Various Artists – The Last Days Of Britpop 1998

So with the year coming to an end, this also means that I will be wrapping up Britpop themed posts and what better way than taking a dive into a selection of tracks from arguabley the last year of the scene. As with the other entries that have already been posted which looked at 1997, this includes some of the big hitters (Oasis and Pulp), the under card (Shed Seven) and the those who were hoping that Britpop would still be fashionable as they put out their records (pretty much everyone else).  

Side A

  1. More Than Us – Travis with Anne Dudley
  2. Miyako Hideaway (Radio Edit) – Marion
  3. Hurry On Sundown (Hari On Sundown) – Kula Shaker
  4. Wait For The Sun – Menswear
  5. This Feeling – Puressence 
  6. All Around The World (Radio Edit) – Oasis

Side B

  1. Begin Again – Space
  2. She Left me On Friday – Shed Seven
  3. Cracking Up – The Jesus & Mary Chain
  4. Like A Friend – Pulp
  5. Take It – Ballroom
  6. Untouchable – Rialto

Side C

  1. The Peccadilloes – Kirsten’s Beach
  2. Molly – Carrie
  3. A Page A Day – Po!
  4. Scorch Comfort – Seafood
  5. Small Change – Lodger
  6. Tricolore – Mover
  7. Radar Intruder – Derrero 

Side D

  1. Don’t You Know Who I Am? – Happyland
  2. English Country Garden – The Dandys
  3. Can Jam (Full Mix) – Mainstream
  4. I’ve Had Enough – Hillman Minx
  5. 3 O’Clock In The Morning – Jack

Like my previous efforts for 1997, this was produced to be a double LP, this is what the artwork for the gatefold sleeve.

I used Virgin as the record label as they were the ones who produced The Best Album in the World Series of CDs that I bought in the 90s.

The cover comes from https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/10045-the-50-best-britpop-albums/ and pays homage to Sgt Pepper. 

The Last Days of Britpop 1997 Vol.1 – https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/various-artists-1997-the-last-days-of-britpop-vol-1/

The Last Days of Britpop 1997 Vol.2 – https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/various-artists-the-last-days-of-britpop-1997-vol-2/

Various Artists – Now, It’s Not What I Would Call Britpop (1993)

Back in August and September, I posted a couple of playlists which covered the years 1994 to 1997. For my money, these are the years of Britpop. However, there is a school of thought that says Britpop started a year earlier. I didn’t think I would be able to produce a playlist looking at non Britpop songs from that year as I had to cover two years per disc for 1994-1997. Well, it would seem that I could. 

  1. Round Here – Counting Crows
  2. Sooner Or Later – World Party
  3. She Wants To Share Her Magic – Stephen Duffy
  4. Feed The Tree – Belly
  5. Kite – Nick Hayward
  6. Disarm – Smashing Pumpkins
  7. Going Down (Single Version) – Sun Dial
  8. Cannonball – The Breeders
  9. Are You Gonna Go My Way? – Lenny Kravitz
  10. Puss – The Jesus Lizard
  11. Sunflower – Paul Weller
  12. You’re In A Bad Way – Saint Etienne
  13. Tuesday Morning – The Pogues
  14. If I Were A Carpenter – Robert Plant
  15. My Darling – The Juliana Hatfield Three
  16. 4th  Of July – Aimee Mann
  17. In Those Days – Beverley Craven
  18. Into Dust – Muzzy Star
  19. Sappy – Nirvana
  20. Private Universe – Crowded House

Being as this was a one year compilation and not for two, I decided to use a different piece of art. Once again, I used the Virgin Records logo because they were the ones who were releasing compilations I liked during the 1990s. 

Now, It’s Not What I Would Call Britpop (1994-1995) – https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/various-artists-now-its-not-what-i-would-call-britpop-1994-1995/

Now, It’s Not What I Would Call Britpop (1996-1997) – https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/various-artists-now-its-not-what-i-would-call-britpop-1996-1997/

Nick Drake – Lost Masters

On 25th November 1974, Nick Drake passed away in his parents home in Tanworth-in-Arden. His work was not well known at this time and it would take until the end of the decade that his profile began to rise. By the mid 80s, he was being mentioned by a number of musicians as an influence and in the following decade, his gained further exposure due to the BBC broadcasting radio and TV documentaries about him. Sales of his records increased significantly around this time when his song ‘Pink Moon’ appeared in a Volkswagen advert. Cue his music appearing on movie soundtracks and he is now, arguably, the most famous he has ever been. It is such a shame that he is not around to enjoy it. 

