Vinyl Icons

Original Lp

The version of the LP now dubbed the Indianapolis Press (it was pressed in that city and has an 'I' stamp on the runout groove) sees the picture of the group on a background Kathy Valentine has called 'a weird peach colour' [IRS SP7002].

On later pressings (stamped with 'Sterling' in the runout groove), the background is blue [pictured above] with the band's name in white lettering, while on the rear cover, among five photos of the band in a bath, the central one of Gina Schock has been reversed.

First CD

That Beauty And The Beat was released on CD in the US in 1984 [IRS CD70021] - a time when CD players were owned only by a wealthy few - surely reflects the elevated commercial status the band still enjoyed in their home country at that point. Yet there was no CD release at all on this side of the Atlantic until 2011 [see right], even after Belinda Carlisle's solo career went supersonic in the late '80s.

By the standards of early CDs, Beauty And The Beat is considered to be on the loud side, and the version that gets most approval is the one pressed in Japan with a dot matrix font on the code on the inside of the disc, denoting the original digital transfer version. Doubtless to the frustration of the band, the peach-coloured cover made a reappearance on the CD release, along with the non-flipped photograph of Schock on the back sleeve.

Expanded CD Reissues

In 2011 a 30th anniversary repackaging of the album was issued [Capitol 50999 02702728], housing a second disc with a 17-track live set from 1981. Here you can listen for yourself for the contrast between the band's frantic live sound and the polished studio incarnation the band were initially so dismayed by. Spoiler alert: it's not that different, and the energetic essence comes through nearly as well in the studio. Although perhaps inevitably, the sound quality from a polished-up 40-year-old bootleg also isn't the best.

For even more bonus material, a double-disc UK reissue from 2016 [Edsel EDSK 7103] throws in a further 11 demos, rehearsal recordings and live tracks.

Audiophile Vinyl

Reissued in Europe and the US at the same time as the expanded CD, the 30th anniversary vinyl [Capitol 50999 02702711] lacks the extra tracks, but is well remastered and comes on translucent pink vinyl [label pictured below].

You're unlikely to get much change out of £100 for a mint secondhand copy, so those not fussed about your platter colour should opt for the more widely available 2020 vinyl version, which is an equally good pressing of the same remastering by Chris Bellman [Capitol 602508848889].