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Fans of Marc Almond’s early ’90s solo album Tenement Symphony are in for a real treat this fall, with a new box set coming from the Cherry Red imprint Strike Force Entertainment that will cover the album in exhaustive detail.

This 6CD/DVD set includes the original album, B-sides, a trove of released and unheard remixes, demos, live versions and a region-free DVD of music videos and BBC promotional appearances. The set also comes with a 32-page booklet featuring lyrics, listening notes and a fold-out poster.

Conceived in part as a loose concept album, with each song looking into the lives of occupants of a British tenement, Almond worked with a terrific line-up of collaborators on the album. Three tracks, including the single “Meet Me in My Dream,” were co-written by Almond and David Ball, his former partner in the duo Soft Cell. (It was their first collaboration since the “Tainted Love” hitmakers parted ways in 1984; Richard Norris, Ball’s partner in dance outfit The Grid, also partook in the sessions.) The album’s “Grit” half focused on those collaborations, including work from Almond’s longtime arranger Billy McGee; on the flip side, the “Glitter” half – where the Tenement Symphony concept was most overt – the sessions were produced by Trevor Horn and featured many of his collaborators, including Anne Dudley and Bruce Woolley. Two of the singles were covers, and became considerable hits: the Jacques Brel cowrite “Jacky” was a Top 20 hit in the U.K., while an interpretation of David McWilliams’ “The Days of Pearly Spencer” reached No. 4 on the country’s chart in 1992.

In addition to the album – now resequenced to put Horn’s half up front – the set features every commercially released single side from the project, a non-album cover of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” from the same era, and a number of unused remixes (including for two planned singles, “What is Love” and “Beautiful Brutal Thing”). Live cuts from decades of Almond’s performances, many chronicled on last year’s A Live Treasury of Song box set, are also included, along with a selection of demos and instrumentals. (In total, more than 30 tracks are billed as commercially unreleased; we’ve put our assessment below, as the label did not make distinctions.)

Tenement Symphony will be reissued in England on October 13. A 2CD set, offering the first two discs in the package, will also be available, as well as a double LP pressed on blue translucent vinyl, offering the full album and an assortment of the released B-sides and remixes.

Tenement Symphony (Deluxe Edition) (SFE/Cherry Red PSFEDX108 (U.K.), 2023)

6CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

* previously unreleased

CD 1: Original album (1-11, released as Some Bizzare/WEA WX442 (U.K.)/Sire/Reprise 25764 (U.S.), 1991) and B-sides

1. (i) Prelude
2. (ii) Jacky
3. (iii) What is Love?
4. (iv) Trois Chansons de Bilitis – Extract
5. (v) The Days of Pearly Spencer
6. (vi) My Hand Over My Heart
7. Meet Me in My Dream
8. Beautiful Brutal Thing
9. I’ve Never Seen Your Face
10. Vaudeville & Burlesque
11. Champagne
12. Bruises
13. Deadly Serenade
14. Deep Night (7″ Mix)
15. A Love Outgrown
16. Night and No Morning
17. Money for Love (Ennio Mix)

Track 12 from “The Days of Pearly Spencer” single – Some Bizzare/WEA YZ 638, 1992
Track 13 from “My Hand Over My Heart” single – Some Bizzare/WEA YZ 633, 1991
Track 14 from “Jacky” single – Some Bizzare/WEA YZ 610, 1991
Track 15 from “Jacky” CD single – Some Bizzare/WEA YZ 610CD, 1991
Track 16 from “My Hand Over My Heart” CD single – Some Bizzare/WEA YZ 633CD, 1991
Track 17 from “My Hand Over My Heart” 12″ – Some Bizzare/WEA YZ 633T, 1991

CD 2: Bonus Tracks & Remixes

1. Jacky (Youth 7″ Remix) *
2. My Hand Over My Heart (Single Mix)
3. The Days of Pearly Spencer (The German 7″ Mix) *
4. What is Love? (7″ Edit) *
5. Like a Prayer
6. Jacky (Youth 12″ Remix)
7. My Hand Over My Heart (Grit and Glitter Mix)
8. Dancing in a Golden Cage
9. Deep Night (12″ Mix)
10. Money for Love (Fiddle Mix)
11. Jacky (Alpine Dub)
12. My Hand Over My Heart (John Coxon 12″ Mix) *
13. Dancing in a Golden Cage (Reflection in a Golden Eye)

Track 2 from “My Hand Over My Heart” single – Some Bizzare/WEA YZ 633, 1991
Track 5 from Ruby Trax – The NME’s Roaring Forty – New Musical Express NME40, 1992
Tracks 6, 9 and 11 from “Jacky” 12″ – Some Bizzare/WEA YZ 610T, 1991
Tracks 7 and 10 from “My Hand Over My Heart” 12″ – Some Bizzare/WEA YZ 633T, 1991
Tracks 8 and 13 from “The Days of Pearly Spencer” 12″ – Some Bizzare/WEA YZ 638T, 1992