Drakes recording legacy is slight. During his life time, he released three studio albums made up of 31 songs. No singles were released from these albums during his lifetime so there wasn’t any obscure non album B-Sides to boost the numbers. Over the years, there have been a few compilations which have delved into the archives and there have been a smattering of unreleased songs that have made it to market. Most famous of these would be the tracks he recorded in 1974 for what could have been his fourth album, but these demos are as far as that project went. Four of these songs were included on the ‘Time Of No Reply’ compilation which came out in 1987. Included on that album were outtakes from his first LP sessions, some home recordings and an alternative take. 

The home recordings were a small window into the treasure trove of recordings he made on a tape player in his parents house, many of which had found their way onto the black market due Drake’s father making copies for fans who knocked on the door ion the family home. Some of these would eventually receive a legitimate release on the ‘Family Tree’ album in 2007. Before this, there was another compilation, ‘Made To Love Magic’ which was designed to supersede ‘Time Of No Reply’. This is did because in 2013, a box set called ‘Tuck Box’ came out containing the three studio albums, ‘Made To Love Magic’ and ‘Family Tree’. However, there are a number of Nick Drake performances that have seen the light of day in an official capacity which for one reason or another were not included in ‘Tuck Box’. This playlist is my attempt to address this by gathering together all of the lost masters for a compilation. 

Side A

  1. Rider On The Wheel
  2. Joey
  3. My Bay’s So Sweet
  4. Mayfair
  5. Fly
  6. Hanging On A Star
  7. Clothes Of Sand
  8. Man In A Shed
  9. Plaisir D’Amour

Side B

  1. Time Of No Reply
  2. Strange Meeting II
  3. Betty & Dupree
  4. Magic
  5. The Thoughts `of Mary Jane
  6. Black Eyed Dog
  7. Voice From The Mountain

Side C – (BBC Session)

  1. Time Of No Reply
  2. River Man
  3. Bryter Layter

Side D – (BBC Session)

  1. Cello Song
  2. Three Hours

So where do these masters come from?

Rider On A Wheel – One of the ‘final four’ songs Drake recorded. The version on ‘Made To Love Magic’ was included with a crisp, well balanced mix. This is the same take as induced on the latter compilation and only included here for completeness.

Joey – The version on ‘Made To Love Magic’ was included with a crisp, well balanced mix with less flanging. This is the same take as induced on the latter compilation and only included here for completeness. 

My Baby’s So Sweet – included on the vinyl version of ‘Family Tree’ as well as some version of the CD. However, it was not included on the CD included in ‘Tuck Box’.

Mayfair – A recording from Drake’s days at Cambridge University. A studio version, with a flub, was included on the ‘Made To Love Magic’ compilation. 

Fly – Home recording. Only available on the ‘Time Of No Reply’ compilation from 1987. 

Hanging On A Star – Included on ‘Time Of No Reply’ and a different take form the one used on ‘Made To Love Magic’ 

Clothes Of Sand – One of the ‘final four’ songs Drake recorded. The version on ‘Made To Love Magic’ was included with a crisp, well balanced mix. This is the same take as induced on the latter compilation and only included here for completeness. 

Man In A Shed – An early studio recording. Only available on the ‘Time Of No Reply’ compilation from 1987.

Plaisir D’Amour – Included as a hidden track on the ‘A Treasury’ compilation from 2004. Was originally scheduled to be included on ‘Pink Moon’ but ultimately it was not. 

Time Of No Reply – The basic track as recorded back in 1968. Orchestrations were overdubbed when this was included on the ‘Made To Love Magic’ compilation. These orchestrations had been produced on manuscript by Drake’s Cambridge friend, Robert Kirby and were not used in 1969 as the songs were deemed surplus to requirements. However, these orchestrations were pulled from the archives with wonderful results. 

Strange Meeting II – Home recording. Only available on the ‘Time Of No Reply’ compilation from 1987.

Betty & Dupree – not included on the ‘Family Tree’ CD, but was released on the vinyl edition. It was not included on the CD included in ‘Tuck Box’.

Magic – Listed as ‘I Was Made To Love Magic’ on the ‘Time Of No Reply’ compilation. This has the original orchestration produced by Richard Hewson, which Drake was not happy with and he asked that his Cambridge friend, the aforementioned Robert Kirby come and work as the arranger. This 1969 Kirby arrangement was finally recorded in 2004. The recording was also sped up for the ‘Made To Love Magic’ compilation. 

The Thoughts `of Mary Jane – Taken from ’Time Of No Reply’, this has a slightly extended ending with a dissonant guitar note that was faded out when this song was included on the ‘Made To Love Magic’ compilation.  

