Swervedriver - Mezcal Head [12", LP]

Being a big SWERVEDRIVER fan, i've been looking for an affordable copy of MEZCAL HEAD for years, but never with any luck. Until recently, when Music On Vinyl reissued the album from 1993 and thus making it finally available again for fans who like their daily dose of shoegaze on vinyl. They've done so in the past with Slowdive (even before the band reunited), and will soon be releasing for example Ferment by Catherine Wheel! Excellent choices. More of that, please!
The first pressing of this reissue consists of 1500 copies on mezcal coloured (clear cloudy) vinyl, and it plays like a charm. Finally i can spin classic tunes like Duel, Blowin'Cool, Last Train To Satansville and You Find It Everywhere on my record player. Hope the albums Raise (although i own an original copy) and especially Ejector Seat Reservation will be reissued as well.

Label: Music On Vinyl
Cat.nr.: MOVLP1851
Year of release: 2017

SIDE A:
01. For Seeking Heat
02. Duel
03. Blowin' Cool
04. MM Abduction
05. Last Train To Satansville

SIDE B:
01. Harry & Maggie
02. A Change Is Gonna Come
03. Girl On A Motorbike
04. Duress
05. You Find It Everywhere

Slowdive - Outside Your Room EP [12", Promo]

My SLOWDIVE vinyl collection is pretty big, but not complete yet. For example the OUTSIDE YOUR ROOM EP was missing until now. But I got my hands on the promo edition recently, so that's at least another step in the right direction. The EP has two songs from Souvlaki: the single Alison (the Outside Your Room title of this EP comes from the lyrics of this song) and the dubby track Souvlaki Space Station. Plus there are two songs that only appear on this 12": So Tired and Moussaka Chaos. The last one being more or less a remix, or alternate take, of Souvlaki Space Station. And So Tired is a beautiful dreampop song that definitely wouldn't have been out of place on the album. I did have these songs on vinyl already, on the bootleg 2LP edition of Souvlaki, but to finally own a copy of the original version of this EP is 10 times better of course. Now still looking for the regular edition with the picture sleeve. The quest continues! ;)

Label: Creation Records

Cat.nr.: CRE 119TP

Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:

01. Alison

02. So Tired

SIDE B:

01. Souvlaki Space Station

02. Moussaka Chaos

Catherine Wheel - Crank [12", Picture Disc]

Earlier this year at the April edition of the Utrecht record fair i bumped into the promo version of CRANK by CATHERINE WHEEL, and at last month's edition i found the picture disc version. The B-side contains Peel Session recordings of Black Metallic and Painful Thing (from April 1991) and they are great lengthy versions. Especially Black Metallic sounds really awesome, and it's my favourite version of this Catherine Wheel classic.

Label: Fontana

Cat.nr.: CW 512

Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:

01. Crank

SIDE B:

01. Black Metallic (Recorded for John Peel BBC Radio 1 April 1991)

02. Painful Thing (Recorded for John Peel BBC Radio 1 April 1991)

Secret Shine - Untouched [12", LP]

UNTOUCHED was the only full length album that SECRET SHINE released during their first period of existence (during the early nineties). It originally came out on Sarah Records, and original copies of this album go for high prices on Discogs and eBay. Saint Marie Records had the brilliant idea to get it reissued, and they started a Pledgemusic project to get it financed. Because i love this album to death, and wanted to be sure to have a copy on vinyl finally, i stepped into it and pledged for a coloured copy and a test press. There were only 500 LP's made, and 300 of them are coloured (purple/white). The rest are black. Even though black is more limited for that matter, i wanted the coloured version because it's so beautiful and fits extremely well with the artwork.

What can i say about the album... some people say it was the last of the original great shoegaze albums of the early nineties. That might indeed be true. It's definitely become a classic in the genre, over the years. Songs like Spellbound, Into The Ether and So Close I Come can definitely compete with the best songs of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine.

Label: Saint Marie Records

Cat.nr.: SMR079

Year of release: 2015 (originally released in 1993)

SIDE A:

01. Suck Me Down

02. Temporal

03. Spellbound

04. So Close I Come

SIDE B:

01. Into The Ether

02. Toward The Sky

03. Underworld

04. Sun Warmed Water

Catherine Wheel - Crank [12", Promo]

There's still a pile of stuff that i bought at the Utrecht record fair recently, that needs some attention on this blog. This CRANK promo 12" by CATHERINE WHEEL for example is part of that. On vinyl, the only regular release was a picture disc with different B-sides: Black Metallic and Painful Thing. Something Strange and Pleasure were otherwise only available on two different CD-maxi formats. Especially Pleasure is a cool song, and well worth the purchase. It wasn't very pricy anyway.

Label: Fontana
Cat.nr.: CWDJX5
Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:
01. Crank

SIDE B:
01. Something Strange
02. Pleasure

Slowdive - 5EP [12"]

While i had the remix edition of this SLOWDIVE 12" in my possession for some years already, i only recently got my hands on the original version of the 5EP. Even though released in the same year as the Souvlaki album, it's pretty different, and paving a way for the band to release the more experimental Pygmalion album. There are drum computers involved and it's overall very electronic; one could say it's the missing link between dreampop and ambient techno. And even though i'm a sucker for loud guitars and therefore like their older work better than this, i must emphasize that i consider the sad Country Rain, with the slide guitar and Rachel's soothing vocals, as one of the best Slowdive songs ever made. Extremely glad i finally have this EP on vinyl now.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRE157T
Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:
01. In Mind
02. Good Day Sunshine

SIDE B:
01. Missing You
02. Country Rain

Adorable - Against Perfection [12", LP]

