Various Artists – Unbelievable Vol.1

As I have mentioned on previous posts, Britpop was the first era when I buying a good deal of the music that was being released. Remember folks, this was a time when if you wanted the music, you need to have it on some sort of physical media, even if that included copying the music onto a cassette. I am old enough the remember the ‘Home Taping is Killing Music’ campaign 

However, there was a period before this that went by many names. These included Baggy, Madchester and Indie, but there were others as well. I might not have been buying due to a lack of funds (I was at school at the time) but I was listening, soaking it all up. However, by the turn of the century, the first retrospective compilations of that time started to see the light of day. One of my favourites, and the inspiration for this compilation was released in 2001. ‘Unbelievable’, named after the song by EMF, covered all the big hitters from that era including a few who would continue into the Britpop era. 

Not only did I take songs from the ‘Unbelievable’ compilation, I have also included songs from around the same time that were on ‘The Best Album In The World Compilations’ that I was buying throughout the Britpop years and tunes that I heard from people I was at University..   

Disc 1

  1. Surfin’ USM – Cater The Unstoppable Sex Machine
  2. This Is Your Life – Banderas
  3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart – Saint Etienne
  4. Even Better Than The Real Thing – U2
  5. There’s No Other Way – Blur
  6. One Way – The Levellers
  7. The Size Of A Cow – The Wonder Stuff
  8. Kinky Afro – Happy Mondays
  9. Loaded – Primal Scream
  10. Unfinished Sympathy (Nellee Hoper 7” Mix) – Massive Attack
  11. Enjoy The Silence – Depeche Mode
  12. Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
  13. Shine On – The House Of Love
  14. There She Goes – The La’s
  15. Can You Dig It? – The Mock Turtles
  16. Move Any Mountain – The Shaman
  17. Hippy Chick – Soho
  18. The Only One I Know – The Charlatans
  19. This Is How It Feels – Insipral Carpets
  20. Groove Is In The Heart – Dee-Lite

Disc 2

  1. On 33 – Stereo MC’s
  2. Feeling’ – The La’s
  3. Where’s Me Jumper? – Sultans Of Ping F.C.
  4. The Fly – U2
  5. Unbelievable – EMF
  6. Sit Down – James
  7. Saturn 5 – Inspiral Carpets
  8. Step On – Happy Mondays
  9. Orange Crush – R.E.M. 
  10. Monkeys Gone To Heaven – The Pixies
  11. After All – Frank & Walters
  12. Shall We Take A Trip – Northside
  13. Then – The Charlatans
  14. The Killing Moon – Echo & The Bunnymen
  15. Ten Years Asleep – Kingmaker
  16. How Soon Is Now? – The Smiths
  17. Sing – Blur
  18. All Together Now – The Farm

The artwork is adapted from the compilation of the same name that came out in 2001.

Kula Shaker – Gokula (The B-Sides Collection)

Where many Britpop bands focused on the works of Lennon & McCartney, The Who, The Kinks or XTC, Kula Shaker were one of the few, if the only band from the era who seemed to have listened to the work of George Harrison, including those songs that were influenced by his journeys into Indian music. The name of the band was even inspired by Kulasekhara who was one of the twelve Vaishnavite avatars. I would recommend you look it up if you don’t know what that is. Lead by singer and guitar player, Crispian Mills, his songs were also inspired by Indian culture and Hinduism which he had encountered whilst he was on a backpacking trip around India in the early 1990s. Having played in a couple of bands, Mills would recruit college friend Alonza Bevan on bass, Paul Winterhart on drums and Jay Darlington on keyboards. 

The band were signed to Columbia Records and released their first single, ‘Tattva’. The chorus of the song is a slice of Hindu philosophy sung in Sanskrit which reached the lower reaches of the Top 100. Not bad for a debut single that was limited to 1000 copies. The band continued by releasing some more conventional sounding rock songs in the shape of ‘Grateful When You’re Dead’ and ‘Hey Dude’, as well as a rerecording of ‘Tattva’ and ‘Govinda’. Govinda has the distinction of being the only top ten hit UK single to be sung entirely in Sanskrit. The meaning of the chorus translates as ‘Krishna, Glory, Glory’. The band seemed to go from strength to strength with the release of their debut album, ‘K’, which would eventually reach double platinum status in the UK.1996 had been a good year for the band and 1997 seemed to be going in the same direction when their cover of Joe South’s ‘Hush’ made number two in the UK singles chart, but some ill advised remarks by Mills regarding the swastika lead to a backlash in the UK press. 

