The Alarm - Strength 1985-1986 (2 x CD)

CD 1:
1. Knife Edge
2. Strength
3. Dawn Chorus
4. Spirit of ‘76
5. Deeside
6. Father to Son
7. Only the Thunder
8. The Day the Ravens Left the Tower
9. Absolute Reality
10. Walk Forever by My Side
11. Strength (7” Single Version)
12. Majority (Strength B-Side) /
13. Strength (Power Mix)
14. Absolute Reality (Impromptu Acoustic Version)
15. Spirit of ‘76 (7” Single Version)
16. Caroline Isenberg (Knife Edge B-Side)

CD 2:
1. Intro
2. Get It On
3. Dawn Chorus (Outtake From Roundhouse Studios)
4. Summertime Blues
5. Knife Edge (Rough Mix From Roundhouse Studios)
6. Alarm Alarm
7. Radar Love
8. Only the Thunder (Outtake From Marcus Studios)
9. Burn
10. Spirit of ‘76 (Outtake From Marcus Studios)
11. Walk on the Wild Side
12. Father to Son (Outtake From Marcus Studios)
13. Vicious
14. Deeside (Outtake From Marcus Studios)
15. All Right Now
16. Absolute Reality (Outtake From Marcus Studios)
17. Unknown
18. The Day the Ravens Left the Tower (Outtake From Marcus Studios)
19. Communication Breakdown
20. One Step Closer to Home (Outtake From Marcus Studios)
21. Maggie May
22. Maggie’s Farm
23. Stand Down Margaret
24. Brass Band
25. Walk Forever by My Side (Outtake From Marcus Studios)
26. Outro

CD 1 features the US album along with the original 1985 7” version of Strength (with the guitar / vocal beginning), that has never been issued on CD before along with the 1986 7” single version of ‘Spirit Of ‘76’ which is also making its first ever appearance on CD. All four original ‘Strength’ period B-sides are included also.

CD 2 features 22 previously unreleased album session recordings including outtake versions (with different lyrics and guitar parts), for every song on Strength including an outtake of the unreleased electric version of ‘One Step Closer To Home’. An in studio jam session of spontaneous and impromptu covers of Led Zeppelin, The Who, Free, T-Rex, Lou Reed and Deep Purple are featured between tracks along with a complete run through of the previously unreleased live in the studio version of Rod Stewart’s Maggie May which segues into re-workings of The Beats ‘Stand Down Margaret’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘Maggie’s Farm’, providing a fascinating insight into The Alarm working together in the studio on the way to creating their magnum opus.