Futurist Manifesto: Harvest Years 1974 - 1978

great box set of all the classic be bop deluxe albums you will ever need plus a bonus disc of some rarities, though i wish the rarites included more live stuff and outtakes this is a very good set for those that may never have got around to buying the cd imports of these long lost classics from the 70s, i always felt this was when bill nelson was at his best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the one shame is the great 1977 classic live album LIVE IN THE AIR RACE is not included here, that live album is a must, it was one of the great live albums of the 70s, regardless this gives any fan a fantastic retrospect of be bop deluxes carrare in the 70s, today in 2011 they seem very forgotten and i dont often here them spoke about like wishbone ash, uriah heep or ufo but be bop deluxe was in a very similar genere, i am very happy with the mastering on these but if you are a real audophile fuss then i would reccomend you try to find the japan papersleeve remasters from 2007 becouse they sound a bit more crisp then this, if not i think this box set will do you real good, its great...................................

I am a consummate music snob, which means 1) I listen to plenty of obscure indie crap, 2) I avoid most popular music unless it's REALLY good, and 3) most people hate me. But I cannot praise BBD enough. I discovered this band some years ago by accident online. Yet their music immediately sounded familiar to me. I assumed this was due to derivativeness, yet something about it kept bugging me. Then I figured it out.It wasn't that BBD copied other bands; it was that THEY CAME FIRST. Bill Nelson pretty much invented the prog/pop hybrid so common in the late 70s and early 80s. Basically, almost every prog-pop band that followed BBD either imitated them, or stole from them outright. Listen to "Life In The Air Age" (1976) and then Rush's "Spirit Of Radio" (1980), and tell me they don't have an almost identical song structure. Or listen to late Starcastle or 1978 Yes, and you can hear BBD's poppier influence all over their prog-rooted music. Nelson's prescience was uncanny.

I have begun listening to this compilation boxed set of the world's greatest rock band. The mastering job for the albums Axe Victim and Futurama sound a little better than the original CD pressings that were released in the 1980s. These albums have not been released in years and are not very available at an affordable price. The fifth disc in the set contains unreleased demos and live recordings of the Modern Music material which has never been released before. I admittedly haven't listened to disc five yet. I did hear a little of the modern music suite at the Nelsonica convention a few years ago. It was awesome ! The CD booklet has liner notes and trivia facts about the band and the recording of the albums. If you like this band, you can't pass up this opportunity to get all of their recordings and then some !

What a shame - a fantastic selection of Be-Bop Deluxe music but torturously terrible sound, like an old cassette, not a cd. A real shame.

I forgot how great these guys were. All I could find on CD was their "Live!! In The Air Age" album, so when I saw that I could get all the studio albums in one 5 disc collection, I didn't hesitate. A wonderful band with catchy tunes and decent musicianship. Songs I was happy to reacquaint myself with include "No Trains To Heaven", the studio versions of "Sister Seagull" and "Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape", not to mention the "Modern Music Suite", "Terminal Street" and "Crying To The Sky". And there are many equally interesting tracks that I'd forgotten about. These guys should have been huge.

Let's get this straight, Bill Nelson is a genius. As a Be-Bop Deluxe fan I have all their cds anyway! But I bought this for disc 5 which contains must have unreleased material. It's also fun to hear the single edits which are included. One thing I can't get hold of and that's Face In The Rain on cd. Can anyone help please? 😈

I have the single albums (er, "CDs") but nonetheless I bought this and like having them all in one case. I never thought I'd hear him blazing on the guitar again until his recent "Live" cd, which I also liked. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if they had remained together, by-passing the his punk/electronic era, but artists have to go their own way.

These 5 discs of guitar rock and roll (with a glam not overdone) are exactly what I wanted. I've got Bill Nelson solo works from later on, which are delightful in their own way. But, when it comes to rocking, this set covers my favorite Be Bop Deluxe and adds previously unreleased gems. It's like I'm discovering '70s rock all over again. The discs seem long enough to justify a 5-CD set, not just short ones that could have been done with less discs.