This and the delay in releasing the second album lost the band the momentum they had built up. Only ‘Sound of Drums’, the first single from the ‘Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts’ LP breached the top ten. The parent album did make the Top Ten in the UK album chart but sold nowhere near as many copies as the previous album. By the end of 1999, the band split up even though they did get back together in 2007 and are still going today, even though it has taken until recently for th original four members to come back together. 

This is another in my series of B-Side albums from the era’s big hitters and there was enough material to put out an album that would stand up (in my opinion) to the main albums. Well, in some respects it does, even thought I did include what would have been an unreleased song if this album had come out in reality. That additional song is ‘Strangefolk’ which was included on the ‘Kollected’ album. ‘Strangefolk’ was the original title of the second album, but this was edited and the full length song would see the light of day on the 10th Anniversary reissue of ‘Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts’.  

Side A

  1. Avalonia (Mystical Machine Gun – 1998)
  2. Guitar Man (Mystical Machine Gun – 1998)
  3. Moonshine (Tattva – 1996)
  4. Holy River (Mystical Machine Gun – 1998)
  5. Dance In Your Shadow (Tattva – 1996)
  6. Goodbye Tin Terriers (Shower Your Love – 1999)
  7. Troubled Mind (Hey Dude – 1996)

Side B

  1. Prancing Bride (Mystical Machine Gun – 1998)
  2. Raggy One (Waiting For Tomorrow) (Hush – 1997)
  3. Gokula (Govinda – 1996)
  4. Under The Hammer (Grateful When You’re Dead/Jerry Was Here – 1996)
  5. Drop In The Sea (Hey Dude – 1996)
  6. Another Life (Grateful When You’re Dead/Jerry Was Here – 1996)
  7. Light Of The Day (Shower Your Love – 1999)
  8. Strangefolk (Kollected – The Best Of Kula Shaker – 2002)

The cover is adapted from the bands 2007 release of the B-Sides from their ‘Strangefolk’ album.

Various Artists – The Britpop Years Vol.3

The first of another month has come around and that means it must be time for another compilation of quality Britpop era tunes. I normally pick songs between the years 1994 and 1997, which is when I was at University and Britpop rules the waves. With this volume however, it seems that a stray tracks or two has snuck in from other years. ‘Low’ by Cracker was released in 1993 and Let’s Get Together by Gorky’s Zygotic Mynchi was released in 1998. There also are a few more artists from outside of the British Isles on this one as well as a few song songs taken from the rather wonderful H.E.L.P. compilation. This was a project where several artists went into recording studios on the same day with the idea of producing enough material for an album which would raise money for children living in war torn Yugoslavia. In my opinion, this was one of the greatest charity albums of all time.

Disc 1

  1. Tattva – Kula Shaker
  2. On The Rose – Tiger
  3. Need You Around – Smoking Popes
  4. Disco 2000 – Pulp
  5. Alright – Cast
  6. Girls & Boys – Blur
  7. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – Neneh Cherry & Trout
  8. Randrops Keep Falling On My Head – Manic Street Preachers
  9. Ain’t That Enough – Teenage Fanclub
  10. Getting Better – Shed Seven
  11. Where I Find My Heaven – Gigolo Aunts
  12. Let’s Get Together – Gorky’s Zygotic Mynchi
  13. Roads – Portishead
  14. Fighting Fit – Gene
  15. Inbetweener – Sleeper
  16. Australia – Manic Street Preachers
  17. She Said – Longpigs
  18. Step Into My World – Hurricane #1
  19. If You Don’t Want Me To Destroy You – Super Furry Animals
  20. The Masterplan – Oasis

Disc 2

  1. It’s Oh So Quiet – Bjork
  2. Whole Lotta Love – Goldbug
  3. Setting Sun – The Chemical Brothers
  4. Sonnet – The Verve
  5. The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get – Morrissey
  6. Connection – Elastica
  7. In A Room – Dodgy
  8. Shipbuilding – Suede
  9. Dream A Little Dream – Terry Hall & Salad
  10. Angel Interceptor – Ash
  11. Jealousy – Octopus
  12. Low – Cracker
  13. Help The Aged – Pulp
  14. Ride The Tiger – The Boo Radleys
  15. Country House – Blur
  16. For The Dead – Gene
  17. Something 4 The Weekend – Super Furry Animals
  18. Songs Of Love – The Divine Comedy
  19. Nothing Lasts Forever – Echo & The Bunnymen
  20. Street Spirit (Fade Out) – Radiohead
  21. Judas Mon Coeur (French Version) – Belly

One or more of the songs on this collection were not available on Spotify. 

