When two albums become a 'debut' album...

IIRC, Columbia created the U.S. debut album from the Only Ones (of "Another Girl, Another Planet" fame) by cherry-picking tracks from the band's first two UK albums. I think they did the same with Wreckless Eric too.

 

I always thought they'd completely re-recorded those old songs for their Capitol debut. The original "Walking On Sunshine" was a bit faster, and less produced than the hit version, and "Going Down To Liverpool" almost had a different melody...the original was closer to The Bangles' cover.

 

Some songs were re-recorded, others remixed. I believe some were left intact, but I don't recall for sure...

 

Didn't The Police record both of their first two albums at the same time? They both came out the same year. They really are bookends, to me.

 

Nope. "Outlandos" was 11/78, "Regatta" was 10/79. Came out within a year of each other, but not the same time or the same year.

BTW, "Zenyatta" followed 10/80 and "Ghost" was 11/81. "Synchronicity" appeared 6/83.

 

Back then, I was a big reader of the music mags. I could swear that it was stated that the first two are from the same sessions. And at least I was right about them coming out within a year of each other.

 

The Stray Cats come to my mind. Wasn't their US debut a mix of a couple of their EP's and/or albums from Britain?

 

Lots of Aussie bands have done this after breaking big down under and then trying to crack the o/s market. Especially in the 80's, but some more recently as well... some of the biggest:

Split Enz
INXS
You Am I
Jimmy Barnes (the worst example, he realeased his debut album after splittingfrom Cold Chisel, and then his second album rehashed 8 of those tracks with 5 new ones. Everyone here still bought it though. Both are still available as well. The man made a lot of money from that.... )

 

Green Day's first Lookout album, 39/Smooth, is essentially a compilation of two EPs titled 1039 and Smoothed Out Slappy Hour, isn't it?

 

Not to a great extent, really. Not Fade Away was added to the North American album and Mona (I Need You Baby) was taken off. The rest of the U.K. album stayed intact.

 

Another example of this phenomenon, though in the end it made little difference here, was Nick Drake's first, self-titled album in the U.S., which was a combination of the British LPs Bryter Later and Five Leaves Left.

 

Australian band Angel City's (known as Angels back home) American debut "Face To Face" featured tracks from the band's first 3 albums in their native land (The Angels, Face To Face and No Exit).

Get the Aussie albums - they are a great band!!

 

Poi Dog Pondering's Sony debut was a compilation of two Texas Hotel EP's. (Poi Dog Pondering and Circle Around the Sun)
Tom

 

Not so much a combination of two albums, but part of an album plus non-LP single sides: the U.S. version of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn by The Pink Floyd. The American version contained "See Emily Play," which wasn't on the U.K. version, and removed some other tracks.

Also, the first full-length U.S. albums by Roxette and Ace of Base were composites of old and new recordings sometimes stretching back several years.

My Aim Is True by Elvis Costello in the U.S. contained "Watching the Detectives," while the U.K. version (which was the version reissued by Rhino Vinyl) does not.

And though they were from the U.S., the Backstreet Boys' first American CD was a composite of two CDs released in Europe first.

Finally, to its credit, Uni did NOT alter the track lineup of the album Elton John, his first U.S. album. As his first U.K. album, Empty Sky, was not initially released in the U.S. (it didn't come out in the States until early 1975), Uni could have done a composite of that album and the British Elton John and maybe added "Lady Samantha" -- but it didn't.

 

I'm pretty sure the U.S. debut album by Japan was a comp of tunes taken from the UK albums Gentleman Take Polaroids and Tin Drum.

 

Everything But The Girl's self-titled US debut contained only about half the tracks from their European debut, "Eden," and tagged on a few singles to flesh it out. For their second disc, "Love Not Money," Atlantic added to the European line up the a and b sides of another single, "Heaven Help Me" b/w a cover of the Pretenders' "Kid."