The first Klaatu album (known in Canada as "3:47 EST" and as "Klaatu" everywhere else in the world) has seen the most releases. It was released for the first time on CD in 1989 by Capitol Records in the US, and then by Justin Records in Canada, Capitol Records again as part of a 2-on-1 disc with Hope, Attic Records in Canada, CCM in the US (Collector's Choice Music) as part of a 2-on-1 disc with Hope, and BGO Records in England (Beat Goes On) as part of a 2-on-1 disc with Hope. All of these issues except the very first Capitol one and the Attic one were lacking in quality. Most sounded outright poor compared to the 1976 vinyl issue. The one most sought after by collectors has been the Attic release which had the best sound quality.
Each CD release had poor packaging except the BGO release, but the BGO release decided to dedicate the focus of their liner notes to the Beatles rumor instead of anything substantial about the band.
Most of these CD reissues are out of print now.
It's now been re-mastered with loving care paid to the minute details and overall sound quality and reissued with superb liner notes and photos (and LYRICS!) by Bullseye Records in Canada (in December of 2001). This is without a doubt the most stunning remastering done for this masterpiece and the booklet just makes it that much more enjoyable. The sound quality on this release actually exceeds the original vinyl releases. The remastering was supervised by John Woloschuk and Terry Draper themselves along with the president of Bullseye Records, Jaimie Vernon. This is without a doubt THE version of this album to have, no matter what country in the world you are in. If you're listening to this album from any other source, you're not hearing it in all it's splendor.
So where can you buy it you ask?
You can get it directly from Bullseye Records.
The second album, Hope, has also been reissued a number of times on CD. It's been out on a 2-for-1 CD by Capitol Records, Justin Records in Canada, Attic Records in Canada, CCM in the US as part of a 2-on-1 disc with "Klaatu", and BGO records in England as part of a 2-on-1 disc with "Klaatu". Every one of these releases except the Attic release has suffered from deplorable sound quality. Except for the Justin, Attic and BGO releases, the album has been edited on every CD release. The BGO release has major problems with the track IDs (completely missing one and adding one where there's not a new song).
All of these reissues have had lousy packaging except the BGO release, but the BGO release again is focused on the Beatles rumor and not on anything substantive about the band or the music on the CD.
Most of these CD releases are out of print now.
It's also now been re-mastered with loving care paid to the minute details and overall sound quality and reissued with superb artwork (and LYRICS!) by Bullseye Records in Canada (in September of 2002). This is without a doubt the most stunning remastering done for this masterpiece and the booklet just makes it that much more enjoyable. Like 3:47 EST, the sound quality on this release actually exceeds the original vinyl releases. The remastering was supervised by John Woloschuk and Terry Draper themselves along with the president of Bullseye Records, Jaimie Vernon. This is without a doubt THE version of this album to have, no matter what country in the world you are in. If you're listening to this album from any other source, you're not hearing it in all it's splendor. (And if that sounds familiar, it's because the Bullseye Releases of the first two Klaatu albums are without a doubt the BEST releases of these recordings to date and are absolutely fabulous!)
So where can you buy it you ask?
You can get it directly from Bullseye Records.
The third album, Sir Army Suit, had only been released on one CD
prior to getting the awesome remastering treatment from Bullseye
Records. It had come out on a 2-on-1 release with Endangered
Species from Attic Records in Canada. The packaging was fair to poor.
The sound quality was good, but not outstanding. The master used for
Tokeymor Field was an incorrect one and the song is missing the phased
ending that the vinyl release had. It has also since come out on
a wonderful sounding disc from BGO, however, the booklet with the BGO
release still is fixated on the Beatles rumor. The Bullseye
Records release not only sounds wonderful, but it's got great liner
notes (with lyrics).
The Attic Records disc is currently out of print.
It's also now been re-mastered with loving care paid to the minute
details and overall sound quality and reissued with superb artwork (and
LYRICS!) by Bullseye Records in Canada (in August of 2003). Like 3:47
EST and Hope,
the sound quality on this release actually exceeds the original vinyl
releases. The fade outs on each song have been restored (all songs
faded early on the original Attic CD), the artwork has been restored,
and the lyrics have been included as well. Overall, I'd give this
a 10 out of 10 for quality. It's great!
