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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
2-CD Complete Reissue!, March 18, 2008
First, since Amazon lists an incomplete tracklisting at the time of this review, here's what you get with this 2-CD deluxe set:
-Disc One-
'Into The Gap'
01 Doctor! Doctor! 4.39
02 You Take Me Up 4.26
03 Day After Day 3.49
04 Sister Of Mercy 5.07
05 No Peace For The Wicked 4.05
06 The Gap 4.45
07 Hold Me Now 4.45
08 Storm On The Sea 5.32
09 Who Can Stop The Rain 5.44
'The Cassette Remixes'
10 Leopard Ray 3.19
11 Doctor! Doctor! [12" Version] 7.50
12 Panic Station [Day After Day] 4.43
13 Down Tools 4.23
14 Hold Me Now [12" Version] 9.45
15 Funeral Dance [No Peace For The Wicked] 3.14
-Disc Two-
'The Cassette Remixes' continued
01 Compass Points [The Gap] 4.58
02 Still Water [Storm On The Sea] 3.49
'The B-Sides And The 12" Mixes'
03 You Take Me Up (Machines Take Me Over) [12" Version] 7.22
04 Sister Of Mercy [12" Version] 9.24
05 Let Loving Start [12" Version] 8.53
06 You Take Me Up (High Plains Mixer) [US 12" Remix] 8.28
07 Nurse Shark 4.06
08 Passion Planet 3.43
09 You Take Me Up [Instrumental Remix] 6.18
10 Out Of The Gap [Megamix Extended Version] 8.57
Finally, a record label that invests some time and effort in order to correctly put out a reissued album ... well, almost. I'm talking about Edsel Records, a division of the independent U.K.-based Demon Music Group. Licensed from Arista head Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Demon-Edsel went the extra mile by compiling a 2-disc collection of the Thompson Twins' 'Into The Gap' project with extensive liner notes and great packaging to top it off.
I must admit that I never thought I would add a Thompson Twins studio album to my collection. The list price and excellent b-sides, cassette remixes, and 12" remixes are the real incentives here, since I do not own the majority of this music in my collection. I was only a couple years old when this album was released, so I have no memory of the time of the release of this album. However, I grew up with the hits from this album on the radio, so I was curious about the album tracks and bonus tracks which I haven't heard.
The remastering here is okay, adding clarity to the recordings. I must admit that the remastering treatment is not among the best upgrades that I've heard. In fact, it is rather disappointing. Most of the tracks sound good, but personally I think that they could have benefited from a little extra kick and bass. The mastering volume is rather low by today's audio standards, which may or may not be positive, depending on your own music tastes. Personally, I'll go for the punchy, wide sound, but if you're looking for that kind of mastering here you will be let down. Furthermore, a few of the bonus tracks sound like they could have been pulled from vinyl sources, perhaps do to the original master tapes being lost. However, most of the 12" versions sound fine and don't appear to be pulled from vinyl. CD mastering credits go to Alchemy Soho.
(In order to test to see if much could be done about the sound I worked a few of the tracks in an audio editing program. I was able to give them the "lift" that they so deserved. Perhaps that's the problem here -- that is, most of the songs were simple transfers from the original master tapes without an actual professional "remastering" upgrade, hence why they sound limited in their sonic dimensions. It's worth noting, too, that this release fails to mention any remastering in either it's product discription or on the outside of the package itself.)
With liner notes by Damian Thomas, the booklet extends to a fold out double-sided poster, highlighting the band's single sleeves, vinyl pressings, cassettes, and other memorabilia from the era. Album credits and the original single and promo releases from which the bonus tracks are pulled are stated as well. This isn't just a simple straight reissue but rather an enhanced version of the project.
Usually when I see these types of reissues the record companies tend to mess up something by leaving out an essential b-side or a hit 12" mix. Fans may then have to wait several more years before the missing tracks appear on yet another reissue. Some of the best material may remain in the vaults, for whatever reason, and never see the light of day on CD. For the very first time, all the mixes from the cassette and 12" singles are available on this deluxe 2-CD set.
The full 12" 9.45 version of "Hold Me Now" is presented here. In the past few years I've seen a lot of compilations use a shorter, edited 7-minute version of the track, claiming that it was the 12" version. Fortunately, Edsel did their research and gave us the full track in all it's extended glory. This is the first time that I've heard the near 10-minute version of the song, and it's great!
Again, I'm not the biggest Thompson Twins fan, but I can see when a reissue is done right in terms of packaging and tracklisting. The sound quality, in my opinion, could have been much better, so that's my only complaint. Despite this problem, the bonus material is still too good to be true, so I hate to rate it fewer than 4 stars since the booklet and overall design is still fantastic. It's really a shame that Demon didn't bother with a professional mastering engineer to give this release the audio upgrade that it so deserved. If you are concerned that this release won't meet your audio quality standards you may wish to skip this purchase. However, the tracklisting itself may be too hard to resist!
P.S. Check out the Quick Step & Side Kick 2008 Demon-Edsel reissue as well.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Ultimate Thompson Twins Gem, April 2, 2008
As passionate as I am about new wave, retro and synth-pop, there is no greater album to me than the Thompson Twins' 1984 release "Into the Gap". Now going on 25 years, the record still creates vivid images of places into ether and beyond in layers of spacey atmospheres, beautiful guitar melodies, alternative percussive rhythms and dreamy choruses by lead vocalist Tom Bailey and his colorful antic sidekicks Joe Leeway and Alannah Currie. Alex Sadkin's production is masterful, capturing the distant seaside presence of where the trio recorded the album in Nassau in the autumn of 1983. Finally, nearly 25 years later, the record has been re-released in a remastered version complete with b-sides, 12'' mixes, heavenly instrumentals and limited releases. Although the Thompson Twins owned the world and the pop charts, don't be underestimated. The talent speaks not in the fashion, but in the music that made this album my personal favorite of all time.
Other reviews are critiquing the quality of the sound on a few of tracks. However, the fact that this collection captures over 90% of the material recorded (that we know of) for the period that we'll simply call "The Gap", I shant try and decompose the very minor 'hissing' on one or two tracks and debate selected US / UK / Japanese versions. Given the fact that this LP is nearly a quarter of a Century old now, it is of great pleasure and honor that Edsel Records have spotlighted this album and given it this vinyl-reunion on compact disc for the first time.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Buyer Beware...not remastered!, March 19, 2008
I have very keen hearing. The actual album and cassette remixes and most of the 12" versions sound fine; however, "You Lift Me Up (Machines Take Me over Remix)," sounds awful. The beginning of the song has a flutter to it with a few crackles. This was "NOT" remastered. As for "Sister of Mercy (Extended Version)," there is a slight screeching sound in the background. It sounds like the leveling was rised too high. It's my favorite song. I'm so mad that it sounds this way.
This is a great collection, if you want rarities, but by no means was this product remastered. Sorry!! I'm only giving this collection 3 stars.
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