Suede B-Sides/Non-Album POLL (Anderson/Butler/Gilbert/Osman line-up)

I think it's just a case of it suiting some songs but not others. Like the studio version of 'Moving' definitely doesn't come alive in the same way that the live incarnation does, but I couldn't imagine 'Pantomime Horse' or 'She's Not Dead' sounding any other way - the production is dead on the nail on those tracks, I think. Having said all this, we're still talking about how good these records are 20 years later, so I guess whatever technical flaws these records have can be easily overlooked. Unlike, say, Pop by U2, which has flaws which are far more difficult to overlook.

Talking about Head Music and A New Morning... what's everyone's thoughts on the B-sides to those albums?

― I wanna live like C'MOWN! people (Turrican)

Not that keen on the Head Music B-sides apart from Let Go which lyrically is pretty throwaway but is a great tune.

A New Morning had some B-sides that really should have been on the album. Simon is probably their best song after Coming Up. I really like Cheap too. They really screwed that album up on so many levels. The two best songs on the actual album were put as bonus tracks (You Belong to me and Oceans) On the New Morning reissue they asked Brett why they put Oceans as a hidden track, he said "I have no idea" Great song.

It was really interesting seeing Brett's revised track listings for the reissues. I agree with most of his decisions apart from getting rid of The Chemistry Between Us on Coming Up.

I'd just like to add I played Bloodsports this morning and still sounded fantastic. Not a single song I wanted to skip.

Yeah, Bloodsports is definitely going to get a vote from me in the end of year poll!

Listening to Sci-Fi Lullabies again thanks to this thread. I always associate Suede with a distinct time in my life and assume that they're going to sound dated or not age well, but then I listen to them and remember why I liked them so much.

My final decision came down to The Living Dead vs My Dark Star.

I listened to Sci-Fi Lullabies myself last night, and left with the impression that the first CD might actually be my favourite Suede album of them all, even if it's not a "proper" album.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

SHE WILL CUM FROM INDIA

Great to see 'My Dark Star' up there... really surprised 'High Rising' didn't get a single vote, though!

Whipsnade deserved a vote too, actually everything apart from Eno's Introducing the Band and maybe Dolly deserved at least one vote.

I thought you'd get more than 28 votes, this stuff should be canon

Yeah I did think that but had to remind myself that sadly a lot of people just don't seem to love Suede B-sides as much as I do. If I'm totally honest I think I'd include them in my five favourite bands ever.

I love Suede B-sides but didn't notice this poll till it was over.

i don't remember if i voted
but it's "whipsnade"

COAST TO COAST
SIDE TO SIDE

I listened to Sci-Fi Lullabies myself last night, and left with the impression that the first CD might actually be my favourite Suede album of them all, even if it's not a "proper" album.

― I wanna live like C'MOWN! people (Turrican), Saturday, August 3, 2013 8:22 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Of course, I'm listening to the first CD of Sci-Fi Lullabies again tonight, and my god this feels like the best album they ever made.

i pretty much agree. and the 2nd disc is the best album the post-Butler album ever made, imo.

the outro to "whipsnade" is so grand, i love the soaring descending lead that gradually gets more and more echoed out as the song fades

I was listening to these tracks again following this thread and was thinking about the reasons why Brett dislikes "Stay Together" while it was such an important track for Bernard.
Beside the context, I think it might be because the lyrics might be his worse and laziest of that time and same thing for his singing/performance.
I like that song but always thought it lacked something to be really great.

I've heard that Brett hates the track partly because of the atmosphere in the band at the time and allegedly because he wrote the song about a person he no longer cares about.

Personally, I quite like the track a hell of a lot, but only in its full length version... the edit sounds quite butchered to me.

STYYYYY TOGETHER

yeah, the full length is better. especially because there's more of Bernard !
Brett's vocals are so weak on this. the "there's a timebomb" part is borderline horrible...
the verses are alright vocally but the lyrics are so self referencial/Suede-cliché which is a tour de force in a way after only one album !
the only Brett part that I like is the silly rap at the end.

I should put this on a McAlmont&Butler thread but since it's the on-going Butler related one...

http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/interview/interview-bernard-butler-on-the-sound-of-mcalmont-butler/

Pretty interesting. I had no idea he worked with Nigel Godrich. Also I would be curious to hear a remixed/expanded version of the Tears' album !

I dunno, maybe the lyrics on 'Stay Together' feel like cliché more in hindsight... I can't really remember feeling that way about 'em in the '90s, but given Brett's lyrical output from 1997 up until Bloodsports (which I thought was impressive in the sense that Brett managed to mostly avoid using clichéd "Suede words" in his lyrics) I guess it's easy to look back and say "yeah, that's a clichéd Suede lyric"

"Stay Together" plays like a rough draft of "The Wild Ones," a better song. I loved that EP though – I bought it on tape on release. "The Living Dead."

