Customer Reviews

Quick Step & Side Kick

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm revisiting this review, because the album is just that important to me.

I know a bit more about Superfecta now, and I hope they'll take my lashes with some understanding. But wow -- I think this CD is even worse now than I originally rated it.

The guys (mostly Jason) at Superfecta meant well, I'm sure. But I really don't understand how you put out a release like this before consulting the fans.

Since I wrote this, I've forced myself to listen to the CD a little more, and it makes me angrier every time. The mastering on "Rap Boy Rap" is totally atrocious. Hear the compressor wheeze in and out, sounding like a teenager riding the volume knob to avoid waking up Mom and Dad in the next room.

And GIVE ME A BREAK on the art. I can't believe how amateurish it is. Couldn't the "designer" have even consulted the original logo? And seriously, what's with that "reproduction" of the original 12" back jacket? Look at the Japanese re-release for the proper way to have done this. No professional designer would have made such a rookie mistake.

Rumor has it BMG is planning on a big re-release campaign of all the TT catalog. I'll believe it when I see it, but I can't imagine they could mess up QS&SK worse than this disaster. Awful.

Do. Not. Buy.

---

Before I start out, this is my favorite album ever. It's the one I'd take with me to a desert island. I'd choose it over anything Bowie, the Beatles, Liz Phair, Led Zep, or the Ramones ever recorded. Yes, I like it that much. And I barely listen to any synthpop.

So I have to give the CD this: The audio quality is good here (with one really bizarre exception, noted below), and the album songs are in the correct sequence. Even Arista records didn't get that right in the US in 1983.

But Superfecta, seriously...HOW ON EARTH could you kludge the FOURTH CD reissue of this groundbreaking album? The Japanese 20-bit one from the late '90s still remains the definitive CD release of QS&SK. This one isn't even in the realm of the initial CD releases, which were made from the vinyl master tapes. THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL ALBUM.

Particulars:

1. This album was originally released in the UK and in the US with a second cassette side of remixes: "Love Lies Fierce," "(Long) Beach Culture," "No Talkin'," "Rap Boy Rap," "Frozen in Time" and "Fallen Out." This was not a long album by modern standards. These remixes would have fit on the same CD, as the 10 original album tracks clock in at well under 40 minutes. This is the most important part: Superfecta IS NOT releasing the whole original album. Since this thing is mostly going to be sold to hard-core TTwins cultists, why in the world didn't they do their market research to find out what people want? Thompson Twins fans have been wanting the ORIGINAL ALBUM in its entirety forever. Big mistake to put three bonuses on this one that have already been released on CD.

2. "Love On Your Side" is some bizarro-world short edit that fades out almost immediately after the timbale break, but strangely includes the extra measures in the intro, which were missing from the single edit. Seriously, what are they thinking? This thing is 3:31, as opposed to the 3:58 of the real song. Those extra 27 seconds make a HUGE difference. The 3:31 fades out quicker than the single version (which was on the original CDs in the late '80s). Think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill? Uh no: This is a reissue of a cultist's document. You don't mess with things like that. Sheesh.

3. ACK, seriously, what's up with the artwork? The cover scan is WAY dark and everything's all orange. Suppose I should commend the interior yellow/orange/black/white color scheme. But hello, where did you ever see that much yellow or orange in the original Satori designs? The yellow disc background print is ridiculous.

4. Reiterating the most important problem with this re-release: Of the four bonus tracks on this thing, three have already been released on CD! The original cassette had six bonus tracks, most of which haven't been digitized yet! ARGH!!!

Superfecta, I think your mission is an excellent one: preserving synthpop classics. But you missed BIG on this. To me, this was the greatest album of the '80s, and it deserved first-class documentation. This is first rate in sound quality, but decidedly third-rate in sequencing and visual presentation. A goof of the highest order.

(Edited March 19, 2008 in order to reflect a changed opinion on the sound quality).

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' 'Quick Step & Side Kick' 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 description 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.

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 in order 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. The Into the Gap 2008 Edsel reissue is available as well.

