{"id":29133,"date":"2026-10-06T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=29133"},"modified":"2026-10-05T22:53:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T21:53:52","slug":"levellers-announce-levelling-the-land-35th-anniversary-remixed-and-expanded-album-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=29133","title":{"rendered":"Levellers announce ‘Levelling The Land 35th anniversary’ remixed and expanded album release"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Remixed and expanded album release coming out on October 16th 2026.
‘Fifteen Years (Outtake)’ is out now – listen to it and pre-order the 35th<\/sup> Anniversary Edition album formats by clicking HERE<\/a>.<\/h1>\n\n\n
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Brighton folk-rockers Levellers have been one of Britain\u2019s most enduring and best-loved bands for nearly 40 years. And part of that incredible success has been built on the timeless anthems that comprised their platinum-selling, second album Levelling The Land, <\/em>which celebrates its 35th<\/sup> anniversary in 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recorded at Ridge Farm studios in Surrey over the summer of 1991, it was produced by Al Scott, who was charged with translating the band\u2019s incendiary live performances into something more refined within the recording environment. Featuring the huge hit singles \u2018One Way\u2019, \u201815 Years\u2019 and \u2018Far From Home\u2019, Levelling The Land<\/em> redefined the UK\u2019s musical landscape providing the soundtrack for a society fed up with the twin evils of Thatcherite politics, and the post-80\u2019s pre-grunge musical wasteland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Released just a couple of months later, the album also included fan favourites that have grown in stature over the years such as \u2018The Game\u2019, \u2018Liberty Song\u2019, \u2018The Riverflow\u2019, \u2018Boatman\u2019 and the incendiary \u2018Battle Of The Beanfield\u2019. Its enormous commercial success is testament to both the strength of the band\u2019s songwriting and performance, and Al Scott\u2019s superb production skills. However, both parties knew that the album didn\u2019t truly capture the power of Levellers live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As founding member and fiddle player Jon Sevink reveals, \u201cWe had 24 tracks of analogue tape to work with and we used them all. But music in the early 1990s was bound by technology. We were told by the record company that too much bass would overload people\u2019s tiny TV and car speakers, making them fart and rattle. Subsequently low frequencies were removed from the EQ which we felt left a slightly disappointing listening experience, particularly when compared to modern recording.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe advances in music mixing technology have now given us a \u2018wider\u2019 stereo image to listen to, allowing for more space in the music between instruments and voices. So I called Al Scott with the idea to remix the album from the original multi-tracks so it sounds current, but \u2013 really importantly \u2013 without losing sight of the album that everyone knows and loves. He was immediately up for it and in my opinion has done the perfect job.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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The new remixed version of the album will be released on a single vinyl edition, reflecting the tracklisting of the original album. The specially expanded CD version of the album comes as a 3CD package, featuring an array of bonus tracks including B-sides, out-takes and demos. Many of these have been lost for decades and were re-discovered in the process of remixing the album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jon Sevink continues, \u201cThe digital transfers of the 2\u201d reels of tape also contained unfinished versions of songs and some unheard music. So I put a call out to the rest of the band to search through cupboards and drawers for any cassette tapes or other material that might relate to the early 90s<\/em>. <\/em>Soon after, I received a small package in the post from Charlie<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Heather, drummer) containing a few old cassettes, mostly uninspiring but one labelled \u2018Demos of the LP\u2019. The track listing on the box revealed it was indeed demo versions of \u2018Levelling The Land\u2019. This tape had been in Charlie\u2019s possession, unheard for nearly 30 years and now we had material for this expanded release.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo forget the anniversary, it\u2019s just a number after all. Far more important is that this definitive collection of material is finally seeing the light of day. Songs as relevant today as they were in 1991. Sounding great!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Levelling The Land<\/em> features one of the most striking pieces of album art of the last forty years, an image which has also adorned hundreds of thousands of t-shirts around the world. Designed and created by bassist Jeremy Cunningham, it followed on from the artwork he created for debut album A Weapon Called The Word<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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