Faith No More - early singles

 So in 1989 I was well into "The Real Thing" by Faith No More and noticed in copy of "Introduce Yourself" in Bromsgrove's Our Price. For a while, I couldn't get over the disappointment of it not being Mike Patton on vocals. But gradually, I came to love this album just as much. Particularly the two songs that were singles - "We Care A Lot" and "Anne's Song".

Funnily enough, before I'd bought "Introduce Yourself" someone had told me that the original singer was black. I thought they meant Black - the late 80's solo singer (you know, the one that did that song "Wonderful Life", real name Colin). Actually they do sound quite similar.

It was quite a while before I found out that "Introduce Yourself" wasn't their debut album. But "We Care A Lot" is a bit pants apart from "As The Worm Turns" and "Arabian Disco".

So here are some early singles - disappointing in terms of a lack of exclusive b-sides, but some good mixes. First up is "We Care A Lot" featuring the "Make Love Not War" mix and a radio edit of "Chinese Arithmetic"

Hold me near, as if you'll never let me go

A remix and dance mix of "Anne's Song"

Do whatever the hell you want to do

And the two exclusive b-sides of "From Out Of Nowhere", the single that turned me onto FNM.

One minute here and one minute there and then you wave goodbye
(Goodbye)

Oh, and Merry Christmas.

The Edmund Fitzgerald

So, yes, we all know that the Edmund Fitzgerald were the band before Foals - so enough about that. I was lucky enough to have Lina, Yannis and Jack play at Silver Rocket on many occasions. But the most memorable gig for me was when they played a Noisestar gig on the boat on the Thames. It was shortly after the release of SR50, a double CD of 50 bands that had played the first 50 Silver Rocket shows, on which EdFitz had a track "Two Broke Kids Bikes/These Wet Houston Driveways" (bloody Oxford bands and their ridiculously lengthy song titles). So here is everything I possess by the band. Two tracks from their Vacuous Pop split single with Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies (sorry Ady), the aforementioned SR50 track, the song from their Noisestar session (sorry Rhys and Tony) and a bunch of other stuff I guess they must have given me as demos. Track listing:

1. Arg = (3-6j)(6-3j) not= pi/2
2. Cans of Rainwater
3. Rickett/Oh.. The Rustfucked Callat Drones
4. The Cosmonaut
5. De La Hoya
6. 26 Hillfield Ave.
7. Untitled 1
8. Horses
9. My Quiets Heart Sleight Of Hand
10. Untitled 2
11. Two Broke Kids Bikes/These Wet Houston Driveways

If there's any chance of this stuff being released properly at any time I will remove this link.

The Duke Spirit - early singles

I saw The Duke Spirit for the first time at one of those awful NME Award shows at the Brixton Academy. I think the other bands on the bill were The Bravery (yuck), The Rapture and someone else. And I've a feeling that it was the someone else that I'd gone there to see. Woop! Memorable gig. The Duke Spirit were on first and largely ignored. I remember watching from a distance and thinking they had something - but couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. And no, before you jump to conclusions, it wasn't Leila Moss. Now, you might think this is weird, but they actually reminded me of early Thousand Yard Stare. Not in sound or style particularly. It was a sort of laid-back English country vibe that only these two bands have ever produced. No? OK, just me then.

Indeed, it wasn't until the release of their single "Dark Is Light Enough" that I took real notice. And this time it was because of how much the song reminded me of "Black Steel" by Tricky. No? Just me again then.

But their first album and singles have a quality that they've not been able to reproduce on either of their subsequent albums in my opinion. I do like "Neptune" and "Bruiser", but these are more straight forward indie albums. "Cuts Across The Land" has something extra. An attitude. A presence. A vibe. Three things that you could never attribute to Thousand Yard Stare (what was I thinking?).

So here are five of their first six singles. I do own "Darling You're Mean To Me", but haven't ripped it at this current time. I've a feeling that both songs appeared on the album anyway. So first is the "Roll, Spirit, Roll" EP. Six tracks, of which only "Red Weather" made it onto the album.