Black Eyed Dog – One of the ‘final four’ songs Drake recorded. The version on ‘Made To Love Magic’ was included with a crisp, well balanced mix. This is the same take as induced on the latter compilation and only included here for completeness.

Voice From The Mountain – One of the ‘final four’ songs Drake recorded. The version on ‘Made To Love Magic’ was included with a crisp, well balanced mix. This is the same take as induced on the latter compilation and only included here for completeness.

The BBC Sessions. These five songs were recorded for legendary BBC DJ, John Peel on 5th August 1969 and broadcast a day later. Drake only performed a handful of times in the live arena, and it would seem that no recordings were made. These five songs are the closest we will get. They sound as though they have been recorded from the radio as the studio tapes were no doubt wiped, something there BBC were prone to do in that era so that they could be used again. These rare recordings have only been released in their entirety once on a physical format, and that as a 10” record in 2014. Limited to 1000 copies, it came as part of the signature boxed edition of the book, ‘Remembered For A While’. 

So there we have it. All of these recordings have been released at one point or another but are now all out of print and in some cases, really hard to find and even then, you will be paying a premier to get them. 

The total running time of this compilation is just over an hour so it would be easy enough to reproduce on CD.

The front cover was produced by Behance user, Dorota Kowal

David Bowie – David Bowie (1969 Super Deluxe Edition)

I have raised this point in the past, but I feel it is worth saying again. The biggest complaint I have about reissue programmes of most bands is the way the record labels and in some cases, the artists themselves have treated their fans so badly down the years. A case in point is the deluxe edition of ‘Then Play On’ by Fleetwood Mac that I produced back in June of 2023 (INSERT LINK). Another artist where I feel the fans have been badly treated is David Bowie, Bowie, when he was alive, was one of the first artists to re-released his albums on CD with bonus tracks. Granted, they were a bit thin on the ground compared to the Deluxe Editions we have come to expect since then, but at least it was a start. 

Take for instance the 1990 re-release of 1969’s ‘David Bowie/Space Oddity’ album. That version came with three bonus tracks including a B-Side and a re-recording of an album track that was released as two sides of a single. Not bad, but when the album came out again in 1999, there were no bonus tracks what so ever. The same thing happened when the album was given another dusting down through the first seven years of the 21st Century. No bonus tracks at all. Then in 2009, the 40th Anniversary Edition finally came with a second disc of bonus tracks but this was followed by another re-release in the mid 2010’s in certain territories where once again, there were no bonus tracks to be seen. For the 50th Anniversary in 2019, there was at least a remix of the album which on certain tracks sounded very different from the original as well as a box set called ‘Conversation Piece’ which collected lots of demos and otherwise stray tracks. However, a lot of these demos had been released in vinyl box set mimicking acetate singles that were one of the few ways an artist could listen their tunes once they had recorded them in a studio. That is quite a lot of re-issues and rereleases. 

What I have attempted here for the 55th Anniversary of this album being released is to create an all encompassing box set of the ‘David Bowie/Space Oddity’ album that includes the various mixes of the album, single mixes, demos, BBC Sessions and curios that have come out down the years to create the most comprehensive version of the album I could create. 

Therefore, we have four different mixes of the album, even though to my untrained ears, the version from 1969, 1990 and 2009 sound pretty similar to each other. There are also a couple of stray tracks from the time Bowie was signed to Decca. These were included because they were not included in the rather good Deluxe Edition of his debut album from 1967, also confusingly called ‘David Bowie’. It is no wonder John Peel took the piss out him a year later in BBC broadcast for the Sunday Show for naming his first two albums the same (Peter Gabriel should have taken note). 

Disc 1 – 1969 Album Mix & Singles

  1. Space Oddity – 1
  2. Unwashed & Somewhat Slightly Dazed (including Don’t Sit Down) – 1
  3. Letter To Hermione – 1
  4. Cygnet Committee – 1
  5. Janine – 1
  6. An Occasional Dream – 1
  7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud – 1
  8. God Knows I’m Good – 1
  9. Memory Of A Free Festival – 1
  10. Space Oddity (UK Mono Single Edit) – 1
  11. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Mono Single B-Side) – 1
  12. Conversation Piece (Mono B-Side) – 1
  13. Regazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (Italian Single A-Side) – 2

