Original French compilation, reimagined with 11 bonus tracks!

In 1984, the French record label Lolita became captivated by the music emanating from Los Angeles’ underground music scene. In the midst of exploring the budding Paisley Underground scene, the heads of Lolita looked north to Davis and found Game Theory. The label loved the band and made a deal to release an album combining tracks from the band’s first two EPs (Pointed Accounts Of People You Know and Distortion), introducing the band to Europe. The result of this alliance was Dead Center.

In addition to original recordings from the EPs, the CD also features two songs recorded specifically for the original Dead Center LP, a unique version of the song “Dead Center” (the original flexi disc recording is also included) and a cover of “The Letter,” Alex Chilton’s bona fide #1 Record from his pre-Big Star teen years fronting The Box Tops. Both songs appear here on CD for the first time. Add to these 10 rare unreleased recordings including covers of Badfinger’s “No Matter What,” Roxy Music’s “Mother of Pearl,” R.E.M.’s “Radio Free Europe,” Them’s “Gloria,” live versions of Game Theory classics like “Penny, Things Won’t,” “Shark Pretty” and more, making Dead Center an essential piece of the Game Theory puzzle.

The Dead Center CD is housed in a digipak with a 20 page booklet featuring rare photos, liner notes from set co-producer Dan Vallor as well as a remembrance from the Three O’Clock’s Michael Quercio, a dear friend of Game Theory’s Scott Miller and producer of the band’s breakthrough EP Distortion. Michael would himself eventually become a member of Game Theory.

The Dead Center LP has been out of print for three decades. This reissue not only rectifies that, but presents Game Theory’s early material with the reverence it deserves.

CD / 2-LP / Digital Track List:

1. Nine Lives To Rigel Five
2. Penny, Things Won’t
3. Dead Center (French LP Version)
4. The Red Baron
5. The Letter
6. Shark Pretty
7. Metal And Glass Exact
8. Selfish Again
9. Too Late For Tears
10. Life In July
11. No Matter What (Demo)
12. Mother Of Pearl (Live)
13. Nine Lives To Rigel Five (Live)
14. Trouble (Live)
15. Shark Pretty (Live)
16. Gloria (Live)
17. Too Late For Tears (Michael Q’s “George Martin” Rough Mix)
18. Radio Free Europe (Live)
19. Penny, Things Won’t (Live)
20. Say It Ain’t So Joe (Radio Session)
21. Dead Center (Flexi Disc Version)