Howard Jones may have issued deluxe editions of all his WEA albums with Cherry Red (who now own the recordings outright), but he's not done archiving his works with the label. They'll issue a 5CD box set of the keyboardist's BBC recordings this fall.
Howard Jones At The BBC offers a treasure trove of rare and unreleased recordings taped by the national radio between 1983 and 1987. Aside from a handful of B-sides and bonus material - including a long out-of-print box set of Howard's first two albums that came with a live bonus disc in 2010 - all of this is being heard for the first time since they were broadcast.
Highlights include four sets of live-in-studio sessions: two for Kid Jensen in 1983 (the latter being the contents of Jones' "White Tape" demo, reproduced for a Human's Lib box set and featuring an extra track, "What Can I Say," sourced from the original master tape for the first time) and two for Janice Long in 1985 and 1987. Then there are four live concerts represented between 1983 and 1985, including disc-long presentations at the Royal Albert Hall and the Manchester Apollo.
"This set is a really valuable, historical document," Jones says in conversation with writer Anil Prasad, which will make up the bulk of the 16-page liner notes booklet. "You hear me before the first album was released, after I've had success, my evolution from a solo performer to a band-focused performer, and all of it happened across only four years...There's so much variety in the sessions, even among songs that appear multiple times."
Howard Jones At The BBC will be packaged in a clamshell box and will be released November 26. Check out the full track list, release notes and order links below!
Howard Jones At The BBC (Cherry Red CRCDBOX118 (U.K.), 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red)
All tracks previously unreleased except where noted
Disc 1
The Kid Jensen Show on BBC Radio 1. First broadcast 3/13/1983
- New Song
- Don't Put These Curses On Me
- Natural
- Human's Lib
The Kid Jensen Show on BBC Radio 1. First broadcast 5/27/1983
- Human's Lib
- Love?
- Risk
- Always Asking Questions
- What Can I Say?
The Janice Long Show on BBC Radio 1. First broadcast 1/27/1985
- Things Can Only Get Better *
- Look Mama *
- Dream Into Action *
- No One is to Blame
Disc 1, Tracks 1-8 released on Human's Lib: Deluxe Edition - Cherry Red (U.K.) PCRCDBOX65, 2018
Disc 1, Track 13 released on "No One is to Blame" U.K. 12" - WEA HOW 9T, 1986
Disc 2
The Janice Long Show on BBC Radio 1. First broadcast 3/30/1987
- The Balance of Love (Give and Take)
- Conditioning
- Little Bit of Snow
- Don't Want to Fight Anymore
- Give Me Strength
- I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)
In Concert on BBC Radio 1 Live at the Paris Theatre, London - 10/5/1983. First broadcast 10/15/1983
- New Song
- Conditioning
- Dreams of a Better Place
- What is Love?
- Equality
- Don't Always Look At the Rain
Disc 3: In Concert on BBC Radio 1 Live at Friars, Aylesbury - 4/7/1984. First broadcast 5/12/1984
- Hunt the Self
- Pearl in the Shell
- Always Asking Questions
- Don't Always Look At the Rain
- Change the Man
- Like to Get to Know You Well
- Equality
- Hide and Seek
- Dreams of a Better Place
- New Song
- What is Love?
Disc 4: In Concert on BBC Radio 1 Live at The Royal Albert Hall - 12/17/1984. First broadcast 4/6/1985
- Like to Get to Know You Well
- Look Mama
- Hunger for the Flesh
- Natural
- Hide and Seek
- Always Asking Questions
- No One is to Blame
- Equality
- What is Love?
- New Song
- Hunt the Self
Disc 5: The Oxford Road Show on BBC Radio 1 and BBC 2. Broadcast Live from The Manchester Apollo Theatre - 3/15/1985
- Things Can Only Get Better
- Automaton
- Pearl in the Shell
- Hide and Seek
- Like to Get to Know You Well
- Look Mama
- Dream Into Action
- Hunger for the Flesh
- Hunt the Self
- What is Love?
- No One is to Blame
- Always Asking Questions
- New Song
- Don't Always Look At the Rain/Things Can Only Get Better
Disc 5, Tracks 2-3, 6 and 8-9 released on Human's Lib/Dream Into Action box set bonus disc - Dtox (U.K.), DTOXSET1, 2010
Disc 5, Track 7 released on "Look Mama" U.K. 12" - WEA HOW7T, 1985
Disc 5, Tracks 12-13 released on "Life in One Day" U.K. double 7" - WEA HOW8F, 1985
Ben in Colorado says
"This set is a really valuable, historical document," Jones (modestly) says
LOL.