DEAD OR ALIVE - SOPHISTICATED BOOM BOX 19 Disc Box Set!

[Fred Taghon]

I gotta say I am pretty darn excited about this release. Many of us, myself included, were so disappointed several years back when Sony put the breaks on the remix compilation they had announced. Now, we appear on the verge of a 19 disc box set chock full of remixes, instrumentals and alternate mixes handsomely packaged alongside their entire album collection and two DVDs of videos and live performances! I certainly never anticipated THIS!

I hate to admit it, but as a much bigger fan of Erasure than Dead Or Alive, I found myself far more excited reading the details on "Sophisticated Boom Box" than I was when the "Moscow To Mars" track list was announced. Of course Erasure's overall catalog of mixes and rarities has been generously curated and made available to fans over the years (thank you, Mute Records), so while a box set is nice, it's not really necessary for us die hard fans who collected along the way. Now we finally have a label willing to work with Dead Or Alive themselves to create an exhaustingly thorough representation of their output (thanks Edsel/Demon Music). After seeng and hearing the quality treatment lavished upon all the recent Bananarama releases, I am confident this will be far beyond what I ever expected from Sony's short lived remix compilation which was ironically D.O.A. on some label executive's desk.

Yes I noticed a few omissions - I personally would love USA remixes of "Baby Don't Say Goodbye" in particular, but we already have an indication there may be more releases in the pipeline that will very likely help fill in the gaps.

I have no doubt our collective picky and detailed bantering here has led to some amazingly thorough and wish-list-fulfilling releases and reissues. So yeah it's important to express what we as fans want and to call attention to mistakes and missteps labels make. But when something this cool happens, we also need to take a deep breath and say, "wow this is awesome, thanks for listening!"

[negative1]

I gotta say I am pretty darn excited about this release. Many of us, myself included, were so disappointed several years back when Sony put the breaks on the remix compilation they had announced. Now, we appear on the verge of a 19 disc box set chock full of remixes, instrumentals and alternate mixes handsomely packaged alongside their entire album collection and two DVDs of videos and live performances! I certainly never anticipated THIS!

I hate to admit it, but as a much bigger fan of Erasure than Dead Or Alive, I found myself far more excited reading the details on "Sophisticated Boom Box" than I was when the "Moscow To Mars" track list was announced. Of course Erasure's overall catalog of mixes and rarities has been generously curated and made available to fans over the years (thank you, Mute Records), so while a box set is nice, it's not really necessary for us die hard fans who collected along the way. Now we finally have a label willing to work with Dead Or Alive themselves to create an exhaustingly thorough representation of their output (thanks Edsel/Demon Music). After seeng and hearing the quality treatment lavished upon all the recent Bananarama releases, I am confident this will be far beyond what I ever expected from Sony's short lived remix compilation which was ironically D.O.A. on some label executive's desk.

Yes I noticed a few omissions - I personally would love USA remixes of "Baby Don't Say Goodbye" in particular, but we already have an indication there may be more releases in the pipeline that will very likely help fill in the gaps.

I have no doubt our collective picky and detailed bantering here has led to some amazingly thorough and wish-list-fulfilling releases and reissues. So yeah it's important to express what we as fans want and to call attention to mistakes and missteps labels make. But when something this cool happens, we also need to take a deep breath and say, "wow this is awesome, thanks for listening!"

it's good to be optimistic.

but it's better to be a realist.

lets wait until it's actually out, and the quality, before praising it.

later
-1

[Fred Taghon]

it's good to be optimistic.

but it's better to be a realist.

lets wait until it's actually out, and the quality, before praising it.

later
-1

Fair enough, and, yes I do tend to be an optimist lol. I hope the actual product lives up to my expectations

[Barmy]

Sad remnants of a dude who destroyed himself.

[telekon3]

R.I.P.

[postpunkmonk]

More D.O.A. that I would want or need, but I stand in awe of the ambition and scope of this set. It's a great time to be a hardcore D.O.A. fan with $150 to burn. If I had the money to speculate, you know a sealed copy of this in a decade will be hitting high 3-4 digits in value.

