Customer Reviews

Futurist Manifesto - 1974-1978

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, at long last! Its finally been released - I thought this was going to be one of those releases that was forever going to be pushed further and further back until it disappeared altogether.
The good news is that this has definately been worth waiting for (although curiously, at the time I am writing this review, Amazon for some reason have never had this in stock and is only available on their site via Amazon sellers). In this set we have all the Be Bop Deluxe studio albums gathered together, each having its own bonus tracks added at the end of each album. Not only that but there is a fifth disc which comprises of (worthwhile) previously unreleased material. The live material on this disc is of exceptional quality and is worth the price of admission alone - not to be missed. To round off the package, there is an informative booklet with some notes from Bill Nelson (although he forgets to tell us where the unreleased live material mentioned was actually recorded. Perhaps its only me that find this sort of detail interesting!). And as for the sound quality - these are all 2011 remasters from Abbey Road and do the music justice. Clear, not too loud and reveal the subtleties and detail of the music very well.
Overall then an exceptional value for money package - even if you have all the albums previously in whatever format, this rounds everything up very nicely with a decent smattering of bonus/unreleased material which will please the die-hard BBD fan and also serve as an excellent package for newcomers alike. You most definately can not go wromg at this price.

This box set has been a long time coming but worth the wait? Most definitely. Disc 5 contains some nice rare gems including a quite brilliant modern music suite (different from the BBC sessions one) and some interesting demos. Stunning value for money for someone wanting to get into (or back into) Be Bop Deluxe. The music itself was way ahead of its time all those years ago and, with one or two exceptions, stands up well today. Futurist Manifesto delights and charms and amazes. Well worth investing in.

Like many, I've been waiting for clean remasters of these albums for many years and here they are, all in one nice package. Some fare better than others, likely due to recording venues at the time but interestingly, it's the earliest, Axe Victim and Futurama that benefit the most. The live material on disc five, especially The Modern Music Suite are icing on the cake. Love to have that whole show someday! I am keeping my earlier single discs though for the artwork and individual liner notes and of course Live In the Air Age. What would have made this even better would have been to have made this a mini box with each album in it's own LP replica sleeve, but I'm nitpicking. Long overdue and highly recommended. Thanks, Bill!

Be Bop Deluxe had the misfortune in the U.S of being slightly ahead and of their time. Carrying many of the same influences as Bowie and Roxy Music, the band was lumped into the same movement but the band also stood apart with Bill Nelson's stunning guitar solos and unusual approach to composing the material. The band's influence outlasted their career and when they broke up Nelson went out of his way to try new approaches that rejected the guitar hero role he was assigned by fans. The albums themselves vary from four to have stars hence the four star rating although this should really be four and one half stars particularly for the fifth disc of previously unreleased demos, live tracks, etc.

Nelson doesn't really like to revisit the past so this opportunity to update the band's discography is quite welcome. Remastered by Peter Mew and Ian Jones at Abbey Road studios without the over use of noise reduction of the previous masters this set, over all, improves on the masters from nearly 20 years ago. Contrary to speculation ALL of the albums have been remastered. The mastering was not supervised by Bill Nelson although he approved them rejecting the first mastering attempt.

Packaged like the recent Robin Trower EMI boxed set (but with a booklet featuring the original CD notes and some new notes for the previously unreleased demo disc), this will probably be the definitive edition for fans. Be aware however that there are some differences in the bonus tracks included. The live tracks that were sprinkled on each disc taken from their live albums have been removed (with the exception of Maid in Heaven and replaced in many cases by previously unavailable single edits a previously and the single (Japan) on CD.

So the big question is whether or not this is worth picking up for fans given that they own the bulk of these on the individual releases and the answer would be yes as the bonus disc and some of the single edits make this essential for any fan of the band and, unlike the previous CDs, Bill actually earns a royalty on this set.

Please note that this is missing the "Teenage Archangel" single (If I recall correctly Nelson nixed this being part of the set).