Tequila - the puke spirit

And then four singles from the debut album, all with exclusive b-sides:

Cuts Across The Land

Dark Is Light Enough

Love Is An Unfamiliar Name

Lion Rip

Enjoy those, and pick up a copy of the Cuts Across The Land Souvenir edition, with a whole host of bonus tracks - demos, session tracks etc.

Chest - singles

OK, this one might be a little too obscure for most of you. But in 1995-6 Chest captured my heart like few other bands ever have. First, for me, was their second release "Angels". I must have heard it on the radio, possibly Mark Radcliffe, and bought the single immediately after. I went to the last Phoenix festival in 1996 having won tickets to go. I only remember two things about the festival - one, that after running out of money by Sunday morning, I found a tenner lying in the grass so that I could eat. The other was Chest, for me, the best band of the weekend.

There was something magical about the female harmonies, violin and upbeat melodies. Simon Williams must have also felt this as he released two further singles and an album on Fierce Panda before Chest disappeared soon after. A sad loss. A couple of years later, in Cambridge, I became acquainted with the very nice chap who did the artwork for them, Doug Holland (Hi Doug).

So here are the four singles they released, starting with the "Destiny Phones" 10" EP, lovingly ripped from my vinyl copy. All 4 songs are great but I particularly love "Jean Brodie" and "Listen". Listen.

Second is the aforementioned "Angels" single b/w "Panic Attack".

What have you done this time?

Next is the "Feels The Same" 7" backed with one of my favourite Chest song; "Better Now".

I don't know how that man hit that man so hard he died.

And finally, the "Aniseed" single b/w "Nosebleed".

I don't always want to be the one who jumps in first and gets it wrong.

If you can pick up a copy of their album "Mystery Superette", I suggest you do it.

Be Your Own Pet - early singles

If I remember correctly, this was one of those rare occasions on which I was sent a promo that was any good. So before the hype, I was able to get down to Rough Trade and snap up their first two singles "Damn Damn Leash" and Fire Department". I was in New York a little later and was able to get an advance copy of their first album. So in a way, Be Your Own Pet were thrust upon me by opportunity. Sadly, I never saw them live before their premature split in 2008 after only four or five years of existence.

"Damn Damn Leash" is an excellent EP, with all three songs full of energy and fire. It is probably the best thing they ever did.

So, better call the "Fire Department" to put it out. Another three great songs but more laid back in approach compared to DDL.

"Extra Extra" read all about it. I think I only have this as a download EP, but another three good songs that were not on their albums.

All - EPs

I got into ALL by accident. I had, of course, got a couple of Descendents albums (mostly because of a cover of "My World" that a scouse indie band called Drive did on a free single that came with their album "Out Freakage" in 1991). But I wasn't even aware of ALL. In about 1993, a friend on my course at University was announcing he was selling loads of his vinyl cos he was broke. There was a lot of hardcore in his collection, stuff that nowadays I would have snapped up. But a lot of it I didn't know about or like at the time. Including a Swans album that's probably worth a fortune now. I remember I bought two records. One was the first Fugazi EP. The other was Allroy Saves. He said I would like it if I liked the Descendents.

I didn't. At least not at first. Being quite different to "Milo Goes To College" and "I Don't Want To Grow Up" - I hadn't got the Descendents ALL LP. But very quickly, I grew to love it, bought "Allroy's Revenge" and bought the "Shreen" EP the day it came out.

I love the Scott Reynolds era ALL. The songwriting by all members of the band is brilliant, as is the playing. Here are two EPs from that period plus one from the first album with Chad Price on vocals.

"She's My Ex" is a great punk-pop song but I really love the b-side "Crazy". Lyrically one of their best, like "Fool" on "Allroy's Revenge", very clever and funny.

"I love you" that's what she said, but I need you like a hole in the head

"Dot" is another superb punk-pop song - two minutes of bliss. B-sides here are a cover of Johnny Cash's "Boy Named Sue" and another great song "Can't Say".

Can't say I blame you, can't deny I'm sorry, but it does me no good. Said "fuck you", I wish that I could

Guilty is OK, but not as good as the other two. I feel a bit guilty about saying that.