Disc 2 – 1990 Remaster & BBC Sessions

  1. Space Oddity – 3
  2. Unwashed & Somewhat Slightly Dazed – 3
  3. Don’t Sit Down – 3
  4. Letter To Hermione – 3
  5. Cygnet Committee – 3
  6. Janine – 3
  7. An Occasional Dream – 3
  8. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud – 3
  9. God Knows I’m Good – 3
  10. Memory Of A Free Festival – 3
  11. in The Heat Of The Morning (BBC Session Recorded 13/5/1968) -1 
  12. London Bye, Ta-Ta (BBC Session Recorded 13/5/1968) -1
  13. Karma Man (BBC Session Recorded 13/5/1968) -1
  14. When I’m Five (BBC Session Recorded 13/5/1968) -1
  15. Silly Boy Boy (BBC Session Recorded 13/5/1968) -1
  16. Let Me Sleep Beside You (BBC Session Recorded 20/10/1969) – 4
  17. Unwashed & Slightly Dazed (BBC Session Recorded 20/10/1969) -1
  18. Janine (BBC Session Recorded 20/10/1969) -1

Disc 3 – 2009 Digital Remaster & Sessions

  1. Space Oddity – 4
  2. Unwashed & Somewhat Slightly Dazed (including Don’t Sit Down) – 4
  3. Letter To Hermione – 4
  4. Cygnet Committee – 4
  5. Janine – 4
  6. An Occasional Dream – 4
  7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud – 4
  8. God Knows I’m Good – 4
  9. Memory Of A Free Festival – 4
  10. Space Oddity (Love You ‘Till Tuesday Version) – 5
  11. In The Heat Of The Morning (Decca Mono Version) – 1
  12. Ching-A-Ling (Mono) – 1
  13. Conversation Piece (Stereo Version) – 4
  14. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Alt. Album Mix) – 4
  15. Janine (Mono Version) – 1
  16. Regazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (Full Length Stereo Version) – 4

Disc 4 – 2019 Mix & Sessions

  1. Space Oddity – 1
  2. Unwashed & Somewhat Slightly Dazed (including Don’t Sit Down) – 1
  3. Letter To Hermione – 1
  4. Cygnet Committee – 1
  5. Janine – 1
  6. An Occasional Dream – 1
  7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud – 1
  8. God Knows I’m Good – 1
  9. Memory Of A Free Festival – 1
  10. Conversation Piece (2019 Mix) – 1
  11. Regazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (2019 Mix) – 1
  12. Space Oddity (Morgan Studios Alt. Take) – 1
  13. London Bye, Ta-Ta (Decca Alt. Version) – 1
  14. Memory Of A Free Festival (Alt. Album Mix) – 4

Disc 5 – Demos

  1. April’s Tooth Of Gold – 1
  2. The Reverend Raymond Brown (Attends The Garden Fete On Thatchwick Green) – 1
  3. When I’m Five – 1
  4. Mother Grey – 1
  5. In The Heat Of The Morning – 1
  6. Goodbye 3d (Threepenny) Joe – 1
  7. Love All Around – 1
  8. London Bye, Ta-Ta – 1
  9. Angel, Angel, Grubby Face (Version 1) – 1
  10. Angel, Angel, Grubby Face (Version 2) – 1
  11. Animal Farm – 1
  12. Space Oddity (Solo Fragment) – 1
  13. Space Oddity (Version 1) – 1
  14. Space Oddity (Version 2) – 1
  15. Space Oddity (Version 3) – 1
  16. Lover To The Dawn – 1
  17. Ching-A-Ling – 1
  18. An Occasional Dream – 1
  19. Let Me Sleep Beside You – 1
  20. Life Is A Circus – 1
  21. Conversation Piece – 1
  22. Jerusalem – 1
  23. Hole In The Ground – 1

Disc 6 – Demos & Sessions

  1. Memory Of A Free Festival (Harmonium Mix) – 5
  2. Space Oddity – 1
  3. Janine – 1
  4. An Occasional Dream – 1
  5. Conversation Piece – 1
  6. Ching-A-Ling – 1
  7. I’m Not Quite (AKA Letter To Hermione) – 1
  8. Lover To The Dawn – 1
  9. Love Song – 1
  10. When I’m Five – 1
  11. Life Is A Circus – 1
  12. Space Oddity (Home Demo Version 3 – Unfaded Start) – 4
  13. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Single B-Side – Spoken Intro) – 4
  14. Memory Of A Free Festival (Moonage DayDream Mix Edit) – 5
  15. Cygnet Committee/Lazarus (Moonage Daydream mix) – 5
  16. Space Oddity (Moonage Daydream Mix) – 5

The image I have used for this cover was on the Steve Hoffman forum, but I am afraid I do not know who created it. 

