Deluxe digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition. Having emerged from the ashes of beat boom hopefuls Mike Sheridan and The Night Riders, by late 1966 Birmingham band The Idle Race were looking for a new guitarist. The successful applicant was local teenager Jeff Lynne. By the time the band signed to Liberty Records, the prodigiously-talented Lynne - several years younger than his new colleagues - had been promoted to frontman status, blossoming as the band's chief songwriter while also taking lead vocals. After 'Skeleton And The Roundabout' had attracted much airplay but fallen just short of the charts, the band cut their debut album. Issued in October 1968, the idiosyncratic The Birthday Party gave notice of a major new talent on the British pop scene. A dazzling creation that matched Beatle-ish melodic flair and witty, surreal vignettes with the heightened ambition of psych-era British studio pop, the set attracted rave reviews and the support of Radio One DJs including Kenny Everett. Sadly, however, The Birthday Party failed to sell in any great quantity after Liberty mysteriously chose not to issue a single in support of the release ('I Like My Toys' was scheduled to appear, but cancelled at the last minute), and the wider world wouldn't notice Lynne until he joined The Move in early 1970. Now acknowledged as a classic album of song-based British psychedelic pop, The Birthday Party finally gets the attention that it deserves with this definitive new package. The original stereo album is joined by alternative versions, stand-alone singles and, most notably of all, the first-ever official CD release of the original, substantially different mono version of the LP, taken from the original masters. A digipak release, this essential set features a 24-page booklet containing numerous rare photos and memorabilia as well as a new essay on the album.
1. Skeleton and the Roundabout 2. Happy Birthday 3. The Birthday 4. I Like My Toys 5. Morning Sunshine 6. Follow Me Follow 7. Sitting in My Tree 8. On with the Show 9. Lucky Man 10. Don't Put Your Boys in the Army, Mrs. Ward 11. Pie in the Sky 12. The Lady Who Said She Could Fly 13. End of the Road 14. (Here We Go Round) the Lemon Tree 15. My Father's Son 16. Imposters of Life's Magazine 17. Knocking Nails Into My House 18. Lucky Man (Alternative Version) 19. Follow Me Follow (Alternative Version) 20. Days of the Broken Arrows 21. Worn Red Carpet 22. Days of the Broken Arrows (Alternative Version) 23. Skeleton and the Roundabout 24. Happy Birthday 25. The Birthday 26. I Like My Toys 27. Morning Sunshine 28. Follow Me Follow 29. Sitting in My Tree 30. On with the Show 31. Lucky Man 32. Don't Put Your Boys in the Army, Mrs. Ward 33. Pie in the Sky 34. The Lady Who Said She Could Fly 35. End of the Road 36. Sitting in My Tree (Alternative Version)
