Product Description

Although it looks like Level 42 will never make another album, at least we have one which seems destined to endure. Mark King had already proved he could slap his bass better thanalmost anybody; now it was his turn to demonstrate his prowess as a classy songwriter. He succeeded in buoyant fashion with every track, very funky, very poppy and at times upliftingly wonderful, especially 'Something About You' and 'Coup D'Etat'. The winner for emotion, however, is the heartfelt 'Leaving Me Now'. Perfection, deliberately made for the age of the CD.

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. World Machine
2. Physical Presence
3. Something About You
4. Leaving Me Now
5. I Sleep On My Heart
6. It's Not The Same For Us
7. Dream Crazy
8. Good Man In A Storm
9. Coup D'Etat
10. Lying Still

Disc 2:

1. World Machine
2. Leaving Me Now
3. Something About You
4. Coup D'Etat
5. Something About You
6. I Sleep On My Heart
7. Dream Crazy
8. Lying Still
9. Physical Presence
10. Leaving Me Now
11. World Machine - Phuk Investigation Club Mix / Leaving Me Now (Vox Spin Ins)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47958 in Music
• Released on: 2007-02-05
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Box set, Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .38 pounds
• Running time: 111 minutes

Customer Reviews

Great album - dog's dinner of a deluxe edition
They're a bit of a hit and miss affair, these Deluxe Editions. When Universal get it right - as they did, for example, with the Who Live At Leeds - the extra material truly serves to enhance the original release. When they get it wrong - as is the case with this album - it feels as if they have cobbled together anything they happen to have gathering dust in the vaults.

I remembering listening to (and taping - think I still have it somewhere) the 1986 Hamersmith Odeon gig on Radio 1. A great, contemporaneous show. So why only use three songs from the concert? Why not the entire show, or at least as much as the BBC recorded? Worse yet, why use live tracks from 2000 and 2003, with completely different line-ups to the band that appeared on the studio album?

The remixes, too, are a slapdash affair. Out goes the Sisa Mix of Something About You - surely Level 42's finest 12" moment - and in comes a completely redundant 'Phunk Investigation Club Mix' of World Machine, which is not even CREDITED to Level 42 - it's actually listed as being performed by 'Electrokingdom featuring Mark King'.

Sadly, it's a mess. Propsective buyers are advised instead to track down the 2 for 1 package of this item from a few years earlier, which paired this album with the previous year's True Colours. And you'll get better remixes, too.

Fantastic Original Album - Pointless 2nd Re-Release
The original 'World Machine' album is second to none, but this 2nd re-release is just pointless. The previous reviewer nailed it for me - what's the point of just re-releasing another version of the 'World Machine' album - when it was already remastered in its entirety 8 or so years ago as part of the double package with 'True Colours'?

Its hardly a 'Deluxe Edition' - thats a bit mis-leading. Fair enough, the record label have added a few previously unavailable live tracks from '86 ("World Machine", "Something About You" & "Leaving Me Now") - which are awesome! - and also an interesting backwards mix of "Coup D'Etat", but thats pretty much it. (I'm sure that this mix has been available previously on CD - while the Shep Pettibone mix of "Something About You' definitely has...)

But the biggest let down are the final 5 live tracks; those who are expecting them to be live intepretations from the same line-up who recorded them, as are the 3 already mentioned, will be disappointed. Instead, they're all culminated from post-millenium recordings of the newer Level 42 band assembled by Mark King in recent years, which, in theory, (despite them being excellent musicians in their own right) might as well be any band performing them, or just Mark King and his solo band (which they essentially are) - as its simply NOT the same band from the original 'World Machine' album, thus rendering them totally irrelevant and only marginally related to this edition. The same can be said for all the other recent live tracks of re-released classic Level 42 albums.

Some may argue that a number of tracks from the album were never performed live by the original band and its great to hear them live finally - and yes it is great! - but there are other live CD and DVD compilations of the newer band performing this material - and therefore, these tracks don't belong here. They surely would if it WAS the original four, but it isn't...

After all, this 'Deluxe Edition' by its very name suggests itself to be a celebration of the original 'World Machine' album, and seeing as its already been 'celebrated' in the recent past, it needs to be something very special to rise above even that. So why isn't it? It's because it is just another record label con, cashing in on someone else's artistry and talent. Damn straight.

Fans should be treated to some rarities or unreleased demo's, or previously vinyl-only material, should there be any not yet released digitally. A few specific tracks (these are only what I personally know of) that would be perfect here:

1) "D7" - the "I Sleep On My Heart" demo
2) "Hell" - the 12 min instrumental which although available as MP3 for a while, needs a remaster
3) "World Machine" (Shep Pettibone Remix) - available on RITF Platinum Ed., but would be more relevant here
4) "It's Not The Same For Us" Live - I know this was performed live back on the '86 tour, so where is it?
5) "Physical Presence" Live - this is already on some recent compilations, but again, surely more relevant here
6) And what about the absolute peach of having the live recording of Level 42 Vs. Casiopea - battling out the latter's "Galactic Funk" from around this '84/'85 era when they were on tour in Japan?
7) And anything else unreleased that is worthy of inclusion. There must be more!!

Maybe an enhanced CD with the videos and/or 'a making of' of the album. THEN add the first three live songs, and the "Coup D'Etat" backwards mix, and then the 3 remixes from the previous 'World Machine' re-release - because, if anything, for this to be better than that, its got to at least contain everything on there AND more. Thats a 'Deluxe Edition'. Simple logic.

As a first time buyer of this album, or as a casual fan, you can't go wrong really, but for anyone else who already has the album, this offers very little else. I would download the individual tracks that you want, rather than shelling out for the whole thing.

pepe
les agradezco el favor de su atencion, este album lo tengo en casete,al que le hacia falta rola que viene en este cd. gracias de nuevo