Camper Van Beethoven Telephone Free Landslide Victory (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
Release Date: September 5, 2025
Label: Cooking Vinyl
Camper Van Beethoven’s groundbreaking debut returns for its 40th anniversary with a deluxe reissue packed with unreleased demos, rarities, and all the offbeat brilliance that made it a college radio classic.
Camper Van Beethoven never fit into any box, and their 1985 debut Telephone Free Landslide Victory made sure of it. Forty years later, the album is getting the deluxe treatment it deserves with a 40th Anniversary reissue.
Back when alternative music was still finding its shape, Camper Van Beethoven stitched together punk energy, folk melodies, ska grooves, and a streak of absurdist humor that made songs like “Take the Skinheads Bowling” a cult anthem. From the twangy chaos of “Balalaika Gap” to their off-kilter storytelling, this was the sound of a band inventing its own universe.
The 2CD edition digs even deeper, pairing a freshly remastered version of the original album with B-sides, rarities, and 11 never-before-heard demos from 1983 which give raw, lo-fi glimpses of a band about to shake up college radio. The set comes in a 6-panel digisleeve with a 16-page booklet and new liner notes by bassist Victor Krummenacher, offering both longtime fans and curious newcomers a real time capsule of the band’s early vision.
For vinyl collectors, there’s a limited edition green LP, complete with an alternate green cover and the track order the band always intended.
This anniversary edition is less about nostalgia and more of a reminder that Camper Van Beethoven’s influence is still humming through the wires of alternative music today.