So where can you buy it you ask?
You can get it directly from Bullseye Records.
The fourth album, Endangered Species, had only been released on one
CD
prior to getting the awesome remastering treatment from Bullseye
Records. It had come out on a 2-on-1 release with Sir Army
Suit from Attic Records in Canada. The packaging was fair to poor. The
sound quality was good, but not outstanding. The entire album is
slightly out of phase on this disc. If you press the mono button (if
you have one) on
your stereo you will notice that occasionally some of
the instruments seem to fluctuate slightly in volume. This is because
of phase cancellation caused by the disc being slightly out of
phase. It's since also been released by BGO on a 2-on-1 release
with Sir Army Suit, but while the sound is wonderful, the booklet again
leaves a lot to be desired. It's fixated on the Beatles rumor.
The Attic disc is currently out of print.
It's also now been re-mastered with loving care paid to the minute
details and overall sound quality and reissued with superb artwork (and
LYRICS!) by Bullseye Records in Canada (in August of 2003). Like 3:47
EST, Hope and Sir Army Suit,
the sound quality on this release actually exceeds the original vinyl
releases. The fade outs on each song have been restored (all songs
faded early on the original Attic CD), the artwork has been restored,
and the lyrics have been included as well. The phase problems of the
Attic CD were addressed, and the sound quality in general was greatly
improved. The warmth of this recording has been restored thanks
to Bullseye's attention to detail! Overall, I'd give this a 10
out of 10 for quality. It's great!
So where can you buy it you ask?
You can get it directly from Bullseye Records.
The fifth and final Klaatu album, Magentalane, from 1981, was originally released on vinyl only in Canada. Eventually Mexico also released the album with Spanish titles on the sleeve and labels. The album remained obscure until 1995. In 1995 it was released in the US on CD by Permanent Press Records. They became not only the first record company to release this album in the US, but also the first to release it on CD anywhere in the world. The following year saw releases in Canada by EMI and in Korea by Siwan. The Permanent Press and Siwan releases were done from the same exact digital master, and yet the Siwan release sounds the best for some reason. However, all three releases had superb sound quality.
The packaging on the Permanent Press and Siwan releases was good. The packaging on the EMI release was great, INCLUDING LYRICS!
This one will be getting the Bullseye remaster treatment some time soon (hopefully before the end of 2006). Although all 3 previous CDs sounded awesome, expect miracles here too. Bullseye's track record with the Klaatu catalog has been phenomenal! This one is sure to be great too!
In 1982 there was a posthumous greatest hits package called "Klaasic
Klaatu". There's nothing out of the ordinary on this album, although it
DOES have the 7" single edit of Calling Occupants on it. This album has
never seen the light of day on CD.
In 1993, Attic records released a compilation disc called "Peaks" on
CD and cassette. Again there's nothing out of the ordinary on this
album, but it's a great introduction to the band's music as it includes
some of their best work from all 5 albums. AND, it's got an absolutely
superb booklet with great information and pictures.
That version of "Peaks" is now out of
print, however Bullseye released a remastered version of it in April of
2003. Like the reissues of the first 4 albums, it too sounds
spectacular. If you're looking for a sampling from each of the 5
albums to see if you'd enjoy them, then this is the disc to get. It
contains some of their best songs from each of the 5 albums!
And again, you ask, where can I get the Bullseye disc?
You can get it directly from Bullseye
Records.
In 2005, Bullseye Records of Canada released two new Klaatu
products, each containing many never before released recordings. The
first of these is called SunSet and is a 2 CD set full of single mixes,
alternate unreleased mixes (including an entire alternate version of
the Hope album), live recordings, and unreleased recordings. It's
wonderfully packaged, and wonderfully mastered. If you're a real
big Klaatu fan, your eyes will pop open when you hear the music on this
set!