Track Listing:

Disc 1

1 Axe Victim 5:15
2 Love Is Swift Arrows 4:12
3 Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus 4:10
4 Third Floor Heaven 2:28
5 Night Creatures 3:35
6 Rocket Cathedrals 3:01
7 Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape 3:25
8 Jets at Dawn 7:18
9 No Trains to Heaven 6:39
10 Darkness (L'Immoraliste 3:22
11 Stage Whispers 3:05
12 Love with the Madman 3:12
13 Maid in Heaven 2:26
14 Sister Seagull 3:36
15 Sound Track 6:15
16 Music in Dreamland 4:45
17 Jean Cocteau 2:53
18 Between the Worlds 3:18
19 Swan Song 6:01

Disc 2

1 BetweentThe Worlds 3:20
2 Maid in Heaven [Live] 2:34
3 Fair Exchange 4:48
4 Heavenly Homes 3:36
5 Ships in the Night 4:01
6 Crying to the Sky 3:59
7 Sleep That Burns 5:16
8 Beauty Secrets 2:48
9 Life in the Air-Age 4:00
10 Like an Old Blues 3:27
11 Crystal Gazing 3:24
12 Blazing Apostles 4:30
13 Shine 7:49
14 Speed of the Wind 4:20
15 Blue as a Jewel 5:13
16 Ships in the Night [Single Edit] 3:36

Disc 3

1 Orphans of Babylon 3:16
2 Twilight Capers 4:25
3 Kiss of Light 3:12
4 The Bird Charmers Destiny 1:21
5 The Gold at the End of My Rainbow 3:55
6 Bring Back the Spark 3:38
7 Modern Music 3:41
8 Dancing in the Moonlight (All Alone 2:10
9 Honeymoon on Mars 1:22
10 Lost in the Neon World 0:48
11 Dance of the Uncle Sam Humanoids 2:12
12 Modern Music [Reprise] 1:40
13 Forbidden Lovers 5:03
14 Down on Terminal Street 4:00
15 Make the Music Magic 1:53
16 Futurist Manifesto [B-side 1977] 4:32
17 Quest for the Harvest of theStars 4:11
18 Autosexual 5:53
19 Japan [A-side 1977] 2:39

Disc 4

1 Electrical Language 4:50
2 New Precision 4:30
3 New Mysteries 4:45
4 Surreal Estate 5:00
5 Love in Flames 4:09
6 Panic in the World 5:04
7 Dangerous Stranger 3:06
8 Superenigmatix 2:10
9 Visions of Endless Hopes 2:23
10 Possession 2:35
11 Islands of the Dead 3:45
12 Blimps 2:47
13 Lovers Are Mortal 4:55
14 Lights 2:46
15 Electrical Language [Single Edit] 3:35
16 Love in Flames [Single Edit] 3:51
17 Panic in the World [Single Edit] 3:32

Disc 5

1 The Saxophonist [Demo] 3:52
2 Visions of Endless Hopes [Demo] 2:20
3 Blue as a Jewel [Demo] 5:12
4 Speed of the Wind [Demo] 4:27
5 Possession [Rough Mix] 2:37
6 Maid In Heaven [Top of the Pops Backing Track] 2:30
7 The Modern Music Suite [Live] 11:53
8 Forbidden Lovers [Live] 4:41
9 Down on Terminal Street [Live] 10:32
10 Swan Song [Live] 6:46
11 Heavenly Homes [Flashman Remix] 6:39

Highly recommended.

There's no way this could fail to be great but as others have
pointed out there's no "Live In The Air Age",a distinct lack of
recording dates for the bonus studio material,no "when & where"
for the live tracks and where,might one ask is "Face In The Rain"
from the double vinyl "The Best & The Rest"?.
Seems like nit picking to complain,when what is here is so good but EMI,
you could do better.Personally I would also paid a few quid extra
for a proper box,not one of those hateful bulky plastic jewel cases!