Xpost

I see your point but I clearly remember thinking that it was cliché and lazy when it was released...
And I was a huge Suede fan at that time !

xp followed by "my dark star".. so good it's not fair

That EP was great indeed !

If they'd released 'My Dark Star' as a single, it would probably be considered one of their best ever singles... that's how fucking good the first disc of Sci-Fi Lullabies is.

it even 'flows' like an album at times...i love how the middle stretch of disc one is this big languid, floating detour (from the "big time" - the intro of "my dark star")

the guitar solo of "my dark star" is another classic bernard solo.. superbly melodic, trademark hypnotic vibrato, a tinge of dirt

I'm listening to 'High Rising' right now, and I can't believe it didn't get a vote here. For me, it's superior to some of the tracks that attempt to do the same thing on Dog Man Star.

In fact, fuck it, I'm going to say it. Sci-Fi Lullabies disc one is much better than Dog Man Star.

Never got into sf lullabies but dog man star is all time for me

Thread makes me want to revisit but sold my double cd

I'd pick Dog Man Star over that first disc of Sci-Fi Lullabies but there's really not much in it. They're both perfect. The second disc is almost as good as Coming Up. Some really underrated songs on there.

xxposts
yeah, the guitar solo in "my dark star" is fantastic.
as for "the wild ones" being superior to "stay together", yeah, definitely.
actually, "wild ones" might be my favorite Suede song. the guitar lines in it are so amazing. arguably Butler's best moment ever !

Fave side 2 songs incl."Another No One," "Young Men," "The Sound of the Streets," "W.S.D," "Duchess," but man, they're really all good.

I saw an article in Uncut a few years ago where Brett said he thought Duchess was the worst song they've ever done which I thought was a bit odd. Clearly he's forgetting Street Life or a lot of those Head Music B-sides. I'd add This Time and Every Monday Morning Comes to that list. Another No One is so beautiful.

One of the things I've always loved about 'My Dark Star' is the way it changes key for the guitar solo, it's a lovely bit of playing too.

As for 'The Wild Ones', I really wish they'd kept the ending section for that or found something to do with it. Hearing the unedited version on the remastered edition was a relevation for me!

Really ? I love Butler but this is one of the rare cases where I find his instrumental part a bit weak. I think they were right to edit the song to its final version.

Yes, really!

i'm going to sign up to do a Suede poll, i think it will be great. i do have to wait a bit as i have just signed up to do The Smashing Pumkins, so i need a little space before i will sign up as i can't and don't want to do two polls in a row.

Following the discussion here, I listened again to the unedited version of "wild ones" and the problem, for me, is that the instrumental final doesn't go anywhere and drags and lacks musical ideas and guitar hooks. It's like a jam where they would still be working on the final format of the ending, leaving space to be filled later with proper melodies and instrumentation.
that said, that's weird that Butler considered this to be the final edit since I find the rest of the song, especially the guitar parts, so inspired and amazing.
but again, I think they were right to edit it down.

'This World Needs a Father' is so fucking underrated.

heh, had not heard that one before - sounds like Suede doing a Roy Orbison song

Stay Together was the first CD single or 'EP' (if not exactly in name) I bought by any 'indie' band after growing up on Queen/Erasure/Dire Straits/Genesis etc, so I guess I was spoiled rotten for value. Can't remember how unaware I was of what a perfect set of songs to obtain on one single was, or if I just assumed it was normal

that Ed Buller interview linked upthread is great! can't believe i'd not read it before.

Yeah, it's a great read - I wish there were more things around like that, it's always great to get some insight into what the sessions were like.

For me one of the most underrated of their b-sides is "Whipsnade".
Such a fantastic song. It could have been on a follow-up album to DMS, in a parallel dimension in which Butler would have stayed in the band and they would have made a lighter album than DMS but not as poppy as Coming Up.
"Whipsnade" is very sophisticated, catchy and lighter than their DMS stuff, the melodies are wonderful, the arrangements and production quite different from their output up to that point. Less gravitas overall.

Totally agree about Whipsnade. It's constantly creeping up my favourite Suede songs list. It's probably in the top three with Killing Of A Flashboy and We Are The Pigs at the moment.

I'm a big fan of This World Needs A Father too. Asda Town from the same single is also brilliant.

Is "Asda Town" an Anderson/Butler song ? I always thought it wasn't.

Oh, I just noticed it's been discussed already upthread !