Smashing Pumpkins – Gish (Alternative Version)

Something a little different to finish off the month with, especially as they are not Britpop in anyway shape or form. I have written in length about the Smashing Pumpkins and how I came to find out about them in previous posts, but just to recap. I have been a fan of the original incarnation of the Smashing Pumpkins since I bought their first album ‘Gish’ in 1993. I mentioned the circumstances I became aware of the band back in my October 2020 post about the first album that never was. 

‘Gish’ was released in 1991 but I did not get myself a copy until two years later. It is a bit of a difficult album to categorise as Corgan seems to be trying to harness the power of classic rock bands such as Black Sabbath with aspects of sound utilised by bands such as The Cure. The band were given a rather generous budget of $20,000 to record which afforded Corgan and producer Butch Vig the time to get the sounds right but relations within the group were harmed by the production methods. That was due to Corgan rerecording the bass and guitar parts from Darcy Wretzky and James Iha respectively. To add insult to injury, Corgan used their instruments as well. The press for the album were generally favourable and it would eventually sell over 1 million copies in the US alone.

I liked what I heard with ‘Gish’ and bought ‘Siamese Dream’ soon afterwards. I continued buying all of the material that they had released/recorded between the late 80s up until 2001. This continued with the Deluxe Editions of all of those albums, which have been a treasure trove of previously unreleased material, alternative takes and live material. This was one of the best reissue programmes I have seen, especially as main songwriter Billy Corgan had a hand in putting it all together. I have found that for the majority of the time, the last people you want being in charge of a reissue programme are the artists themselves. Anyway, I digress. 

As so much material has been released, I wondered if it would be possible to compile a completely alternative version of the studio albums they made before they broke up in 2000, just using the material from the Deluxe Editions. Well, I wasn’t able to do this so I had to have a look into the murky world of the bootleg, including ones that Corgan put on line in the early days of the internet. This also included the short lived Smashing Pumpkins Record Club (which offered up tracks to download from the internet that were not included on any of the Deluxe Edition reissues). What this means is that ‘Pieces Iscariot’ and ‘The Aeroplane Flies High’ will not be included here (look at my entry from October 2022 to see my alternative version of ‘The Aeroplane Flies High). 

Side A

  1. I Am One – Limited Potential Version (Single A-Side)
  2. Siva (Peel Radio Session EP)
  3. Rhinoceros (Version Two) – Reel Time Sessions (Smashing Pumpkins Record Club)
  4. Bury Me – Reel Time Demos (Gish Deluxe)
  5. Hippy Trippy – Crush Demo (Gish Deluxe)

SIde B

  1. Seam – Suffer Department Demo (Gish Deluxe)
  2. Snail – Radio Session (Mashed Potatoes Bootleg) 
  3. Tristessa – Sub Pop Version (Single A-Side)
  4. Window Paine – Live (Mashed Potatoes Bootleg)
  5. Daydream – Old House Demo (Gish Deluxe)

What was surpassing was how close I could achieve this aim. Seeing as I bought these records on vinyl, I have followed the order on that release.

Various Artists – Caught Beneath The Landslide Volume 2

Back in 2021, Edsel Records released the compilation ‘Caught Beneath The Landslide’. It was a companion piece to photographers Kevin Cummins book, ‘While We Were Getting High: Britpop & The 90s’. Cummings was the chief photographer at the NME, which at the time of Britpop was a best selling music weekly newspaper. He then compiled a four disc compilation which included some of the biggest names from the period along with some of the also rans. The recordings were not the obvious hits either, but alternative versions, single edits and B-Sides. 

Well, in this year of Britpop themed releases on this site, I have looked to do something similar with a second volume of the ‘Caught Beneath The Landslide’ compilation. What is different about this one is that it is not based around the Cummins book and does not include as many of the Britpop big hitters as the first volume. What we have though is another four disc set encompassing the years 1993-1998 which I hope will be a worthy follow up to the original. 

