When Beggars Banquet reissued the Go-Betweens catalog in 2002, each album was remastered and repackaged with a bonus disc of rarities -- except, inexplicably, 16 Lovers Lane. In 2004 Bernard MacMahon's fine Lo-Max label (and Jet Set in the U.S.) has finally set the record straight and given this classic of 1980s Aussie pop the treatment it deserves. The band's final recording is delivered in stellar slipcased, double-disc form, utterly remastered by Bill Inglot and Dave Schultz, in a handsome package loaded with lyrics, photos, and utterly cool, unabashedly fan-boy liner notes by Andrew Male. And while the brilliant sonics and killer box is something to write home about, it's the bonus disc that is the real prize for fans. The actual bonus material begins at the end of disc one, where, tacked on to the album is a CD-Rom section with two different videos for "Streets of Your Town," and one for "Was There Anything I Could Do?." Disc Two contains ten cuts, beginning with the single version of "Love Goes On" (remixed by Tony Visconti). Unreleased session cuts like "Wait Until June," "Casanova's Last Words," "Mexican Postcard," and "Rock and Roll Friend" didn't make the album cut, but were close to finished versions and are presented here regally. Demos of three other songs, "You Won't Find It Again," "Apples in Bed," and "Head Over Heels" -- sung and played by only Grant McLennan and Robert Forster on acoustic guitars -- are stunning, naked moments that echo the most vulnerable moments on the album itself. Add to this a live version of "Running the Risk of Losing You," recorded during the band's last performance at a bar in Sydney, and a wonderfully rough, intimate version of Bob Dylan's "You're a Big Girl Now," recorded at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica in 1988. Played by Forster, McLennan, and violinist Amanda Brown, it is unplugged, nearly unmic'ed. Forster's vocal is wracked with emotion. This set is the boss treatment, in fact the only fitting treatment for 16 Lovers Lane, one of the greatest pop records of all time, even if most of the world doesn't know it yet. Fans will have to have this, but even more, those interested in checking out what all the fuss is about the Go-Betweens and this album in particular could be no better-served than by this platter as an introduction.
Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express was the beginning of the Go-Betweens' crossover into more elegant and refined pop territory. "Robert Forster's endearingly fey persona, equal parts Bryan Ferry and gangly bookstore clerk, reaches full flower on the Go-Betweens' fourth album, which tempers the angularity and occasional claustrophobia of the band's previous work with a new airiness and nervous romanticism. The lighter sound can be partly attributed to the growing influence of co-leader Grant McLennan, whose wistful "Cattle and Cane" and "Bachelor Kisses" lent grace to the Go-Betweens' sometimes stilted early records... Liberty Belle is by no means free of the old Go-Betweens' edge (the brooding "Twin Layers of Lightning" is proof of that), but it is the pervading warmth and rueful humor of this release that make it so accessible and such a delight." Obviously, Bernard MacMahon and his Lo-Max Records label (and Jet Set in the United States) took that to heart when plotting out the reissue of the Go-Betweens' last three original albums, this one, Tallulah, and 16 Lovers Lane. Like the others, Liberty Belle is offered in a deluxe slipcase edition which contains two artfully remastered CDs (by Bill Inglot and Dave Schultz), a booklet with a load of photos, complete lyrics and sessions notes and a personal and humorous liner essay by Andrew Mueller. The album as originally released is presented on disc one. Added to its tag end are videos for "Spring Rain," and "Head Full of Steam," the two big singles from the set. American audiences will be suitably pleased with these since they aren't available anywhere else. Disc two hosts 11 bonus cuts. The first surprise is a spanking new version of "Don't Let Him Come Back." It was recorded and mixed in July of 1985, three months before the rest of the album was recorded. This one stands in sharp contrast to early versions of "The Wrong Road" and "Bow Down," also recorded at the same session, in that this one boasts a slightly different arrangement than the officially issued version. The bonus CD also sports the single version of "Head Full of Steam," and a radio session of "Apology Accepted." The rest of the tracks are, fantastically, unreleased and rare cuts that either didn't make the finished album or were recorded for other purposes or never used. These include a live cover of "I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door," which was recorded at the Boston Arms, and Liberty Belle cast-offs like the beautiful "The Life at Hand," as well as "Little Joe," and "Reunion Dinner." In all, this is a brilliant package, presenting a final, definitive picture of the Go-Betweens at an important creative juncture that ultimately shifted their aesthetic approach to both recording and writing.
