The Soft Bulletin is one of the most popular albums on AM and one of the most acclaimed albums of all-time...but unlike most albums of it's generation there are multiple tracklists, complete with different songs and different mixes.

I was unaware of this distinction until a few days ago, when my friend mentioned the 5.1 version. I checked out the stereo mix included in that reissue and was blown away by the alternate mixes of certain songs, and the inclusion of the song "Slow Motion", an excellent song that had no right being stricken from the U.S. CD.


So what's your favorite tracklist? The U.S., UK, or 5.1?

I have the UK version, and I really enjoy the double Superman/Race comeback but it is a bit odd.

Furthermore, I wonder what version they'll play when they do it in full in concert (I'm seeing them! )

I didn't appreciate The Soft Bulletin until I heard the 5.1 version. The original mixes are far superior to the remixes on the 1999 discs. The track order has been tweaked for flow. And it is a must to have both "The Spiderbite Song" and "Slow Motion." Also, the band have themselves called the 5.1 the "definitive" version. It was such a difference that I still wonder if all the critics who placed The Soft Bulletin on their lists somehow got hold of this version before we did.

agreed. it's the only album i own twice (surprise, anyone?), because the original UK edition (which, by pure accident, turned out to be the german edition as well) will always be my cathartic P.Klee-got-'nlightened-strucked-by-Tunisia-in-1914-nostalgia-fandom-woomphsplashpiece, while the 5.1 one is like the really real Blade Runner cut. i love them both..

cool. once in a while, even WE both seem to agree. AMF, fuck yeah..