STREAM [Hurricane of Change]

A BRAND NEW MASTER RECORDING BASED ON THE WORKS OF EYE OF THE HURRICANE AND CHANGE

Released October 1st 2019 exclusively via www.thealarm.com

The collection is available to pre-order here.

On October 1st 2019, Mike Peters will release a brand new LIMITED EDITION Alarm masterwork entitled STREAM [Hurricane of Change].

STREAM [Hurricane of Change] is a limited edition collection released exclusively via www.thealarm.com   

The collection includes:

• STREAM [Hurricane of Change] Double CD Edition – 39 Tracks including brand new songs and narration by Mike Peters.
• EYE OF THE HURRICANE [30th Anniversary Vinyl Edition] 10 track re-imagined vinyl version of the 1987 original.
• CHANGE [30th Anniversary Vinyl Edition] 12 track re-imagined vinyl version of the 1989 original.
• ELECTRIC FOLKLORE LIVE [30th Anniversary CD Edition]. Mike Peters recorded in concert at the Norwegian Church, Cardiff.
• COLLECTORS TOTE BAG
• LIMITED EDITION ‘500’ NUMBERED ART CARD Personally Signed by Mike Peters.

This brand new release from The Twenty First Century Recording Company is only available exclusively through www.thealarm.com and will not be made available anywhere else in this format (see below for artwork, track listings and recording information).

The collection is available to pre-order here.

STREAM [Hurricane of Change] will take listeners on a unique musical adventure that flows both downstream and upstream, telling a moving autobiographical story as lived and breathed by Mike Peters and The Alarm from 1986-1990. 

The double CD Edition features 39 pieces of brand new recorded music, all joined together by a Mike Peters spoken word essay, that weaves a brand new narrative into the original lyrical DNA of such classic Alarm songs as Rain In The Summertime, Rescue Me, One Step Closer To Home, Sold Me Down The River and A New South Wales. There’s also a host of brand new song recordings including the raging acoustic guitar driven Irish Sea, and the dramatic Ballad of Randolph Turpin.

‘In order to capture the very essence of these classic / new Alarm songs, and to try and further understand what they truly mean to me for this, their 30th Anniversary. I went back and re-examined all the original lyrics from beginning to end,” says Mike Peters. “By reading the collected lyrics in chronological order from the first song created – A New South Wales (written for Eye of the Hurricane, but only released as the last song on Change), I was amazed to discover a whole new perspective, and by putting the lyrics in chronological order (and including songs I was unable to present at the time), I began to realise that I had unknowingly written a very autobiographical account of how my life (and the life of the band), played out in the second half of the nineteen eighties. By starting at the very beginning of the musical structure that these songs were born into, and following the lyrical narrative through to its natural conclusion, I was able to make sense of the songs in a completely new way.”

“I have often talked in interviews about the experience of leaving Wales at the beginning of the eighties, only to return through the creative process that gave birth to the Eye of The Hurricane, Electric Folklore and Change trilogy of albums”, continues Mike. “By looking at the lyrics afresh, I have now been able to fully realise what I was grasping for as a songwriter and lyricist in 1987-1989. Back then, my confidence had been blunted by a difficult creative process, and I had always privately felt that there was a lot more left to be discovered within the original body of music. With these new recordings, I have been able to realise a torrent of new possibilities and emotions and, in turn, draw them out of the very same songs. By recording STREAM [Hurricane of Change] in this new way, I feel that I have been able to liberate my original lyrical vision and re-present the music in a way that I believe, is just as relevant, if not more vital than ever before.”

STREAM [Hurricane of Change] has been produced in its entirety by George Williams who also produced Blood Red Viral Black, Equals and Sigma. 

“George Williams (the producer), listened to all my demos and suggested that I should really examine the song sequence”, continues Mike Peters. “George thought that the new directions I had pushed the music towards were really strong, but because there was so much material, a unifying track-listing needed to be found early on. I accepted the challenge, and began reading through the lyrics to see if I could find a common theme that would pull everything together as one. As soon as I looked at the words in this new way, I was inspired to write STREAM as a complete story, which in turn led me towards the idea of using narration as a bridge between the songs.