Disc 1

  1. So Sad About Us – Jubilee
  2. Come Back Tomorrow – Salad
  3. Saturday Night – Ned’s Atomic Dustbin
  4. Christopher – Kinky Machine
  5. Natural One – The Folk Implosion
  6. Born Disco, Died Heavy Metal – Cornershop
  7. This Is The Sound Of Youth – These Animal Men
  8. Town Clowns – Blameless
  9. Walter’s Song – Shack
  10. Now That You Know Me – Coast
  11. Cracked – Nylon Bombers
  12. Mall Monarchy – Compulsion
  13. Ha Ha You’re Dead – Sleeper
  14. Bring You Down – The Real People
  15. Daydream – Back To The Planet
  16. Scenester – Flamingoes
  17. Girl A, Girl B, Boy C – My Life Story
  18. Sometimes Always – The Jesus & Mary Chain
  19. Love Songs On The Radio – Mojave 3
  20. Sure As Fate – Passion Fruit & Holy Bread
  21. Out Of This World (Original Mix) – Republica

Disc 2

  1. Step Out – Oasis
  2. I Don’t Know – Ruth
  3. Shirtlifter – Lick
  4. Cookie – David Devant & His Spirit Wife
  5. Mrs Hoover – The Candyskins
  6. Child’s Body – Gene
  7. Box Star A.M. – Embassy
  8. Looey Vs. Christ – Baba Booey
  9. Smiler (Single Version) – Heavy Stereo
  10. Love 45 – Orange Deluxe
  11. Queenie – Pimlico
  12. Bellyache – Echobelly
  13. Good Intentions – Livingstone
  14. Mark – Shed Seven
  15. Don’t Know – Ash
  16. London Breeds – 60ft Dolls
  17. Merched Yn Need Gwallt Eu Gilled – Gorky’s Zygotic Mynchi
  18. Hello Victim – Baby Chaos
  19. Man Of Leisure – The Weekenders
  20. Today & Tonight – Marion
  21. Alison – Slowdrive
  22. Odd (Peel Session) – Supergrass
  23. Bandstarter – Brainpool

Disc 3

  1. Privilege – Mainstream
  2. U16 Girls – Travis
  3. Three Beasts – Moms
  4. Hype – Headswim
  5. Straighten Out – Brassy
  6. Where Have You Been Tonight? – Shed Seven
  7. Death Of A Party (7” Mix) – Blur
  8. English Tea – Thurman
  9. We Are The Supercool – Space Monkeys
  10. Blinded By The Sun (Edit) – The Seahorses
  11. All Pop No Star – Slingbacks
  12. All I Want – Poppyheads
  13. Know Where To Find You – Mantaray 
  14. The Kazoo Song – The Sweeney
  15. Crush – Goya Dress
  16. It Fell Of The Back Of A Lorry – Denim
  17. Holiday – Pullover
  18. Supersexy Revolutionary – Disco Pistol
  19. Primary Alternative (Peel Session) – The Delgados
  20. The Mill Hill Self Hate Club – Edward Ball
  21. Another Night In – Strangelove
  22. Can’t Be Sure – The Sundays

Disc 4

  1. To Earth With Love – Gay Dad
  2. A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed – theaudience
  3. Soloman Bites The Worm – The Bluetones
  4. I Like Rock – Bennet
  5. Roll With It – Mogul
  6. Rent (Live) – Suede & Neil Tennant
  7. Tuesday Afternoon – Ex Boyfriends
  8. Drag Queen – The Dandys
  9. Candlelight – Six By Seven
  10. Break – The Gyres
  11. Julia – Silver Sun
  12. Nothing To Lose – Elcka
  13. Hurricane – Warm Jets
  14. Now I’ve Seen Through You – Hillman Minx
  15. Best Friend – Ether
  16. Move Over – Mover
  17. Maniac – Cinerama
  18. How Free – Don
  19. Will You Still Care – The Crocketts
  20. Vinegar Vera – Rialto
  21. Dry The Rain – The Beta Band

The front cover is similar to Volume 1 with different bands added. The cover stars are as follows. 

Top row (l to r) – theadiance, Travis, The Sundays

Middle row (l to r) – Blur, The Delgados, Cornershop

Bottom row (l to r) – Ash, The Weekenders, Seahorses

Suede – B-Side Collections

Part 1 – Sci-Fi Lullabies (Break Up Version)

Most, if not all musical movements receive their name from people who tend not to be part of that movement, be it the press, critics or the artists A&R. Some movement names are used whilst it is still active, such as punk whereas other are retrospectively given with Freakbeat being a good example. Some artists embrace the movements name, some do not and therefore seek to distance themselves from it. There is also the added problem of trying to work out what is the first record to be released that could be described as starting that moment off. The amount of words that have been written trying to work out what the first Rock ’n’ Roll record was is arguably a good deal more than the amount written by Shakespeare. 

British band Suede fit nicely into lots of the categories mentioned above. Their first album is considered (myself included) to be the first Britpop album. They hated the title and their second album can therefore be considered to be the first post-Britpop LP, four years before anyone else tried to produce one of their own. 

