Notorious (Remastered)

iTunes Review

By 1986, Andy Taylor was already on his way to a solo career and the band’s synth-heavy sound that ruled over MTV for the first half of the decade would cede its influence to hair metal and its somewhat louder guitars. Notorious is an album that didn’t receive the same look-over as their previous releases. The title track and the single “Skin Trade” were the tunes that received most of the attention, but cuts such as the easy-going “A Matter of Feeling,” the lushly romantic “Hold Me,” the near-funk of “Vertigo (Do the Demolition)” and “Meet El Presidente, which became a hit in the U.K, are every bit as noteworthy. The 2010 “expanded edition” includes many bonus cuts, including the 45 mix of “Notorious,” which is shorter and punchier. The “Radio Cut” of “Skin Trade” slices more than a minute, while the “Stretch Mix” adds nearly two. Extended remixes and a handful of live tracks of Notorious material make this the closer look the album never received the first time around — and one it so dearly deserves.