The Absolute Game (National Album Day 2026)

Truly one of the greatest British bands to come out of the 1976/1977 musical rupture that was Punk, Dunfermline's Skids went on to demonstrate they had so much more to them than many of their contemporaries. Always a tight and powerful musical powerhouse they enjoyed a string of classic chart hits between 1978 and 1979 ('Into the Valley', 'Masquerade', 'Working for the Yankee Dollar', etc). Following this, they surprised and delighted fans and critics alike with 1980's ambitious and experimental third album outing 'The Absolute Game'. The album was also the first to feature new bassist Russell Webb and his inclusion, along with the contribution of new producer Mick Glossop, made for an accomplished and progressive evolution. Initial copies of 'The Absolute Game' came with the free mini-album 'Strength Through Joy' an experimental mini-album that blended world music influences and atmospheric and ambient sounds that perfectly fitted 1980's Peter Gabriel/Talking Heads/'Scary Monsters' Bowie zeitgeist. For this stunning 2LP vinyl reissue, 'The Absolute Game', and 'Strength Through Joy', have been remastered from the source tapes, thereby correcting previous problems with the album's tape transfers. The work was undertaken by respected audio engineer George Shilling (previous credits include Blur, Teenage Fanclub, Bernard Butler, Oasis, Primal Scream).

Disc 1
1: Circus Games
2: Out of Town
3: Goodbye Civilian
4: The Children Saw the Shame
5: A Woman in Winter
6: Hurry On Boys
7: Happy to Be With You
8: The Devil's Decade
9: One Decree
10: Arena

Disc 2
1: An Incident in Algiers
2: Grievance
3: Strength Through Joy
4: Filming Africa
5: A Man for All Seasons
6: Snakes and Ladders
7: Surgical Triumph
8: The Bell Jar

Number of Discs: 2

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