Kobalt | UK |12″ | 2020 | 5060516094202
Ultravox: Sleepwalk [Steven Wilson 2020 mix] – UK – 12″ clear vinyl [2020]
- Sleepwalk [2020 Steven Wilson mix]
- Waiting [Steven Wilson 2020 mix]
Gloryoski! A Record Store Day release that I actually want to buy in 2020 will happen this year. But it will happen later than the planned April 18th RSD planned due to the covid-19 impact. Record Store Day has now been moved to June 20, 2020 instead, and truth be told, I think that may be a little optimistic, given that the disease has the potential to double its victims every two days until it goes exponential. But publis health issues are not necessarily the exclusive purview of this blog in spite of yesterday’s rantings. [I’m sorry about that, by the way]
I first ran across this mentioned when negative1ne posted about this on the New Wave Outpost Forum a while back when we were hip-deep in other threads. Well, now is the time to think about this. I have been mostly “hands off” on the whole RSD thing in the last 5-6 years. I did buy the Prince “Versace” cassette a few after the feeding frenzy later last year when I found myself in a store – and regretted it when they released a CD of that title just a few months later! But this is an interesting thing for an Ultravox fan like me, because they are new 2020 Steven Wilson mixes out for the first time.
I only have a single “Steven Wilson mix;” his 40th anniversary edition of “In The Court Of The Crimson King” which came with the album in 2.0 on disc one with his 5.1 mix on DVD as well. It’s fine. His 2.0 mix is very close to the original mix with the exception of the decision to edit 4-5 min of annoying improv from “Moonchild,” which gains a lot from Fripp’s decision to act on the impulse he passed on in 1969. But Steven Wilson has done a lot of remixing for artists that I enjoy, like XTC. Just not enough to re-buy their albums again for. 5.1 listening is very far down on my list of priorities since I never sit on the living room couch to hear music.
The only other 12″ of “Sleepwalk” came out in America in advance of the “Vienna” album in 1980
This is technically the first time that the single has been on 12″ and label Kobalt have upped the ante by releasing this in clear vinyl, just like the vintage ‘Vox singles of yore. I say that because there was a US promo only 12″ of the track [same on both sides] that I think I have a copy of in the Record Cell… just because. But I can vouch that if I do have a copy, mine most certainly did not have the cool photo hype sticker that this image [LEFT] showed. As you can see, the generic Chrysalis 12″ sleeve [used from ’81-’82 for any 12″ without a custom sleeve] of the time was nothing to write home about. The new one will most definitely need to find its way into my Record Cell!
The more interesting data reveal that the A-side will be part of the “Vienna” “40th Anniversary Box” due out “this summer.”
Yeah, I hope that got your attention as well. I’m actually shocked at the notion of a “Vienna” SDLX box. I thought that well had been bled dry with the 2009 “definitive Edition” 2xCD sets. How many “Vienna” reissues have we had in the 21st century?
There’s the 2xCD with B-sides/remixes/rough mixes. The recent LP reissues. The BBC live disc from the 90s. This single only reveals that Wilson has made a new 2.0 mix of the masters and the full album will be part of this box. A 5.1 of “Vienna” would be slightly interesting, but how could he top Conny Plank? [answer: he can’t]. But what else could be in the box?
Monk’s Hypothetical SDLX BOX “Vienna”
- Disc 1: “Vienna” album, classic Plank mix
- Disc 2: B-sides/12″ singles/rough mixes/demos? I can’t imagine more rough mixes as those in the 2009 masters weren’t very interesting.
- Disc 3: Live concert? I would be very interested to hear some of the Foxx era live stuff from that tour that they only played in 1980. A reissue of the BBC disc would be lame. Were there any BBC sessions apart from the 1977 Foxx lineup cuts already released?
- Disc 4: Steven Wilson 2020 2.0 mix
- Disc 5: DVD in 5.1 + videos
- Disc 6: Clear vinyl LP?
Price: I’m guessing more than it’s worth to me.
In a worst case scenario, it will all be on LP only with a Blu-Ray of the digital audio. It’s potentially irritating to have the rare album I enjoy get the SDLX treatment but I really can’t imagine anything compelling happening here. Do I really want to pay a lot for what has the potential to be a step down from the classic album we already know and love? I think I’ll buy the 12″ and see where I go from there.
The single always had a great B-side, “Waiting.” According to the hype, the Wilson 2.0 mix of that will only be on the clear 12″ single. So there’s that. The price will be $16.99, according to Rough Trade, who will be selling the remaining stock of this title online at noon on June 21st, 2020. Making for a cyber RSD frenzy that might be as obnoxious as the real thing. We’ll see. But I will be saving my shekels for that in any case. I hope I can get one for the base price. What do you think?
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Post-Punk Monk 
I’d be careful going nuts with money on some of this stuff.
A few years back I ordered a Swing Out Sister vinyl that if my memory was right was a special RSD release or maybe it was an Olympics tie in. I didn’t spend too much on that but I was disappointed when I converted it to digital files and realized that there was nothing unique happening here.
Last year my item of covetousness was the RSD release of an Elvis Costello tracks, kind of a bonus minilp to his last proper album release. Luckily he was kind enough to after the fact license it to digital distribution and I bought a copy on Amazon for $4-5.
Just had a coup with the Tears for Fears “Songs From the Big Chair” SDE, which briefly came back in circulation for $55, which I can do for what is it 4-5 cds, a dvd and a book. Roland Orzabel said in an interview that the long hoped for SDE for “The Seeds of Love” will happen this year. That could be really interesting or it could be a big disappointment, I look forward to hearing what will be on that one.
Sorry to hear that your trip was cancelled…..staying healthy is much more important now.
I work in health care and probably 80% of my job could be done from home but there’s crickets on that front.