[negative1]

More D.O.A. that I would want or need, but I stand in awe of the ambition and scope of this set. It's a great time to be a hardcore D.O.A. fan with $150 to burn. If I had the money to speculate, you know a sealed copy of this in a decade will be hitting high 3-4 digits in value.

some things go up and down in value. there's not many dead or alive fans around now, so 10 years from now, there might not be many either.

anyone that wants it, will get it now. why speculate?

later
-1

[Barmy]

I have boxset fatigue generally, but at least this is a one-off and covers enough ground to foreclose further boxsets. Yes, the multiple remixes of Spin are totally unnecessary. I know some people are awaiting new material from Pete Burns but frankly it's best to end it all with this. What really annoys me is the 20th/25th/30th/35th/40th etc. anniversary re-re-releases that continually pop out. Done with that, thanks. And as a footnote, many of DoA's best songs were not hits in the "West", or anywhere. I don't care how popular "Turn Around and Count to Ten" was in Japan, but it is an excellent song.

[eLeMeNOhPeaQ]

RIP, Pete. I have no words. I'm just thankful for the music.

[omar]

RIP, Pete. I have no words. I'm just thankful for the music.

I cannot believe it as well. Just when we were getting ready for the upcoming boxset. Too many artists taken away this year!

[Barmy]

Sad remnants of a dude who destroyed himself.

Not sure what I meant by the "sad remnants" part of that post.

DoA got pigeonholed into "You Spin Me Round". That's pretty much all they are remembered by. Yet they did so much more, best appreciated on the DVD of videos that came out years ago.

I stand by "destroyed himself". A powerful, albeit limited, voice was basically silent regarding new material for many many years. Why?

Finally, the "Nightmares on Wax" songs could use a CD remaster. All of them are excellent.

Pete was the best gender bender in UK pop. He went too far.

[negative1]

i am also sad to hear about pete burns passing away.

loved some of the early music he did. glad to know the boxset
will be a good testament to that.

his last interview here, and a good one:
http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/inter ... interview/

later
-1

[omar]

Just to let everyone know, some reviews on Amazon Uk have come in and have pointed out errors! Also according to Superdeluxedition both discs 1 & 2 of Youthquake are in mono. Edsel has apparently acknowledged the fuck up and will send replacements discs for free to everyone who bought the boxset. Don't know when the new corrected boxset will appear.

[ZippY]

For a long time I am one of the people who believe these cock-ups are intentional. I know, it's hard to take in.

One of the reasons for this, is to let everyone buy digital music, because record companies think that's the "real" future.

[anfunny2003]

Errors?! Erm, just a few! Currently, six of the CDs will need replacing, and possibly the DVDs...

Sophisticated Boom Boom CD1

01 I'd Do Anything - The final line sung by backing vocalist (''I would do do do do doo!") is repeated a second time.

Sophisticated Boom Boom CD2

05 What I Want [1984 Dance Mix] - This is actually the slightly edited version of the first Dance Mix, which appeared on Evolution.

Youthquake CD1 - Whole disc is in mono

12 My Heart Goes Bang [7″ Version] - This is actually just the LP version repeated

Youthquake CD2 - Whole disc is in mono

Mad, Bad And Dangerous To Know CD1

04 Then There Was You
05 Come Inside - These two tracks should segue, but there is now a blunt 2 second pre-gap (ie. silence breaking them in two). You can hear the start of track 05, then silence, then back to where track 05 left off.

Fan The Flame [Part 1] CD1

01 Fan The Flame (feat. Gina X)
02 Unhappy Birthday - These two tracks should segue, but there is now a blunt 2 second pre-gap (ie. silence breaking them in two). You can hear the start of track 02, then silence, then back to where track 02 left off.

DVD1 - Poor quality, audio sync issues (the previous Evolution DVD is of a better quality)

DVD2 - Poor quality, audio sync issues (the previous Evolution DVD is of a better quality)

Booklet - some people just didn't get one!

I'm gobsmacked they fucked this up so badly. And this is just what has been found in one day... I imagine there's more issues to come...