Cherry Pop Records is about to go continental with a deluxe reissue of Whose Side Are You On, the debut LP from U.K. jazz-pop outfit Matt Bianco.
Originally comprised of vocalists Mark Reilly and Basia Trzetrzelewska, keyboardist Danny White and bassist Kito Poncioni (who only played on B-side "Big Rosie" and left before the full album sessions), Matt Bianco (a name meant to evoke '60s spy culture) delivered artistic, Latin-tinged jazz-pop that recalled and anticipated contemporary European works by Sade, Swing Out Sister and others.
While none of their singles enjoyed much crossover success in America, Matt Bianco would enjoy two Top 40 hits in the U.K. from Whose Side Are You On: "Get Out of Your Lazy Bed" and "Half a Minute."
Not long afterward, Basia and White would leave the group to collaborate personally and professionally; Basia would release a handful of solo albums to greater fanfare in the States. Reilly would reorganize Matt Bianco around himself and instrumentalist Mark Fisher; this iteration would score their biggest Top 20 hits with "Yeh Yeh" in 1985 and "Don't Blame It on That Girl" (a Top 10 U.S. Dance hit) in 1988. The original trio would reunite in 2003 for a new album, but after the tour Matt BIanco was back to the duo of Reilly and Fisher.
Producer and longtime friend of The Second Disc Vinny Vero has worked his magic on Whose Side Are You On, in the tradition of his expansions of two Basia solo albums, Time and Tide (1987) and London Warsaw New York (1989). This double disc set has it all: the material that made up both U.S. and U.K. pressings of the original album, every 7" and 12" side (altogether, some 15 tracks are making their CD debut), six previously unreleased demos and a new version of single "Half a Minute" recorded by the band in 2015!
The reissued Whose Side Are You On is available June 17! The pre-order and track list are below--and fans can order direct from Cherry Red for a limited number of copies signed by the band.
Matt Bianco, Whose Side Are You On: Deluxe Edition (Cherry Pop Records CRPOPD171, 2016)
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Disc 1: Original LP and remixes
- Whose Side Are You On? (Extended Version)
- More Than I Can Bear (Remix)
- No No Never
- Half a Minute
- Matt's Mood (12" Remix) *
- Get Out of Your Lazy Bed
- It's Getting Late
- Sneaking Out the Back Door
- Riding with the Wind
- Matt's Mood II
- More Than I Can Bear (Original U.K. Album Version)
- Matt's Mood (Original U.K. Album Version)
- Big Rosie (7" Version) *
- Whose Side Are You On? (7" Version) *
- The Other Side *
- More Than I Can Bear (U.S. Edited Remix) *
- Whose Side Are You On? (U.S. 7" Version) *
Disc 1, Tracks 1, 3-4 and 6-12 originally released as WEA LP WX7 (U.K.), 1984
Disc 1, Tracks 2 and 5 featured on Atlantic LP 81268 (U.S.), 1984
Disc 1, Track 13 was B-side to WEA single BIANCO 1 (U.K.), 1983
Disc 1, Tracks 14-15 released as WEA single YZ9 (U.K.), 1984
Disc 1, Track 16 was A-side to Atlantic single 89483 (U.S.), 1984
Disc 1, Track 17 was A-side to Atlantic single 89516 (U.S.), 1985
Disc 2: Remixes, alternate versions and demos
- Get Out of Your Lazy Bed (Extended Version) *
- Matt's Mood (Single Edit) *
- Big Rosie (Extended Version) *
- Matt's Mood II (Single Edit) *
- Sneaking Out the Back Door (Extended Version) *
- Matt's Mood (7" Remix) *
- Big Rosie (Remix) *
- Half a Minute (Extended Version) *
- Matt's Mood (Extended Version) *
- Whose Side Are You On? (Demo) **
- Half a Minute (Demo) **
- Get Out of Your Lazy Bed (Demo) **
- Sneaking Out the Back Door (Demo) **
- Big Rosie (Demo) **
- The Happy Christmas Song (Demo) **
- Half a Minute (2015 Version) **
Disc 2, Tracks 1 and 3 from WEA 12" BIANCO 1T (U.K.), 1983
Disc 2, Track 2 from WEA single YZ3 (U.K.), 1984
Disc 2, Track 4 from WEA single YZ26 (U.K.), 1984
Disc 2, Tracks 5 and 9 from WEA 12" YZ3 T (U.K.), 1984
Disc 2, Track 6 from WEA single YZ34 (U.K.), 1985
Disc 2, Track 7 from WEA 12" YZ34 T (U.K.), 1985
Disc 2, Track 8 from WEA 12" YZ26 T (U.K.), 1984
Disc 2, Tracks 10-16 previously unreleased
* denotes recording previously unavailable on CD
Gabor says
Looking forward