Compilation special - early Flowershop compilations

 Well technically not on the Flowershop label but the address on the back is the same. These two excellent compilation 7"s were given away at gigs on the dates shown on the covers. Twelve great tracks in total including a Ligament track that wasn't included in my recent post. Wat Tyler's version of Bryan Adam's "Everything I Do" is a particular highlight. Also included are Fabric, Hood, the joyous Joeyfat, Emperor Julian, Lungleg, the mighty Bob Tilton, Snuff, Elevate, Quickspace Supersport and a live version of Prolapse's "Headless In A Beat Motel". All freshly ripped from my vinyl copies. Enjoy.

Big-bollocked bonfire blow-up

Easter egg-splosion

Zvoov - Everbrown EP

Zvoov is a three-piece instrumental rock band from Brooklyn, New York. Their music is a blend of many themes and influences, such as math rock, post metal, post rock, jazz, and stoner music. They strive to keep their sound fresh by drawing on this diversity and writing songs that differ greatly from one another while still creating a distinct Zvoov mood. Formed in early 2009, their Everbrown EP was self-released in February 2011.

Bandcamp free download

Yo La Tengo - Shaker & Tom Courtenay

The most popular post of the last go through A-Z was Yo La Tengo's "From A Motel 6" EP. So I've decided to post another EP. Drip feed. More will come later. If you're very good.

This one is the Shaker EP. Three tracks; Shaker, "For Shame Of Doing Wrong (Slide Version)" and "What She Wants". Shaker appears on the "Prisoners of Love" compilation, but I'm not sure the other two tracks have been re-released.

Eureka

From the Electr-o-pura album, this is the "Tom Courtenay" EP. A four track EP including two exclusive tracks and a different take of "My Heart's Reflection".

У меня это

Xray Spex singles

 After complaints last time round at a lack of X post, I trawled through my record collection to amend this. The only 7"s I own beginning with X are these two Xray Spex singles. Unfortunately, I don't own the excellent "Oh Bondage Up Yours" single. I shall have to go to a few record fairs to see if I can did one out.

Instead, I have for you their second single "Germ-Free Adolescents" b/w "Age" and their fifth and final single "Highly Inflammable" b/w "Warriors In Woolworths".

Cleanliness is her obsession

You're a pseudo quasi intellectual

We Are Scientists - self-released EPs

 When We Are Scientists burst onto our consciousness in 2005 with their excellent album "With Love And Squalor" I assumed that it was their debut album. But they'd been going for four years by this point and had released another album and number of EPs prior to WLAS, mostly self-released.

The most recent release was "The Wolf's Hour" which contains many tracks re-recorded for the WLAS album and two tracks that were re-recorded for b-sides. So all six songs are different versions to ones you might have already.

Lycanthropy

Before that came the brilliant In Action EP; six songs that have never seen the light of day since but are in everyway comparable to their later releases.

Misanthropy

And finally their very first release Bitchin' which includes two songs that were re-recorded for the In Action EP and six other tracks.

Psilanthropy

The Vidablue

Ten Grand were one of my favourite bands of the early noughties. I was given a copy of "This Is The Way To Rule" by Southern Records and I immediately fell in love with the band. Seeing them live that summer was a highlight in my gig-going experience. Meeting the band was also a joy - four of the nicest guys you could possibly wish to meet. And then less than a month later Matt died suddenly. A terrible loss to music and the world in general.

Ten Grand started life out as The Vidablue before an enforced name change in 2002. They released an album "Our Miracle Point Of Contact" under this name, well worth digging out. Here, for your delectation, is an early single limited to 200 copies (mine has a green cover rather than the brown one pictured) and the Vidablue songs from a split EP with the Khayembii Communique (who they?).

Vida Blue was a baseball player

Ten Grand was the amount the band were paid to relinquish the rights to the name "Vida Blue" to a terrible electronic band.

Both of these facts are true.

Untitled Musical Project - Leftovers

Another Brummie band, Untitled Musical Project entertained our ears and our eyes for far too short a time in the late noughties. Only completing a single (eponymous) album in 2007 before calling it a day in 2009. Thankfully, when doing so, they made available a free download through Tigertrap Records containing their EP and a bunch of demos and live recordings.

Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix singles

 Teenage Fanclub were the first band I saw live when I went to university on the Bandwagonesque tour. All I had at the time was the "God Knows It's True" EP, even though I'd heard Bandwagonesque and Catholic Education. I don't remember them being all that exciting either. A couple of years later they released Thirteen which was mostly disappointing so the Fannies went off my radar for a while.

But in 1995, a Reading performance turned me back onto them again and Grand Prix was purchased. The first side of this album is classic - not a second wasted - all pure gold. So here are the singles from this landmark album starting with the chilled Mellow Doubt.

Mellowed out

Neil Jung was next, as if we needed to know the influence that Neil Young had on TFC. This single came out as two EPs, the normal one and an alternative version which doesn't sound that different, it's just a bit longer. But with six exclusive b-sides across the two EPs, well worth getting hold of.

Going nowhere

Couldn't take the pain and left it there

Finally, the Sparky's Dream singles, again in a normal version and alternative version so six more b-sides across the two EPs. Whose idea was it to start limiting singles to three tracks in order for them to be eligible for the charts? I think that killed the EP as a format.

Need a magic ball to see her in the morning

And crystal eyes to read between the lines

Retisonic - La Semilla Del Diablo

I'd expected that Retisonic had split up, it being five years since they last released anything and three years since they've toured, but apparently they're writing a new album. And there's a couple of new tracks on their myspace page. It was about 2005 when I last saw them at a tiny venue in Shoreditch, and there that I bought this 7", a collection of cover songs by Judas Priest and Discharge. Jason also tried to sell me one of his solo singles and looked a bit cheesed off when I declined.

I prefer Retisonic to Bluetip, but apparently I'm in the minority

Querelle - Random tracks

Querelle did the rounds for a few years in the mid-noughties. Always a pleasure to watch. Gypsy had a great presence on stage - he once tackled me onto the stage in order to inject some passion into the performance (as he saw it). And Valentina was always one of the great drummers to watch - both in terms of talent and facial expressions.

The picture is of their excellent, one and only, mini-CD on Sink and Stove which you can still get here. So rather than that here is a collection of other tracks that were either release on compilations or not at all.

Nothin' Lost. Something Found.

Pinback - 1999/2000 EPs

 This will no doubt be the first of several Pinback posts. I love this band. Ever since their first album in '99 "This Is A Pinback CD", I have waited eagerly for each next release. At the moment I am waiting for a new album having only had one extremely limited 7" out since 2008. Mind you, there's been plenty of other Rob Crow releases since then. The Ladies, Goblin Cock and his solo work.

But for now here are the two EPs from the debut album plus the tour EP from the following year. Each comes with several exclusive tracks and/or mixes.

Loro

Tripoli

Live In Donny's Garage

Ozzy Osbourne - early live EPs

My first foray into hard rock on this blog. I got heavily into Black Sabbath and Ozzy in my teens. So much so that I got my hair permed like him on the cover of "No Rest For The Wicked" in 1989. Oh dear. Saw him live that same year at the NEC. Most of the early Ozzy singles were bought at record shops in Birmingham, being careful to avoid any of the signed singles at Reddington Rare Records. My friends and I used to joke that they would just get their silver pen out every time they got an Ozzy single in.

Even with the recent reissue of "Blizzard of Ozz" they have excluded the "Mr Crowley" live EP. Strange given that it contains a track "You Said It All" that doesn't appear anywhere else. In fact, this track isn't really live at all but just has crowd noise added on at the start and end.

Won't you ride my white horse? It's symbolic of course

So Tired was a strange choice of single to be taken from 1983's "Bark At The Moon" album, sounding like an ELO outtake. But the five track 12" contained three live tracks including the best available version of "Bark At The Moon". The end solo by Jake E Lee is extended compared to the original version and, for me, much improved. I am still trying to learn to play this over 20 years later.

