The Salesman Who Sold Himself

Today's selection revisits The Times aka Edward Ball. A little under a year ago, I hosted a three-day marathon, featuring Side 1 and Side 2 of The Times mixtape that I'd recorded in 1998, followed by an all new selection highlighting Ball's electronic experiments with The Times and Love Corporation.

The previous posts focused exclusively on Ball's time with Creation Records, effectively The Times Mk. II, and were inspired by a post on The Times Mk. I on the excellent (and hopefully currently only 'resting') Linear Tracking Lives!.

I didn't have much of the earlier phase of The Times, but Brian recently reminded me that at the tail end of 2021 Cherry Red released a beautiful box set of the six albums they released between 1982 and 1986, boosted by bonus songs to a whopping 126 tracks across 6 CDs. Duly prompted, I purchased the set and have been enjoying the deep dive into the albums. Great value for money, working out at less than 25p a song, not to mention the gorgeous packaging and enlightening sleeve notes from Ball himself.

Rather than solely focusing on this period, today's selection ambitiously (foolishly?) attempts a career-spanning retrospective across two imaginary sides of vinyl. So, you get 14 songs and just under 45 minutes of The Times, from 'lost' 1980 debut album, Go! With The Times (not released until 1985) to the final Creation album, Pirate Playlist 66, in 1999. In between, there are some EP tracks, a cover version and another 'lost' album, 1987's Sad But True, which bridged the Artpop! and Creation phases but remained unreleased until 1997. 

I'll try not to leave it a year before getting round to a selection of Edward Ball's solo ventures, as there are further treasures to polish and present there.

This one's dedicated to Brian.

 

Side One

1) Up Against It (Album Version) (1986)

2) Liam Gallagher Our Leader (1999)

3) Sold (1989)

4) I'll See You In My Dreams (1984)

5) Riot House (1987)

6) Picture Gallery (Album Version) (1982)

7) The Theme From "Danger Man" (Single Version) (Cover of Edwin Astley) (1982)

Side Two

1) Song For Joe Orton (1985)

2) The American Way (1986)

3) Ballad Of Georgie Best (1993)

4) On The Peace Line (1988)

5) (There's A) Cloud Over Liverpool (Album Version) (1983)

6) I'm With You (1980)

7) Power Is Forever (Single Version) (1984)

1982: I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape EP: A7

1982: Pop Goes Art!: A6 

1983: This Is London: B5

1984: Boys Brigade EP: B7

1985: Blue Period EP: A4 

1985: Boys About Town EP: B1

1985: Go! With The Times: B6

1986: Enjoy: B2

1986: Up Against It: A1

1988: Beat Torture: B4

1989: E For Edward: A3 

1993: Alternative Commercial Crossover: B3

1997: Sad But True: A5

1999: Pirate Playlist 66: A2

Side One (22:50)

Side Two (22:41)