Mercury U.K.'s 2000 reissue of the first
Teardrop Explodes album is the one to own for more reasons than one. Not only does the remastering job make a great improvement over the previous incarnations of
Kilimanjaro, but this edition adds tracks from the Japanese-only Kirimanjalo EP, all of which have been unavailable for years. The one thing that this edition seems to be missing is the early mix of "Reward," which could be found on the 1996 U.K. issue of the album. Perhaps they opted not to include it for redundancy's sake, since an alternate, more polished version of the song appears as part of the Kirimanjalo bonuses. Those who previously owned the U.S. version of the record will be pleased to have "Bouncing Babies" and "Second Head," since that version inexplicably didn't include those songs. Regardless of all these small details, it makes for a great package and a sound investment. The 24-bit remastering is extremely complementary to the band's wide-eyed, full arrangements, and the less cohesive bonus tracks should satisfy those who find the album proper to be too samey. Twenty years after its original release,
Kilimanjaro remains one of the finest new wave/post-punk records of the time. With this edition, it shows no signs of depreciation. ~ Andy Kellman