House Of Love, The
Deluxe Vinyl Edition

Listening notes

Released in 2013 on Optic Nerve Recordings (catalog number OPT4.010), the Deluxe Vinyl Edition box set from The House of Love is a substantial physical release spanning ten sides of vinyl across what the tracklist layout indicates is at least five records, plus a bonus 7-inch. The set is catalogued under the genres of Alternative Rock, Britpop, and Rock.

The tracklist runs to fifty-two tracks across sides A through J, with sides A and B presenting what appears to be a core album sequence — titles including "Christine," "Hope," "Road," "Sulphur," "Salome," and "Touch Me" among others. Sides C and D continue with further album material, among them "Shine On," "Real Animal," "Loneliness Is A Gun," "Destroy The Heart," and "Blind."

A significant portion of the set is devoted to supplementary material. Sides E and F include demo recordings — among them a Guy Chadwick solo demo of "Shine On," 16-track demos of "Christine," "Real Animal," and "Hold On Me," and a track labelled "Modern World (Demo - Alias Welt)" — alongside live recordings including "I Don't Know Why I Love You Like I Do (Unreleased Live)" and a cover of "I Wanna Be Your Dog (Live)." A variant titled "Shine On (Fuck Version)" also appears on side F.

Sides G through J are occupied primarily by alternative versions of tracks already present elsewhere in the set, covering titles such as "Salome," "Man To Child," "Hope," "Love In A Car," "Road," and "Sulphur," among others. The bonus 7-inch, occupying the E1 and E2 positions, presents demo versions of "Shine On" and "Christine."

The scope of the tracklist suggests this was conceived as a comprehensive archival release, though the verified facts on hand do not allow for further conclusions about its context or contents beyond what the track listing itself records.