Spewing from the mouth of hell

Ned's Atomic Dustbin - 1990 EPs

 
Growing up in the Midlands, it was difficult not to be a fan of the local indie heroes. The Wonder Stuff, Pop Will Eat Itself and Ned's Atomic Dustbin. Although known as a T-shirt band I never owned one (not enough cash at the time) but bought all of their output (from a record shop in Redditch as the one in Bromsgrove didn't stock them). I remember while I was at university, they did a tour to support "Are You Normal" and at each venue had a local band to open for them, which they 'auditioned' through the receipt of demo tapes. The winners were announced on Radio 1! In Liverpool, this was a band I had become acquainted with called the Firecharmers. They won on account of one of their songs opening with the Rainbow theme tune.

I did see the Neds on one of their reunion tours at the Forum in Kentish Town. Wasn't quite the same somehow. But back in their heyday, they were a very exciting live act, and the first band I can remember with two bass players. These EPs bring a lot of memories back, playing them in the sixth-form common room etc.

Their first EP was The Ingredients EP with the excellent "Aim" and "Grey Cell Green"

If I have two beans and add two more beans, what does that make?


The second single is their most 'famous' - "Kill Your Television". I really like the remix version on this EP and can remember learning to play it on my guitar.

Soap for sore eyes

Finally, the "Until You Find Out" EP, an excellent track with two of my favourite b-sides; "Flexible Head" and Bite.

It's like getting locked out when the phone rings

My Bloody Valentine - Creation singles

Another obvious choice I know but what're ya gonna do? My Bloody Valentine are one of the most important bands in my musical life. They completely changed the way I thought about music in the late 80s. Until 1989 I was on a strict diet of Heavy Metal. A friend of mine lent me a number of "indie" records which included the first Dinosaur Jr album, Pop Will Eat Itself's "This Is The Day..." LP and "You Made Me Realise". As a fairly closed-mind 16 year old I had dismissed all indie as either jangley pop or metal for people that couldn't do guitar solos. So imagine my initial horror at a song that was both grungy and jangley at the same time and with 45 seconds of noise where the guitar solo should be. But somehow it stuck. Strangely, it was a good number of years before I started to collect MBV records myself. I eventually bought "You Made Me Realise" from a second-hand shop in Liverpool while I was at University in about 1992, but I didn't buy Loveless or Isn't Anything until I was in Manchester 94/95. Consequently I never saw MBV live until their reformation a few years ago, three nights out of the four at the Roundhouse in Camden.

So, anyway, the singles. Starting with the "You Made Me Realise" EP. As well as the astonishing title track, this EP contains the brilliant "Thorn" and "Drive It All Over Me". In a way, this is a transitional EP, containing experimental wall-of-sound treated guitar as well as more traditional indie pop more akin to their previous output on the Ecstasy mini-LP.

You can close your eyes, but you might as well commit suicide

Next is the "Feed Me With Your Kiss" EP. Just the two b-sides as the title track is on Isn't Anything.

Crawl around and kiss the ground

A limited number of the 1988 Isn't Anything album came with a free 7" that I paid £15 for considerably later. It contains two instrumental tracks including one with that famous Public Enemy drum loop (think Madonna's "Justify My Love")

Security of the first world

A two year wait for the next release, while Kevin Shields perfected Loveless, nearly bankrupting Creation in the process. I often wonder if this would have been a good thing. Downside - possibly no Teenage Fanclub, Swervedriver, Ride, Medicine, Super Furry Animals or Sugar. Upside, possibly no Primal Scream or Oasis. OK, on balance probably worth putting up with the crap for all the good stuff. Anyway, the Glider EP...

Wake up, don't fear

A late addition - a vinyl rip of my Glider Remixes EP for completeness. It contains a mix of Soon by Andrew Weatherall and a ten minute version of the instrumental Glider.

Here we go!

Finally, my favourite MBV release, the Tremolo EP. Yes. Even better than Loveless. Or maybe not, but I prefer it. There is no other song quite like "To Here Knows When". It is simply genius. Even the incidental/segue music on this EP is brilliant, between THKW and "Swallow", and between "Honey Power" and "Moon Song".

Close the door, I want you more