In the release date info in today's MusicTAP post, a very interesting date is listed: September 28, it says, will see several reissues from the Peter Gabriel catalogue coming from Gabriel's own label, Real World Records. Amazon further details the picture, listing reissues of So (1986), Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats (1990), Us (1992) and Up (2002) for pre-order. These four albums make up the bulk of Gabriel's releases on Virgin Records in the U.K. (In the U.S. they were released on Geffen Records, along with several preceding albums released on Charisma in England.)
Of course, the trick is: what makes these any different, outside of their release on Gabriel's own label? (Note that the 2002 remasters seem to be out of print.) Will there be extra content? Non-LP B-sides? Outtakes from the vault? One can only hope for something along the lines of this, or maybe this somewhere down the road. In the meantime, one may want to keep an eye out for the next full moon (August 24), as Gabriel seems to be issuing much of his news and new music around those dates.
Release Round-Up: Week of December 1
The Weekend Stream: July 29, 2023
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The Weekend Stream: January 7, 2023
The list price for these on amazon is 11.99, so I seriously doubt they'll be 2-disc sets. There's always a chance, though, that they could tack a few extra tracks on the end of the main disc.
I wish it weren't so, but I'd wager that these are straight reissues of the 2002 remasters. 🙁
I think his HIT 2 disc comp is one of the most enjoyable compilations I own. It stands on its own as a set, and for me it's all the Gabriel I need.
I am surprised that his albums would go out of print, but if there aren't any bonus tracks, then this would be pretty lame.
Gabriel had licensed his catalog to Geffen. That deal is over, which is why the catalog is oop. These releases are supposed to have extra tracks, but may be straight reissues b/c (as I understand it anyway) his rights in the ROW don't revert for another two years. He may not want to cannibalize the EX-US mkt with US imports that are upgrades before he can release them globally.
I thought So had been reissued to iTunes recently, with bonus tracks? At least, I remembered running across that several months back. Perhaps even last year? Either way, I may wait to see what the reissues have on them. I prefer lossless to mp3.
If nothing else, I would love for that longer version of "In Your Eyes" (which we discussed here awhile back) to finally be released on CD!
Otherwise, I have all of Gabriel's regular solo albums, including the long out of print full, 2-disc version of Plays Live, and I'm happy enough with those CDs.
That was the "iTunes +" (I think) version of So - a failed attempt by iTunes and labels to create iTunes exclusive Deluxe versions of classic albums at a higher than usual price point, with more content, including videos. There were a flurry of them when it launched (without much fanfare, and from what I can see on Soundscan, sales) but I'm unaware of any new ones in the last 12 mos. or so. I presume the Gabriel title is not on iTunes until the catalog re-launch, which is supposed to be through EMI's distributed labels group (formerly Caroline).
Could be, I haven't checked the iTunes store recently... I just remembered being surprised at seeing So available on there not too long ago, and with bonus tracks no less. More surprising still, IIRC, you could buy those extra songs without having to buy the whole album. I might still do that if they're still there, although it's possible that they're not there anymore. I'll have to look.