This was the Twins' most innovative album. It also marked a very new and sharp artistic direction. Quickstep and Sidekick was miles away from their late 70's experimental material. Yet, this material was not yet considered mainstream or new wave/pop at this point in their careers. Using state of the art (for the time) synthesizer technology, heavy,heavy doses of percussion infused with exotic global rhythms and sometimes offbeat and humorous lyrics you could quickly identify their unique trademark sound!The Thompson Twins were/are original! This is the album that spawned a few club tracks as well as college radio, alternative(for 1983) rock album and even R&B favorites. Their music could not be strictly classified as New Wave for it lacked the cold and artificially intelligent sounds of say groups like the Human League or Kraftwerk (yet, the only thing remotely comparable to the League was Tom Bailey's dead panned monotone vocals akin to Phil Oakey's). If you listened carefully to some of the bass lines on a few tracks and creative danceable beats there was plenty of funk derivative ingredients as well which made this album easily playable on R&B, Soul and dance stations at the time. Glad they included the re-mixes on this expanded edition. The re-mixes are essential in fully understanding what I'm talking about in the previous statement about the funk derivative bass lines and percussion (Love On Your Side-Rap Boy Rap, Lies-Bigger and Better) !

As a previous reviewer mentioned, I too lament the fact that there is still quite a bit of material missing as bonus extended tracks released on the 1982 U.S. Arista cassette release (then titled Sidekicks for the American market)not included on the remaster. However, this is still an awesome title to own by one of the 80's most distinct and creative musical groups from Europe !

I have this album on cassette tape and was kind of bummed when it finally came out on CD, they didn't put the 12 inch mixes on it,which were on side two of the tape. This CD release is just awesome,not only are the 12 inch mixes on here but other mixes are as well. All for under ten bucks!!
I highly recommend this to anyone who likes the Thompson Twins or just GOOD 80's music in general.

This is a first class package. It has great sound, restored UK track order plus some great bonus tracks. The liner notes and booklet art are great. Really pretty much everything you could ask for. Agreed, it would have been cool to have a CD package with the bonus track that were on Arista's original cassette version released in the US (a whole side of remixes including Beach Culture) but then this would have been a 2 Cd set.

The album itself still rings true as one of the best of the 80s. If you have been holding off on buying the very pricey Japanese version, then by all means rush out to get this one..
!

I have owned the European cassette release of "Sidekicks" since 1982. One side was the original album, the other side was the remixes of some of the songs on side one. The cassette has gotten old and I had longed for a CD release of the whole cassette. Finally it is here with even more original remixes than I had ever known existed. I feel this is Thompson Twins greatest effort and I thoroughly enjoy it. Now I can listen to it in crystal clearness, instead of the hissing and warping sounds of my aged cassette. THANK YOU !!

Length:: 1:26 Mins

Absolutely, the best album from the Twins. Although "Into the Gap" made them stars and it is itself a great album. QS&SK is more quirky, energetic, and enjoyable.

Now on to the missing remixes. As IggyBowieLou pointed out, there were 6 tracks on the B-side of the cassette edition. One of the first CDs I burned when I got my first burner way back when was this album and the 6 tracks. The total running time of the US album release and the bonus tracks clocks in at 73:50. It appears that the CD can contain either the bonus tracks, or the extended versions of the original songs, but probably not both. A rundown of the approximate lengths of the bonus tracks are:

- Love Lies Fierce 6:55 <- Remix of "Love Lies Bleeding"
- (Long) Beach Culture 6:38 <- Remix of "Beach Culture", B-side of "Lies" single
- No Talkin' 6:13 <- Instrumental (almost) of "Lies"
- Rap Boy Rap 7:22 <- Remix of "Love on Your Side"
- Frozen in Time 6:22 <- Remix of "Kamikaze"
- Fallen Out 2:30 <- Instrumental of "All Fall Out"

The cassette version still occasionally pops up on eBay.

OK, like everyone else, I am happy to finally have SIDEKICKS (aka QUICK STEP AND SIDEKICK) back in print on CD in the U.S. - BUT seeing as I paid mucho dollars $$$ to buy an original OOP CD version on ebay recently, and now THIS budget version appears, I wish they saw fit to include all of the mixes from the U.S. "Double Play" cassette-only release - I remember buying it when it first came out and playing it sooo much it literally fell apart! We need ALL the remixes of Lies, Love Lies Bleeding, and especially LONG BEACH CULTURE - wow! Still, this is a nice addition to anyone's CD collection. Count me in, reluctantly. JUDY DO rocks!

As far as I know, this is the FIRST time the full 7 and a half minute version of "Love on Your Side" has been on CD--every compilation I've ever found the supposed extended version on has used the EDIT from their Greatest Remixes CD--and Lies, while not as hard to find complete, is also often just the edited version from the same CD, but here, it is the full 6 minutes and 37 seconds. And We Are Detectives is 5 minutes and 49 seconds. So the bonnus tracks alone make this CD worth the purchase.