Also in 2005, Bullseye Records of Canada released an LP (yes, vinyl)
called Raarities which is similar to SunSet, but which is made up of
entirely different versions of tracks, not available anywhere else,
including not available on CD. This set also includes a live track.
Both of these products can be purchased from Bullseye
Records.
Terry Draper ventured into the world of solo releases with 1997's "Light Years Later". To promote the release, there was a live performance on February 15th, 1997 and another one the following April. Those performances were captured on tape and a limited edition release of a complete performance assembled from the two shows was released by Bullseye Records called "Live... Years Later. From the Cue to the Shoe".
Terry also released a children's cassette around the same time, along with an activity kit designed in conjunction with Klaatu album cover artist Ted Jones. That cassette was later turned into a full length CD called "Can You Pretend?" on Bullseye Records.
In 2001, Terry Draper released another solo album called "Civil War
(and other love songs)" along with an EP with some alternate tracks
from the Civil War sessions called "Civil War (Not Very)".
In 2003, Terry Draper released a compilation called "Aria 52".
This disc
contains several Draper rarities. It also includes the bonus
tracks that were originally on the Permanent Press release of Light
Years Later in the US.
All of these releases were put out by Bullseye Records, and "Light Years Later" was also released (with bonus tracks) by Permanent Press Records in the US. Permanent Press Records is now out of business and that version of the CD is no longer available.
Where can you get them? (I just knew you were going to ask...)You can get them directly from Bullseye Records.
NOTE: Terry has also appeared on the Bullseye Christmas disc, Takin'
Care Of Christmas, and the debut album from Dr. Lotech and the Minimal
Man, Journey
Into
Light. These releases are on Bullseye Records as well.
Dee Long has also ventured into the world of solo releases.
Dee released an EP called "Digital" in 1999 as a fore-runner to a full length double CD set. It contains some tracks that are not on the 2 CD set.
Dee released a 2 CD set in 1999 called "Been Here Before" (aka BHB4). It contained some really great recordings he had done as demos and studio tests over the years since Klaatu broke up, including some tracks recorded during a time when he worked at George Martin's Air Studios in the UK. This 2 cd set is DEFINITELY worth checking out if you like Dee's tracks with Klaatu.
Dee also released two tracks in MP3 format for a Millenium Celebration on the internet. The songs were early versions of Chromosome Syndrome and Wait For You, which later came out on the "Outside" album in revised form.
Dee has released another solo album of ALL NEW RECORDINGS
called "Outside". Again, another outstanding album and one you
shouldn't miss! This disc includes new mixes of Chromosome Syndrome and
Wait For You among many other fantastic tunes!
Dee ventured into the world of computer animation and compositing
animation with live action and released a DVD of several tracks from
the Outside CD. This DVD is called "Outside of Time and Space" and
comes packaged with a bonus CD of alternate versions of tracks from the
Outside CD, as well as some songs unavailable elsewhere.
In March of 2005, Dee performed live in Toronto as a solo artist for the very first (and so far, only) time. This was captured for release and has since been released on CD. It's titled "Long Live and Prosper" and comes as an enhanced CD with two videos of songs from the live performance, "It's Good To Be Back Home" and "Chromosome Syndrome".
Dee's latest musical venture is a CD called "Welcome To The Future"
and is an awesome sounding, mostly acoustic set of all new songs.
In the early part of 2006, Dee began selling this disc as a Lightscribe
CD-R from his website (http://www.deelong.com)
and it will also be coming out as a regular manufactured (pressed) CD
on Bullseye Records in spring 2006.
All of these releases were put out by Bullseye Records.
You can get them directly from Dee at (http://www.deelong.com) or from Bullseye Records.
And for a REAL treat, check out the Dee Long home page!
In addition to the above information, you MAY be able to find some Klaatu vinyl on e-bay or gemm, and you might even find some of the lower quality CD releases out there too. If you're REALLY lucky, you'll find the Bullseye releases on CD.
For details and links of where I look for out of print and rare releases, you can check out this page.Xenon Laboratories Incorporated Universal Currency Converter
Last Update: March 23rd, 2006
by Dave Bradley