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Between 1994 and 2003, Marshall Crenshaw recorded five albums for the Razor and Tie label. Now, the singer-songwriter is returning to those acclaimed works with revised editions coming on CD, vinyl LP, and all digital platforms. The campaign will begin on January 17, 2020 with a reissue of the 1996 release Miracle of Science. All of the upcoming titles will arrive on Crenshaw's own Shiny-Tone label as a result of the artist regaining ownership of his Razor and Tie masters.
All told, the new reissue series will encompass three studio albums -- Miracle of Science, 1999's #447 and 2003's What's in the Bag? -- as well as 1994's live album My Truck Is My Home and 1998's demos collection The 9 Volt Years. Each album will boast two newly recorded, previously unreleased tracks, which will appear on a bonus 7-inch single on the vinyl editions and as bonus tracks on the CD and digital versions.
Crenshaw explains in the press release, "Miracle of Science was a turning point for me. I had voluntarily taken myself out of the major-label world. ADAT machines had just come out, so I bought a couple of those and a few other pieces of gear, and now suddenly I could make records at home if I felt like it. That took me back to my roots, you might say; I did about half the album at home by myself. And the other people that played on the record, I still get such a huge kick out of hearing what they did, particularly on the tracks that I recorded at Alex the Great studios in Nashville. There's a lot of spirit in the music, a lot of fire. The playing is loose and wild -- a much different approach from what you hear on my major-label records, and a real breakthrough, for my money. Overall, I'd say that there's a lot of great music on this album, a lot of great noise too, and some cool sounds. I've seen the songs on the album described as 'cinematic' and 'atmospheric'; that works for me. One of my favorites is 'What Do You Dream Of.' I was trying to write a rockabilly song when I started it -- you might not guess that. It's most definitely a love song, but it's also about how no matter how close you think you are to a loved one, they've still got their own personal internal life."
The upcoming Miracle of Science premieres Crenshaw's renditions of "Misty Dreamer" by Scottish indie-pop artist Daniel Wylie, and "What the Hell I Got," a 1974 number by Canadian artist Michel Pagliaro. The latter was a smash in Canada and a regional hit on Crenshaw's local hometown radio station CKLW-FM.
"Of all the Razor & Tie albums," Crenshaw notes, "Miracle of Science was the only one that never had an analog master tape, and I knew that I wanted to create one for this vinyl release. All audio formats have their quirks and idiosyncrasies, and with analog you can pick and choose with tape speed, tape width, tape saturation etc. These are artistic choices because they affect the sound and feel of the thing. Once I knew that I was going down that road, I decided to go further and re-address a couple of the songs on the album. If Francis Coppola can fool around with Apocalypse Now, I can fool around with Miracle of Science, right?"
He continues, "I got pretty aggressive with 'Only an Hour Ago.' Listening in 2019, it seemed that the original production and arrangement were burying the song. So I changed it, mostly using the original elements. And I did a similar thing on 'There and Back Again.' There's a track called 'Rouh Na Selim Neves,' which is 'Seven Miles an Hour' backwards. As I was reviewing this album a few months ago, I heard 'Seven Miles an Hour,' and thought, 'Hmmm, I bet this track would sound a lot better backwards.' So I did it and nobody tried to stop me. The original not-backwards version is still on the album too."
Crenshaw has further revised the album with new artwork. He clarifies, "As much as I love the artwork on the original CD -- which was Grammy-nominated -- we couldn't use it for an LP. There was no way. So art director Paul Grosso came to the rescue and did a beautiful job. And I couldn't resist paying tribute to the circa-1958 Roulette Records label design. I hope nobody comes after me about that, but we checked and there's no copyright. It's a bit of an inside joke for fans of a certain ilk of record-business folklore. Roulette was a great label."
"The result of all this tinkering," Crenshaw confirms, "is that Miracle of Science is all shiny and new to me now, and I love it even more now than before." You'll have the chance to see if you agree when the revised edition of Miracle of Science arrives on January 17 on Shiny-Tone Records via Megaforce Distribution. Check out the video of "Misty Dreamer" here, and place your pre-orders below!
Marshall Crenshaw, Miracle of Science (Razor & Tie RT 2823-2, 1996 - reissued Shiny-Tone, 2020)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD
- soundbite
- What Do You Dream Of?
- Who Stole That Train
- Laughter
- Twenty-Five Forty-One
- Starless Summer Sky
- Only an Hour Ago
- Wondrous Place
- The In Crowd
- Theme from 'Flaregun'
- Seven Miles an Hour
- There and Back Again
- Misty Dreamer (Bonus Track)
- What the Hell I Got (Bonus Track)
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These will be so cool! I remember when I first saw Miracle of Science at the record store I was like, cool, the new Devo record is out! #447 is my fave of this period though so that one will be even better.
OK, am I missing something? Crenshaw is quoted, "There’s a track called ‘Rouh Na Selim Neves,’ " but it does not appear on the track list...possibly embedded with the original?
I was puzzled by that too.
It is the song "Seven Miles An Hour" played backwards. Listening to it right now.
This is great news~!
Saw Marshall Crenshaw live in Central Park in the early 90s. Incredible show and the crowd roared when it was over. Please release a series of your great live performances.
I love Marshall and will certainly by these reissues, but I am not a fan of the practice of including newly-recorded bonus tracks on back-catalog reissues. I would much prefer for bonus material to be limited to the time period of the original release.
Hey Joe,
Any idea if the original tracks have been remastered for these new editions? Love Miracle Of Science and #447, both of which contain some of my all-time favorite MC songs such as Starless Summer Sky, What Do You Dream Of, Television Light and Right There In Front Of Me.
Hi Tod! As Marshall has "revised" and remixed tracks for this release, they would have to be remastered, too. I'm sure that goes for the whole album to achieve sonic consistency. Hope this helps.
Joe,
Thanks for the quick reply, which actually did help 😃
Happy Holidays to you!
I'm a big Crenshaw fan and I hope he makes some money from this effort, but the added material seems sparse at the price. The original CDs are going for about $4.50 on ebay, and the used record stores have plenty of stock as well.
I don't know if Marshall can grow his fan base at this point, especially given the morose nature of his most recent work, but some sparkling new music might help.
Sorry to be a downer.
Will there be high res downloads?
I am a massive Marshall Crenshaw fan, and this is unquestionably his best album IMHO. In its 1996 form, it is enjoyable from start to finish. I regret that he tinkered with it, or at least I regret that the original version is not available on streaming sites. The sequencing of the original release was perfect. These new tracks (particularly the backwards version of "Seven Miles An Hour") don't add anything.