1 – Conversation Piece Box Set

2 – Five Years (1969-1973) Box Set

3 – 1990 Rykodisc Version

4 – Space Oddity 40th Anniversary Edition 

5 – Moonage Daydream – A Brett Morgen Film OST

I did not include all of the variations of this album, especially not the RCA CD release form the early 1980s which I have not heard, but it is meant to be terrible. I am sure that there is the odd stray track out there that I did not include as it was most probably hidden on an obscure compilation somewhere. I did decide that the mixes produced for the ‘Moonage Daydream’ film, including s mix between ‘Cygnet Committee’ and ‘Lazarus’ with the later appearing on Bowies final album. It seemed correct to include it here though. Please let me know in the comments if there is any missing tracks. However, this just goes to show what could have been produced if Bowie or his record labels had taken the time and care to produce one of these for the 50th Anniversary back in 2019. A missed opportunity I feel.

Various Artists – The Last Days Of Britpop 1997 Vol.2

The second post this month is another volume of songs tracking the last days of Britpop. Like Volume 1, which was posted last month, this is a selection of B-Sides, single edits and the odd different recording, be it demo or rough mix. All the main players are here along with some recordings but some of the eras also rans. There is also a song from one band called Polarbear who would sell a lot more records when they changed their name to Snow Patrol. 

Side 1

  1. Cosmonaut No.7 – Scarfo
  2. Step Right Up (Full Version) – Mainstream
  3. M.O.R. (Road Version) – Blur
  4. Jump or Be Sane – Catatonia
  5. Heads High – Don
  6. Stay Young – Oasis

Side 2

  1. Cardboy King – Salad
  2. Filmstar (Orignal Version) – Suede
  3. Mary Wana – Nicotines
  4. Roadie – The Boo Radleys
  5. I’m A Man – Sleeper
  6. Stay – 18 Wheeler
  7. We Still Ned More (Than  Anyone Can Give) (Dust Brothers Recording) – Supergrass

Side 3

  1. Holy Cow – Polarbear
  2. Scumbag – Pink Kross
  3. Michaela – Pippi & The Butcherbirds
  4. The Face Smiles Back Easily – Ocean Colour Scene
  5. Fill Me – Elcka
  6. Superstar – Superstar
  7. Raspberries – Comet Gain

Side 4 

  1. Oh Yeah, Baby – Dweeb
  2. Let It Lie – Dustball
  3. Air Hockey – Bennet
  4. Bar Bar Bar (Demo) – Elastica
  5. Golden Skin – Silver Sun
  6. Times Up – Sussed
  7. Tomorrow Never Dies (Rough Mix) – Pulp

As this was produced to be a double LP, this is what the artwork for the gatefold sleeve.

I cannot remember where I found this image, but if it was produced by Double J (who has included their name in Damon Alban’s head), I think you. It is wonderful.

Volume 1 can be found here – https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/various-artists-1997-the-last-days-of-britpop-vol-1/

Various Artists – Post-Britpop Vol.1

Britpop ran out of steam by 1997 with the big players in the movement moving in a new musical direction, suffering from burnout, splitting up or just seeing further sales diminish. Blur released a self titled album which took its influence from the American lo-fi scene. Pulp released ‘This Is Hardcore’, which sounded like morning after the night before. Oasis released ‘Be Here Now’ which was an overproduced bloated mess. 

Bands that followed on from this took elements that had inspired the Britpop bands, but looked to make music that would appeal to a wider audience. There was less focus on Britain, the lyrics became more introspective and there was a greater attempt to appeal to the American market.

Many of the bands that made up the Post-Britpop era started during the Britpop years. Radiohead and The Verve predated it but found critical acclaim with their ‘OK Computer’ and ‘Urban Hymns’ albums respectively. Coldplay became one of the biggest selling bands of the era with their first two albums going multi platinum. Travis, Catatonia and Snow Patrol also shifted a good deal of units at this time. As with any movement, this also ran out of steam by 2002 when bands such as The White Stripes, The Strokes and The Hives were hailed as the saviours of rock and roll.

Like ‘The Britpop Years’ compilations from the last few months, there are a number of artists that would not normally be associated with the Post Britpop years. Once again, the compilations look at the years the music was produced in, not necessarily sticking to what would be considered Post Britpop as that would mean artists from outside the UK could not be included. 