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Tim – If 7″ singles are $10+ these days, then $16.99 [nearly double that for shipping from the UK] for a clear vinyl Ultravox 12″ with new mixes isn’t too bad. I’ll wager the “Vienna” SDLX will be at least $69.00. Three figures is a deal breaker. Maybe even high two. And this was an album that changed my life. We’ll have to see what they have up their sleeves.
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Hi Mr. Monk,
Are we getting less mixes now. The original German listing
had 4 tracks, the new mixes on the A-side, and the original
ones on the B-side. Hmm. Well, maybe they changed the
track listing or the original was wrong.
Either way, I will still be getting it.
later
-1
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negative1ne – I saw that in your posting with the Plank mixes on the B-side, but now that info seems scrubbed from the web. At least on the official RSD channels. Nothing, as usual from Ultravox or even Midge Ure. Zip from Steven Wilson. Sometimes it feels like we’re living in a weird dream. Now more than ever.
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I was going to dive in for this on RSD as well but now its cancelled for a while will give me chance to consider. I would probably have gone for the Roxy Music debut as well, but with me having it 3 times already, well ? and the Vienna album 3 times as well. Who would have thought that albums I bought decades ago , great as they are, are still taking my money. I must learn to say no.
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Re Vienna SDE, unless there’s lost stuff from that era I am not in for many of the same reasons.
I’d rather hear some of the modern mix masters like JCRZ or Blade do what they do after being given the stems than buy this again.
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I feel there is not much of the Vienna barrel left to be scraped without the danger of multiple splinters. I also think that Midge might not have much to do with this and it is Chrysalis or whoever owns the master tapes now who are calling these money-making shots.
Two funny anecdotes; 1) way back after Vienna was the huge hit, Midge was being interviewed about the release of All Stood Still and he laughed about it saying the demand for a follow-up was so great that they had to do something. “It’s money for old rope” he quipped.
2) as you know I saw Ultravox in Edinburgh on 8th Dec 1980 and to fill the time, they did indeed play three Foxx-era songs; Slow Motion, Quiet Men and Hiroshima Mon Amour. I cannot recall which one it was but after one of them, as I was clapping politely, I turned to my pal Roger who was with me and said “Well, they murdered that song”. He nodded in complete agreement. Believe me, John Foxx playing old Ultravox songs is far better than Midge doing them! Be careful what you wish for
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Duncan Watson – Well, Midge Ure is no Robin Simon, though he gave it his best. I’m fascinated to hear of one who was actually there to hear the long discussed “covers” of the Foxx music. It’s been sort of a grail quest for me out of abject curiosity. Well, I remember that Ure quote re: “All Stood Still.” I guess having a big hit with the third single put them in a weird position. It’s surprising that Chrysalis didn’t bite the bullet and re-issue “Sleepwalk” or “Passing Strangers.” Warner Brothers had no problem reissuing “1999” a 2nd time after “Little Red Corvette” was a top ten for Prince. Good thing too. But I felt that “All Stood Still” was one of the best tracks on “Vienna,” so I had no problem with that decision. Though they could have kept “Keep Torqueing” in the dustbin they pulled it from.
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Wow! that’s some memory. I was at that gig and can only remember it was in some old cinema right up from the Bridges. I left Edinburgh the next year, not really been back. My loss.
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I’m of the same view. I doubt there is much left. I was not aware of a box set.
Let’s see. I’ve already the original LP a few times. All the 12” and 7”. The CD I think 4 times. Buy it again ? No thanks.
I saw them on that tour. I cannot remember much but still have the ticket.
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jordan – I still find it perhaps sheer hubris that Chrysalis will try to milk a “Vienna” SDLX box out of that old cow. I await the unveiling of contents with a morbid fascination. I only own three SDLX boxes [4 discs or more] of treasured albums: “Roxy Music,” “New Gold Dream,” and “Sparkle In The Rain.” Wait, “Metamatic” got a 3xCD set, but that one was cheap and debatable as a SDLX box. This is down to costs, degree of fandom, and the decision of which albums to do this for. My tastes are such that all of the albums I am passionate about usually fly under this sort of radar. So when I hold dear gets this sort of attention, I’m inclined to look into it at least. Would I like 4 discs of “Gentleman Take Polaroids?” Indubitably! But not likely. “Empires + Dance?” Here’s my card number! The fact remains that the notion of a box for an album is usually overkill/exploitation. I did like the “New Gold Dream” one, though! The “Roxy Music” one was appropriate for such a seminal album. But in today’s market, there’s a SDLX box for Jethro Tull’s “Stormwatch!” That says it all.
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Hi Mr. Monk,
Unfortunately as expected, with multiple delays to Record Store Day,
now the latest is that it will be spread to 3 days later this year. Ugh.
https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/three-is-the-magic-number-as-record-store-day-moves-to-a-trio-of-drop-days/
This year’s Record Store Day is moving again, due to the COVID19 pandemic, and will now be split into THREE ‘drop’ dates: 29 August, 26 September and 24 October.
Not a very good way of trying to salvage the situation.
later
-1
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negative1ne – Hmmmm. Very troubling. Prediction: confusion and trampled feelings. In other words, RSD as usual! Though the middle one is my birthday. Will I get lucky? I do want that “Sleepwalk” 12 incher!
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Hi Mr. Monk,
I will refer people to your post on the New Wave Outpost,
about the tracklisting for the Vienna Super Deluxe Edition.
Looks good, and will look forward to the live tracks, and
the demos. The price will hopefully be kept down too, but
it’s still a must buy. The question is when.
later
-1
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negative1ne – If it’s really €55 then I am so all over a copy of that. It’s a major, major album in my development. And I still love it, albeit not blindly. We’ll get to it soon here once things stabilize.
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