thursday, 7 May 2009 15:41 (3 weeks ago)

Just ordered my tickets for the new Foxbase Alpha gig at Shepherds Bush Empire in October. Phew!

it was good. they do a greatest hits set afterwards too. but now i want So Tough.

so this new 'foxbase alpha', is it remastered or just newly packaged with bonus tracks? and how many of these bonus tracks were previously available? i guess the same question goes for 'continental'...

iirc yes it is remastered.

the bonus tracks: many of them, when i glanced, were on the 'boxette'.

haven't looked at 'continental'.

about a third of the bonus tracks on both are previously unreleased i think.

i bought both but end up listening to them more via spotify than other means.

tracks i like best from the FA deluxe edition extra disc are Sally Space, Fake 88 (great spoken word bit) and Sky's Dead. plus People Get Real obv.

i'm sure many would dismiss Chase HQ as throwaway but i like its strained atmospheric effect (also they had that game in my local video shop so fun reminder)

i think the only issue i have with the old mastering of FA are sc's vox, which are really low in the mix.

that's a mix issue and not a mastering issue, so I don't think a remaster is going to fix that

rubbish negative "review" on BBC Music why do they bother etc

has the ltd editn FBA come out yet? the one with teh subbeteo man?

I admit, I liked So Tough better, but then I got FBA later.

that is no crime because both albums are so excellent that it is hard to tell which is better. actually, FBA is better because it does not have "Calico" on it

^but So Tough has "Avenue" on it, which means even if the rest was all Nickelback songs, it would still be a good album.

lol ok true

i think the limited edition sold out already, yeah

"Calico" is dam great.

OTMFM. spotifyers check out this playlist of tracks either sampled by or heavily influencing SE.

Fascinating playlist. The real surprise for me was discovering that Like a Motorway swiped its melody directly from a folk song (Silver Dagger). I'm impressed that anyone would hear that song and think, Hey, let's make it sound like Kraftwerk! (Ah, Wikipedia informs me that the connection's well known but it's still news to me)

Also, unlike some compilations of hip hop source material, every track here is a winner in its own right. A shame I can only access Spotify through my shitty laptop speakers.

that intro to 'Golden Teardrops' as used on 'Railway Jam' really is knockout

Gosh this whole Martha Bilston album which features Silver Dagger - Of Milkmaids and Architects - is really good, esp "Songs That Make Sophie Fizz". Never heard of her before.

Tilston, obv.

i finally got the FBA reissue and am bummed there're no remixes! no midsummer madness/dubness, no weatherall mix!

midsummer mixes were posted recently to mediafire.com via either audio.out, ripped in glasgow or one of the blogs linked from there.

Pretty sure that there's a separate remix collection planned (as well as a Christmas themed album, if I remember correctly) in addition to the deluxe albums.

Yeah, apparently Richard X is remixing the entire Foxbase Alpha album.

what even DIlworth's Theme?

I heart Richard X and St Et but this sounds bloody awful.

xpost - that's not true is it?! about Richard X?

they are def working with him (on new album too i thought)

and i did hear there was gonna be a Foxbase Beta type thing

ugh

sounds alright to me

The deluxe version of Foxbase Alpha with the Subbuteo player is only gonna be available from the Saint Etienne website and they haven't even taken pre-orders for it yet.

This remix project sounds pathetic. Fox Base Beta? That's just lame. St Et have barely made anything worth listening to in the last 10 years as the innumerable repackaging of former glories indicates. A couple of tracks here and there are good. The last three albums have been extremely unlikable Soaking their back catalogue for the umpteenth time is all they've got. I love the band but let's face it, they have been over as a creative force for a long, long time.

Their only weak album is Sound of Water, and their last two have been fantastic. They do need to lay off the compilations, but the deluxe editions are cool... if you don't want 'em, don't buy 'em.

If anything "Calico" is the song I wish the band would take more cues from nowadays (no, "Soft Like Me" doesn't really count).

everything is wrong

i love "sound of water".. they could've gotten a lot more mileage out of that sound. i was kinda disappointed by "finisterre" at first for being the first record of theirs that didn't really try anything new. but "shower scene" and "the way we live now" are pretty amazing and hold up to anything else they did before. "tales from turnpike house" bored the crap out of me...

i really really really dig their instrumental soundtrack stuff (what's the new mervyn day, asleep at the wheels of steel) and would welcome more stuff like that.

My fav St Etienne album of this decade is their non album, "Interlude". It's surprising to see how many great tracks aren't even on their albums. Also I like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10L6y4PQxxQ
...better then anything on "Turnpike"

Some of the posters on this thread are like fans of the Hollies in 1986. Still waiting for a great new album. Still waiting for the next reissue of the the same old songs that you fell in love with years ago.

It's over. They are a revival act these days.

They were a revival act when they started!

lol

everything is like the dbag at the show where everyone is having a good time, going around trying to tell everyone they're actually having a bad time

"It's over." stfu

Can't wait for that remastered version of Finisterre.

this "calico" snubbing is nonsense. what became of q-tee anyhow?

calm down, "everything".

last word on q-tee on wikipedia:

"She was signed to a recording contract to Saint Etienne's label, Heavenly Records in her own right four years later, and released one single, "Gimme That Body" in January 1996. The single reached #40 in the UK Singles Chart."

