Customer Reviews

B-Sides, Seasides & Freerides

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In 1996 Ocean Colour Scene rose to fame with their album Moseley Shoals supported by a string of hit singles including The Riverboat Song, The Day We Caught The Train, The Circle and You've Got It Bad. Each single came with a plethora of great b-sides that could easily have made the album itself. B-Sides, Seasides & Freerides is the collection of these b-sides and what a collection it is.

While Moseley Shoals featured one rock track after another, this album is a mellower, melancholic affair, best highlighted by Outside of a Circle, a cut down acoustic version of The Circle. Singer songwriter Simon Fowler describes this as the intended version of the song, written on a rainy day in a cold flat in Birmingham.

Every song on this album is heartfelt and there are some absolute classics. That the song Robin Hood still makes it into their live sets (often as the set opener) and has countless covers on YouTube is a testament to the strength of the songs.

The anomaly on this album is Day Tripper, a cover of the Beatles classic by OCS and Oasis. Worth a listen, even if it is out of place.

There are 2 versions of this CD available, the first had a limited print run that instantly sold out, the second released years later to satisfy the continued demand for this classic album. Physically the two releases should be near identical.

I highly recommend this to anyone who lived through the Britrock era and/or enjoys acoustic guitar and Hammond keyboards.

In 1996 Ocean Colour Scene rose to fame with their album Moseley Shoals supported by a string of hit singles including The Riverboat Song, The Day We Caught The Train, The Circle and You've Got It Bad. Each single came with a plethora of great b-sides that could easily have made the album itself. B-Sides, Seasides & Freerides is the collection of these b-sides and what a collection it is.

While Moseley Shoals featured one rock track after another, this album is a mellower, melancholic affair, best highlighted by Outside of a Circle, a cut down acoustic version of The Circle. Singer songwriter Simon Fowler describes this as the intended version of the song, written on a rainy day in a cold flat in Birmingham.

Every song on this album is heartfelt and there are some absolute classics. That the song Robin Hood still makes it into their live sets (often as the set opener) and has countless covers on YouTube is a testament to the strength of the songs.

The anomaly on this album is Day Tripper, a cover of the Beatles classic by OCS and Oasis. Worth a listen, even if it is out of place.

There are 2 versions of this CD available, the first had a limited print run that instantly sold out, the second released years later to satisfy the continued demand for this classic album. Physically the two releases should be near identical.

I highly recommend this to anyone who lived through the Britrock era and/or enjoys acoustic guitar and Hammond keyboards.