|
A Secret Wish (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) | 
| Artist: Propaganda
Label: Salvo
Category: Music
List Price: £11.99
Buy New: £6.30
as of 5/9/2010 12:35 BST details
You Save: £5.69 (47%)
New (31) Used (1) from £6.30
Seller: voodoo-hoodoo
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 148
Format: Collector's Edition, Extra tracks
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 4.8 x 0.6
UPC: 698458991423
EAN: 0698458991423
ASIN: B003IODNJA
Release Date: July 19, 2010
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
| |
| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Dream Within A Dream | | • | Murder Of Love, The | | • | Jewel | | • | Duel | | • | Frozen Faces | | • | P:Machinery | | • | Sorry For Laughing | | • | Chase, The | | • | Dr. Mabuse | | • | Dream Within A Dream | | • | Jewel | | • | Duel | | • | P:Machinery | | • | Dr. Mabuse | | • | Last Word (Strength To Dream), The |
Disc 2
| • | Do Well | | • | Testament One | | • | Die Tausend Augen Des Mabuse | | • | Sorry For Laughing | | • | Thought | | • | Thought | | • | P:Machinery | | • | Chase, The | | • | Echo Of Frozen Faces | | • | P:Machinery | | • | Testament Three |
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 15
 A Secret Wish That's Worth Sharing July 17, 2010
A. Connor
33 out of 33 found this review helpful
"A Secret Wish", an album of mystery without explanation and a musical journey best undertaken in completeness, much like Roxy's "Avalon" or Frankie's "Pleasuredome". I can't actually believe it has taken 25 years for the definitive version of this magnificent recording to finally be realised.
Packaged beautifully in a fold out digipack with a 24 page booklet, the release continues to uphold the extremely high standards that I have now come to expect from ZTT, Union Square and project producer Ian Peel. There's attention to detail on the minutest scale, from the thoroughly researched band history right through to the pinpointing of tiny differences between analogue and digital versions of the same song. People with a passion for what they are doing go to this much trouble, and again, that is what continues to set this re-issue series apart from those of others. Well, that and the excellent audio quality which abounds here, thanks to every track being sourced and enhanced (note, `enhanced' not `maxxed out to oblivion') from the original masters. It appears that in the ZTT archives, the Propaganda catalogue has been well cared for, meaning that the very best of what was recorded at the time has been available for inclusion here.
Turning to the original album, Propaganda, or as one journalist dubbed them in 1985, "Abba in hell" (I love that!) delivered a moment in time. It was one of the truly great albums of the year, a sonic masterpiece that ran the whole gauntlet of contemporary music and beyond. "Jewel" remains one of the most disturbing pieces of music I have ever listened to, truly the complete opposite of "Duel", a great pop record that probably ranks as one of the most commercial singles ever released by ZTT. So commercial even Mandy Smith recorded a passable version of it several years later at PWL! This is even more interesting considering there was talk of sending Propaganda off to work with Stock Aitken & Waterman at one point to create a German version of Dollar (in fact "Testament One" on disc two could have easily evolved into a "Mirror Mirror" clone). Anyway, back to "Duel"! As a song it never fails to make me smile, and it really did deserve to go much higher in the charts than it did. In fact I would wager most people think it made the top 10, instead of #21.
"Frozen Faces" is a beautiful, off the wall moment which always reminds me of Yazoo. With some re-structuring I think this could have made a killer single. I'd rate it as one of Stephen Lipson's' production highlights, rivalling even the majestic opulence of "p:Machinery". It's featured in expanded form on disc two, in a version that wouldn't have been too out of place in an acid house set in 1988. "The Murder Of Love" is another non-single favourite and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the inspiration for much of New Orders output in the mid/late 80s. Influential band? Definitely. The liner notes reveal even Quincy Jones was a fan.
What can I say about "Dr. Mabuse"? Even at a 10:41 running time it still isn't long enough. Getting the opportunity to see Claudia perform this song with Trevor back in 2004 at Wembley was a real dream come true. It still remains a pop masterpiece, overlooked on all the usual 80s compilations.
Disc two contains many previously unreleased alternate/extended and remixed versions, including the Goodnight 32 mix of "p:Machinery", one of the last Propaganda mixes to be completed during the album sessions.
A highlight for fans will definitely be the inclusion of "Do Well", the "Duel" cassingle exclusive. Running at 20 minutes this megamix included an exclusive segment, called "Wonder", where the ethereal meets the industrial. Now at last it's time to throw away those dodgy cassette-to-CD transfers!
Revisiting this album again makes me realise how many potential singles there actually were on this record, but back in 1985 it was definitely ahead of its time. Propaganda clearly wasn't a band or concept that could easily be shoe horned into pop radio, and that's a real shame because a significant audience therefore missed out on the opportunity of enjoying this album. Fortunately as people mature, so often does our taste, and those who missed it now have the chance again to strike out of their comfort zone just for a spell and enjoy something deeper, darker and totally fabulous. Those who are already fans and waiting with anticipation for this release will be well rewarded for their (25 year) patience!