Suede started when students Brett Anderson and Justine Frischmann met whilst studying at University College London. They became a couple soon afterwards and with Anderson’s friend, Matt Osman, they decided to form a band. Neither Frischmann or Anderson felt they were good enough guitar players to play lead so after an advert was placed in the music paper, the New Music Express (or NME as it is more commonly known), a certain Bernard Butler got their job. Early gigs would see the band backed up with a drum machine which proved to be unreliable. They would briefly be joined by drummer Justin Welch, who would later reconnect with Frischmann in Elastica. He didn’t stay long and therefore another advert in the music weeklies was placed. The band were surprised when Mike Joyce, former drummer with The Smiths got in touch but he did not stay long either. Joyce bailed on the fledgling group because he felt that being in a band that was influenced by and had certain similarities to The Smiths would do Suede more harm than good. Eventually, Simon Gilbert joined behind the drum kit. 

Tensions began to build when Frischmann and Anderson split up. Frischmann had started a relationship with Blur’s Damon Alban but she did not leave Suede immediately. It was felt that the situation could be worked through but she was eventually fired after turning up late for rehearsals on too many occasions, sometimes due to being on the set of a Blur video. With Frischmann gone, Anderson and Butler became closer and began writing the songs that would make up the debut album. 

Anderson was the figurehead of the band, and appeared on the front cover of music weekly Melody Maker before they had released a record. The paper even called them the “Best New Band in Britain”. By the time of their third single released, ‘Animal Nitrate’ they had matched the hype with record sales as this was their first single to break into the UK Top Ten singles chart. When the album came out, it was the biggest selling debut since Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘Welcome to the Pleasuredome’ LP. The album also won the 1993 Mercury Music Prize and it would seem that Suede were truly going to be the next big thing. That was until tension started to arise between Anderson and Butler. 

In early 1994, the band released ‘Stay Together’, their highest charting single to date but the sound was different to what had gone before. The song was also a portent of what was to come. Multi-layered guitars, increased length of the songs and sounding like nothing else around it. Butler did not help the situation by being quite critical of Anderson in one of the few interviews he gave at the time. Tensions got so high that Butler began to record his parts for the second album separately from the rest of the band until he came to the studio to find that he would not be allowed in and his guitars were left on the street. The band finished the album with either Butler recording in another studio or with a session player playing Butlers’ parts from the demo recordings. Considering the tension that went into making this record, it is surprising how good it is even if it took some members of the music press a number of years to catch up. 

Suede would recruit in a new guitar player in Richard Oakes, and continue to release records to this day. However, what this collection looks to do is see what a B-Sides collection would have looked like if the band had decided to call it a day after ‘Dog Man Star’ had been released. Some of Suede’s B-Sides were excellent, which is was clearly shown when the band released the ‘Sci-Fi Lullabies’ collection which this album shares its title and artwork with. Unlike the version that came out in real life, no songs recorded with Oakes could be included. There is also a lot more songs from the first album sessions as well which shows the strength of material they had before they had even entered a recording studio. Overall, a good record that more than stands up on its own merits.  

Side A

  1. The Living Dead (Stay Together – 1994)
  2. Killing Of A Flash Boy (We Are The Pigs – 1994)
  3. He’s Dead (Metal Mickey – 1992)
  4. My Insatiable One (The Drowners – 1992)
  5. My Dark Star (Stay Together – 1994)
  6. Where The Pigs Don’t Fly (Metal Mickey – 1992)

Side B

  1. Modern Boys (The Wild One – 1994)
  2. Whipsnade (We Are The Pigs – 1994)
  3. High Rising (So Young – 1992)
  4. The Big Time (Animal Nitrate – 1993)
  5. To The Birds (The Drowners – 1993)

Part 2 – Lost Lullabies

When the real ‘Sci-Fi Lullabies’ came out in 1997, it was not a comprehensive collection of Suede’s B-Side. There were a number of tracks that did not make the cut. What I have done here, is to collect those lost songs to be a release all of their own. Called ‘Lost Lullabies’, it is weighed down by the Eno remix of ‘Introducing The Band’ which I first heard as the B-Side to the 12” single version of ‘The Wild Ones’. I think I played it once and for the second time when completing this collection. It is definitely something that does not warrant multiple plays. 

Side A

  1. Eno’s Introducing The Band (The Wild Ones – 1994)
  2. Feel (Lazy – 1997)

Side B

  1. Dolly (So Young – 1993)
  2. Digging A Hole (Lazy – 1997)
  3. Painted People (Animal Nitrate – 1993)
  4. Sam (Beautiful Ones – 1996)
  5. This World Needs A Father (The Wild Ones – 1994)
  6. Asda Town (The Wild Ones – 1994)

The cover is adapted from the original ‘Sci-Fi Lullabies’. 

