UPDATES 2

When I went on holiday I took a number of my old posts with me, and listening to them by the pool on headphones, I noticed a few things which I'd missed when listening through my speakers. I've therefore corrected the various imperfections, and as there was only one track per album that needed to be fixed I've put them all in one folder on Mega, and Soulseekers can just take the upgraded tracks that you need from the updated folders. The full albums have also been corrected, if you want to try them for the first time. The tracks that have been upgraded are:

UB40 - The Earth Dies Screaming (1982)

The transition from the vocal part of 'My Way Of Thinking' to the dub part was not a smooth as it could have been, so that's now been fixed.

Kossoff - Tuesday Evening (1973)

Listening to this again made me realise that a couple of the edits were very noticeable, and so I've re-done the whole thing to try to make them a bit more seamless. I think one works much better, and although the other is better then it was, it's still not perfect, but is probably the best that I can do. 

Steeleye Span - Bonny Moorhen (1984)

The sound on 'Stookey' sounded a bit thin compared to the other tracks, so I've boosted the bass to bring it more in line with the rest of the album. 

Hot Chocolate - I Want To Be Free (1973)

The first track 'Love Is Life' was not the best quality, so I've sourced a new, better version.

Bryan Ferry - Alphaville (1995)

There was a brief gap around 1'41 of 'Love War', which I hadn't noticed before, so I've sourced a complete version of the song. 

George Michael - Trojan Souls (1993)

The original recording of 'You Slipped Away From Me' only had one verse and then a very long instrumental passage. I felt that the instrumental part was way too long, and there was not enough vocal, so I've repeated the verse and faded down the ending to make a more concise version which now sounds more like a finished song. 

And finally, massive thanks to Barry Ryan and Sparks fan Helmut, who has provided me with a completely remastered version of Barry Ryan's 'Give Me A Sign' album, with upgraded versions of the songs that I could only find in poor quality. Not only that, but he has also let me have a new recording of the Sparks album that they made in 1968 as Halfnelson, which is now finally available at the correct speed.  

Both of these albums have been replaced in full on Soulseek and Mega, so help yourself to the upgraded version of these two, and marvel at the difference in them. 

pj 

George Michael - Trojan Souls (1993)

George Michael's second studio album 'Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1' was released in September 1990, with its title being an indication of his desire to be taken more seriously as a songwriter. It reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, and peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200, and spent a total of 88 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, being certified four-times Platinum by the BPI. The album produced five UK singles, and despite Michael refusing to do any promotion for the record, it won Best British Album at the 1991 Brit Awards. Later in 1991 he embarked on the 'Cover To Cover' tour in Japan, England, the US, and Brazil, where he performed at Rock in Rio, but this was not a proper promotion for 'Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1', but rather it featured Michael singing his favourite cover songs, one of which was released as a single that year, with his duet with Elton John on his 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' reaching No. 1 in both the UK and US. An expected follow-up album, 'Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2', was scrapped due to his lawsuit with Sony, with Michael donating three of the songs to the charity project 'Red Hot + Dance', for the Red Hot Organization which raised money for AIDS awareness. A fourth track 'Crazyman Dance' was released as the b-side of 1992's 'Too Funky', with Michael donating the royalties from 'Too Funky' to the same cause. Following the scrapping of 'Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2', Michael started a new musical project with childhood friend Andros Georgiou, with 'Trojan Souls' being due to be released on their joint record label Hardback in 1993. Michael reportedly pitched 'Trojan Souls' to Sony and recorded the album between 1991 and 1993, during his legal fight with the label, but he stopped working on music after the death of Anselmo Feleppa, who he called the first love of his life, and who he met at the Rock in Rio concert in 1991. 'Trojan Souls' was to feature songs he would perform himself, as well as songs he wrote and planned to get Elton John, Sade, Seal, Stevie Wonder and Anita Baker to sing, although it is unknown if those artists ever recorded their vocals, apart from Elton John, whose track has leaked online. Fans have long circulated bootlegs of 'Trojan Souls' tracks, most of which are only in instrumental form, as the project was never finished, but there are enough tracks with vocals to gain some idea of what it might have sounded like, and by adding a couple of instrumentals it can be fleshed out to full album length. Prince's guitarist Wendy Melvoin was involved in the project, and 'Sketch For Wendy' was to be her showcase, while 'Pieces' is a mood piece which sits nicely on the album. After 'Trojan Souls' was scrapped, Michael spent the next three years working on new music, which eventually surfaced as the 'Older' album in 1996, but here is the chance to hear what he was working on directly after the massive success of 'Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1', and what, with a bit more work, could have been its follow-up record. 

Track listing

01 This Kind Of Love
02 One Day I'll Know
03 Lonely Nights
04 Sketch For Wendy
05 You Slipped Away From Me
06 Day And Night
07 Waiting For A Heart
08 Pieces
09 So Damn Hard