for the collector - a journey to the b-side and beyond
Aug 07 '03
The Bottom Line there's lots of great music by Curve that the general public hasn't heard and may not even know about. consider yourself informed!
What defines a diehard music fan? Someone who attends every concert of their favorite band? Someone who knows the lyrics to all the songs of their preferred artist? A person whose walls are covered floor-to-ceiling with pictures of their singer of choice? Good criteria all, but for people like myself, it’s the desire to own and hear as many of a group’s/artist’s songs as possible. And once the main catalog (i.e., full-length albums) is exhausted, this means scouring singles, promos, fan-club releases, compilations, soundtracks, and imports for songs that do not appear elsewhere. The songs themselves can take many forms: previously unreleased material, live versions of studio tracks, early demos, remixes, remakes. For example, The Crystal Method’s song “More” can only be found on their “Keep Hope Alive” EP. Pearl Jam’s concert performance of “Out Of My Mind” is exclusive to the “Not For You” single. Marilyn Manson’s update of “Highway To Hell” appears nowhere else but on the Detroit Rock City soundtrack. And so forth and so on.
All this begs the question, Do I really need to hear the ‘Dizzy mix’ of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” (found on the “Close To Me” single) or an eleven-minute live version of “Round Here” by the Counting Crows (off their “Angels Of The Silences” single) or the Fatboy Slim b-side “Don’t Forget Your Teeth” (from the “Right Here, Right Now” single)? Well, no, of course not. If listening to just the albums of your favorite artist satisfies your appetite, then bully for you. Personally, though, I’d have a hard time sleeping if I found out there was a song by Jane’s Addiction or Nirvana that I had yet to hear. Some people obsess over cars, some over shoes, others over chocolate. For me it’s music.
Determining which extra songs by a band or artist are worth collecting can be a daunting task. The quality runs the gamut from indispensable (the live rendition of “Gimme Shelter” from The Rolling Stones single for “Wild Horses” off the Stripped LP) to moderately amusing (a remix of The Offspring’s “Pretty Fly [For A White Guy]” that incorporates a sample of War’s “Low Rider”) to mildly interesting (Prince’s instrumental “Alexa de Paris” off the “Letitgo” single) to forgettable (The Dandy Warhols’s boring cover of Blondie’s “Call Me” from the “We Used To Be Friends” single). And unless you’ve got money to burn, collecting all the discs on which these extra songs appear can put a serious dent in your kid’s college fund.
This essay is the first in a planned series which will attempt to cover many, if not most, of the non-album tracks of several bands and artists to help fans new and old decide which songs they’d like to add to their own collection. My opinions, naturally, are my own; what I consider essential could be deemed disposable by another, and vice versa. These essays are not intended to be comprehensive either. If a remix is particularly worthwhile I may mention it, but weighing the merits of seven different versions of U2’s “Mysterious Ways” is not my thing. Use this essay as a starting point, if you are so inclined, and then delve deeper on your own to see what else is out there.
NOTE: This essay only covers officially released material; homemade demo tapes and bootleg/pirate recordings will not be discussed. Not because I frown upon them - Lord knows, I own quite a few myself - but because it would simply be too difficult to include them all. For example, the Garbage b-side “Subhuman” appears on at least a dozen different bootlegs that I know of, all with different titles. I’m sure most would agree that it would be ridiculous to try and list every one.
CURVE - LIVE AND RARE
Anyone who’s read my other reviews knows that I consider Curve to be one of the best bands around. They’ve been making great music for over a decade and consistently turn out top-notch stuff that impresses both fans and critics. Their potent mixture of goth, pop, rock, dance, industrial, and electronica can be heard in such current female-fronted outfits as Kidneythieves, Hardknox, Snake River Conspiracy, Rhea’s Obsession, Dollshead, and Evanescence. Though not as prolific as Radiohead or The Smashing Pumpkins, Curve have still managed to crank out a large number of tunes, with enough non-album tracks to fill several blank CDs.
Therefore, in rough chronological order:
Several European countries were lucky enough to be issued a bonus 5-track EP with copies of Curve’s debut album Doppelgänger. The EP includes a version of “I Speak Your Every Word” featuring a guy called JC-001, who adds a largely unintelligible rap over the bridge. (JC-001 also appeared on “Ten Little Girls” off the Blindfold EP.) The original version of the song is better, but some might find this variation interesting.
The Faît Accompli EP has a great remix of the title track by Toni Halliday’s husband Alan Moulder, who allows the multiple guitar attack to be heard more clearly and punches up the menacing vocals. “Arms Out” is a sunny-sounding tune with hard-hitting lyrics (sample: “Something I don’t understand has taken over you and made you less than a man”) while “Sigh” has some silky vocal work from Halliday.
An astounding three bonus tracks appear on the Horror Head EP - “Falling Free,” “Mission From God,” and “Today Is Not The Day.” “Falling Free” was also remixed by Richard D. James (better known as Aphex Twin) for the dance clubs, though it bears little resemblance to the original. “Horror Head” itself is slightly different than the version on Doppelgänger, having been revamped by Alan Moulder.
The “Horror Head” remix turned up again later on another single to promote the band’s tour of the U.S. at the time and also offered a chance for fans to hear how skillfully Curve translated its ferocious studio sound to an outdoor concert, with live versions of “Coast Is Clear” from Manchester and “Die Like A Dog” from London, both recorded in 1991. A compilation called In A Field Of Their Own has a Curve track as well, a live take on “Faît Accompli” recorded in 1992 at the Glastonbury music festival.
