This BSOG comes with appropriate packaging…

Last year I vowed to spend less on music but to make certain that what I did pop for was something that I really wanted. So it’s very appropriate that the only music I have bought so far this year, was the super deluxe BSOG of “New Gold Dream [81, 82, 83, 84].” It came out in 2016 and if you know me at all, I am always playing catch up with releases of interest, and this one was at the highest level of concern for me. I dawdled for about two years and noticed prices were climbing up, so I made it a priority to buy one before it got out of my fiscal reach.

We all know that the album itself is an unmissable classic. My thoughts on it begin [but don’t end] here. Thankfully, the mastering on this 2016 version by Abbey Road Studios is the furthest thing from brickwalled! I haven’t put the headphones on yet, but I expect that it would be appropriately dazzling. The full dynamic range could not be better suited to this music. Let’s move on to the supplements.

DISC 2 | Extended Versions

The first extra disc was the selection of extended versions. It featured a trek through the material in the order that it had been released, and featured all of the intriguing foreign mixes that were released in territories other than the UK. Kudos to UMG sourcing these masters from other territories as they are among the more interesting tracks on this disc.

The “Promised You A Miracle” UK 12″ mix is nothing to write home about. It’s less than 30 seconds longer than the album mix with a longer fadeout. Of more interest was the B-side to that 12″ with the Ian Caple remix of “Seeing Out The Angel” where the Shriekback engineer had his way with a remix of the song from “Sons + Fascination.” I can’t call it a dub mix, even though there are no vocals included since Caple seems to have added echoplexed tablas to the mix while re-arranging the components of the mix. It’s a good version of a haunting number from the previous album and Simple Minds have been performing the song more often following their 5×5 experience. Thankfully.

Next: …Promised You America