i wish that cherry red had done a blossom toes box set rather then reissuing the albums seperately. i think a blossom toes box set would have been a great thing and a better idea.

I quite agree. I never liked those clunky digipaks that have the plastic clip trays in. They make the packaging too wide and shelf hogging especially with a tripple disc set. Blossom Toes would have been a good clamshell box set. I'd even settle for a 'capacity wallet'which are those skinny slip cases (like you get with the Warner Brothers 'Original Album Classics' sets).

PM:relieved:

Yes i totally agree on this one,i feel Dave Wells and Cherry Red missed a great opportunity for a fantastic box set,including the 3 cds included with the new version of "We are Ever So Clean"which from what i can see,as i received this this morning,it looks like the Sunbeam cds of Blossom Toes stuff is on this 3 cd set,the live in stockholm 26th august 67,some demos and BBC sessions,Sunbeam released 4 cds of Blossom Toes Material between 2007 and 2009 they are:

We Are Ever So Clean with 10 bonus tracks(released 2007),which are all included on the "NEW" 3 CD SET.but are split between cd2 and cd3.

If Only For A Moment with 7 bonus tracks(released 2007),(ive not looked at the "NEW"2 cd set,of the reissue off this album,but i've a funny feelinhg it will be the same bonus tracks,plus im hoping far more since its been hugely expanded.

What On Earth:Rarities 1967-69(released 2009)-7 tracks from this are also included on the new 3 cd set of We are Ever So Clean,i've a feeling the other 10 tracks will be on the new If Only For a Moment as the likes of Postcard,Peace Loving Man,New Day etc are more the second album"If only for a Moment" era

Love Bomb-Live 1967-69(released 2009)-The whole of cd 1 from this cd Lovebomb,is on this new 3 cd version. on, "We Are Ever so Clean",so its the live at Philipes club,Stockholm,-26th august 67 concert,that are the first 8 numbers on cd3,of the new Grapefruit version.

So if you haven't had the time or just being lazy to even want to know whats on the 3 cd set from Grapefruit!In summary here goes,

The original Sunbeam cd issue is also on this 3 cd set,all 10 bonus tracks too.

THE 3 CD GRAPEFRUIT VERSION IS AS FOLLOWS

CD1-contaains the full 15 track album"We are Ever So Clean"/also tracks 16,17 and 18 and 20 from the Sunbeam cd,are now onGrapefruit CD1,tracks as 16,18, 19 and 17.


CD2-Contains,tracks 1 to 8,which is cd 1 from LOVEBOMB cd.

CD3.starts tracks 1,2 and 3, on Grapefruit cd where tracks 23,24 and 25,on Sunbeam cd issue.Tracks 4 on grapefruit set was track 19 on Sunbeam cd.tracks 7 and 8 on Grapefruit are tracks 21 and 22 on Sunbeam issue./7Graperuit cd tracks 5 and 6 ARE NEW,which are What On Earth.and The Remarkable Saga off The Frozen Dog,which came from a BBC Top Gear session 23 October 1967.HALLELUJAH,2 NEW UNHEARD VERSIONS

So the NEW "If only For a Moment" expanded set will have full of cd 2 from Love Bomb,include tracks 8 to 17 from What on Earth-Rarities sunbeam cd,and of course include the full "If only For a Moment"album,along with the 7 bonus tracks on sunbeams "If Only For a Moment"so what else they have planned that has not been aavilable,i've not got a clue,but both albums are fabulous but different beasts.

Must also mention Sunbeam Records did a splendid job of the 2 cd set of the BB Blunder"Workers Playtime album,which included an extra disc of out-takes etc.which i was delighted with when i got the double cd in 2009.
So i wonder if Grapefruit/Cherry Red have future plans to expand the BB Blunder"Workers playtime"album and set??

Great info Stuart,

I have to agree with you that the expanded B.B. Blunder “Workers Playtime” is a fine set. I’ve chatted with folks who don’t care for that album, but to me it’s just a great early ‘70’s Blossom Toes record, much in the way Fairfield Parlour is Kaleidoscope. For me, “Workers Playtime” has a kind of space-y Hawkwind vibe on some songs, like “Rise” for example.
My only complaint about every version of “Workers Playtime” I’ve over heard on CD is they shave off about two minutes of “New Day” at the end fade out. It’s sort of a “Hey Jude” ending, so truncating it is really annoying. It’s like abbreviating George Harrison’s “Isn’t It A Pity”. You don’t do that “for the sake of brevity…”
I wish someone would release Workers Playtime to match the vinyl. A boxed set of course would be cool!

