The Gathering Sound

The Gathering Sound


Three decades and counting…

It is with the greatest pleasure and pride we announce that this winter, James release their very first box set, encompassing the whole of their 30 year history.

The Gathering Sound heralds the debut of 12 previously unreleased songs, including lost classic Gregory’s Town, Scratchcard, Count Your Blessings, their second ever demo Willow, the thrillingly titled Jam 1 and Jam 2, even excerpts from the infamous and allegedly scandalous ‘Whiplash Tapes’. All told, the box set will mark the first official release of 33 live recordings and demos, from the early 80s right through to the present day—with some of the earliest material having been recently unearthed in a time capsule (disguised as dusty bin bags) in an attic in fashionable West Didsbury.

This deluxe set includes 3 CDs, a DVD, a 12″ record, and a custom J-shaped USB stick—in addition to some fun historical goodies, writings, exclusive photos and artwork.

Live rarities include highlights from the 1992 Alton Towers gig before a crowd of 30,000 ecstatic (if somewhat sodden) James fans, plus Glastonbury 1990, Brixton Academy, Manchester Apollo, London Town & Country and more. Even vintage live favourite Burned makes an appearance—recorded at Moles Club in Bath in 1988, this was previously only available on the long out-of-print collector’s choice One Man Clapping.

But wait, there's more! This glorious package also features the first CD pressing of Sire-era b-sides and the Weather Change flexidisc from the 1990 tour programme, exclusive release of BBC archive material from historic concerts in the 90s, and the DVD premiere of the celebrated 15-track Come Home Live video filmed at the euphoric Manchester GMEX show in 1990—sure to bring back memories for those of you who braved the winter storms to be there.

The 12″ x 12″ beautifully boxed set opens to reveal:

  • Unique J-shaped USB stick, containing all 12 studio albums (plus the non-album ‘Best Of’ tracks) in both high fidelity 16-bit FLAC and 320kbps MP3 formats—apart from the 2010 mini-albums, which are included in all their original 24-bit glory for the first (and possibly only) time. The 8GB stick also holds 24 promotional videos in MP4 format, ready to watch on your computer and transfer to your mobile devices for portable viewing
  • Three CDs: one of live rarities from 1982 to the present, one of studio rarities including home-recorded demos from the early 80s, and a third CD combining 2010’s superb mini-albums The Morning After and The Night Before on one disc
  • DVD of the long-deleted Come Home Live video originally released in 1991, featuring 15 tracks from the legendary homecoming show at GMEX in 1990
  • Heavyweight 180gsm vinyl LP featuring four previously unreleased demos from the Gold Mother era, housed in a special gatefold sleeve along with the four discs
  • 16-page A5 booklet of sleeve notes written by the band, with contributions from fans, friends, peers and partners in crime
  • 12×12 scrapbook filled with rare and unseen photos, memorabilia, press cuttings, and many other items straight out of the band’s personal archives, as well as a timeline they have annotated
  • Four art cards, four button badges, four sticky-backed satin replica backstage passes
  • The first 500 box sets ordered from our own stock via the Universal Box Set Store will include a gorgeous 12″ square piece of artwork signed by all seven band members. ALL pre-orders through our Universal link include a complimentary instant download of three extra unreleased demos – Dust Motes, Make For This City, and Lookaway.

Stutter (1986)

  1. Skullduggery
  2. Scarecrow
  3. So Many Ways
  4. Just Hip
  5. Johnny Yen
  6. Summer Song
  7. Really Hard
  8. Billys Shirts
  9. Why So Close
  10. Withdrawn
  11. Black Hole

Strip-mine (1988)

  1. What For
  2. Charlie Dance
  3. Fairground
  4. Are You Ready
  5. Medieval
  6. Not There
  7. Ya Ho
  8. Riders
  9. Vulture
  10. Stripmining
  11. Refrain

Gold Mother (1990/1)

  1. Come Home (original 1990 pressing)
  2. Government Walls
  3. God Only Knows
  4. You Can’t Tell How Much Suffering (On A Face That’s Always Smiling)
  5. Crescendo
  6. How Was It For You?
  7. Hang On
  8. Walking The Ghost
  9. Gold Mother
  10. Top Of The World
  11. Sit Down
  12. Come Home (Flood Mix) (1991 pressing)
  13. Lose Control

