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Ultramarine \ Companion (Every Man & Woman Is A Star Versions) [LTMCD 2352]

In 1991 electronic duo Ultramarine released landmark album Every Man & Woman Is A Star to widespread acclaim. Companion offers an hour of complementary remixes, alternate takes and lost tracks from the parent album, together with 1992 spin-off EP Nightfall In Sweetleaf.

Star remixers include Spooky, Sweet Exorcist (aka Richard H. Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire), Coco Steel & Lovebomb and Ultramarine themselves.

Tracklist

1. Intro
2. Weird Gear (US Remix)
3. Lights In My Brain (Spooky Remix)
4. Geezer (Sweet Exorcist Mix)
5. The Downer
6. Panther (Coco Steel & Lovebomb Remix)
7. Outro
8. My First Canoe Trip (unreleased)
9. Early Discovery (unreleased)
10. Saratoga (remix)
11. Stella Connects (Edit)
12. Lovelife #1 (unreleased)
13. Nova Scotia (original version)
14. Old Geezer Dub (unreleased)
15. Pansy (Live at Glastonbury 1993)

Available on CD and digital (MP3 or FLAC). To order please first select correct shipping option (UK, Europe or Rest of World) and then click on Add To Cart button below cover image. Digital copies are supplied to customers vis link sent by email.

Reviews:

"Here we get the six EP tracks and a supporting cast of nine more. The EP remixes are dazzlers, the jewel in this record's crown no doubt. None of them too shabby, but the Sweet Exorcist remix in particular is a sterling piece of work. Sweet Exorcist is a brace of Sheffield legends, Cabaret Voltaire's late, great Richard H Kirk and DJ Parrot. I'm pretty sure this is just a Kirky production. It's listed as being remixed at Western Works, which is a buzz. Here Kirk takes the skanking guitar riff from the track and loops it, and follows the original's reggae beat with a snappy drum machine. It's a real joy. The thing is, no one has decimated the track they were working with. You can hear Ultramarine still in all of them. Which is exactly what you want with Ultramarine. Elsewhere we get a US remix, a stripped back edited version, of the aforementioned Weird Gear. I really like the almost bosa nova of Lovelife #1, an unreleased outtake, which is perfect in this heady weather. As are the two other previously unreleased cuts, Early Discovery and My First Canoe Trip, a beat-driven version of the album ambient interlude Canoe Trip. There's a track called Stella Connects (edit), which is a full-length eight-minute version of Stella. They let the whole thing settle into a delightful groove that swirls around you and clocks in at almost twice as long as the original. And then, right at the end, we get a great dub version of Geezer, called Old Geezer Dub and a lovely live at Glasto take of Pansy from 1993 with some great live sax. That this release is over 20 years old and dealing in tracks that are closer to 30 years old and it all still delights doesn't surprise me. Ultramarine are the best. They really are the gift that keeps on giving" (Moonbuilding, 07/2026)

"Faces you already love, from a slightly different angle" (Blissout, 05/2003)

"Refreshingly non-drastic remixes plus rare tracks, the best of which (Saratoga) is a divinely sashaying slice of jazz-funk tinged house" (eMusic, 10/2006)

"The soundtrack of choice" (Glasgow Herald, 08/2003)

"The tracks have a more dance-orientated theme to them, but are just as seductive and sublime as ever. Remixes of Weird Gear and Saratoga stand out, along with a live version of Pansy from Glastonbury '93. Summer on wax. You know you can't wait" (Careless Talk, 05/2003)

"Fills a unique niche between composed pop songs and meticulous, driving dance music" (The Big Takeover, 09/2003)

"For fans of the original album these versions are different enough to warrant investment, and add value to a landmark album" (Leonard's Lair, 06/2003)

"Companion contains remarkably little slack, and adds fresh dimensions to the already colourful originals. Indeed these versions of Weird Gear and Nova Scotia possibly better the original blueprint. Best of all, though, is the closing live take of Pansy. It's a lithe, ethnically infused rollercoaster ride that cocks a snook at fellow global beat travellers, with Jimmy Hastings making it clear that the Canterbury scenesters were anything but boring old farts" (Whisperin' & Hollerin', 06/2003)