I think that changes from vinyl to CD are a pet peeve of mine. Another example was the first Gerry Rafferty album “Can I Have My Money Back.” The CD stuck on a different version of “Mary Skeffington”, which is a fine track, and even a good version (re-recording? single mix?) But don’t remove the lp version of the song!! Stick the different version in as a bonus track!! That kind of thing is annoying.
I remember when Roger Bunn was putting his “Piece of Mind” out on CD snd he was toying with the idea of getting rid of the spoken bits and little passages between songs and I strongly advised him to keep the CD like the record at the time and resist the impulse to “improve” or edit the original release. If you need to do bonus tracks, that’s fine, but I think most people want to hear the music that was made at the time. I was glad he kept the CD the same format as the original lp, adding a number of bonus tracks but not messing with the original set of songs.😀

AAhhhhh,i understand your thinking Joe,as far as i'm aware most music nuts like us would rather have thee "orignal"album,as presented and released at THAT time,some would say the musicians/group vision,but as we know even BACK then the record execs would force a change on that vision,so you do get cd or even vinyl reissues that state as INTENDED to be the group or artistes vision,so the group are saying the "real" original album that was say released in 1970,is NOT the album they as a group wanted released because of record company or producers involvement and obstruction off their orignal concept,so in their REALITY,it.s not the product they wanted to release,but it did.What do you think about that scenario Joe?Or is this because musicians look at their past works,that are being planned to be reissued,but cant help themselves in wanting to improve parts,or remix certain songs,because they as an individual has never been happy with that guitar part or that bass part..........i'd rather they leave the albums released as they were,NO matter the reasoning by the musicians or act 55 years later,to change its mix or any part off it.....even down to the artwork,though i know in cases with reissues on cd and on vinyl where the "original"sleeve artwork has been replaced,like the Its A Beautiful Day debut album and its follow up "Marrying Maiden"for copyright reasons, can not use either image in certain countries. So even that changes the originality of thr original one.......buy i suppose when deals where made in 68 they weren't thinking off demand or reissues in 2022.So many deals with copyright etc mave lapsed and so on.So i suppose some can not be helped legally in the artwork depsartmdengt.

But the music for me has to be the same as thee original 67 release of an album,ok with a good
re-mastering of improving sound on cd etc ,but a remix is subtly changing things in the original mix,bringing up a guitar part higher,or lowering a vocal etc.....sp THAT is not in theory a reproduction original release of the album!!It can be a minefield,with all those terms record companies use,on reissuees like remixed from the original master tape,so its not what is on the original master used for the original finished released album,because now they are able to use,those tapes to EQ it,add more compression,or add noise reduction methods not avalable then ,or dampen this musical part ,or mix something low into the new reissue,so it's a subtly bastardised remixed version off the original album.Typical musicans or creators who can never let go of a thing theyve disliked for years,so when given the opportunity to change that part,many can't help themselves to hide it in a new mix.....its NOT want their fans wangt,they want what was the original album in sound and in natural running order,because if it's neither,it's NOT the real thing!!!

As for bonus tracks,i'm a massive fan of extras on cd,but DONT put some off those extras in the running order off the original album ,which i've also saw,always at the end off a cd,bonus tracks,NEVER in the original running order.

As for Roger Bunn and his weird but excellent album reissue on cd "Piece of Mind",on Roadrunner,i can imagine Roger wanting to kick off the in between stuff,like small faces with Ogdens nut gone flake and The Ends "Introspection"albums......yes very irritating and interrupts the flow of music,after the third time of hearing it,i'd rather it wasnt there,because it is a bloody pain and NOT funny at all on the 100th listen,but it was THEIR vision,their idea at something differnt,unique and humorous at that time,and does now i feel really date them,which in a way i love too though.In a listening experience its an interruption to the music..i feel.A fine example of this is the cd reissue of New Zealands La De Das album "The Happy prince"where you get the original version with the horrendous pompous narration,in between songs,really off putting and naff to be truthful,but you also get a version WITHOUT the narration and for me as a listening experience is more enjoyable...so it really is a personal choice ,will i buy or not...and that is mine or your decision,whether its thee original mix etc or not.