Seven (1992)

  1. Born Of Frustration
  2. Ring The Bells
  3. Sound
  4. Bring A Gun
  5. Mother
  6. Don’t Wait That Long
  7. Live A Love Of Life
  8. Next Lover
  9. Heavens
  10. Protect Me
  11. Seven

Laid (1993)

  1. Out To Get You
  2. Sometimes (Lester Piggott)
  3. Dream Thrum
  4. One Of The Three
  5. Say Something
  6. Five-O
  7. P.S.
  8. Everybody Knows
  9. Knuckle Too Far
  10. Low Low Low
  11. Laid
  12. Lullaby
  13. Skindiving

Wah Wah (1994)

  1. Hammer Strings
  2. Pressure’s On
  3. Jam J
  4. Frequency Dip
  5. Lay The Law Down
  6. Burn The Cat
  7. Maria
  8. Low Clouds
  9. Building A Fire
  10. Gospel Oak
  11. DVV
  12. Say Say Something
  13. Rhythmic Dreams
  14. Dead Man
  15. Rain Whistling
  16. Basic Brian
  17. Low Clouds
  18. Bottom Of The Well
  19. Honest Joe
  20. Arabic Agony
  21. Tomorrow
  22. Laughter
  23. Sayonara

Whiplash (1997)

  1. Tomorrow
  2. Lost A Friend
  3. Waltzing Along
  4. She’s A Star
  5. Greenpeace
  6. Go To The Bank
  7. Play Dead
  8. Avalanche
  9. Homeboy
  10. Watering Hole
  11. Blue Pastures

Millionaires (1999)

  1. Crash
  2. Just Like Fred Astaire
  3. I Know What I’m Here For
  4. Shooting My Mouth Off
  5. We’re Going To Miss You
  6. Strangers
  7. Hello
  8. Afro Lover
  9. Surprise
  10. Dumb Jam
  11. Someone’s Got It In For Me
  12. Vervaceous

Pleased To Meet You (2001)

  1. Space
  2. Falling Down
  3. English Beefcake
  4. Junkie
  5. Pleased To Meet You
  6. The Shining
  7. Senorita
  8. Gaudi
  9. What Is It Good For
  10. Give It Away
  11. Fine
  12. Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
  13. Alaskan Pipeline

Hey Ma (2008)

  1. Bubbles
  2. Hey Ma
  3. Waterfall
  4. Oh My Heart
  5. Boom Boom
  6. Semaphore
  7. Upside
  8. Whiteboy
  9. 72
  10. Of Monsters And Heroes And Men
  11. I Wanna Go Home

The Night Before (2010) 24-bit FLAC

  1. It’s Hot
  2. Crazy
  3. Ten Below
  4. Porcupine
  5. Shine
  6. Dr Hellier
  7. Hero

The Morning After (2010) 24-bit FLAC

  1. Got The Shakes
  2. Dust Motes
  3. Tell Her I Said So
  4. Kaleidoscope
  5. Rabbit Hole
  6. Make For This City
  7. Lookaway
  8. Fear

The Best Of (1998)

  1. Runaground
  2. Destiny Calling

Fresh As A Daisy—The Singles (2007)

  1. Who Are You
  2. Chameleon

Videos (1988–2001)

  1. So Many Ways
  2. What For
  3. How Was It For You?
  4. Come Home
  5. Lose Control
  6. Sit Down
  7. Sound
  8. Born Of Frustration
  9. Ring The Bells
  10. Seven
  11. Sometimes
  12. Laid
  13. Say Something (version 1)
  14. Say Something (version 2)
  15. She’s A Star
  16. Tomorrow
  17. Waltzing Along
  18. Runaground
  19. Destiny Calling
  20. Sit Down ‘98
  21. I Know What I’m Here For
  22. Just Like Fred Astaire
  23. We’re Going To Miss You
  24. Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)

Bonus tracks Coffee And Toast and Child To Burn will be available to download separately.