A forty-track compilation to celebrate the 40th anniversary of British mag New Musical Express was released in 1992. Titled Ruby Trax, it features one of the few covers Curve has done, a faithful reproduction of the old Donna Summer disco classic “I Feel Love.” The faint techno element of the original has been updated and augmented, Halliday’s lighter-than-air vocals seem to swirl around the room, and the result is yet another treat for fans. Be warned - unless you can find a second-hand copy, this 3 CD set won’t come cheap.
During two sessions in March of 1991 and February of 1992, Curve recorded eight songs on John Peel’s well-known show for the BBC. These songs were released in June of 1993 on the album Radio Sessions, a disc which has become a kind of Lost Ark of the Covenant for Curve fans due to its scarcity. The liner notes state that “Coast Is Clear” was written especially for the first session - the day before! - and as a result the song is quite different from the final version on the Frozen EP. If hearing songs in their developmental stages interests you, then be sure to pick this CD up. If you can find it, that is.
Curve teamed up with Ian Dury and shared the mic with him on “What A Waste,” which was recorded for 1993’s Peace Together, a compilation released to benefit community activities for Northern Ireland youths. The music is funky and Halliday’s vocals are as cool as ever but Dury comes off sounding like a belligerent drunk at a karaoke bar, relying on volume rather than actual singing ability. I’d love to have a Curve-only version of this song.
Two EPs for “Missing Link,” the lead-off single for Curve’s second full-length release Cuckoo, came out in August of 1993. The first is known as BlackerThreeTracker and includes two non-album songs. “On The Wheel” kicks up the gravel almost from the get-go while “Triumph” is akin to sleepwalking through a pleasantly bizarre dream. BlackerThreeTrackerTwo features an intriguing remix of “Missing Link” done by fellow noise-maker Trent Reznor in which the vocals are heavily manipulated, the nine-minute-plus “Rising” remixed by the Future Sound Of London that is not a remix of an existing song but rather an instrumental with a vocal sample from Halliday, and yet another bonus track called “Half The Time” remixed by The Drum Club. While not impossible to find, you may need to do some committed searching to acquire these discs.
If Radio Sessions is the Lost Ark of Curve fans, then the Superblaster EP is their Holy Grail. Released in only a handful of European countries in November of 1993, it quickly disappeared from stores and now fetches jaw-dropping prices on internet auction sites such as eBay. There’s a great remix of “Superblaster” and the equally fabulous b-sides “Low And Behold” and “Nothing Without Me.” Good luck getting your hands on this one, though; even if you do find a copy for sale, expect to shell out some big bucks for it. (“Low And Behold” was also included on a compilation called Volume 8 which is probably a bit easier to find.)
Curve went on hiatus for a few years and returned in 1996 with the Pink Girl With The Blues EP. The deceptively cheerful-sounding title track describes a restless young lady with “havoc in (her) veins” threatening to go on a destructive rampage unless she finds some worthwhile entertainment. The bass-booming “Recovery” makes its first appearance here (it would later close their third album Come Clean, albeit in slightly different form) while “Black Delilah” is a dark trip through madness.
The compilation Volume 17 turned up in 1997 with another Curve track called “Test,” a mid-tempo thumper with lots of bubbling sound effects and heavy reverb on the vocals. Clocking in at a generous six minutes, it makes for pleasant enough listening but probably won’t make your Top Ten list.
“Chinese Burn,” the bone-crushing first single off Come Clean, was released later the same year and featured remixes by Flood, Steve Osborne, Lunatic Calm, Headcase, Witchman, and Paul van Dyk. Each has its merits, but the best reason for getting this EP is the b-side “Robbing Charity,” a medium-energy dancefloor number with some cool robotic vocals.
Two more non-album tracks were included on part 1 of the “Coming Up Roses” single - “Midnight & Royal” and “Habit,” both of which display Halliday’s voice at its soothing best. Part 2 was comprised of various remixes, the best of which were done by Blue Amazon and sometime collaborator Kevin Shields.
Curve’s next album Gift was temporarily shelved due to problems with its record company. While things were being sorted out, the band posted a bunch of free mp3s on its website, many of which ended up on the Web-only compilation Open Day At The Hate Fest. (an in-depth review of this CD may be found at http://www.epinions.com/content_2060820612.) “Nowhere,” the spooky title song of Greg Araki’s 1997 film soundtrack, was also included. One that did not make the cut was a pounding cover of Siouxsie And The Banshees’s “Overground.” Hardly representative of Curve at its best, but the fact that they so rarely perform songs by other artists makes this one collectible.
A few other mp3s were also given away. The hard-driving “Worst Mistake” was originally recorded for the Playstation 2 game Frequency and later received a remix by Alan Moulder. “Superblaster” and “Recovery” were both tweaked for a third time and given trip-hop make-overs; the new version of “Recovery” can also be had on the “Perish” single. “Cold Comfort” has a funky beat, lots of squeaky sound effects, and paper-thin vocals from Halliday. A remix by Deepsky would later appear on Curve’s second Web-only release The New Adventures Of Curve, along with eight new songs.
To help promote Gift, Curve appeared on the alternative music station XFM and performed great versions of “Perish” and “Want More Need Less,” both of which were later posted on the band’s website.
Curve recently announced that they will be releasing a compilation in February 2004 chronicling their early years at Anxious Records, with an accompanying DVD containing all their videos. Life just got a lot better.
NOTE: Credit must be given where credit is due. Many thanks to Recovery, a Curve fansite with an excellent discography. It hasn’t been updated in quite some time, but it’s still a great source of information. Visit it at http://www.stack.nl/~conrad/curve/discography.html
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