What are the differences between the UK and international versions of The White Room album?

While some international variants have different track markers than JAMS CD6 there are basically only two different versions of The White Room.

Most obviously, the original UK version – like its European variants – presents the first five tracks (What Time Is Love? through Last Train To Trancentral) as a kind of “mini-concert” with sampled crowd noise from, among other places, U2’s Rattle And Hum. All five tracks are segued and mixed. The US version eliminates the crowd noise, with some tracks ending very abruptly, probably due to the copyright problems over the crowd noise.

Apart from that there are some further differences between the individual tracks.

  • The US edition features the full 7″ radio version of What Time Is Love? whereas the UK edition drops the song’s second verse.
  • Make It Rain is around 30 seconds shorter on the US edition and lacks the Stevie Wonder sample (“Say yeah!”) throughout the track. A full unmixed version including the sample is available on the MU EP, though.
  • The outro of 3 a.m. Eternal lacks the Scott Piering sample (“Ladies and Gentlemen, The KLF have now left the building…”) on the UK edition and segues into Church Of The KLF instead.
  • The most radical difference might be the inclusion of the single mix of Last Train To Trancentral on the US edition instead of the mellower UK album version.
  • The US edition of No More Tears has been edited down to 6:42 instead of 9:24.
  • There is a little more wind noise at the end of the closing Justified And Ancient on the US edition.

Later reissues by Arista also came with the CD single of Justified And Ancient, albeit with a slightly different tracklist than the original UK CD single.

The Japanese version mostly follows the US format apart from featuring the extended single mix of Last Train To Trancentral. In addition it also includes three bonus tracks – the Moody Boys remix of What Time Is Love?, the Guns Of Mu Mu version of 3 a.m. Eternal, and the 120 Rock Steady version of Last Train To Trancentral.

Filed under Record Details, The KLF (1990-1992)
Tag: The White Room
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1 thought on “What are the differences between the UK and international versions of The White Room album?

  1. The most radical difference might be the inclusion of the single mix of Last Train To Trancentral on the US edition instead of the mellower UK album version.

    A later Australian pressing with 03 matrix has the single version of Last Train To Trancentral as well.

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