Disc 1

  1. Holes – Mercury Rev
  2. Hundred Mile High City – Ocean Colour Scene
  3. Porcelain – Moby
  4. Don’t Falter – Mint Royal (with Lauren Laverne)
  5. 78 Stone Wobble – Gomez
  6. Praise You (Radio Edit) – Fatboy Slim
  7. Boys Better – The Dandy Warhols
  8. Jesus Says – Ash
  9. Clint Eastwood – Gorillaz
  10. Prologue To History – Manic Street Preachers
  11. Cement Mixer – Clinic
  12. Tequila (Mint Royal Shot Mix) – Terrorvision
  13. Korean Bodega – Fun Lovin’ Criminals
  14. Pure Morning – Placebo
  15. Dolphins Were Monkeys (UNKLE Remix) – Ian Brown
  16. Rising Sign – Hurricane #1
  17. Shining Light – Ash

Disc 2

  1. My Star – Ian Brown
  2. Scar Tissue – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
  3. Go Let it Out – Oasis
  4. You Stole The Sun From My Heart – Manic Street Preachers
  5. Celebrity Skin – Hole
  6. Whatever Happened To My Rock & Roll – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
  7. Denise – Fountains Of Wayne
  8. Subterranean Homesick Alien – Radiohead
  9. Walk Like A Panther (7” Version) – The All Seeing I
  10. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad – Moby
  11. Brimful Of Asha (Single Version) – Cornershop
  12. Underdog (Save Me) – Turin Brakes
  13. Pipe Dreams – Travis
  14. To You – I Am Kloot
  15. Great Divide – The Cardigans
  16. Wishing Stone – Dot Allison
  17. Come Back To What You Know – Embrace
  18. Morning Afterglow – Electrasy
  19. All I Want – Puressence
  20. Delta Bottleneck Stomp – Mercury Rev
  21. Interlude – Blur

The front cover, which is pretty much the same for all of the volumes, was adapted from a compilation released many moon ago and I have no idea what it was.

This disc could not be reproduced on Spotify due to one more songs not being available on that platform. 

Various Artists – 1997 The Last Days Of Britpop Vol.1

Something a little different to finish off the month. By 1997, Britpop was burning itself out. The fun and games of the previous three or so years had started to become stale. The main artists of the period were starting to release music that had lost some of its sparkle which could be argued to have been caused by exhaustion/drug problems etc. 

That didn’t stop some quality music from being released. I put this compilation together from songs that I had not used on previous posts this year. Most of the major Britpop acts are included, with some obscure ones added for good measure. There are stand alone singles, single mixes, B-sides and album tracks. As the are the midst of a vinyl revival, I have made this a double LP. 

Side A

  1. Hush – Kula Shaker
  2. Young Girls & Happy Endings – Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci
  3. Echo Bass – The Verve
  4. Everything Is Sorrow (Granby Remix) – The Boo Radleys
  5. Down A Different River – Super Furry Animals

Side B

  1. Taxloss (Single Version) – Mansun
  2. Nothing Is Changing – Sleeper
  3. Hello Monday – Ocean Colour Scene
  4. Death Of A Party (7” Remix) – Blur
  5. Don’t Need A Gun – The Charlatans
  6. Sometimes I Make You Sad – Supergrass

Side C

  1. Brimful Of Asha (Album Version) – Cornershop
  2. Thickshake – Silver Sun
  3. I Am The Mob (Luca Brasi Mix) – Catatonia
  4. Stand By Me (French Radio Edit) – Oasis
  5. True Love Waits (Full Band) – Radiohead

Side D

  1. Free Me (Acoustic) – Cast
  2. Where Are They Now – Gene
  3. Best Regrets – Geneva
  4. Duschess – Suede
  5. Laughing Boy – Pulp
  6. Come Together – Spiritulized

The artwork comes from BBC Radio 2 show about Britpop. Used Virgin as the record label as they were the ones who produced The Best Album in the World Series of CDs that I bought in the 90s.

Pulp – B-Sides (The Island Years)

Out of all of the bands that could be classed as Britpop, Pulp formed first. Starting out in 1978 (when Tim Wheeler from Ash was about 1 year old), front man Jarvis Cocker has been the only ever present. It took them two years to play a gig and then in 1981, they had recorded a demo tape which the band gave to legendary DJ, John Peel, who duly gave them some exposure with a Peel Session. The original line up disbanded not long after this as most of the members went off to University and, the Peel Session not leading to any success. A new line up was formed and it was then that ‘It’, their first album was recorded and released in 1983. A second album, ‘Freaks’ was released in 1987 but Cocker took a break to study at Central Saint Martin College, putting the band on hiatus. 

By the 1989, Cocker had resurrected the band and they had a deal with Fire Records. It was whilst on that label that the released the ‘My Legendary Girlfriend’ single. This was made weekly music newspaper, the NME’s single of the week. The trajectory of the band started to rise and ‘O.U’ was made single of the week by Melody Maker, an other UK weekly music paper. Signing to Island Records, ‘Lipgloss’ became their first single to break the UK top 40. Parent album, ‘His ’n’ Hers’ broke into the top ten of the LP charts and the band was on its way, finally. 