CD 3: Further Listening

1. My Hand Over My Heart (Special Radio Edit)
2. What is Love? (Larrabee 5th Mix) *
3. Jacky (12″ Phil Harding Dub) *
4. Deadly Serenade (Acoustic Mix) *
5. Beautiful Brutal Thing (7″ Remix) *
6. Dancing in a Golden Cage (Mr B’s Supa Dub) *
7. My Hand Over My Heart (No Strings) *
8. Champagne (Early Version) *
9. Meet Me in My Dream (Rough Mix) *
10. What is Love? (Larrabee Echo Mix) *
11. Beautiful Brutal Thing (12″ Techno Remix) *
12. My Hand Over My Heart (John Coxon Dub Mix) *
13. Champagne (Backing Track with Piano) *

Track 1 from “My Hand Over My Heart” promo CD single – Some Bizzare/WEA PRO 666, 1991

CD 4: Live 1992

1. Jacky (Live @ Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, England – 6/12/1992)
2. Meet Me in My Dream (Live @ Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, England – 6/12/1992)
3. Champagne (Live @ Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, England – 6/12/1992)
4. Vaudeville & Burlesque (Live @ Royal Albert Hall, London, England – 9/30/1992)
5. I’ve Never Seen Your Face (Live @ Royal Albert Hall, London, England – 9/30/1992)
6. Beautiful Brutal Thing (Live @ Royal Albert Hall, London, England – 9/30/1992)
7. Champagne (Live @ Royal Albert Hall, London, England – 9/30/1992)
8. Jacky (Live @ Royal Albert Hall, London, England – 9/30/1992)
9. The Days of Pearly Spencer (Live @ Royal Albert Hall, London, England – 9/30/1992)
10. My Hand Over My Heart (Live @ Royal Albert Hall, London, England – 9/30/1992)
11. Meet Me in My Dream (Live @ Royal Albert Hall, London, England – 9/30/1992)

Tracks 1-3 released on Liverpool Philharmonic Hall – Blue Star Music Theatre 002, 2000
Tracks 4-11 released on 12 Years of Tears video – Warner Music Vision/WEA 91255-3, 1993

CD 5: Live & Demos

1. Jacky (Live @ The Union Chapel, London, England – 12/12/2000)
2. The Days of Pearly Spencer (Live @ Leicester Cathedral, Leicester, England – 2/24/2000)
3. Champagne (Live @ Leicester Cathedral, Leicester, England – 2/24/2000)
4. Night and No Morning (Live @ Leicester Cathedral, Leicester, England – 2/24/2000)
5. Jacky (Live @ The Lokerse Festival, Grote Kaal, Lokeren, Belgium – 8/7/2000)
6. My Hand Over My Heart (Live @ The Lokerse Festival, Grote Kaal, Lokeren, Belgium – 8/7/2000)
7. The Days of Pearly Spencer (Live @ The Lokerse Festival, Grote Kaal, Lokeren, Belgium – 8/7/2000)
8. Jacky (Live At The Playhouse Theatre, 2016) *
9. The Days of Pearly Spencer (Cowboy Version Demo) *
10. What is Love? (Demo) *
11. Jacky (Demo) *
12. My Hand Over My Heart (Orchestral Sections Demo) *
13. The Days of Pearly Spencer (Demo) *

Track 1 released on Live at The Union Chapel – Blue Star Music Theatre 003, 2001
Tracks 2-4 released on Little Rough Rhinestones Volume 1 – Blue Star Music Theatre 004, 2002
Tracks 5-7 released on Live at The Lokerse Festeen 2000 video – Umbrella Music DVD DAVID0738, 2000

CD 6: Tenement Symphony…Plus!

1. What is Love? (12″ Larrabee Vocal Mix) *
2. Jacky (12″ Phil Harding & Ian Curnow Remix) *
3. What is Love? (Moody Vocal Mix) *
4. Beautiful Brutal Thing (12″ Remix) *
5. What is Love? (Moody Vocal Mix #2) *
6. Jacky (Backing Track) *
7. My Hand Over My Heart (Backing Track) *
8. The Days of Pearly Spencer (Backing Track) *
9. What is Love? (Backing Track) *

DVD: Promo Videos & BBC TV Appearances (Region Free)

1. Jacky (promo video)
2. My Hand Over My Heart (promo video)
3. The Days of Pearly Spencer (promo video)
4. Jacky (Wogan – 9/7/1991)
5. The Days of Pearly Spencer (Bruce’s Guest Night – 4/17/1992)
6. The Days of Pearly Spencer (Pebble Mill – 4/28/1992)
7. The Days of Pearly Spencer (Top of The Pops – 4/30/1992)
8. The Days of Pearly Spencer (Good Morning Summer – 7/5/1995)