What started as an unforgettable live experience, and one of the band’s first performances after 16 years, now turns into an extraordinary live album, film & book.
The Comeback Special is released on Friday 29th October 2021 and will be available in multiple audio as well as video formats.
The highlight of this multi-format release is an exquisitely designed 136-page art book, which tells the whole story behind The Comeback Special with hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos, film stills, contributions and stories, as well as 6 discs including exclusive audio content, plus director Tim Pope’s film of the concert on both Blu-ray and DVD.
The Art Book features:
- Previously unseen artwork by Andy Dog, lyrics to all songs on the set list, a foreword by Pete Paphides, contributions by band members and collaborators
- ‘Conversations by Candlelight’, a Radio Cinéola broadcast over a bottle of Jura whiskey with Matt Johnson and Tim Pope + acoustic snippets of selected songs
- ‘Book Narration’, a Radio Cinéolabroadcast with Matt Johnson and Jackson Ewald Johnson offering a guided tour of the book
- ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic’ (interview + 6 acoustic performances at KCRW in LA during the tour: ‘The Beat(en) Generation’, ‘Heartland’, ‘This Is The Day, ‘Slow Emotion Replay’, ‘Armageddon Days’, ‘Lonely Planet’)
- Exclusive 10” vinyl featuring ‘DJ Food’s ‘Stolen Moments’ remix of ‘Global Eyes’ and ‘I Saw The Light’ performed at Festival No. 6 (only available on the official album store)
In celebration of Tim Pope’s film of the concert, THE THE will hold a premiere of the film accompanied by a Q&A (with Matt Johnson, Tim Pope and special guests) on October 1st at the Troxy in London. Fans who have purchased an item via the official album shop will have exclusive access to the tickets before the general sale starts on July 8th, 10am BST.
As another highlight of the new release, THE THE have also launched a variety of new exclusive merch items and bundles on the official album webstore: https://thethe.tmstor.es/
The track listing of the live performance across all formats is as follows:
- Global Eyes
- Sweet Bird Of Truth
- Flesh & Bones
- Heartland
- The Beat(en) Generation
- Armageddon Days (are here again)
- A Long Hard Lazy Apprenticeship
- We Can’t Stop What’s Coming
- Phantom Walls
- Love Is Stronger Than Death
- Dogs Of Lust
- Helpline Operator
- This Is The Night
- This Is The Day
- Soul Catcher
- Bugle Boy
- Beyond Love
- Slow Emotion Replay
- (Like a) Sun Rising Thru My Garden
- Infected
- I’ve Been Waiting For Tomorrow (all of my life)
- True Happiness (this way lies)
- Uncertain Smile
- Lonely Planet
In addition to the beautifully designed 136-page Art Book, The Comeback Special will also be available as a Limited Edition 2CD mediabook, Triple LP, Limited Edition Triple LP (Crystal Clear), DVD mediabook, Blu-ray mediabook. All formats are available for pre-order now: https://TheThe.lnk.to/TheComebackSpecial
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The Royal Albert Hall concert was the first of a trio of London shows – the others taking place at Brixton Academy and the Troxy – all of which sold out within minutes of going on sale.
Performing live for the first time in 16 years with a headline appearance at Denmark’s Heartland Festival a few days before the Royal Albert Hall concert, the rejuvenated THE THE, which featured previous members James Eller on bass, DC Collard on keyboards and Earl Harvin on drums and new member Barrie Cadogan on guitar alongside Matt Johnson, would go on to play sold-out shows and make festival headline appearances across the globe throughout 2018.
PRAISE FOR THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL CONCERT:
“Part comeback, part requiem, all extraordinary”
– James Hall, The Telegraph
“Johnson’s great achievement is to have made a body of work that is completely original, yet flows smoothly into the slipstream of accessible, socially conscious alternative rock.”
– Will Hodgkinson, The Times
“Johnson retains a gravel-voiced gravitas, and his band are taut and kinetic on barbed missiles such as ‘Armageddon Days (are here again)’… THE THE really shouldn’t leave it 16 years until their next tour.”
– Ian Gittins, The Guardian
“THE THE sound very much like a band revitalized… Johnson may not have sung publicly for years, but there’s little doubt he’s been practising his scales in private.”
– Jeremy Allen, The Independent