UK LP: GTO, GTLP 044
Released 25 March 1981
A1. They All Run after the Carving Knife 5.52
A2. Areas 4.10
A3. Churches 4.53
A4. This World of Walter 2.55
A5. Luxury 3.48
A6. While You Wait 5.05
B7. Changing Minds 4.52
B8. Peace 5.14
B9. Design 3.44
B10. Traps 4.03
B11. Division 4.20
B12. Back To Room One 4.15
The cassette release contained two bonus tracks, 'And' and 'Under Attack', not on the vinyl LP.
UK CASSETTE: GTO, GTMC 044
Released 25 March 1981
A1. They All Run after the Carving Knife 5.52
A2. Areas 4.10
A3. Churches 4.53
A4. This World of Walter 2.55
A5. Luxury 3.48
A6. While You Wait 5.05
A7. Under Attack 4.04
B8. Changing Minds 4.52
B9. Peace 5.14
B10. Design 3.44
B11. Traps 4.03
B12. Division 4.20
B13. Back To Room One 4.15
B14. And 4.37
Several CD releases exist, with the 12 vinyl LP tracks plus bonus tracks as follows:
AUSTRIAN CD: GTO 474615-2
Released April 1994
13. The Office 4.28
14. From the Village 3.29
15. Guitars 3.29
UK CD: Edsel EDCD 679 (titled 'Anywhere... plus')
Released 26 Feb 2001
13. The Office 4.28
14. From the Village 3.29
15. Guitars 3.29
JAPANESE CD: Sony/Epic EICP 7016
Released 19 Dec 2001
13. The Office 4.28
14. While You Wait (12" version) 5.55
15. From the Village 3.56 (including the 26 sec 'Kingdoms Snippet')
16. Guitars 3.29
UK CD: Cherry Red CDLEMD 182 (2CD set combined with 'From A to B')
Released 17 Jan 2011
13. The Office 4.30
14. From the Village 3.31
15. Guitars 3.31
UK 2LP: MOVLP2867 (2LP 180g blue marble vinyl titled 'Anywhere Expanded')
Released February 2022 (Note: there is a fault on track D2 While You wait 12" - see comments below)
A1. They All Run after the Carving Knife
A2. Areas
A3. Churches
A4. This World of Walter
B1. Luxury
B2. While You Wait
B3. Changing Minds
B4. Peace
C1. Design
C2. Traps
C3. Division
C4. Back To Room One
D1. The Office
D2. While You Wait (12" version)
D3. From the Village
D4. Guitars
Track Information / Packaging...
Released in March 1981, the original LP (GTLP 044) contained 12 tracks, 6 tracks per side. Notably the cassette release (GTMC 044) contained 2 bonus tracks; Under Attack at the end of side 1, and 'And' at the end of side 2. The sticker on the cassette release erroneously stated Guitars and 'And' as the bonus tracks. There are no known other variations on the LP/cassette format. This release, unlike From A to B and Warp, was released as a full gatefold cover. No inner sleeve has ever been seen. Early batches included a green sticker on the front advertising the single Luxury.
In 1994 the album appeared for the first time on CD (GTO 474615-2), supplemented by 3 bonus tracks not included on the original album; The Office (B side to Luxury), and From the Village & Guitars (both from the B side to While You Wait). The CD comes with a multi-page booklet which includes lyrics, and the "polaroid" picture of the band from the LP gatefold.
In February 2001 UK label Edsel released the album on CD titled 'Anywhere... plus' (Edsel EDCD 679). In common with the "plus" edition of From A to B the packaging is quite different from other releases. The booklet is multi-page and includes an article on the Anywhere album. Unlike 'From A to B... plus' however there are no additional bonus tracks beyond the 3 included on the 1994 CD. So, to all intents and purposes, this release is identical to the 1994 release (other than the packaging).
In December 2001 the Japanese release appeared (Sony/Epic EICP 7016). In time-honoured fashion the Japanese release includes two previously unavailable additions to the bonus tracks already available. Firstly the 12" version of While You Wait is included. Secondly, From the Village is 30 seconds longer than previous releases thanks to the inclusion of a short snippet of instrumental music which has come to be known as the "Kingdoms Snippet" (thanks to it reappearing on the Warp track Kingdoms for Horses). This short snippet was included on the original B side to While You Wait, but not on either of the previous CDs. The booklet is multi page and includes the lyrics (both in Japanese and English) and an article in Japanese which is presumably the story of the album and/or the band history. One page has a listing of many of the band's singles, including thumbnail photos. Intriguingly the photo for the Carving Knife single has never actually been seen in the flesh.
With time all these CD variants became scarce and started to attract high prices on the 2nd hand market, with some sellers asking over 100 UK pounds.
In January 2011 a 4th CD variant appeared on the UK label Cherry Red (CDLEMD 182). This time Anywhere is packaged together with From A to B as a 2CD set. The 3 bonus tracks are the same as the 1994 and 2001 "plus" releases. The packaging is based on a background of Anywhere, overlaid with the two album covers. There is an extensive booklet with copious notes on the band and its output.
In 2022 Music On Vinyl released all 3 New Musik albums in 2LP 180g coloured vinyl editions, each release limited to 1500 copies. Anywhere comes in its original gatefold format. The vinyl is a blue marble effect. The tracks are the same as the Japanese CD release, with the exception that the Kingdoms For Horses snippet is missing. Also, see comments below about a problem with the 12" version of While You Wait.
CD Remastering / Sound Quality...
The over-riding opinion on all of the Anywhere CDs is that the sound quality is excellent. However, each release is slightly different - primarily in terms of volume. The wave images can be compared in the Misc Gallery and form the basis of much of the comment here.
The 1994 GTO release is noticeably quieter than other versions. It is suspected that this version has had the least remastering and is, therefore, potentially the closest representation of the original master tape. And closest in sound to the original vinyl LP. The 2001 "plus" release seems to have had the volume boosted significantly. Indeed the wave form suggests that the boost has gone beyond a simple normalisation of the volume to 100%, and this may be an early example of the remastering technique which has become popularly known as "loudness wars". The 2001 Japanese release has also had the volume boosted, however it looks like this is a more straight forward volume normalisation to 100%. However the wave form of the quieter tracks (eg Areas) suggest the normalisation has been done on a track-by-track basis which means that any (intended) relative volume differences between tracks may have been lost. The 2011 Cherry Red wave forms look very similar to the 2001 "plus" release hence the same "loudness" approach seems to have been adopted. Which CD version you prefer will largely depend on the listening situation.
As previously mentioned, the pervasive opinion seems to be that they all sound great. However, the original 1994 release may well sound more refined in ideal listening circumstances, but for on-the-move situations the other releases (especially the "plus" and Cherry Red releases) will likely sound clearer and more dynamic.
The 2022 Expanded vinyl reissue has a major issue with the 12" version of while you wait. It sounds like it was recorded to vinyl at a very slow speed, and is unrecognisable. Here is the statement from the manufacturers Music On Vinyl...
"We have received some complaints about New Musik – Anywhere – MOVLP2867. There appears to be an issue with one track on side D “While You Wait (12" Mix)“. Consumers who purchased a copy with this issue, should return this to point of purchase. Our apologies – the error will be corrected with the new pressing of this release. Music On Vinyl."
