B-SIDES

These notes were written a few years ago but I've edited them a little to include my current thinking. I am a little harsh on some songs but we all have our favourites.

TONGUE
This is the b-side to the "Sperm" single which also featured "Superpowered" (which isn't included here as it's virtually identical to the one on the Album). I always thought this had a bit of early Teenage Fanclub about it though no-one else seemed to pick up it so maybe I was wrong. When the "Sperm" single first came out "Tongue" received about as much airplay as the lead track, which is an early demonstration of our suspect taste when it came to picking singles.

COMING CLEAN and ETHER
As the B-sides to "Buzz" these two make a fine pair. "Ether" was originally meant to be the lead track (do you see a pattern developing here) but got relegated to the flip side due to the lack of a killer chorus. The veteran "Buzz" was brought back to the fore even though we were already kind of fed up with it. In "Coming Clean" I again get a kind of Teenage Fanclub vibe, though the Guns and Roses style solo takes it somewhere else completely. I like this song a lot but I don't really feel the recording does it justice, it sounds kind of weird.

NO WAY, RESURRECTED, THE EARTH IS DYING BUT NEVERMIND
These are the three songs, which along with the title track made up the "Golden Tooth EP". We almost gave up on "Ressurected during recording, it was one of those "it's just not working" half hours that happen from time to time. It's not very good, despite our tenacity. "No Way" might have made it to the album if we had a beefier mix, but let's face it it's not really all that good either. You can hear the Pumpkins influence in sections, this was one of our favourite bands at the time and their influence can be heard sporadically throughout all the Baby Chaos material. "The Earth Is Dying But Nevermind" is an old one that was recorded along with "Coming Clean" and "Ether" but for some reason didn't make it onto that release. This was reworked many times but I think the original Nirvana influence can still be heard.

ROTTEN TO THE CORE
The B-sides to the "Hello Victim" single were recorded as part of the "Safe Sex….." sessions. "Rotten To The Core" came from a jam shortly after we'd heard the Pumpkins for the first time so there's that influence again. The song kind of ended up sounding more like Soundgardens "Jesus Christ Pose" though, very metal. "Skinny" survived a previous incarnation as "Hey Fever" to scrape onto a b-side.

NEGATIVELY YOURS and CONSIDER YOURSELF
Now we're getting down to it. "Negatively Yours" is actually really good. It would have been on LYSA if we hadn't spent a week mixing it and got totally fed up with it. "Consider Yourself" is a quick punky little thing, it sounds a bit like something the Vines would sail into the top forty with now, ah but timing is everything.

FETCH and I DON'T WANT TO BE FRIEND
More good stuff, what's happening here. Well I suppose we were actually getting our act together as a band. "Fetch" could also have made it onto LYSA and would have if Mr. MacFarlane had had his way. With hindsight "I Don't Want….." could have done to but we all ready had it marked down as a throughaway before it was mixed.

RARITIES AND UNRELEASED

As a companion to the B-sides CD we put together all the other stuff from various US and Japanese releases and other tracks that never made it onto anything for one reason or another.

SWIMMING TRUNKS
This would have been a great single for LYSA in the UK if we'd written it in time but we didn't. It was recorded along with the next three tracks for possible inclusion on the Atlantic release of LYSA in the US. This and "Kicking Things" made it. I think it's pure pop punk heaven but I am aware of my bias and total lack of perspective.

KICKING THINGS
This was used as the first release in the US off LYSA. Now the deal was already pretty fucked by this point as both our A&R folk were sacked but I don't think this choice of single did us any favours either. I think it's an okay song but far from the stand out track off LYSA.

HAD ENOUGH
Weird one this, elements of Prince and the Manic Street Preachers combine to make I don't know what. I like it, I think?

ALWAYS THE SAME
This could have been pretty good but I sing it like a Jobbie. I don't think I started singing well until the Deckard stuff at least not this kind of gentler melody. I thought the song could have been huge for us but it never really had a chance after the Atlantic trip fell through.

SLUG
This was recorded in the initial sessions for LYSA and early on as with "Negatively Yours" I thought it was a contender. The chorus never really did the job though. It's interesting and I think Z did a fine job with the mix but it's not our finest hour.

HALO
An out-take in a drunk moment at Park Lane studios I think I had insisted that Z and I drink Sangria all day as the sun was shining.

SCREAM THE BLUES 'TIL YOU'RE BLACK
This is ancient and was recorded for a b-side of "Safe Sex….". I(t was a through away for us and maybe it would have been better if it had stayed away. But here it is. I have no idea why I was swearing so much it's not big or clever or cool, it just sounds silly.

HEAVEN ONLY KNOWS
This was one of my first times actually twiddling nobs for the band. It was a long held desire of mine to get behind the controls of a mixing desk much to the chagraine of our various producers. I did an okay job just. I'm much better now honestly.

LIFE LIKE A DAWN, ALL AT SEA, PURE WHITE LIGHT
These three are demos, which strictly speaking fall into Deckard territory but we included them none the less. I sing them too softly as I was in the middle of sorting out my voice, it's a transitional phase, please forgive. They are interesting but incomplete. Some moments are pretty good but I don't think any of them are close to the finished article.

NATURE TRIP
Recorded as part of the "Safe Sex……." Sessions, I always thought this song was strong enough to be a single or at the very least an album track, alas it never even made it onto a b-side. We first recorded it in '93 and by the time it came to choosing tracks for the album I suppose we were more focused on the new stuff.