I've been looking for a vinyl version of AGAINST PERFECTION for a very long time already. Back in the early nineties there was this local club where they had indie dance nights, and the song Homeboy was played regularly. I remember ordering the CD at the local record shop. It was a pretty expensive UK import album, but i just needed to have it, if only for that song. And I still have it, but during the past few years i really wanted to have a vinyl edition as well of this excellent ADORABLE album. So far i only managed to get hold of two maxi's from songs of this album: Sistine Chapel Ceiling and Favourite Fallen Idol. The album itself is pretty much impossible to find in record stores, and on the internet the prices are ridiculously high; usually over 45 euro at least. However recently i came across one that was fairly priced. The sleeve is a little scuffed but the record itself is in great condition, so this was my chance. Very happy that i bought it, and finally i can play Homeboy on my record player ;)

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRELP 138
Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:
01. Glorious
02. Favourite Fallen Idol
03. A To Fade In
04. I Know You Too Well
05. Homeboy

SIDE B:
01. Sistine Chapel Ceiling
02. Cut #2
03. Crash Sight
04. Still Life
05. Breathless

Curve - Blackerthreetrackertwo EP [12", Promo]

The BLACKERTHREETRACKERTWO EP by CURVE features the opening track for the Cuckoo album, Missing Link, in an industrial remixed version by Flood and Trent Reznor. The other two songs are remixes as well. The Headspace mix of Rising is a triphop version by Future Sound Of London, while the Honey Tongue Mix of Half The Time is a house tune, done by Drum Club. I have no idea where the original versions of these last two songs can be found actually: perhaps they even don't exist.
This is the alternative edition of the regular Blackerthreetracker EP by the way, which has the album version of Missing Link and two other songs. I don't have that one (yet). I'm never a really big fan of remixes and this is no exception to that really, but it's nice to have this EP just to add to my Curve collection.

Label: Anxious Records
Cat.nr.: ANX T DJ 142
Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:
01. Missing Link (Screaming Bird Mix)

SIDE B:
01. Rising (Headspace Mix)
02. Half The Time (Honey Tongue Mix)

Slowdive - 5 EP (In Mind Remixes) [12"]

This 5 EP (IN MIND REMIXES) was released late 1993 when the Souvlaki album was out already, and gives a perfect indication that their next album Pygmalion would not just be simply more of the same. The original version of this track, electronic ambient shoegaze with a pulsating beat, was released on a 12" that came out a week before this one. These two remixes by Bandulu and Reload are probably the most off from their other work and the most extreme that SLOWDIVE ever released.


Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRE 157TR
Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:
01 In Mind - Bandulu Remix (Out Mind)

SIDE B:
01. In Mind - Reload Remix (The 147 Take)

Curve - Cuckoo [12", LP]

CUCKOO is CURVE's second full length, and their last good album as far as i'm concerned. I'm not too impressed by what they released after 1993. I used to only have this on tape, and since i don't have a cassette player anymore and threw away all my tapes some years ago, i wasn't able to play this album for a very long time. Until recently, when i came across this LP in a second-hand recordstore in Göteborg, Sweden. Almost forgot how good it actually is.So i'm kind of rediscovering it now :)


Label: Anxious Records
Cat.nr.: ANXLP 81
Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:
01. Missing Link
02. Crystal
03. Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
04. All Of One
05. Unreadable Communication

SIDE B:
01. Turkey Crossing
02. Super Blaster
03. Left Of Mother
04. Sweetest Pie
05. Cuckoo

Adorable - Sistine Chapel Ceiling [12", Promo]

Another single that was lifted off ADORABLE's Against Perfection album. Only SISTINE CHAPEL CEILING comes from the album; the other 3 songs can only be found on this EP.
Just like the Favourite Fallen Idol promo 12", i came across this one at Stockholm's Nostalgipalatset.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRE 153TP
Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:
01. Sistine Chapel Ceiling
02. Everything's Fine

SIDE B:
01. Seasick Martyr
02. Obsessively Yours

Slowdive - Souvlaki [12", LP]

Shortly after Just For A Day, Music On Vinyl reissued SLOWDIVE's SOUVLAKI album as well in 2011. And just like the originals of its predecessor, the original Creation releases of this album go for a lot of money.
Probably because of that, a while before before the Music On Vinyl edition was released in Europe, an inferior quality bootleg was released in the USA. That version might have a few bonus tracks, but this straight copy from the original album is of superb audiophile quality. Very happy that Music On Vinyl released this album.

This is how the insert looks like:



Label: Music On Vinyl
Cat.nr.: MOVLP 202
Year of release: 2011

SIDE A:
01. Alison
02. Machine Gun
03. 40 Days
04. Sing
05. Here She Comes

SIDE B:
01. Souvlaki Space Station
02. When The Sun Hits
03. Altogether
04. Melon Yellow
05. Dagger

Adorable - Favourite Fallen Idol [12", Promo]

A rare one-sided one-track promo 12" by ADORABLE. Their song FAVOURITE FALLEN IDOL comes from the Against Perfection album. Not my favourite song of the album (that's gotta be Homeboy), but still nice release to have in my Creation Records collection.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRE 159TP
Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:
01. Favourite Fallen Idol

SIDE B:
-

Sugar – Beaster [12”, EP]

BEASTER was released in between the SUGAR debut album, Copper Blue, and its successor: F.U.E.L.
It’s a bit heavier and darker than Copper Blue, although the songs were
recorded during the same sessions. I ran into this EP at Mint Records in Copenhagen; by coincidence actually. I didn’t find anything interesting in the pop/rock section but then this one caught my eye on the first row of the metal LP’s. I guess it was put there because of the title and the fact that the cover art is a little bloody.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRELP153
Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:
01. Come Around
02. Tilted
03. Judas Cradle

SIDE B:
01. JC Auto
02. Feeling Better
03. Walking Away