Various Artists – The Britpop Years Vol.2

It is the first of the month so time for another Britpop Years compilation. Once again, this is not a playlist of Britpop songs/bands (even though the vast majority are), this includes music that came from the years 1994-97.

Disc 1

  1. Wake Up Boo! – The Boo Radleys
  2. Alright – Supergrass
  3. Sorted For E’s & Whizz – Pulp
  4. This Is A Call – Foo Fighters
  5. God! Show Me Magic – Super Furry Animals
  6. Block Rockin’ Beats – The Chemical Brothers
  7. The Day We Caught The Train – Ocean Colour Scene
  8. Everything Must Go – Manic Street Preachers
  9. Oh Yeah – Ash
  10. Peaches – The Presidents Of The United States Of America
  11. Battle Of Who Could Care Less – Ben Folds Five
  12. North Country Boy – The Charlatans (UK)
  13. The Universal – Blur
  14. Staying Out For The Summer – Dodgy
  15. You Can Talk To Me – The Seahorses
  16. King Of The Kerb – Echobelly
  17. Beautiful Ones – Suede
  18. Only Happy When It Rains – Garbage
  19. You Do – McAlmont & Butler
  20. Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead
  21. Smile – The Supernaturals

Disc 2 

  1. Reverend Black Grape – Black Grape
  2. Annie – Elastica
  3. Lump – The Presidents Of The United States Of America
  4. Motorbike To Heaven – Salad
  5. Sour Times – Portishead
  6. Lost Myself – Longpigs
  7. One Night Stand – The Aloof
  8. Into The Blue – Geneva
  9. Common People – Pulp
  10. Drop Dead Gorgeous – Republica
  11. Just – Radiohead
  12. Stupid Girl – Garbage
  13. Kung Fu – Ash
  14. Perseverance – Terrorvision
  15. Live Forever – Oasis
  16. The Day Before Yesterday’s Man – The Supernaturals
  17. 6 Underground – Sneaker Pimps
  18. Protection – Massive Attack feat. Tracy Thorn
  19. Glory Box – Portishead
  20. Olympia – Gene

Radiohead – OK Computer (Redesigned)

I didn’t realise until putting this entry together that Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’ was a bit of a Marmite album. Either touted as one of the greatest or most overrated albums of all time, it was for a time the only Radiohead album I owned. I had tried getting into Radiohead after hearing ‘Creep’ for the first time, but ‘Pablo Honey’, the album from which that song was taken did not inspire me to buy anything else at the time. This began to change once some of the songs that were on their second album, ‘The Bends’ started appearing on compilation albums I bought at the time. ‘High & Dry’, ‘Fake Plastic Trees’, ‘Just’ and ‘Street Spirt (Fade Out)’ all made it onto mix tapes from the time but the parent album would have to wait until it was re-released on vinyl about twenty years after the event for me to take the plunge and buy it. There were no such qualms with ‘OK Computer’ though. 

I’m not sure if it was ‘Paranoid Android’ or ‘Karma Police’ that made me feel that this album could be a welcome addition to the Squire Archives, but in it came and what an experience it was. It sounded like a complete album, and not a couple of great singles tagged with some substandard filler. This was prog rock for the 90s. It also signalled the death nail for the ‘Britpop’ movement as this complex style of writing and arranging would influence many acts that produced music over the following years.

I had not played ‘OK Computer’ as a whole for many years. What brought the album back to my attend was reports that a number of MIniDiscs that had belonged to Thom Yorke had been stolen. The story went that the band were contacted by the owner of the sound files and threatened with the whole lot being made available on line without a payment being made. If this happened or not is neither here nor there, but the band decided to officially release the music for a short period of time. In return, the band asked the buyers to donate to Extinction Rebellion. 

So, being a huge fan of the record, I duly paid my money and slowly made my way through the files. Luckily, fans online published playlists for these discs but it took an age to edit them down into individual songs and then listen to them through. Even though the majority of it was not worth even one listen, there was some great outtakes that had not been officially released before and it does beg the question, why not? Picking up a copy of the OKNOTOK 19972017 edition of ‘OK Computer’, I wondered if I could put together an alternative version of the record. 

What I did was to only use songs that I had not used on other compilations elsewhere. I would also add songs that had either been used as B-Sides or previously unreleased. The rest would be made up of different versions (and in some respects, the differences are negligible) of the songs that would make up rest of the record. I did delete ‘Lucky’, a song I do like but never thought that it fitted in with the rest of ‘OK Computer’. That could be down to the fact that I first heard it on the ‘Help’ Charity album from 1995. Personal taste I suppose. 