Excellent sound - and the complete album at last July 19, 2010
not_a_real_folkie (Farnham, Surrey, UK)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I'll write a more contemplative review when I've lived with this 25th anniversary edition for a few weeks, but the initial play-through has been a great experience.
What you get on Disc One is, firstly, the original "Secret Wish" album as issued on CD on ZTT/Island in 1985, including the specially-remixed "Dream Within A Dream" that Stephen Lipson produced just for CD; the vinyl and cassette had a different version that became the one on the previous ZTT re-issue. Confused? You will be - the superb 10' 41" mix of Dr Mabuse is also here from that original 1985 CD. This is what we've been waiting for for so long. As if that weren't enough, the rest of Disc 1 contains the analogue format versions of the tracks above, plus trainspotters-only versions of Duel and p:Machinery that you'd be hard-pressed to tell apart from the earlier versions. But we do get all those riches in the form of "Dream Within A Dream" in both mixes and the unexpurgated "Dr Mabuse", which is wonderful.
Disc 2 is also a treasure-trove. People have commented on "Do Well", the cassette single version of Duel, and it's brilliant. Some of the other mixes etc. are more subtle (or not, as in "Echo of Frozen Faces"). Fans will probably bemoan the omission of some material e.g. the Beta Wraparound 12" version of p:Machinery but, after all, you've gotta leave something for those vinyl specialist record shops to deal in!
The mastering sounds perfect to me. I'm not sure what the reviewer who complained was expecting - the original tapes put through the too-good-to-be-true filter? (e.g. loads of artificial treble boost? horrible compression to make it sound 'louder'?). The compilers of this re-release seem to have decided that, what Stephen Lipson and Trevor Horn wanted us to hear, is what we get. Which is fine by me.
In summary, if you buy this, "Wishful Thinking" and the "Outside World" compilation from a few years ago, you'll have more Propaganda tracks than you could ever need. Excellent re-issue and, as everyone seems to be saying, about time too!
Love it ..... two versions of the album plus a bonus disc! July 20, 2010
M. B. Wilson (Bristol)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Until now I only had this on vinyl, plus the Outside World and Wishful Thinking CDs (and some 12"). As such I can't compare to the SACD or previous CD release!
However I am very impressed with the artwork (quite a booklet), notes and compilation itself. Yes, it is quite a loud master (everything is apparently from the master tapes), but I didn't hear any distortion or obvious 'flattening' as a result, so the sound seems fine.
Disc 1 is great, as you get the original CD version, plus the analogue only tracks/versions. This means you can either play the whole lot, or program to mimic the original vinyl running order/tracks, or simply play tracks 1-9 for the standard CD running order (includes Frozen Faces and 'longer' versions/mixes of Jewel & Mabuse). This should satisfy most fans, and also allow completists to spot the sometimes subtle differences in the mix betwen analogue and digital outings.
Disc 2 is sublime, including a thoughtful compilation of released and unreleased material/mixes. The 20 minute cassingle of Jewel/Duel (Do Well) opens proceedings, with its exclusive segments very welcome, and then we have several tracks that did not make it onto Outside World/Wishful, or even the light of day in some cases! The quality does not drop here, although a larger number of lengthy tracks may not suit all listeners if listening from start to finish.
I could not find any mention of in the credits of Digital Remastering, for those who hunt this out, but at this price I feel this is a worthwhile edition, and essential if you want all (as far as I can tell!) available album versions in one place.
Fantastic album, re-packaged brilliantly!! July 20, 2010
Mr. S. Fraser (Glasgow Scotland)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is an album I had always loved, I bought the cassette when it came out at first, and played it non-stop on the WalkMan, and later bought a standard CD version. Both always left me wanting more, and this extensive re-packaging certainly gives you more.
Lavishly packaged in a fold-out digipack with a fine 24-page booklet containing a good brief history of the band and the album, along with a number of good B&W and colour photos, this package effectively gives you two full versions of the album - all nine original tracks and remixes of each one, plus the full 20 minutes of the Jewel/Duel cassette single and a few extras. Experimental at the best of times, the remixes are at times astounding. However, it has to be said that several, although different, are not really any better than the original, more familiar versions. Having said that, they are ALL worth a listen, and I'm glad they are now in my collection.
Listening to it really makes you wonder what happened to them - why, with a voice like that, did Claudia Brucken not become an international mega-star. Possibly her "European-ness" got in the way a bit, but even her more recent work with Paul Humphreys in OneTwo still showcases that voice to full effect. I still go weak at the knees at several points on the original album, and I'm sure you will too, if you give it a go.
Between the quality and the quantity of the music included here, the excellent presentation, and the giveaway price, I would strongly recommend anyone to make this your next purchase from Amazon!!
Masterpiece. August 6, 2010
G. E. Hearn (UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If my house caught fire and I could save only one CD:
It would be this one.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 15
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON EU S.à.r.l. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. First4Books | |