‘Different Class’ followed soon afterwards but there were some incidents of controversy. There was the single ‘Sorted For E’s & Whizz’ which was said to be pro drugs and the original artwork showed people how to make a paper wrap which was interpreted as a way of hiding drugs. Then there was the 1996 BRIT Awards when Cocker rushed the stage during Michels Jackson’s over the top performance of ‘Earth Song’ for which he ended up spending a night in jail for. None of this seemed to hurt record sales though.

There would  three year gap before their next album was released. ‘This Is Hardcore’ which was darker than the previous two efforts, mostly down to the pressures of fame, Cocker having a cocaine addiction and a lack of new material. The band would record one more album, 2001s ‘We Love Life’ before splitting. There have been a few reunions but none that herded any new music. They did leave quite of a lot of quality music though for us to listen to and this is shown by the amount of top notch B-Sides they produced during the period they were signed to Island Records. For this, the sixth and final B-Sides collection from the major players of Britpop, Pulp are afforded a double album. 

Side A

  1. The Babysitter (Do You Remember The First Time)
  2. Deep Fried In Kelvin (Lipgloss)
  3. You’re A Nightmare (Lipgloss)

Side B

  1. Seconds (The Sisters EP)
  2. Street Lites (Do You Remember The First Time)
  3. Your Sister’s Clothes (The Sisters EP)
  4. The Professional (This Is Hardcore)

Side C

  1. Ansaphone (Disco 2000)
  2. His ’n’ Hers (The Sisters EP)
  3. Ladies’ Man (This Is Hardcore)
  4. Tomorrow Never Lies (Help The Aged)

Side D

  1. We Are The Boys (Party Hard)
  2. P.T.A. (Parent Teacher Association) (Mis-Shapes & Sorted For E’s & Wizz)
  3. Cocaine Socialism (A Little Soul)
  4. Mile End (Something Changed)
  5. 59 Lyndhurst Grove – Live (Common People – French Single)

I normally would not include live tracks on B-Sides collections, but this version of ’59 Lyndhurst Grove’ was. It finishes with a nice thank you by Jarvis Cocker and I felt it was a really nice way to finish off. 

Moby – The Play Sessions

I must admit that Moby passed me by for most of the 1990s. I seem to remember the single ‘Go’, but that is about it. I therefore did not know anything about the artist when I picked up the ‘Honey’ single after listening to it on the radio. Even though I did not think much of the remixes, I still liked ‘Honey’. The mix of an old song with a techno beat intrigued me so a few months later when I saw there was an album for sale with ‘Honey’ on it , I picked it up. What I din’t realise at the time was this was this was Moby’s last throw of the dice as far as his music career was concerned. His previous effort, ‘Animal Rights’, had been a commercial disaster and he was contemplating quitting music all together. Some positive feedback from fellow musicians gave him the confidence to at least give music another go.

‘Play’ was released in mid 1999 to little fanfare. It initially sold enough to break into the UK Top 40, but after his fanbase had bought their copies, it slipped down the chart. However, in an attempt to get the music heard, Moby and his management team decided to license the tracks for adverts. In the end, every song from the album was licensed and exposure for the record increased dramatically. In the end, the record would sell over 12 million copies worldwide and eight singles were ultimately released from it. The album was so popular that in 2000, a compilation album was released called ‘Play: The B-Sides’. This also sold in good numbers but was not a comprehensive set as it did not contain any remixes. Moby recorded so much material in preparation for ‘Play’ that a bootleg came out not long after this called ‘Play: The Outtakes’. 

One of the features of the album of the numerous styles that were incorporated into it. There are the aforementioned techno and blues. However, there was electronica, downtempo, ambient, breakbeat and roots. As successful as this album was, it was also quite schizophrenic. What I looked to do here is repackage these records with more of a theme.

The first disc is called ‘Natural Blues’ and contains songs that sampled blues and roots music. The second is ‘Bodyrock’ which contains more big beat and techno tracks. The third is a reimagining of the album which took out the more uptempo numbers to be replaced by something more ambient.  

Natural Blues

Side A

  1. Honey – Play
  2. Find My Baby – Play
  3. Flower – B-Side (Find My Baby)
  4. Run On – Play

Side B

  1. Natural Blues – Play
  2. Flying Foxes – B-Side (Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad)
  3. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad – Play

The cover was used for the ‘Natural Blues’ single. 

Bodyrock

Side A

  1. Bodyrock – Play
  2. Machette – Play
  3. 7 – Play

Side B

  1. Flying Over The Dateline – B-Side (Porcelain) 
  2. Running – B-Side (Run On)

The cover was used for the ’Bodyrock’ single.

Play

Took out the more upbeat numbers to make something a bit more mellow.

