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Peter_Davis 27th Mar 2019
| | It is my intention, eventually, to add images of bonus record and 24 page lyrics booklet - but don't anyone hold their breath waiting! |
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Magic Marmalade 14th Dec 2015
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Magic Marmalade 10th Jun 2015
| | ReviewI'd never listened to this all the way through before, just heard one or two different track selections at different times, and those either on the radio or somebody's CD...
...And simply looking at the track quantity doesn't prepare you for what an EPIC this album is if you're not familiar with it!
A lot of these songs are looooooong (I'm talking Prog-rock excess length here), and there's two discs worth (plus the 33rpm, 4 track EP). In fact this could have stood some serious editing down, as there's a fair bit of unnecessary stuff at the end of some of the songs which don't add much, and even begin to grate a little... someone please take the guys harmonica away from him!
It took two blank CDs to record it all.
But that's not to say I don't like it... I actually found it to be the most satisfying and consistent of his albums, being quite a funky thumper (but for the awful: Isn't She Lovely? - which I've never liked, and as well as giving your ears diabetes it's so sacharine, has the always welcome sound of baby crying on it (Aaaarrrghh - OK, now the harmonica doesn't sound so bad!).
That song aside, and the needless length of some tracks: great album.
As for the vinyl... this sounds astonishing.
I recorded on headphones, and as well as hitting the top of my recording levels in terms of pure volume... the power of the delivery is something else. The bass weight and clarity really pounds your head... hitting very low frequencies without distorting.
It's amazing how he achieved this sound, as it's actually more sparsely arranged than it sounds, with just him (hs instrument at hand, usually the organ or that bloomin' face tooter) and basic band usually just drums and bass and occasional guitars... but the variety of voices of different kinds from a solo backing singer or choir (a small but tight sounding one), spoken or shouted words, fills it out around the closeness of the band's instrumental weight.
A very human sound.
(But it could have been cut by at least a third (length of tracks, as opposed to cutting whole tracks, which are good, just tooo long in many instances), and a better album made because of it - I would have said that the EP could have been fitted on then (I managed to find it the other day!), but that's pretty weak by comparison to what's on the album, and more unnecessary material which any other artist would have shelved).
✔︎ Helpful Review? |
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TopPopper 4th Feb 2015
| | Done, and done. |
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Magic Marmalade 4th Feb 2015
| | Indeed I can confirm it is the same physical copy... and even the same image (+2 to straighten it).
Thanks for shuffling the pack as it were...
You may also wish to cast your gaze talking bookward, as I've added scans of labels and the actual vinyl cover too. |
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TopPopper 4th Feb 2015
| | Good work. Have put the new back cover in place of the original, which is now hidden. If you confirm it's the same physical copy, I can delete the earlier image. |
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TopPopper 3rd Feb 2015
| | It's slightly outside the normal style, but as you say, we've accepted it elsewhere. Personally, I'm not against that idea. I say go for it. |
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Magic Marmalade 3rd Feb 2015
| | Going to have another go at the back cover today, and booklet.
As a proposal, regarding the EP, how about this:
Seeing as there is a link to the 45cat entry, a listing of the songs on the EP are added in notes just above the link here, so you can see the tracks that correspond to the listings on the back cover of the album, then, rather than a scan of the EP, a "Promotional" style photo of the album, booklet, and EP together are added, much like the Beatles Mono box set entry photo?
That way you can see the thing complete, but without compromising the listing of the album and entry for the EP on cat. |
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nboldock 3rd Feb 2015
| | By all means include scans if you wish but you don't need to include in the listing - just link to the 45Cat entry in Notes or Comments, as you've done. |
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TopPopper 3rd Feb 2015
| | I largely agree, but since they are on 7-inch disc, they fall out of the LP format and into singles (or EPs). It's debatable, but I think we'd be in danger of blurring the lines if we included 7-inch records in full. |
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PhilMH 3rd Feb 2015
| | I'll go further and say that the EP tracks should be included in the listing here too, as sides E and F. Regardless of it being a 7 inch record and being called an EP, "Something's Extra" or whatever, those tracks have always been an integral part of the whole album. |
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TopPopper 2nd Feb 2015
| | The bonus EP: I think this situation has been discussed before. I'm not sure if there was a definite policy decided, but my personal opinion is that it should be pictured here in its entirety (ie, not a label crop - a photo or scan of the whole record), as if it were an insert. Details are already in the notes.
It would also be great if you could check over on 45cat, where the EP is listed in its own right, to see if there are any differences to the existing entry. |
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Magic Marmalade 2nd Feb 2015
| | Thanks TopPopper... will muster the energy to do the booklet at some point.
I don't have the EP sadly (Though I'm going back to where I got all my super -mint copies of Stevie's albums, as I they were so well looked after, I'm betting the EP is lurking somewhere there), but should an image of that be appropriate addition to this entry, or just leave the link to Cat? |
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TopPopper 2nd Feb 2015
| | Just saw your comment, and so moved the cover up to become the main image. Looks perfectly good to me, but as you say, if a better one comes along, it can always be swapped in. |
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Magic Marmalade 2nd Feb 2015
| | Added Front and Back Cover Scans (ICE had a little wobble on the right hand side of the back cover, so won't object if anyone wants to add a better one... think this happens with the thick end of the album lifting slightly from the scanner glass up onto the lip of the scanner, creating a slight change of distance across the length of the image, and so fails to reconcile the subtle change in fore-shortening. |
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Magic Marmalade 20th Jan 2015
| | Got that infernal record changer label scheme...Grrrrrr...!!!
See the linked US listing below. |
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swbcfc 31st Dec 2013
| | Also came with "A Something Extra Bonus Record For Songs In The Key Of Life" in the form of a 33rpm 7" EP (Catalogue No STME 2020) containing four tracks :-
1) Saturn (S.Wonder, Sembello)
2) Ebony Eyes (S.Wonder)
3) All Day Sucker (S.Wonder)
4) Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call) (S.Wonder)
These four tracks were included on subsequent CD reissues of the album. |
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YankeeDisc SUBS 13th Nov 2013
| | A link to Google Books, showing all of Stevie Wonders UK output, complete with catalogue numbers, in case there is any doubt about TMSP 6002 being the cat.# for this 2-LP + EP set, released 1976. |
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TopPopper 11th Nov 2013
| | I've seen the side 1/4 and side 2/3 arrangement on several double albums. A legacy of when record players enabled discs to be stacked ready to drop onto the mat. You wouldn't have to get up for side 2 to follow side 1 automatically. |
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YankeeDisc SUBS 11th Nov 2013
| | When I was wholesaling records in 1976, the catalogue number used was TMSP 6002.
The separate album numbers (STML 60021, STML 60022) should be listed in notes, and the included bonus EP STME 2020 mentioned, which plays at 33⅓ RPM, all as part of the same package.
Linked HERE>>>> |
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TheJudge 11th Nov 2013
| | It's not that unusual, especially on US releases. |
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An6y66 11th Nov 2013
| | Disc one has side 1 and 4 whilst disc two has sides 2 and 3.
Never seen another record that does a double album like this. |
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