Not long ago we announced what we believed was exciting news that Robbie's first seven studio albums were going to be released as limited special editions, packaged with extra content. Since we published this, we've been very interested in the feedback the news has received. There have certainly been mixed feelings from you all about these, and so we wanted to share with you the thinking and creative reasoning behind these releases.
We wanted you to know the story of how everyone involved in these releases has come together to create something really quite special, as EMI explain:
'The intention of this series of releases is to relive the story of each amazing album for the first time, in an official set of album releases, using Robbie’s show-stopping TV and live performances (or ‘Shorts’ in the case of Rudebox).
Each album is packaged with a companion DVD to tell the story visually, 'as it was happening at the time', through classic TV performances. We hoped this would really get those nostalgic feelings flowing!
By releasing the DVD as a companion piece alongside the album for what is the first re-release of the original studio albums, we’re telling their whole story – setting the scenes it was at their original time of release. And they really are fantastic; as this the first time the studio albums have been re-released in any way, we felt it made absolute sense to include the TV performances within the context of the original albums.
The price of these new releases compares favourably to both a DVD only release and a typical newly released CD; in fact several very well known online retailers are currently selling them for £8.99. This is undeniably great value for what is largely previously unreleased footage packaged along with the original album on CD and complete with brand new sleeve note commentary, which takes us back to key events in Robbie's career at the time of the original album release. The format of a 'Special Edition'; an original album with extra music or 'CD with DVD', as is the case with this series, is a familiar approach to restoring and reinstating the studio album catalogue of a major artist and it seemed the appropriate moment to do this during a time in which Robbie's 20 years in music are being celebrated.
We also made the considered decision not to remaster the music on these CDs after careful discussion with all concerned as it was agreed the sound quality was state-of-the-art on the originals.
If you have discovered, or re-discovered, Robbie through the recent In and Out of Consciousness Greatest Hits release, or through the excitement around his reunion with Take That, this series gives you the chance to revisit the story of his career through these classic album releases.
If you are an iTunes customer, we have made the visual element of all the releases (except ‘Swing When You’re Winning’ due to technical reasons) available digitally too – so you don’t have to buy the audio or the CD again if you want to download the visual element only.
The new releases are limited editions – for fans and collectors. They’re limited to a worldwide run of 100K across all seven titles.
Much time and effort went into researching and licensing the various TV performances commissioning new sleeve notes and redesigning the artwork. These really were a labour of love that we hope you will enjoy them when they're released on 21st March.'
As always, we value your feedback and we want to hear your thoughts… please share your comments below, we look forward to reading them.