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It's no rumor and there's no fooling: Graham Parker's first proper solo album is getting expanded on CD this April 1 from Iconoclassic Records.
"I've always been striving to make a record that sounds beautiful," Parker told Musician about his first without backing band The Rumour. "I think Another Grey Area sounds beautiful. Everything is in the right place...the whole thing holds together." Coming off the critical success of 1980's The Up Escalator, Parker recruited polished rock producer Jack Douglas (Aerosmith) and a crack session band that featured Nicky Hopkins on piano, Hugh McCracken on guitar and Billy Joel bassist Doug Stegmeyer. But Parker had lost none of his edge on tracks like "Temporary Beauty" (which climbed to the middle of the U.S. and U.K. charts), "No More Excuses" and "You Hit the Spot."
Hardcore Parker fans will thrill to the set's bonus material: five bonus tracks including remixes and live tracks plus the rare bonus track "Habit Worth Forming," and all the audio newly remastered by Mark Wilder. The set comes with detailed liner notes by author Geoffrey Himes, drawing from a pair of interviews with Parker himself conducted four decades apart.
It's a great coup for Iconoclassic, known for remastering and expanding albums by The Guess Who, The Tubes, Hot Tuna and others between 2008 and 2017. And as a recent news item from the label confirms, it's their first of at least two discs planned for this year: they're also planning to remaster and expand B.T. Express' Do It ('Til You're Satisfied), featuring the album in its proper length and sequence along with the hit dance remix of the title track by a then-unknown Tom Moulton.
In the meantime, the expanded Another Grey Area is available from April 1. The full track list and order links are below!
Another Grey Area: 40th Anniversary Edition (Iconcolassic ICON 1050, 2022) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
- Temporary Beauty
- Another Grey Area
- No More Excuses
- Dark Side of the Bright Lights
- Can't Waste a Minute
- Big Fat Zero
- You Hit the Spot
- It's All Worth Nothing Alone
- Crying for Attention
- Thankless Task
- Fear Not
- Habit Worth Forming
- You Hit the Spot (Extended Version)
- No More Excuses (Version)
- You Hit the Spot (Live @ Hammersmith Palais, London, England - 4/21/1982)
- Another Grey Area (Live @ Hammersmith Palais, London, England - 4/21/1982)
Tracks 1-11 released as Arista AL 9589, 1982
Track 12 released on "You Hit the Spot" single - Arista AS 0687, 1982
Track 13 released on Arista 12" promo SP 130, 1982
Track 14 released on "Temporary Beauty" single - Arista AS 0652, 1982
Tracks 15-16 released on "No More Excuses" U.K. 7" single - RCA PB 5510, 1982
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Seems worth noting that this version of the album, with the same bonus tracks in the same sequence, has been available digitally on major streaming and download services since 2013. See for example: https://amzn.to/3gjFibR
I will nonetheless be glad to have it on CD. Hope they do a nice job on the packaging.
The download and streaming version is not the same mastering. This is a new mastering that was done in January 2022 specifically for the CD format.
Great to hear, thanks. Jewel case or paper sleeve?
Jewel case. Our label is not a big fan of paper sleeves and digipaks.
Fair enough, but as a consumer I feel differently. I find paper sleeves much more tactile and appreciate that they take up less shelf space. I would think better for the environment too.
Both have their pros and cons. Artistically, Iconoclassic Records seeks to evoke the look, feel and excitement of the early '90s CD reissue boom, with booklets, liner notes, jewelcases, and bonus tracks.
Glad to see Iconoclassic getting back into CDs. I have all their Guess Who and Laura Nyro releases, and a handful of others. Always first rate!
I'll have to get in line for this one.
Very much looking forward to this and hope the label can reissue some of its older, out of stock titles
Welcome back to Iconoclassic. Looking forward to more CD reissues. I hope there will be many to come in the near future.
This is great news!
It is worth noting for the record that Jack Douglas and members of that band were fresh off the DOUBLE FANTASY sessions for John and Yoko and the sound here reflects that vibe...
The significant difference is the album has been REMASTERED. It is not simply a repackaged duplicate. Any fan would be curious.