Side A

  1. Dispatched – Play: The Outtakes
  2. If Things Were Perfect – Play
  3. Porcelain – Play
  4. South Side – Play
  5. The Sun Never Stops Setting – B-Side (Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad)

Side B

  1. Everlong – Play
  2. Inside – Play
  3. Graciosa – Play: The Outtakes
  4. Rushing – Play

Side C

  1. The Whispering Wind – B-Side (Natural Blues)
  2. The Sky Is Broken – Play
  3. Summer – B-Side
  4. Sown Slow – Play

Side D

  1. Guitar, Flute & String – Play
  2. Deep Seated – Play: The Outtakes
  3. Memorial Gospel – B-Side (Run On)
  4. My Weakness – Play

The cover is the same as the one used for ‘Play’

This reimagining of ‘Play’ could not be recreated on Spotify as a number of these treks come from the Outtakes bootleg. 

Various Artists – Britpop Influences

Last month, I posted a what-if compilation of The Beatles and what could have been their LP release of 1969, with additional singles. They were one of the bands mentioned by multiple artists during the Britpop era as a major influence. They even got back together (sort of) to release two new(six) songs during the mid 90s. So, wouldn’t it be interesting to put together a compilation of artists that were an influence on that period so this is what I put together. 

Britpop was a harking back to the great British song book of the 60s, 70s and 80s. It was also a rejection of American grunge music, so many of the songs writers from this period looked to write about Britishness in their lyrics. The 60s influences (especially Blur) ranged from The Kinks (especially when they were banned from the USA and their songs became more British in their lyrical content), The Beatles, and Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd. From the 70s, Noel Gallagher took inspiration from Slade. Art rockers such as Roxy Music were an influence on Suede. Bands from the late 70s such as The Strangers and Wire were such an influence on Elastica that the band lost plagiarism court cases due to the similarity of their songs to those of these earlier bands records. The indie scene of the 80s and very early 90s played a part in creating Britpop. The Madchester Scene where bands such as the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays played a part, incorporating dance beats and jangly guitars into their sound. With all this thrown into the mix, Britpop emerged. 

Whilst not all of these songs were the most inspirational in terms of Britpop, with The La’s and the song ‘There She Goes’ being called by Rolling Stone magazine, the foundation of Britpop, I did not want to use songs that were used on other compilations I have put together for this years celebration. If this compilation had actually been released back in the 90s, and I am surprised nothing like this was, then The Beatles and Pink Floyd would have been nowhere near it with those bands and/or record labels would not have released these songs for a compilation such as this. I also feel that compilers back in the day would have picked a Beatles song by John Lennon,  but I went with ‘The Inner Light’, a George Harrison number as I needed to have something with an Indian influence to cover Kula Shaker. 

Disc 1

  1. My Generation (Mono) – The Who
  2. The Last Time – Andrew Oldham Orchestra
  3. Arnold Layne – Pink Floyd
  4. The Inner Light – The Beatles
  5. Autumn Almanac – The Kinks
  6. Lazy Sunday – Small Faces
  7. Street Fighting Man (Single Mono Mix) – The Rolling Stones
  8. Starman (Single Mono Mix) – David Bowie
  9. Cum On Feel The Noize – Slade
  10. Do The Strand – Roxy Music
  11. 20th Century Boy – T.Rex
  12. No More Heroes – The Stranglers
  13. Take My I’m Yours – Squeeze
  14. Radio, Radio – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
  15. I Am The Fly (Single Version) – Wire
  16. Groovy Times – The Clash
  17. Cleopatra – Adam & The Ants
  18. Harmony In The Head – The Buzzcocks

Disc 2

  1. The Eton Rifles – The Jam
  2. Bloody Revolutions – Crass
  3. Treason – The Teardrop Explodes
  4. Do Nothing (Single Version) – The Specials (feat. Rico & the Ice Rink String Sounds)
  5. Senses Working Overtime (Single Edit) – XTC
  6. Our House (Radio Edit) – Madness
  7. The Cutter – Echo & The Bunnynmen
  8. This Charming Man – The Smiths
  9. 24 Hour Party People – Happy Mondays
  10. I Wanna Be Adored (Single Version) – Stone Roses
  11. Brassneck – The Wedding Present
  12. Def Con One – Pop Will Eat Itself
  13. Timeless Melody – The La’s
  14. Dragging Me Down – Inspired Carpets
  15. L.S.I. – The Shamen
  16. Cut Your Head – Pavement

Disc 2 could not be reproduced on Spotify due to one or more songs not being available.

The front cover images is adapted from pinterest user, Tim Benson. Virgin Records released several compilations during this era so I used their logo here.