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)
- Skullduggery
- Scarecrow
- So Many Ways
- Just Hip
- Johnny Yen
- Summer Song
- Really Hard
- Billys Shirts
- Why So Close
- Withdrawn
- Black Hole
Strip-mine (1988)
- What For
- Charlie Dance
- Fairground
- Are You Ready
- Medieval
- Not There
- Ya Ho
- Riders
- Vulture
- Stripmining
- Refrain
Gold Mother (1990/1)
- Come Home (original 1990 pressing)
- Government Walls
- God Only Knows
- You Can’t Tell How Much Suffering (On A Face That’s Always Smiling)
- Crescendo
- How Was It For You?
- Hang On
- Walking The Ghost
- Gold Mother
- Top Of The World
- Sit Down
- Come Home (Flood Mix) (1991 pressing)
- Lose Control
Seven (1992)
- Born Of Frustration
- Ring The Bells
- Sound
- Bring A Gun
- Mother
- Don’t Wait That Long
- Live A Love Of Life
- Next Lover
- Heavens
- Protect Me
- Seven
Laid (1993)
- Out To Get You
- Sometimes (Lester Piggott)
- Dream Thrum
- One Of The Three
- Say Something
- Five-O
- P.S.
- Everybody Knows
- Knuckle Too Far
- Low Low Low
- Laid
- Lullaby
- Skindiving
Wah Wah (1994)
- Hammer Strings
- Pressure’s On
- Jam J
- Frequency Dip
- Lay The Law Down
- Burn The Cat
- Maria
- Low Clouds
- Building A Fire
- Gospel Oak
- DVV
- Say Say Something
- Rhythmic Dreams
- Dead Man
- Rain Whistling
- Basic Brian
- Low Clouds
- Bottom Of The Well
- Honest Joe
- Arabic Agony
- Tomorrow
- Laughter
- Sayonara
Whiplash (1997)
- Tomorrow
- Lost A Friend
- Waltzing Along
- She’s A Star
- Greenpeace
- Go To The Bank
- Play Dead
- Avalanche
- Homeboy
- Watering Hole
- Blue Pastures
Millionaires (1999)
- Crash
- Just Like Fred Astaire
- I Know What I’m Here For
- Shooting My Mouth Off
- We’re Going To Miss You
- Strangers
- Hello
- Afro Lover
- Surprise
- Dumb Jam
- Someone’s Got It In For Me
- Vervaceous
Pleased To Meet You (2001)
- Space
- Falling Down
- English Beefcake
- Junkie
- Pleased To Meet You
- The Shining
- Senorita
- Gaudi
- What Is It Good For
- Give It Away
- Fine
- Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
- Alaskan Pipeline
Hey Ma (2008)
- Bubbles
- Hey Ma
- Waterfall
- Oh My Heart
- Boom Boom
- Semaphore
- Upside
- Whiteboy
- 72
- Of Monsters And Heroes And Men
- I Wanna Go Home
The Night Before (2010) 24-bit FLAC
- It’s Hot
- Crazy
- Ten Below
- Porcupine
- Shine
- Dr Hellier
- Hero
The Morning After (2010) 24-bit FLAC
- Got The Shakes
- Dust Motes
- Tell Her I Said So
- Kaleidoscope
- Rabbit Hole
- Make For This City
- Lookaway
- Fear
The Best Of (1998)
- Runaground
- Destiny Calling
Fresh As A Daisy—The Singles (2007)
- Who Are You
- Chameleon
Videos (1988–2001)
- So Many Ways
- What For
- How Was It For You?
- Come Home
- Lose Control
- Sit Down
- Sound
- Born Of Frustration
- Ring The Bells
- Seven
- Sometimes
- Laid
- Say Something (version 1)
- Say Something (version 2)
- She’s A Star
- Tomorrow
- Waltzing Along
- Runaground
- Destiny Calling
- Sit Down ‘98
- I Know What I’m Here For
- Just Like Fred Astaire
- We’re Going To Miss You
- Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
Bonus tracks Coffee And Toast and Child To Burn will be available to download separately.