Futurist Manifesto: The Harvest Years 1974-78 [Box set, Import]

Be Bop Deluxe had the misfortune in the U.S of being slightly ahead and of their time. Carrying many of the same influences as Bowie and Roxy Music, the band was lumped into the same movement but the band also stood apart with Bill Nelson's stunning guitar solos and unusual approach to composing the material. The band's influence outlasted their career and when they broke up Nelson went out of his way to try new approaches that rejected the guitar hero role he was assigned by fans. The albums themselves vary from four to have stars hence the four star rating although this should really be four and one half stars particularly for the fifth disc of previously unreleased demos, live tracks, etc.

Nelson doesn't really like to revisit the past so this opportunity to update the band's discography is quite welcome. Remastered by Peter Mew and Ian Jones at Abbey Road studios without the over use of noise reduction of the previous masters this set, over all, improves on the masters from nearly 20 years ago. Contrary to speculation ALL of the albums have been remastered. The mastering was not supervised by Bill Nelson although he approved them rejecting the first mastering attempt.

Packaged like the recent Robin Trower EMI boxed set (but with a booklet featuring the original CD notes and some new notes for the previously unreleased demo disc), this will probably be the definitive edition for fans. Be aware however that there are some differences in the bonus tracks included. The live tracks that were sprinkled on each disc taken from their live albums have been removed (with the exception of Maid in Heaven and replaced in many cases by previously unavailable single edits a previously and the single (Japan) on CD.

So the big question is whether or not this is worth picking up for fans given that they own the bulk of these on the individual releases and the answer would be yes as the bonus disc and some of the single edits make this essential for any fan of the band and, unlike the previous CDs, Bill actually earns a royalty on this set.

Please note that this is missing the "Teenage Archangel" single (If I recall correctly Nelson nixed this being part of the set).

Track Listing:

Disc 1

1 Axe Victim 5:15
2 Love Is Swift Arrows 4:12
3 Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus 4:10
4 Third Floor Heaven 2:28
5 Night Creatures 3:35
6 Rocket Cathedrals 3:01
7 Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape 3:25
8 Jets at Dawn 7:18
9 No Trains to Heaven 6:39
10 Darkness (L'Immoraliste 3:22
11 Stage Whispers 3:05
12 Love with the Madman 3:12
13 Maid in Heaven 2:26
14 Sister Seagull 3:36
15 Sound Track 6:15
16 Music in Dreamland 4:45
17 Jean Cocteau 2:53
18 Between the Worlds 3:18
19 Swan Song 6:01

Disc 2

1 BetweentThe Worlds 3:20
2 Maid in Heaven [Live] 2:34
3 Fair Exchange 4:48
4 Heavenly Homes 3:36
5 Ships in the Night 4:01
6 Crying to the Sky 3:59
7 Sleep That Burns 5:16
8 Beauty Secrets 2:48
9 Life in the Air-Age 4:00
10 Like an Old Blues 3:27
11 Crystal Gazing 3:24
12 Blazing Apostles 4:30
13 Shine 7:49
14 Speed of the Wind 4:20
15 Blue as a Jewel 5:13
16 Ships in the Night [Single Edit] 3:36

Disc 3

1 Orphans of Babylon 3:16
2 Twilight Capers 4:25
3 Kiss of Light 3:12
4 The Bird Charmers Destiny 1:21
5 The Gold at the End of My Rainbow 3:55
6 Bring Back the Spark 3:38
7 Modern Music 3:41
8 Dancing in the Moonlight (All Alone 2:10
9 Honeymoon on Mars 1:22
10 Lost in the Neon World 0:48
11 Dance of the Uncle Sam Humanoids 2:12
12 Modern Music [Reprise] 1:40
13 Forbidden Lovers 5:03
14 Down on Terminal Street 4:00
15 Make the Music Magic 1:53
16 Futurist Manifesto [B-side 1977] 4:32
17 Quest for the Harvest of theStars 4:11
18 Autosexual 5:53
19 Japan [A-side 1977] 2:39

Disc 4

1 Electrical Language 4:50
2 New Precision 4:30
3 New Mysteries 4:45
4 Surreal Estate 5:00
5 Love in Flames 4:09
6 Panic in the World 5:04
7 Dangerous Stranger 3:06
8 Superenigmatix 2:10
9 Visions of Endless Hopes 2:23
10 Possession 2:35
11 Islands of the Dead 3:45
12 Blimps 2:47
13 Lovers Are Mortal 4:55
14 Lights 2:46
15 Electrical Language [Single Edit] 3:35
16 Love in Flames [Single Edit] 3:51
17 Panic in the World [Single Edit] 3:32

Disc 5

1 The Saxophonist [Demo] 3:52
2 Visions of Endless Hopes [Demo] 2:20
3 Blue as a Jewel [Demo] 5:12
4 Speed of the Wind [Demo] 4:27
5 Possession [Rough Mix] 2:37
6 Maid In Heaven [Top of the Pops Backing Track] 2:30
7 The Modern Music Suite [Live] 11:53
8 Forbidden Lovers [Live] 4:41
9 Down on Terminal Street [Live] 10:32
10 Swan Song [Live] 6:46
11 Heavenly Homes [Flashman Remix] 6:39

Highly recommended.

