The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu – 1987 What The Fuck's Going On?

Sounds great, looks dope, and has all the samples. The only way I, and many others, would ever get a copy of the unedited original versions, without having to resort to a fortnight of ramen dinners. Bonus fun to be had if you have a copy of The Jams 45 Edits, line them up, apply filters, delay, modulations, what have you, to the 45 Edits, center the crossfader and let it be a backing hype-man to this unedited version of the album. JUSTIFIED!

wtf? how did this come about?

((1 2 3 4 more words))

I purchased this album new in Antwerp when it was out and regret having sold it as second-hands.
I wasn't really fond about the music though I absolutely love some of what the KLF did a bit later, I couldn't get this would become a classic - deleted - early "sampladelica" release. Now it's all over bootlegs land. lol.

There are three unlisted tracks on the album:
A2 - MIND THE GAP
A5 - WHY DID YOU THROW AWAY YOUR GIRO?
B3 - TOP OF THE POPS

© 1987 The Sound Of Mu(sic)
Withdrawn Sep 1987 due to legal pressure from Abba.

I bought this version in Probe Records in Liverpool in the early 90s. They told me that Bill Drummond occasionally pressed a few up when he was skint, so I suspect that he is the source of this "bootleg".

"Me Ru Con" is still fantastic, disturbing every party :-))

Interesting as a curio, it's not fantastic as an album. The standout tracks for me are "Rockman Rock (Parts 2 & 3)" and "Next". However, none of the tracks really stand up to any later releases by the Jams; the difference in quality is especially obvious if you play the fantastic "Who Killed The Jams?" immediately after hearing "1987".

Contrary to what you might expect, this isn't the original "1987" with the samples removed; rather, it's as if someone is just playing the original album and pressing a 'mute' button whenever anything not by the Jams is playing. This results in some amusing bits, like 3 minutes of silence where the "Top Of The Pops"-sampling section would have been. Worth getting for amusement value, and because it's the highest-definition pressing of the beautiful song "Me Ru Con" (12" at 45rpm; the original album was 33, and the only other pressing was a 45rpm 7").

The record also has fun instructions on the back of the sleeve by King Boy D for recereating the original album, which also act as something of an explanation of the original "1987" itself, written in Bill Drummond's inimitable dry style. Worth picking up if it's not too expensive.