By the time we got to Sain Studios in North Wales to record (just after The Gathering on February 8th 2019,) I proposed to both George and Alarm drummer Smiley, that we create each piece of music in chronological order, so that our individual roles and performances could be informed by the context of the STREAM narrative. It was a revelation to literally go ‘Downstream’ through the music of Eye of the Hurricane on the first session and then a month later (on March 21st), travel back ‘Upstream’ with the songs of Change. A musical journey that inspired Smiley to perform at his absolute best, and myself to give what I believe, are some of the most emotive vocal performances of my entire career. Once we had completed the song cycle and with Jules helping out on piano and backing vocals, we all knew that something truly special had been created, and so from the 27th September, it’s going to be you – the listener’s turn to make the same musical journey as we did.”

I truly believe that Stream [Hurricane of Change], contains some of the best recorded music of my entire career, and I’m convinced that by sharing and recycling the music in this new exciting way, it will allow everyone who has ever loved the original Eye Of The Hurricane and Change albums to see them in a brand new light and to be able to enjoy them again – reborn.”

Stream [Hurricane of Change] will be released on Friday 27th September 2019 to coincide with the start of the Hurricane Of Change UK Tour. The Complete Collection is priced at £99.99 [plus p&p].

The collection is available to pre-order here.

STREAM [Hurricane of Change] – Double CD

Featuring 39 tracks including brand new songs – Ghosts of Rebecca, The Ballad of Randolph Turpin, Irish Sea and A New Day.

Artwork comes in a rigid cover double gate-fold CD sleeve, complete with the entire Stream story as written by Mike Peters, along with all the individual song lyrics and recording information.

DISC ONE – DOWNSTREAM

A NEW SOUTH WALES
NEWTOWN JERICHO
GHOSTS OF REBECCA
THE BALLAD OF RANDOLPH TURPIN
IRISH SEA
MY LAND YOUR LAND
HALLOWED GROUND
EYE OF THE HURRICANE
A ROSE BEYOND THE WALL
SHELTER
RESCUE ME
RAIN IN THE SUMMERTIME
ONLY LOVE CAN SET ME FREE
PERMANENCE IN CHANGE
WORLD ON FIRE
PRESENCE OF LOVE
A TIME TO BELIEVE
ONE STEP CLOSER TO HOME
ELDERS AND FOLKLORE

DISC TWO – UPSTREAM

WHERE A TOWN ONCE STOOD
NEW FRONTIERS
HARDLAND
BLACK SUN
THE FIRING LINE
CHANGE II
CORRIDORS OF POWER
HOW THE MIGHTY FALL
SOLD ME DOWN THE RIVER
BREAKING POINT
PRISON WITHOUT PRISON BARS
SCARLET
DEVOLUTION WORKING MAN BLUES
LOVE DON’T COME EASY
THE ROCK
RIVERS TO CROSS
CHANGE I
A NEW DAY

Eye of The Hurricane [30th Anniversary Edition] – Vinyl LP

Featuring re-imagined versions of all the tracks from the original 1987 LP.
Running order includes Rain In the Summertime, Presence of Love and Rescue Me.
Artwork includes the complete lyrics and full colour cover design by Dan Shearn.

SIDE ONE
RAIN IN THE SUMMERTIME
NEWTOWN JERICHO
HALLOWED GROUND
ONE STEP CLOSER TO HOME
SHELTER

SIDE TWO
RESCUE ME
PERMANENCE IN CHANGE
PRESENCE OF LOVE
ONLY LOVE CAN SET ME FREE
EYE OF THE HURRICANE

Electric Folklore Live [30th Anniversary Edition] – CD

Recorded live in concert at the Norwegian Church Cardiff in November 2017.
Features all the songs and stories from the 30th Anniversary Eye Of The Hurricane acoustic performance by Mike Peters.
Artwork includes a full colour cover design by Dan Shearn.

CD
A NEW SOUTH WALES
EYE OF THE HURRICANE
ONLY LOVE CAN SET ME FREE
PRESENCE OF LOVE
PERMANENCE IN CHANGE
RESCUE ME
SHELTER
ONE STEP CLOSER TO HOME
HALLOWED GROUND
NEWTOWN JERICHO
RAIN IN THE SUMMERTIME

Change [30th Anniversary Edition] – Vinyl LP

Featuring re-imagined versions of all the tracks from the original 1989 LP.
Running order includes Sold Me Down The River, Love Don’t Come Easy and A New South Wales.
Artwork includes the complete lyrics and full colour cover design by Dan Shearn.