Named after the color of Bill Nelson’s guitar, 1976’s “Sunburst Finish” may not be the best BE-BOP DELUXE album but it’s their most famous – or infamous, if one’s to assign the record’s glory to its striking cover artwork. But music inside this sleeve is as remarkable and has long deserved dusting off in terms of sound. Thanks to their firm friendship with the guitarist, Esoteric Recordings went further than simple remastering of the LP from original tapes and prepared two new mixes: stereo and surround. The former will accompany the familiar version on the album’s reissue on November 16th as a 2CD set with bonuses, while the latter will join the two in a deluxe, limited edition box set that adds concert cuts and DVD to the experience, as well as the 68-page book with many illustrations, a facsimile of the 1976 tour programme, postcards and a replica poster.
Sunburst Finish
In other words, it’s going to be another thing of beauty released by the English label. The set tracklist looks like this – with first two CDs, as mentioned, to be available as a standalone, budget offering (read the review):
CD One – The Original Stereo Mix – Remastered:
1. Fair Exchange
2. Heavenly Homes
3. Ships In The Night
4. Crying To The Sky
5. Sleep That Burns
6. Beauty Secrets
7. Life In The Air Age
8. Like An Old Blues
9. Crystal Gazing
10. Blazing Apostles
bonus track:
11. Ships In The Night (single version)
CD Two – The 2018 Stereo Mix:
1-10 – as above
bonus tracks – previously unreleased:
11. Ships In The Night (first version)
12. Beauty Secrets (first version)
13. The Mystery (demo)
14. Crystal Gazing (alt. vocal)
15. Crying To The Sky (first version)
16. Ships In The Night (alt. vocal)
CD Three – BBC Radio Recordings – Live:
“In Concert” – January 15th 1976:
1. Life In The Air Age
2. Sister Seagull
3. Ships In The Night
4. Maid In Heaven
5. Third Floor Heaven
6. Blazing Apostles
“John Peel Show” – February 10th, 1976:
7. Crying To The Sky
8. Piece Of Mine
9. Blazing Apostles
DVD – The album:
* New 5.1 Surround Sound Mix
* New 96 Khz / 24-Bit Stereo Mix
* 96 Khz / 24-Bit Original Stereo Mix
bonus videos:
“Old Grey Whistle Test” – January 13th, 1976
1. Ships In The Night
2. Fair Exchange
3. Ships In The Night (1976 unreleased promo)