I've waited patiently for this collection for quite a while and it was worth the wait.One of a few underated musicians from the seventies,Bill Nelson and Be Bop Deluxe were absolutely briiliant group who I can't understand why they didn't get the recognition they deserved.Unbelievable bargain at the price with only a couple of average tracks but most are superb even sublime.Looking forward soon to the next chapter when his solo work is getting the same treatment,I'm waiting with baited breathe.

At last a fantastic boxset!.The Be-Bope Deluxe were in my(and obviously alot of others)opnion quite simply one of the greatest unsong bands in the pantheon of Modern Music.Bill and the bands musicianship is without fault and way way way ahead of its time!.Alot of people didn't like Bill's voice or look,but i thought it was typically British and i loved his quirky often out of joint bizzare lyrics.Forget Clapton,Beck,Page,even Hendrix!(?).This guy to my mind was the hottest guitarist on the planet with no exception!(listen to "adventures in a yorkshire landscape" live,and tell me different!.So do yourself a favour;revisit these classic albums and if your new to them be prepared to be blown away!!.

Most reviewers on this page have already covered this admirably, so I'll keep this brief. Five CDs worth of remastered Be Bop Deluxe - all the studio albums plus some extras - with change from fifteen quid. Excellent music, excellent value, so it can't be less than five stars. If you know and love the band then you'll need no further convincing. If you don't, then just take a punt and go for it - there's much to discover and enjoy amongst these 82 tracks, not least evidence as to why Bill Nelson is the great unsung guitar hero.

True, it would have been good to have better packaging - either replica sleeves in a box, a more comprehensive booklet like the most excellent one in the companion set of Bill Nelson's "The Practice of Everyday Life" - but then it probably wouldn't have been possible for the price, and after all, it's the music that's the important thing here. So what you get is great, but what you don't is a shame - no "Live! In the Air Age" which is a truly remarkable live album in its own right, and the one that, if you could only own one Be Bop Deluxe album, would be the one you'd choose. There's no explanation for this omission and the only reasons I can imagine are either 1) space and budget or - hopefully - 2) there's a specific reissue planned extending it to the full concert (the original only had 8 tracks plus a 3 track EP, of which only "Maid in Heaven" appears to be included in this set as a bonus track on disc 2). Finally - and the reason for this could be the same - it's a great shame that there's no video content - there must be some live footage somewhere. A DVD of TV appearances (TOTP/OGWT etc) would have been wonderful.

That said, it's still a cracker!

What a great time it is for fans of Bill Nelson/Be-Bop Deluxe. Not only do we have the superb "The Practice of Everyday Life" retrospective spanning 40 years of wonderful music we also have this set concentrating on the Be-Bop Deluxe years of 1974 to 78. All the studio albums are present in their entirety as well as lots of great bonus material. As with TPOEL value is high on the agenda, in this case five packed cds for £14. Even if you already have the albums on cd and/or vinyl this is a beautiful collection and well worth getting.

Somewhere in the current EMI structure there is someone who is responible for the company's extensive back catalogue. What this quite brilliant box set did for me was evoke one superb evening with Be Bop Deluxe. I still have the tour programme and ticket stub for the stalls at Oxford's New Theatre. Part of the ticket was torn at the moment of separation, so the date is missing, but I suspect it was a Sunday late in January 1978. What a night, I have seen a few bands in my time, but this was blistering stuff. Modern Music live; plus all and everything a fan could wish for. Listening to the final disc on this box set took me right back to that night. I was more than happy to pay for these three live tracks alone: Modern Music, Forbidden Lovers and Down on Terminal Street. This last track closed the show before we were treated to an encore where Bill Nelson blew the roof off with his take on Purple Haze. If anybody, even remotely connected to this band, or someone inside EMI with half a brain reading this; dig out the tapes from that tour and put it out as a complete Modern Music live tour package. I love Live in the Air Age, but it's a tease; there's just not enough and we want more. Go on, you know it makes sense!