Thanks Gian. I just ordered that collection. I guess I figured I had a lot of it already, but it will be nice to have all in one place, and as you say, they got the Mary Skeffington song in both versions. Looks like a nice set.
You make very good points, Stu. Indeed, when the band has their own vision that the producers or record label squashed, that’s a different deal. I just bought a bunch of 13th Floor Elevators, for example, and I notice on one we of their albums their intended running order is different from the original release, and they’ve restored the original order on one of the discs.
This sort of debate crops up all the time in the land of Beatles reissues (Benefit of Mr. Kite was supposed to be earlier on side one! The Beatles only cared about the mono Sgt. Pepoer! etc.)
I take all that with a grain if salt, I guess. But the idea of “improving” the records is a contentious and difficult topic. I mean, do you fix the channel mistake on “Eleanor Rigby” in stereo? (Answer: Yes, on the Yellow Submarine Songtrack!😜).
There’s a thin line between “fixing” poor stereo separation to making a new “remix” but where that line is can ba hard to determine.
I will say, in general, I find Giles Martin squarely crosses that line and I don’t listen to his “remixes”. I do give him credit gor making clear versions of the White Album Sessions and Esher tapes available, but I never listen to his mixes of the proper albums. If you find a good pressing of any album from the 60’s, 70’s, or even ‘80’s you get a much less heavy handed version if any of the records.
I see what you mean about the spoken word bits in so many psych albums like the ones you mention. I think they just give it period charm, but I can totally understand wanting to get rid of them on some listens. And I do find myself skipping tge one shlocky or novelty song on a lot of those records (The Move—Zing Went the Strings it The Twilights—The Cocky Song, etc.)
In that way CDs are helpful …just a quick oress on the fast forward😜

Totally agree - don't like remixes or modern music by band members added to the original.

I personally love the narration on Ogden's, it's still fun to me and an essential part of the whole. The narration on Happy Prince is also priceless, very camp and fey, but it is an Oscar Wilde story, so it couldn't be voiced any other way. Strip that out and it is a lesser experience, even if I would never listen to it in polite company. The 2 short tales on the End LP for me really ground it and seem to link between old east end London and the new swinging psychedelic era a bit like the film Performance, and I think the contrast adds something. The only narration I can't stand is on Fire's Magic Shoemaker, which I find really tedious and cringe-worthy.

Ogdens is fine but another I don't like is Jigsaw-Leatherslade Farm.

Just out of curiosity is there any good spoken word psych albums? Maybe with psychedelic background music. I'm sure there are some but I can't think of one at the moment 🤔

No unfortunately not Paul,i can think off 2 though not psych,but still may interest some who come here,there is the Gullivers Travels featuring Mike D'Abo,that was released on the Instant label,the short subdsidiary of Immediate.

There is one story i love that was narrated with the beautiful and rather relaxing voices of Judi Dench and Michael Hordern,of The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshoppers Feast,and the music and vocals on this rather beautiful album is no other than Edwards Hand,ex of Picadilly Line,Rod Edwards(also in Jade too) and Roger Hand.It was recorded and put together between October 1974 to August 1975 at Decca Studios,and features musicians like Gerry Conway and Tony Carr,the narration was done at Air Studios and was engineered by one. Geoff Emerick.

It's a totally different beast to the Roger Glover version,and i do enjoy the Roger Glover and Friends version.........the music on the Judi Dench and Michael Hordern version,is just sublime,mostly soft and gentle acoustic with beautiful harmonising from Edwards Hand,while Judi and Michael give us their voices that you could quite easily slip into.

This all entailed with the new verse written by William Plomer to go with the 28 beautiful new illustrations by Alan Aldridge,resulting in the illustrated book of The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper's Feast .This album was released in tandem with the release off the new illustrated book,with the poems set to lovely music by Rod Edwards and Roger Hand,and off course the immistsakable voices of Judi and Michael...it really is a lovely album to listen to,and the cd i have is WIZZ 0801,with the website "info@wizardpresents.co.uk",the cd is immaculate,you could hear a pin drop ,it really is that good,sounds fabulous.

Thr only other things that come to mind are the Timothy Leary albums,where he talks over music for meditating or taking a trip.

Joe,yes there is going to be an extended 2 cd set of BB Blunder "Workers PLaytime",as far as i know set for April,with 2 additional BBC tracks never before released,but apart from that it seems to be the exact same tracklist as cd 2 on Sunbeams cd reissue,this new version is coming from Esoteric Records..

Interesting, Stuart. Maybe this time we’ll get an uncut “New Day,” although I have yet to hear one on any CD. I did enjoy the long bonus tracks on the Sunbeam release a while back.