Unlike the majority of my posts, this is designed for CD length instead of vinyl. The original link that the band posted to donate to Extinction Rebellion still works if you fancy making a donation. https://chuffed.org/pay/campaign/62932

  1. Motion Picture Soundtrack (Solo Piano)
  2. Airbag (Unmastered Album Version)
  3. Paranoid Android (Late Mix)
  4. Subterranean Homesick Alien (Late/Final Version 3 – Different Intro)
  5. Exit Music (Late Mix)
  6. Let Down (Thom 4-Track)
  7. Karma Police (Unmastered Album Version)
  8. Polyethylene – Part 2 (Late Mix w/Vocal Effect)
  9. How I Made My Millions (Single B-Side)
  10. Lull Single (B-Side)
  11. What Do You Mean (Take 2)
  12. Attention (Thom 4-Track)
  13. Fitter Happier (Solo Piano Demo)
  14. Electioneering (Unmastered Album Version)
  15. Climbing Up Walls (Unmastered Album Version)
  16. No Surprises (Late Mix, Original Speed)
  17. Lift (Alternative Version, Mix #1)
  18. Man Of War (OKNOTOK Version) 
  19. The Tourist (Unmastered Album Version 3)

For the cover of this compilation, I used one that was produced on SkillShare for a project to come up with a alternative sleeve. https://www.skillshare.com/projects/OK-Computer-alternate-album-cover-DKNG-textures-and-halftones/23899

Various Artists – Lost Alternatives Part 2 (The Other Lost Alternatives)

You really know when you are getting on a bit when the music of your youth becomes the subject of box set retrospectives, containing rare tracks, forgotten artists and the odd unreleased song. Between 2019 and 2021, there were three of these looking at the British music scene in the 1990s. These were ‘Steve Lamacq – Lost Alternatives’ (2019), ’Martin Green Presents: Super Sonics – 40 Junkshop Britpop Greats’ (2020), ’Caught Beneath The Landslide (The Other Side Of Britpop And The ‘90s (2021)’. These were jam packed with names I remember but loads that I did not. What I have been surprised about is that there has not been a second volume.

I thought I would see if I could produce my own box set following a similar template laid out by the ‘Lost Alternatives ’ by choosing tracks from the whole decade, but I would not be allowed to use any songs from the three compilations above*. I would also not be allowed to any songs that I have placed on any of the compilation or lost albums that I am posting or already posted this year. I also could not use the same artist more than once (unless guesting with someone else). This did prove to be a bit of a challenge but this is what I came up with. 

Some of the more well known names represented with rare tracks such as B-Sides. I have also looked to include only bands from the British Isles, even though the odd interloper will make an appearance. Steve Lamacq also had nothing to do with this either. 

Disc 1

  1. Heavenly Pop Hit – The Chills
  2. Rollercoaster – The Jesus & Mary Chain
  3. 13th Disciple  – Five Thirty
  4. Kinky Love – Pale Saints
  5. Inertia – Blur
  6. Dogs With No Tails – The Pale
  7. Which Way Should I Jump? – Milltown Brothers
  8. Twiggy Twiggy – Pizzicato Five
  9. Here’s Where The Story Ends – The Sundays
  10. Alternative Title – Carter, The Unstoppable Sex Machine
  11. Funny How – Airhead
  12. Touched By The Hand Of Cicciolina – Pop Will Eat Itself
  13. Yr Own World – The Blue Aeroplanes
  14. Obscurity Knocks – The Trash Can Sinatra’s
  15. Cherry-Coloured Funk – Cocteau Twins
  16. Gimmie Some Truth – The Wonder Stuff
  17. Flying – The Telescopes
  18. Sweetness & Light (Demo) – Lush
  19. Leave The All Behind – Ride

Disc 2

  1. Unstable – Flamingoes
  2. If I Can’t Change Your Mind – Sugar
  3. Judy Over The Rainbow – Orange
  4. Dream – Pooka
  5. Lowdown – Elextrafixation
  6. Without Doubt – Mantaray
  7. City Sickness – Tindersticks
  8. Girl At The Bus Stop – My Drug Hell
  9. Kent – Salad
  10. Still Hanging Around – AutoPop
  11. Every Day – Brianpool
  12. Halo – Girl Of The Year
  13. What’s What We’ll Do – The Poppies
  14. Not Even Starcrossed – Telstar Ponies
  15. In The Groove Again – Out Of My Hair
  16. Undecided – Shack
  17. So Glad (Album Version) – Thrum
  18. White Love (Radio Mix) – One Dove
  19. Souvlaki Space Station – Slowdrive
  20. (Come On, Join) The High Society – These Animal Men
  21. Kenuwee Head – Voodoo Queens

