As we bide our time this week until The Tipping Point on Friday, today’s quick question is: Did you miss out on the Seeds Of Love box?

When the 4CD+BluRay box came out in 2020, the limited inventory disappeared with predictable speed. However, 2021 saw more copies hit the physical and virtual shelves. I’m a little surprised that at a major online retailer, for example, it shows as still in stock and even $10 cheaper than originally priced.

Even better, of course, would be to check with your local independent record store of choice. Maybe they’d even have one of the special recent cassette singles available (which also gets you $2 off the new album).

Fresh takes on the familiar

The Seeds box contained more exceptionally rare or previously unheard material than the Songs From The Big Chair box that came before it. I really like the live-in-studio “Townhouse Jam” material including Oleta Adams as they work through the then-new songs.

I also dig a good chunk of the special edits, mixes, alternate takes, and instrumental versions in the set. The playlist of several picks as I type this:

If you like the album’s songs, then the box delivered on some fresh angles to come at old favorites. Even an album track with no lead vocal can reveal bits of the version that tend to get buried behind the singing.

One realization, apparent in this playlist: “Year Of The Knife” received much more attention than I remembered, with promo singles and multiple mixes.

And of course, the BluRay serves up (among other things) a surround mix by Steven Wilson, prince of remix/reissue when he isn’t making his own music.

This box will eventually go out of print again — possibly with the help of increased attention that a new album brings. So if you missed it once, think about rectifying that sooner rather than later. In this case, two strikes may make an out.