Be Bop Deluxe Futurama

Having done a remaster with panache on Sunburst Finish from 1976 (and reviewed so eloquently by Ian Canty here) Cherry Red (or Cheery Red as my computer often prompts) are back on the Be Bop Deluxe trail with Be Bop Deluxe’s legendary 1975 album released on the (legendary, naturally) Harvest label. Legendary maybe because we tend to look back with a rose-tinted glow at a set recorded with the legendary Roy Thomas Baker at the legendary Rockfield Studios by Bill Nelson and his troops…

Esoteric Recordings is proud to announce the release of a new re-mastered four disc deluxe expanded boxed set limited edition (comprising 3 CDs and a DVD) of Futurama the legendary 1975 album by Be Bop Deluxe.
Recorded in the first two months of 1975 at Rockfield studios (with some sessions also taking place at SARM studios in London), Futurama was the second album by Be Bop Deluxe and the first to feature the line-up of Bill Nelson (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Charlie Tumahai (bass, vocals) and Simon Fox (drums). Produced by Roy Thomas Baker (who at the time was also working with Queen), Futurama was an album of immense musical inventiveness and creativity and was a huge leap forward in creative terms for Bill Nelson…

Be Bop Deluxe - Modern Music (1976) {2008 Harvest Japan Mini LP TOCP-70361}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 370 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 135 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 26 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2008 Harvest / EMI Music Japan / Toshiba | TOCP-70361 | Mini LP
Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop / Prog Rock / Glam Rock

Things had changed for Be Bop Deluxe by the time of the group's fourth album. The band that turned up in glam rock regalia on its 1974 debut, Axe Victim, was in suit and tie on the cover of Modern Music in 1976. Inside, the band's transformation into a sophisticated pop group seemed complete. Arrangements were still ornate, but the songs were dominated by their highly imagistic lyrics, and as often as not, Nelson was borrowing ideas from the Beatles. It didn't quite work, despite pleasant numbers such as "Orphans of Babylon" and "Kiss of Light," perhaps because a true pop sensibility requires a gift for simplicity that Nelson has never exhibited. The album charted high in England and made the Top 100 in the U.S., but it was Be Bop's peak, not its breakthrough.

Be Bop Deluxe - Live! In The Air Age (1977) {2008 Harvest Japan Mini LP TOCP-70362}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 317 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 125 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 117 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1977, 2008 Harvest / EMI Music Japan / Toshiba | TOCP-70362 | Mini LP
Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop / Prog Rock / Glam Rock

Originally released on white vinyl as a double set in which one disc was an LP while the other was a 12" EP, Live! In the Air Age is an impressive testament to one of prog rock's more interesting results. Bandleader Bill Nelson is better known for his solo work of the '80s and on, but prior to that he was a burgeoning guitar hero with a blazing style and a talented bunch of players backing him up.

Be Bop Deluxe - Futurist Manifesto: The Harvest Years 1974 - 1978 (2011) {5CD Set Harvest 5099964630823}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.07 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 783 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 22 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1974-78, 2011 Harvest / EMI Records | 5099964630823
Rock / Art Rock / Pop

This release includes all five of Be Bop Deluxe's studio albums, with additional bonus tracks, plus an additional disc of previously unreleased home demos, rough studio mixes and live recordings. The recordings have all been freshly remastered and the project over-seen by Bill Nelson. All bonus tracks added to the 1990 CD releases have been remastered and added to this release too, except for the bonus live tracks on the 'Axe Victim' release. This remaster is an improvement upon the 1990 releases, and has thankfully avoided being 'brick-walled'. I would suggest this is the last word on digital 16-bit releases of these studio albums.