Sunburst Finish

British rock band Be-Bop Deluxe; released their third studio album - Sunburst finish - in January 1976.After several listens to the 2018 Deluxe,expanded and re-mixed edition which includes a 2nd bonus disc of previously unreleased demo tracks on disc 2 - as well as the original album of 'The 2018 stereo mix' - I conclude Sunburst finish is a classic album of the era.Lead by (fair to say) lead vocalist,harmonica and lead guitarist - Bill Nelson; it sees the band on top form with excellent musicianship by all personnel IE: Andrew Clarke: All keyboards,Charles Tumahai: Bass guitar,vocals & percussion and Simon Fox: Drums & percussion.An upbeat rocky start with - Fair exchange,a bit mellower on Track 2: Heavenly homes and sequeing into classic single: Ships in the night,with itself flowing into Crying to the sky.T5: Sleep that burns: has an alarm clock and yawns on the intro - appropriately.Onto T7: Life in the air age: is another superb rock offering and T8: Like an old blues: is a marvellous err...bluesy track.Closing original album with Blazing Apostles: I detect the subject matter of religious explotation - TV evangelists and cranks of all variety being highlighted on this (yet again) wonderful song and ending with a spoken word extract of a receptionist answering a phone call with "good evening Blazing Apostles can I help you" several times until they hang up. A truly cynical but superb jibe at such creeps and oddballs!D1: has one bonus track in - Ships in the night (single version) shorter in length,with a fade-out.Bee-Bop Deluxe: could never be shoved into a niche box of musical styles.the album contains; prog-rock,Hispanic and even Latino-tinged music,and the 'original stereo mix remastered' is crisp and clear beyond any doubt.D2 of this re-issue consists of the '2018 stereo mix' of Sunburst finish and includes six further bonus tracks of previously unreleased 'early versions' starting and ending with Ships in the night - first one speeded up reggae take - last one 'alternative vocal version'.if you're a Ships in the night obsessive - this is the album for you 🤗 😂The original album on D2: is,on the whole a pointless exercise and inclusion,who's only saving grace is the bonus tracks included. You have be in serious geeky territory to spot the difference.Credit has to be given to the co-producers on SF EMI in-house engineer John Leckie (promoted to producer for the first time) and Bill Nelson - who give this process such a distinctive and clear feel to the whole album.Not quite a full concept album I'd say,but a classic album in its very own category of which I don't have a name for right now 🤔PS: excellent packaging in soft fold-out digi-pack format containing inner sleeve booklet crammed with,colour and B&W band photos,informative sleeve notes by Bill Nelson and separate ones by Mark Powell -who is also credited with compilling and co-ordinating this 2018 re-issue - a wonderful job he does too!Only disappointment is the lack of any lyrics included in the package - with some quite interesting tales and subject matters on most songs - such a pity!Still highly recommended by my good self - enjoy!🎼🎸🎹🎤🥁

Crying To The Sky is like Hendrix - just about the greatest guitar sound you could imagine! Put on an album with such an innovative a hit single as Ships In The night it just makes this album an irresistible experience- in fact I rate it as good as Aladdin Sane & T.Rex’s Slider - could not really be improved.It is a pity the two bonus tracks from the previous reissue Blue As A Jewel & Speed Of the Wind are not included though - what happened to them?

Throughly underated band at the time. Bill Nelson so far ahead of his time. Excellent music, extremely well put together. Very glad to have finally added this to my collection.

The new mix is quite cool. Not too far removed from the original but well worth a listen. One things has always puzzled me. If bandsgo into the studio with the original multi track tape, why don't they go the whole hog and do a totally revamped up to date mix. Totally new and different from the original. Only one band has done it to my knowledge. Jethro Tull. Not only were the songs totally remixed, some songs had the drums replaced with a new take with modern recording techniques. I have to say, the results are so brilliant I prefer them. All artists are capable of this and should do it. We end up with a real treat and I imagine it would be really interesting for them to do also. Off the topic but no matter. This CD is great, buy it!

Excellent record from the mid-seventies. Great guitar work. Probably too many versions of Ships in the Night.

This was the groundbreaking album that shot Be Bop Deluxe to real stardom. I remember when I first heard it way back in 1976 and it still sounds as fresh now as it was back then. Superb stuff.

For me, their best album

Be Bop Delux...Say no more