Chorus 3CD Remaster (2020)

[mrblue]

This grumpy old fart is a bit disappointed. 3CD set... with, um, 4 new tracks (mixes).

CD1 - Eager to hear the remaster, but always hesitant that it will get brickwalled. Cautiously optimistic...
CD2 - c'mon, Perfect Stranger KROQ *and* Acoustic? They're basically the same, not to mention the live version on CD3 which is a very similar stripped down version. Eager to hear Vince's mix all the new mixes. Only reason I'll be buying this.
CD3 - I've made "Chorus Live" mixtapes years ago. This is a giant MEH and I can't help but wonder who's bright idea this was. A completely wasted disc. Why not just include the TSB DVD?

Damn it's hard being an Erasure fan. Am I Right??

[MikeyC]

Dying to hear the new Vince remix of Turns the Love to Anger!!

And I find it curious and fascinating that the powers that be are finally calling "Mirror to Your Soul" just that, rather than Tune 5! Maybe it'll be juiced up a bit??!?

[Pughie]

Dying to hear the new Vince remix of Turns the Love to Anger!!

And I find it curious and fascinating that the powers that be are finally calling "Mirror to Your Soul" just that, rather than Tune 5! Maybe it'll be juiced up a bit??!?

Or is it to make us think it’s a new song rather than tune 5.

[Pughie]

This grumpy old fart is a bit disappointed. 3CD set... with, um, 4 new tracks (mixes).

CD1 - Eager to hear the remaster, but always hesitant that it will get brickwalled. Cautiously optimistic...
CD2 - c'mon, Perfect Stranger KROQ *and* Acoustic? They're basically the same, not to mention the live version on CD3 which is a very similar stripped down version. Eager to hear Vince's mix all the new mixes. Only reason I'll be buying this.
CD3 - I've made "Chorus Live" mixtapes years ago. This is a giant MEH and I can't help but wonder who's bright idea this was. A completely wasted disc. Why not just include the TSB DVD?

Damn it's hard being an Erasure fan. Am I Right??

It is hard knowing what we want but not getting it,when will they listen?

[Pughie]

We know this is a remastered album,but what about the other two discs?

[Devoleb]

Which NO one will end up mailing.

Probably not......I'm releasing a single this year (or early next year) on my own, also with post cards....I'm not that famous so they will probably be mailed out, hehe

[kwerty]

Or is it to make us think it’s a new song rather than tune 5.

Could be... but to be fair it does also say "Originally appears on the 2006 EIS release Buried Treasure II", so the info is there. One thing about this release - it is a bit more honest about the tracks on it! (An 'AKA Tune 5' wouldn't have gone amiss though)

Besides, any fan who DOESN'T know "Mirror To Your Soul' isn't a new song can still be happy with its inclusion here - it's new to them at least!

We know this is a remastered album,but what about the other two discs?

As most of it was already digitally remastered for the singles box sets, then in a roundabout way I'd say "yes". The new mixes will be mastered accordingly to begin with. As for the 'rarities'? I dunno... KROQ stuff has never been on CD before now as far as I'm aware, so maybe. Unless they're just a straight analogue to digital conversion.

The live tracks were also already digitally remastered for the concert DVD, so they don't need doing again either.

There's a reason why we often get some of the same versions of things appearing as bonuses on different releases - it's because they've been digitally remastered already for past projects. It's no doubt why we get the full-length version of Waiting For Sex again rather than the single edit which has never been released digitally - because it's already been remastered and so is cheaper.

Remember that live compilation in Total Pop deluxe? ALL of those versions had appeared digitally beforehand, so no conversion or mastering was needed. Greg will have compiled that disc on that basis.

[mrblue]

It is hard knowing what we want but not getting it,when will they listen?

Apparently, never. And now that I've had a weekend to decompress, I feel a little bad for my initial grumpy post earlier. It's not that this 3CD set won't be nice - I'm sure I will like it - but honestly, I was expecting a bit more. After all, this is Chorus, perhaps the one album that best defines Erasure and certainly one of the most important albums of my life.

Some things that would have been nice to see:
- other Chorus-era demos besides the ones we already have! 3 of the work-in-progress tracks were already released on Buried Treasure II. (btw, how many tracks from BTII have be re-released elsewhere??) Many of us have or have heard other demos from Chorus. Why not release them now? I also think it's a bit crappy to include the WftD demo from FM2M.
- KROQ sessions are released on CD for the first time, which is nice. But the KROQ cassette also has a few minutes (maybe 5 total?) of interviews. The whole thing could easily have been included on CD3, leaving room for more tracks on CD2.
- I would have really loved a "Chorus Remixed" instead of "Chorus Live" disc, with (at least) one new remix of each track on Chorus. I've always felt that Joan and especially Perfect Stranger are ideal for remixes! Poor, Perfect Stranger. I mean, the acoustic/live versions are nice but the original has so much energy and motion and it's a travesty that it still gets overlooked. Otoh, I'm not too big a fan of Robbie Rivera's mixes so far and I'm worried his mix of LTHY could be a little too hi-NRG for my tastes.

So, another miss for long-time fans but looks to be a nice package for casual fans.

[billyburg129]

Do you think this is it for the Chorus 30th Anniversary Celebration? I'm still holding out hope that they will release a Blu-ray version of the Phantasmagorical Entertainment Show or do some live shows that showcase the album in some way along with the new album. They didn't play a single Chorus track on the last tour in the States. Maybe they played LTHY on some dates, but still. That album is a true gem so there has to be more.

[mrblue]

Mute and BMG have been very resistant to Bluray, at least as far as Erasure and DM go. There are a few DM Blurays, but as we know Erasure have been completely overlooked in that department.

I'd love to have Tank, Swan, Balloon on Bluray, but it seems highly unlikely. It would require a new HD transfer plus the audio (on the DVD) is stereo, not 5.1, so the audio would also need to be remastered to multi-channel. Of course, they could do neither but then there wouldn't be much point in putting the show on Bluray. I suspect the DVD is the best we're gonna get

But we'll see! After all, the 30th anniversary is still over a year away and I suspect we'll see more Chorus chatter this time next year!

Do you think this is it for the Chorus 30th Anniversary Celebration? I'm still holding out hope that they will release a Blu-ray version of the Phantasmagorical Entertainment Show or do some live shows that showcase the album in some way along with the new album. They didn't play a single Chorus track on the last tour in the States. Maybe they played LTHY on some dates, but still. That album is a true gem so there has to be more.