Years ago I purchased 'Futurama' and 'Modern Music' on vinyl and felt then as I do now, that BBD were a major talent that should been a lot more commercially successful then was the case in reality. This is truly a great set- it's very comprehensive, nicely packaged (sleevenotes are informative if a tad anodyne)and it is reasonably priced.The demo material is of some merit, especially the rather intriguing 'Heavenly Homes' and 'The Saxophonist',but as you'd expect they are works in progress and must be appreciated in that same spirit.However having all the studio albums in place confirmed a suspicion that Bill - great guitarist, musical visionary and on his day inspired songwriter that he was and is,could have a been little more inclusive in terms of collaboration with other band members. This might have led to more consistency and perhaps a little less of the occasionally overwrought,needlessly intricate arrangements that tend to clutter things up a rather too much on occasion.I'm not sure that Bill was ever really comfortable with the idea that BBD were a 'straight ahead' rock band. Bill's musical vision stretched from the sublime pop-rock of 'Maid in Heaven' to the fascinating but bizarrely off-kilter art-song that is 'Futuristic Manifesto' and then into areas that might be described as jazz fusion.Perhaps he was and is, an artist for whom musical labels mean nothing, leaving it very difficult for audiences to precisely identify exactly what brand 'Nelson' stands for,hence his relatively limited appeal.I brought this set so that I could get my hands on 'Futurama','Modern Music' and individual tracks such as the beautiful 'Visions of Endless Hopes' and the stunning 'Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape'. 'Axe Victim' has its moments with tracks like 'Rocket Cathedrals' but remastering has has not disguised the quasi demo like feel of the production. 'Drastic Plastic' sounds like an experiment that stretched the idea of what Nelson could put out under the BBD moniker way to far for the existing fan base. It was a brave experiment but the songs for the most part are not amongst Bill's better efforts and they tend to groan under the weight of the arrangements.In summation then -I rate this set. I must confess I thought the remastering could have been a bit sharper, especially 'Futurama', an album that sounds great on vinyl as you'll appreciate if you are ever lucky enough ever to track down a decent copy. If you are a guitar player, this collection is definitely required listening. Bill is astonishing through out- his tone, taste and ability to create excitement puts him in the premier league of guitarists.In my opinion, Bill Nelson could just about anyone a run for their money- he is simply brilliant.So, despite my quibbles and groans, this is a great set and very good value. Recommended.

Be Bop Deluxe was a sui generis band in the 1970s. With tinges of Bowie, Roxy Music, hard rock, and progressive rock, Bill Nelson's band had a brief career with five studio albums and one live album. I was a fan back in the 1970s, and saw the band live once, in New York City. Over the years, I had some of their music, but when I saw this box set recently at a bargain price, I grabbed it.It's great to get remastered versions of all these albums, with so many memorable songs, and such great guitar work by Nelson. There are lots of bonus tracks, which aren't really that essential; I'd have preferred getting Live in the Air Age, the band's seminal live album, instead of a CD of B-sides and demos. But if you've ever heard and liked any of Be Bop Deluxe's music, this is a must-have set. If not, and you like guitar-tinged rock, that is far from the usual FM radio tropes, you should check out Be Bop Deluxe.

I first became interested in music at about the time that Be Bop Deluxe disbanded; I gradually accumulated their albums on vinyl but they were never a particular favourite. When the CD era dawned I didn't upgrade their albums and for many years my only BBD on CD was the BBC in concert disc. Listening to them now I am struck by how fresh and modern most of it sounds and how they have leapfrogged most of their rock contemporaries in my estimation.This collection has (to the best of my knowledge) every studio recording they made, including singles and rarities, so it ideal for people such as myself rediscovering the canon and also for anyone who hasn't indulged before but values intelligent rock music: they are in for a treat. For the hardened fan the main attraction is likely to be disc five which features previously unreleased demos and a large slice of previously unreleased live material, mainly versions from Modern Music which to my mind is their masterpiece.Absolutely recommended.

This is a very nice set and it really does illustrate what a fantastic band Be Bop Deluxe was. We're so lucky to have all this wonderful music to listen to!I have to confess though that I was hoping for a little more from the remastering, particularly where 'Sunburst Finish' is concerned. The original CD sounded pretty flat and lifeless when compared to the vinyl edition and, unfortunately, the version presented here doesn't sound any better in my opinion.The other albums always did sound OK on the CD format so no complaints about those, although a few 5.1 surround sound remixes would've been welcomed and might've made the set a little more interesting :-)

Be-bop are a band who for a while teetered on the brink of greatness but are now largely and as this collection shows only too well unfairly forgotten. I mean when was the last time you heard a be-bop song on the radio. Yet listening to this now, much of which I haven't heard for more years than I care to remember, and it still sounds fresh sharp and relevant. With the added bonus that buying the albums in this set was several pounds cheaper than buying them individually and it takes up less room on the shelf.