Guitar virtuoso Bill Nelson and his band Be Bop Deluxe was one of the most exciting acts that emerged in Britain in the middle of the glam rock period of the early 1970s. Stylistically, the group is clearly related to both David Bowie and Cockney Rebel.

The group released during 1974-1978 five studio albums, of which at least one without hesitation, should be called a masterpiece.

All five albums are contained on this fine CD release which also contains single-tracks, outtakes and other rarities.

First album "Axe Victim" is pretty much dominated by Nelson's desire to demonstrate his skills on the guitar. Of course the album also contains also fine compositions with "Night Creatures", "Third Floor Heaven," "Jets at Dawn" and "Darkness" as some of the most memorable.

On the sequel "Futurama" from 1975, Nelson exchanged his crew and the group was now a trio consisting of Nelson himself, bassist Charles Tumahai and drummer Simon Fox. Nelson was with this group is clearly beginning find his sound and expression, yet the album lacks to a certain degree really good songs. Only "Maid in Heaven" and a few others stand right out from the rest.

On the "Sunburst Finish" from 1976, the band is expanded with keyboard player Andrew Clark. The songwriting here is top notch, and the album can only be described as a classic containing several of their best songs. Not least the hit single "Ships in the Night" and other strong compositions like "Fair Exchange," "Heavenly Homes", "Sleep That Burns", "Beauty Secrets", "Life in the Air Age" and "Crystal gazing".

Same year came as the group's absolute masterpiece, "Modern Music". This album is definitely the most melodic, with more songs tied together in shorter suites. The album contains no less than fifteen songs which are generally of shorter length than usual. Most of the music is of such high quality that the tracks can easily stand alone outside the context of the album. A lot of songs could be brought forward here. Tracks like "Orphans of Babylon," "Kiss of Light", "Gold at the End of the Rainbow," "Modern Music", "Make the Music Magic," "Forbidden Lovers" and "Down to Terminal Street" are all titles that stand out in the Be Bop Deluxe song catalogue.

The final album "Drastic Plastic" was released in 1978 after the punk wave had broken through. The music on this album is not unaffected by current trends, and the approach is generally simpler than on the previous albums. "Drastic Plastic" does not reach the level og "Sunburts Finish" of "Modern Music", but it does contain such classics as the single "Panic in the World" and other fine songs like "Electric Language", "Surreal Estate" and "Islands of the Dead".

After "Drastic Plastic" group split up and Bill Nelson formed the short lived "Red Noise".

In 1979 appeared "The Best of the Rest" which contained several outtakes, all of which, except the quiet ballad "Face in the Rain", are included on this box. Too bad this fine number is omitted. However, these outtakes and singles for the most part welcome additions to the group's other material. "Lovers er Mortal," "Quest for the Harvest of the Stars," "Speed of the Wind," "Lights" and especially "Blue as a Jewel" stand out.

CD 5 contains previously unreleased material and live recordings.

A very nice release of music from a group that deserves to be remembered.

I own the 1990 CD collection of Be Bop Deluxe's 5 studio albums. I bought this box set hoping to improve on the sound quality. I'm afraid I don't find this set that much of a sonic improvement over the earlier set.If there is a difference it is ever so slight. The music is still too muddy and muffled.The high end is almost non existant.Disc 5 which is filled with demos and live performances has a much better sound quality than the actual albums. If you get a chance listen to the live version of Modern Music. Yes it's a live version and the performance is exciting but the sound on the recording is what I'm refering to. It's crisp, clean, full of highs and bottom end and sounds like it was recorded yesterday. This is how the rest of the set should sound, not dull and lifeless.Anyway, this is my take on the Futurist Manifesto Box Set.

If you don't own any CD's already by Be Bop Deluxe, you should buy it to have some great music by a great band along with an exciting bonus Disc 5. What's also nice is having the first 2 albums on one CD so musically, it's a great listen.If you're looking to upgrade, you may be disappointed.

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