The Canadian rockers shot to fame in the mid-'80s with the irresistibly catchy "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)." With a synth-horn-fueled hook that could make the most stoic musician bop along, a dollop of perfect pop-rock production from co-writer Jim Vallance and an edgy vocal cameo from fellow Northern light Bryan Adams, "Don't Forget Me" is one of the decade's best buried treasures, topping the Canadian charts and peaking in the U.S. at No. 2. The album which held it, 1986's The Thin Red Line, also yielded sizable North American hits in "Someday" and "I Will Be There," Top 40 hits in America and Canada alike. Additionally, the band were nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy Award and won five Juno Awards in 1986 and 1987.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3PHinGsWxs]
While the band's subsequent albums, Diamond Sun (1988) and Simple Mission (1991) never held America's attention as well as "Don't Forget Me," they were smash hits in their native country; Simple Mission spun off four Top 10 hits alone, including Top 5 tune "Animal Heart." After a solo career, lead singer Alan Frew reunited with his bandmates (save for original drummer Michael Hanson) in the 2000s, and Glass Tiger remains a strong Canadian live act.
The group, partnering with EMI Canada, has taken 2012 to both look back and forward with two new catalogue titles. The first is a deluxe anniversary edition of The Thin Red Line, featuring new artwork and a bonus disc of archival B-sides, remixes and unreleased demos. Some of that material, including a new, stripped-down version of the title track, appears on Then...NOW...Next, a new Glass Tiger compilation featuring singles from the band's three Capitol albums, two tracks from lead singer Alan Frew's 1994 solo disc Hold On and four new tracks, including Frew's solo acoustic take on The Beatles' "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away."
The deluxe Thin Red Line snuck up on us back in June, while Then...NOW...Next hit stores this Tuesday, August 21. Hit the jump to order both of them and check out the track lists!
The Thin Red Line: Anniversary Edition (EMI Canada 50999 636501 2 9, 2012)
Disc 1: Original LP (released as Capitol ST-6527, 1986)
- Thin Red Line
- Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)
- Closer to You
- Vanishing Tribe
- Looking At a Picture
- The Secret
- Ancient Evenings
- Ecstasy
- Someday
- I Will Be There
- You're What I Look For
Disc 2: Bonus material
- Thin Red Line (Reverence Mix) *
- Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) (Writer's Demo) *
- Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) (Single Mix) (single A-side - Capitol B-72992, 1986)
- I Will Be There (Single Version) (single A-side - Capitol B-73021, 1986)
- Touch & Go (Tokyo) (Demo) *
- Someday (Writer's Demo) *
- Someday (Extended Mix) (12" A-side - Capitol S-75165, 1986)
- You're What I Look For (Live At Ontario Place) *
- After the Dance (Live At Ontario Place) *
- Do You Wanna Dance (with Me) (12" B-side to "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" - Capitol S-75142, 1986)
- Thin Red Line (Single Version) (single A-side - Capitol B-72996, 1986)
- Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) (Extended Mix) (12" A-side - Capitol S-75142, 1986)
- Thin Red Line (Rather Red Mix) (12" B-side - Capitol S-75153, 1986)
* denotes previously unreleased track
Then...NOW...Next (EMI Canada 509999 73968 2 6, 2012)
- I'm Still Searching (Single Version)
- Thin Red Line (Reverence Mix)
- My Song (Single Version)
- Diamond Sun (Single Version)
- I Take It Back
- I Will Be There (Single Version)
- My Town
- Love is On the Way
- Someday (Single Version)
- Healing Hands (Radio Edit) - Alan Frew
- Animal Heart
- Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)
- Stand Up (Give Yourself a Hand)
- So Blind (Edited Version) - Alan Frew
- You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - Alan Frew
Tracks 1 and 3-4 from Diamond Sun (Capitol, 1988)
Tracks 2, 6, 9 and 12 from The Thin Red Line (Capitol, 1986)
Tracks 5, 8, 13 and 15 are new tracks
Tracks 7 and 11 from Simple Mission (Capitol, 1991)
Tracks 10 and 14 from Hold On (EMI, 1994)
I grabbed a copy of "Thin Red Line" here in Canada when it came out a few months ago and it is a realy nice collection. The album sounds great and not nearly as dated as I expected. And the bonus disc as some real gems on it, especially the demos. And I picked up the new compilation this week and it sounds great as well. I'm glad it is not just a rehash of their previous two compilation albums.
I agree with James. I live in Toronto, and only paid Glass Tiger a little attention back in '86/87 when they were at the height of their popularity. But "Thin Red Line" is a fine album, and James is right, the second disc is a nice bonus.
who the fXXX are Glass Tiger?
I'd liken them to a Candian hybrid of Duran Duran, U2, and mid-80s Bryan Adams. Great sound, great voice, and the debut album was one of my car staples for many months after it came out.
That bad eh? Think I'll pass...
I downloaded the TLR reissue from iTunes a few weeks back; they did a nice job on it. I love the title track; I think it's their best song.
This is excellent news!
Does anyone know what the difference is between the album version of "Don't Forget Me" and the single mix on the bonus disc? I've listened to the sample clips, and can't discern a notable difference. Researching the release at discogs hasn't shed any light either..
Have answered my own question- Very easy to tell even in the first 4 measures of the song. The "single mix" has a high-hat cymbal added (or possibly just mixed much higher in the mix, can't tell if it's buried in the album mix or not) which rides throughout the entire song. Drums are much punchier on the single mix in general. No difference in flow of song.