Cruelty Without Beauty CD

Soft Cell's early 2000s reunion resulted in the release of one of their most special albums, Cruelty Without Beauty. That much is obvious from this freshly re-mastered edition, which simply leaps from the speakers with all the gusto of a toddler high on chocolate buttons and sugary orange squash. Dave Balls synthesizer-heavy backing tracks are imaginative, detailed and attractive, while Marc Almond's vocal performances are every bit as special as they were right back at the start of the Soft Cell story in the early '80s. This double-disc edition also includes a second CD containing new extended mixes and a swathe of live recordings from 2001 and 2002.