A little surprised that has not been mentioned on here yet: three Midge solo singles are now available on iTunes & most other digital music sites in their 12" guise (with Amazon links - choose your own preferred supplier).

- No Regrets
- If I Was
- After A Fashion (with the much-missed Mick Karn)

After A Fashion is the first time that the extended version of the song has legally appeared in any digital form (i.e. CD/Download/Streaming/DVD/Blu Ray) and probably worth buying just for that.

Additionally, the artwork has been restored for each of the releases.

Good spot chap - I've been waiting for a legit version of the extended version of After A Fashion for literally years. Now I can finally retire my vinyl rip...

Any ideas if this is a one-off "burp" or are more tracks in the pipeline?

Wastelands (Extended Mix) would be nice

Has Cerise been told about these releases? If she had been, then I'm sure that she would've already posted something about them in the News section...



All of the associated artwork, or just the front cover(s)?



The Extended Mix of Wastelands appeared on the second disc of the Definitive Edition of The Gift which was released back in 2010. That track is already available from Amazon...

Rob

Is the 12" version of No Regrets any different to the 7" version?
I know the 12" versions of If I was and After a Fashion are extended.
I will check them out when I get home!

From memory - and it is a long time since I've played my vinyl copies - the version of No Regrets on the twelve inch single is identical to the version on the seven inch single. Although - the twelve inch single does 'sound' better because of the 'larger' format.

Rob

I'm pretty sure Cerise was aware (I may be wrong) but that wasn't my intent with the comment: I was just surprised that no one else had spotted them at all.

These are all newly sourced going back to the original masters I believe: the late noughties masters are not being used. Whilst the 'No Regrets' on the 12" is the same as the 7" version (and sourced from the master in the case of this download), Rob is correct in that the format would have allowed a greater signal:noise ratio creating playback that is louder & detailed without the same level of limiting/compression you would have on the equivalent 7".

All the cover art was restored including the back covers - Warners seem to have lost much of the original artwork during their management of the portfolio (not just Ultravox) and a lot of work went into getting these restored. Whether they are available with the music downloads, I'm not sure. However they all look really good.

The 'Wastelands' extended mix is available from Amazon and on 'The Gift' 2010 and, obviously, these are the 2010 remaster. However, the original master which has a greater dynamic range has not been released digitally to the best of my knowledge.

As to whether any other releases will follow, it will depend on whether there is interest in these, I guess.

I've just spoken with Cerise - and she was unaware that these had been released... I couldn't see any mention of them on Midge's website either...



I'm puzzled - as the Amazon links you provided for both No Regrets and If I Was clearly state that they are taken from the 2010 remasters...



The Amazon links only include the front covers...









The EMI Gold editions of The Gift (from 1996) and Answers To Nothing (from 1998) both used the associated production master tapes - this was standard practice at the time.

However, the 2010 Definitive Edition Remasters used the original master tapes instead. We (myself, Cerise and Paul) identified all of the tapes which needed to be used as part of our work on both releases. Those tapes were retrieved from EMI's tape storage facility and sent to Abbey Road where they were transferred. Those digital files were subsequently sent to Denis Blackham (at Skye Mastering) where they were remastered.

Rob

Well I did say that I wasn't referring to Cerise and that I wasn't completely certain she was aware. My comments were really aimed at everyone else and reflected how dead the site had become again




My bad - those two are from the 2010 remasters.





OK but a) that's Amazon & b) don't they look good? But what's your point?





Again, I'm not sure what your point is here?

If you don't mind me saying, we should just be celebrating that a new track is being digitally released, that the covers have been spruced up and that someone is actually bl00dy taking an interest in the band and its members rather indulge in a childishly pedantic tit for tat.

Yes, it is a shame that this site has become so quiet - but that's common with a number of more traditional forums. Some people have moved their focus to other social media platforms - while others have simply moved on.



My point here - since you ask later on - was to question your previous statement where you said that these are all newly sourced going back to the original masters I believe: the late noughties masters are not being used. I didn't believe that they had been newly sourced - and instead wanted to clarify that it was in fact the 2010 remasters that were being used.



Amazon have been known to include the back covers for other releases - perhaps they weren't supplied in this instance?

Seeing as how a lot of work went into getting these [sleeves] restored, then surely it would make sense for them to be made available with the music downloads - otherwise that'll have been work that was done for nothing.

I also think restored is over-egging it - and that spruced up is probably nearer the mark. I'm open to being corrected here if I'm wrong, but it's likely that all that's happened is that the respective twelve inch single sleeves have been scanned and retouched.



I thought that my point was perfectly clear. I agree that the original master tapes do have a greater dynamic range - and that's why they were used when we worked on both The Gift and Answers To Nothing back in 2010. Your comments imply that the original master tapes have so far not been used - and that's not correct.



Of course I don't mind you saying... and by the same token I would hope that you won't mind me sharing my point of view.

I don't believe that some of the statements you've made in this thread have been entirely correct - and that's why I've responded accordingly with what I believe to be the correct information. That's not being either childish or pedantic - that's just wanting things to be right.

There's also nothing wrong with celebrating, but only for something that's worth celebrating. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here... this is simply a single thirty-five year old track which has been made available as an MP3.

Rob

Well I admitted my error re the 2010 version, didn't I?

As for my reference to 'masters', I am not referring to the physical tape used, I am referring to the 'master' 'mix' (for want of a better word) used and not any of the subsequent remasterings of the material.

And yes it's 35 years old but that's the point: it is now here in a digital format at last.