Disc 3

  1. Who’s That Girl – The Mystics
  2. Disco Hell – The Candyskins
  3. Go Go Pepper – Tip Top Planets
  4. Lewis Brightworth – Thurman
  5. Seems You’ve Missed Sunday – The Weekenders
  6. Out Of The Void – Grass Show
  7. Sucrose – The Delgados
  8. Spice Girls (Who Do You Think You Are?) – Period Pains
  9. Teenage Girl Crush – Angelica
  10. Mail Monarchy – Compulsion
  11. Stand Up – Lick
  12. Me & Mr Lonely – Pimlico
  13. Working On A Beautiful Thing – The Pooh Sticks
  14. Fear Of Flying – Ruth
  15. The Milkman – Mice
  16. Strawberries & Cream – Boutique
  17. Sex & Cheques – Jolt
  18. Kylie & Jason – Midget
  19. Ignoramus (Alternative Version) – Baby Chaos
  20. Ecstacy – Deluxor
  21. Strength – Comet Gain
  22. Loves A Cliché – The Karelia
  23. I’m In Love – Taxi Driver
  24. Twist – Arnold
  25. Alfie – Don
  26. Welsh Bands Suck – Teen Anthems

Disc 4

  1. Heavens Above – Hillman Minx
  2. Say Something – The Smiles
  3. I Messiah, Am Jailer – AC Acoustics
  4. Overthrown – Labido
  5. I Was Starving Hungry (In Tesco’s) – Mogul
  6. Hot Topic – Le Tigre
  7. Daria – Chicks
  8. Girlie Pop – Pop Tarts
  9. Super Sexy Razor Happy Girls – Mika Bomb
  10. Spyder – Jetsons
  11. The Wee Wee Song – Girlfriendo
  12. Ray Liotta – Linoleum
  13. Jediwannabie – Bellatrix
  14. Killing The Bland – Prolapse
  15. Dirty Weekend – The Dandys
  16. The Hymn For The Cigarettes – Hefner
  17. Sweeping The Nation – Spearmint
  18. The Book Lovers – Broadcast
  19. Looking For Sparks – Seafruit
  20. Shirley Wall – Doberman
  21. Better Made – Head-swim
  22. Baby Come On – Spacemaid
  23. Disco 2000 (Original Mix) – The Lance Gambit Trio

The cover is adapted from one used for a Spotify playlist which represented tracks that didn’t quite make the ‘Lost Alternatives’ four CD box set. 

*I suspect that I will have doubled up on at least one song.

Supergrass – Wait Tor The Sun (B-Sides Collection)

Oasis in their mid 90s pomp always boasted that some of their best songs were relegated to the B-Sides of their singles and a collection of these flip sides were collected together on ‘The Masterplan’ compilation which was released in 1998. Taking a look at the other big hitters from the era, Oasis were the only band to do this (as far as I can tell) so I thought it would be an interesting experiment to see if there was enough material from some of these other bands to do the same. This is the first of these B-Sides Collections and it is the mighty Supergrass that get this honour.   

These date from their first releases on Parlophone in 1995 up until the last album of the decade in 1999. Unlike their standard albums, there are a couple of covers on here. The title takes it name from ‘Wait For The Sun’, one of the B-Sides from the ‘Lenny’ single. An awesome song and such a shame that it was relegated to a B-Side. 

Side A

  1. Believer (Moving – 1999)
  2. Nothing More’s Gonna Get In My Way (Richard III – 1997)
  3. Condition (Alright – 1995)
  4. Melanie Davis (Going Out – 1996)
  5. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (Sun Hits The Sky – 1997)
  6. Faraway (Acoustic Version) (Moving – 1999)

Side B

  1. We Still Need More (Than Anyone Can Give) (Late In The Day – 1997)
  2. What A Shame (Pumping On Your Stereo – 1999)
  3. Lucky (No Fear) (Pumping On Your Stereo – 1999)
  4. 20ft Halo (Richard III – 1997)
  5. Odd? (Mansize Rooster – 1995)
  6. Wait For The Sun (Lenny – 1995)

The sleeve is adapted from the Hollywood Bowl 2003 bootleg, with a slight change to the graphics. A nice pastiche of The Beatles Second album cover, ‘With The Beatles’.