It's over. They are a revival act these days.

lol

ok just got the reissues in the mail... wonderful thick booklets with lots of text and photos. learned that the Richard norris of Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve/Time & Space Machine was 1/2 of The Grid, wtf?

no "official saint etienne world cup theme" on the bonus disc :(

lol

Bob: Andy Weartherall wanted to do a remix, and we were quite scared of him - some of the Boys Own crew were former football hooligans who'd taken ecstasy and set up clubs

wow big kudos to tom ewing for stellar liner notes. does he still post here these days?

Anyone notice that there is a lot of clipping on the Foxbase Alpha reissue? Check out "Only Love Can Break Your Heart."

Subbuteo edition available now!

(That's if you can get the webpage to load!)

So Tough and Sound Of Water DEs out now, listening now

Is "You're in a bad way" the original LP version or the single version as per the USA version of the album?

Great story in the So Tough sleevenotes about management having to ring up Tom Courtenay et al to ask permission to sample their dialogue.

Only have Foxbase on promo but tempted to buy the finished verson just for Tom Ewing's sleevenotes - the extracts he posted on Freaky Trigger look fascinating. Buying a CD for sleevenotes though - does anyone do that? Maybe I should try to encourage him to write a 33 1/3 about it.

I buy cd's for sleevenotes.

me too. or used to.

i wish there was some way for people in the us to at least look at that influences playlist on spotify

someone could always copy it and paste it here. or take a screenshot.

http://www.we7.com/#/album/So-Tough-Deluxe-Edition-!albumId=383899

full SO TOUGH special edition available there on we7

its legal btw in case any mods start crowing.

“Girl VII”

Pete – the big list of names in the middle, which is what everyone remembers about it, we put in at the end because we felt we needed something extra.
Ian – I remember going out to get a road atlas so we could find more places.
-

no! i assumed they'd not only BEEN to these places but had a full complete knowledge of them all. lived there, loved there... i feel conned!
you know someone quite recently said it was the real start of britpop this song. can't recall who, possibly someone on ilx, freaky trigger or same. maybe gary mulholland in that FEAR OF MUSIC book. it was definitely the first time i'd ever heard london romanticised in such a way.
(sigh)

i wish there was some way for people in the us to at least look at that influences playlist on spotify

― psychgawsple, Thursday, 3 September 2009 00:26 (54 minutes ago) Bookmark

The Field Mice – Let's Kiss and Make Up
Snap! – The Power
Wilson Pickett – Hey Jude - Remastered Single Version
Glen Brown – Melodica International - Extended Mix
Four Tops – I'm in a Different World
The Motels – He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)
Jungle Wonz – The Jungle
Mr. Fingers – Stars
Madonna – Vogue - Edit
Pet Shop Boys – Being Boring (Extended Mix)
Dusty Springfield – I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face
Kylie Minogue – Nothing Can Stop Us
Jimmy Webb – MacArthur Park
Television Personalities – Say You Won't Cry
The Flamingos – Golden Teardrops - Original
Beastie Boys – Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun
Augustus Pablo – Up Warrika Hill
The Beach Boys – Wonderful
Rush – The Spirit of Radio
Martha Tilston – Silver Dagger
Nancy Sinatra – The City Never Sleeps At Night
Keith Hudson – Pick a Dub
David Essex – Rock On
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Time Zones
Cabaret Voltaire – Why Kill Time (When You Can Kill Yourself)
Mary Jane Girls – All Night Long
First Class – Beach Baby
Peggy Lee – Is That All There Is?
John Walker – Annabella
The Paris Sisters – I'm Me
Cliff Richard – When Two Worlds Drift Apart
10cc – I'm Mandy Fly Me
To Rococo Rot – Miss You
Étienne Daho – Week-end à Rome

thanks!!!

Is the Foxbase Alpha reissue the Richard X remix thing?

no

Richard X-remixed Foxbase Beta coming in October though - fanclub only. Announced today.

stoked for hi-nrg electro disco version of 'Wilson'

OMG "Everlasting" sounds like Pet Shop Boys with cheap synths. Love it!!!

Will finally get to see their Foxbase Alpha show next month. Psyched.

Is "You're in a bad way" the original LP version or the single version as per the USA version of the album?

Album version unfortunately, I prefer the single version.

Re. Foxbase Beta
I hope they don't replace the Countdown Conundrum sample with a line from Deal or No Deal ...

Not quite right - there's going to be a general release of Foxbase Beta, but also a 3000 copy fanclub edition that has a second disc containing 'a just-rediscovered coda of Girl VII', 'Richard III', and the first recording of 'Kiss and Make Up'. Will go on sale on September 21st, and their tiny webserver will crash five seconds after they take orders. Just like last time, and the time before that...

I find myself surprisingly excited about this.

The second disc on The Sound of Water deluxe might well be my favourite Saint Etienne "album" right now. Lovely.
(I've got a promo without sleeve notes - anyone able to post these?)

http://saintetienne.greedbag.com/

If you are still looking for a large subbuteo player in Saint Etienne strip, go here..