Crocodiles (album) - Releases

Releases

The album was originally released as an LP in the United Kingdom on 18 July 1980 by Warner Bros. subsidiary label Korova. Two tracks, "Do It Clean" and "Read It in Books", were included on the cassette but initially omitted from the LP version of the album because the managing director of Warner Bros., Rob Dickins, thought that they contained obscenities. Dickins realised his error and the tracks were included on the American version of the album, which was released by Sire Records on 17 December 1980. The two tracks were included with the UK release as a limited edition single. The album was first released on CD in May 1989 by WEA in the UK. It was released on CD in the US by Sire Records the following year. The track-listings of these versions were the same as the original LP releases for each country.

Along with their first five albums, Crocodiles was remastered and reissued on CD in 2003 containing ten bonus tracks on the UK version and eight on the US—these releases were marketed as 25th anniversary editions. The UK version contained the missing tracks "Do It Clean" and "Read It in Books". The other bonus tracks included "Simple Stuff" which was the B-side to the single "Rescue"; early versions of "Villiers Terrace", "Pride" and "Simple Stuff" from the album's recording sessions; and the four tracks from the Shine So Hard EP, "Crocodiles", "Zimbo", "All That Jazz" and "Over the Wall". The reissued album was produced by music historian Andy Zax and producer Bill Inglot.

Prior to the album's release, the tracks "Pictures on My Wall"—as "The Pictures on My Wall"—and "Rescue" had already been released as singles. "The Pictures on My Wall" was released on 5 May 1979 and was the band's first single. Originally recorded and released prior to de Freitas joining the band, the song was re-recorded for the album with him playing drums. The band's second single, "Rescue", was released a year later on 5 May 1980 and became the band's first song to chart when it reached number 62 on the UK Singles Chart.

Scottish band Idlewild covered the track "Rescue" on their single "These Wooden Ideas" in June 2000. In late 2001 American singer-songwriter Kelley Stoltz released the album Crockodials, which is a track by track cover version of the original Crocodiles album.