DGC Rarities, Vol. 1

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 5, 1994)
• Original Release Date: July 5, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Geffen Records
• ASIN: B000003TB4
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,854 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Little Grunge, A Little Rock, November 13, 2004

By 

Westley (Stuck in my head) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: DGC Rarities, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

Geffen Record Company (DGC) released this terrific sampler of b-sides and rarities in 1994, to highlight some of their top modern rock acts. At the time, grunge rock was huge and it's well-represented here with Nirvana, Hole, and Beck (he was considered grunge when "Loser" was a hit). Most of these acts had just started to taste success (Beck, Hole, Counting Crows, Weezer), and many would go on to be huge stars throughout the decade.

The biggest hit on the CD was Counting Crows' "Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)," which went to #45 on the Top 100 airplay chart and was a #1 modern rock hit. "Pay to Play" by Nirvana is perhaps my favorite song on the CD. A demo version of the later "Stay Away" from "Nevermind," it's unavailable (as far as I can tell) elsewhere in this form, which alone makes this compilation worth buying. Indeed, I purchased this CD at the time primarily for Nirvana and Counting Crows; however, I've grown to love several other songs as well. Among the more obscure acts here, I most enjoy Murray Attaway's "Allegory," which opens with lyrics from an old Appalachian folk song. Murray was the lead singer of Guadalcanal Diaries and released one solo CD, "In Thrall," from which "Allegory was taken.

The liner notes are also interesting, as they include brief comments from most of the artists. Courtney Love's comments are predictably incoherent, referencing her "innerchild" and "looking wasted and lost on MTV." Have truer words ever been spoken? Overall, this CD is a solid collection of early 90's b-sides and rarities from some great alt-rock acts.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Glad I bought the CD, February 17, 2003

By 

Doomster "[e-mail]" (Silicon Valley, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DGC Rarities, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

Like many others, I bought this for the Nirvana song "Pay to Play". I didn't know about Weezer's "Jamie" or the Counting Crows' "Einstein on the Beach", both of which are great songs.

But in addition to the songs of big name artists like Nirvana, Hole, Sonic Youth, they have some good songs by little-known artists. "Wild Goose Chasing" by St. Johnny grew on me after listening it a few times (anybody know if I can get an album of St. Johnny??) & "Mad Dog 20/20" by Teenage Fan Club and "Open Every Window" by the Posies are also worth checking out.

BTW, if you like Weezer's "Jamie", check out the cover of this song by Dashboard Confessional.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic 1990s, October 10, 2005

By 

Mike Smith (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: DGC Rarities, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

I love this CD. It's a compilation of songs from great DGC 1990s artists, released in 1994. (Am I the only person blown away that 1994 was almost TWELVE years ago? Man.) A lot of time has passed since these songs were recorded, but to me, as a fan of the music of that little era, most of these songs have remained classics.
A lot of well-known, celebrated bands are here, but it can also serve as good introduction to a lot of lesser known ones, particularly to bands from the grunge scene's commercial prime.
"Mad Dog 20/20" by Teenage Fanclub is, I think one of that band's best songs: a loving paean to being young, hanging out in public parks, and drinking wine. As part of a collection of songs celebrating the 1990s, it seems doubly nostalgic, and twice as good.
"Pay To Play" by Nirvana is a rockin', raw, "Bleach"-style version of "Stay Away," and this CD is worth it just for it, at least for Nirvana fans wanting more.
"Jamie" by Weezer is a poppy love song to a female lawyer, a song with all the best traits of Weezer's early "Blue Album" songs. You will sing it for months.
"Bogusflow" is a classic acoustic Beck track, though it's lyrics might be kind of gross if you overanalyze them.
"Grunge Couple" by That Dog is a terrific record of a brief yet memorable time of American life--when ripped jeans and dirty garage bands were attractive to girls: "I like you. I like you. You are cute. You are cute. In a flannel shirt, and your...hiking boots." It's a rockin' song with great female vocals and a violin that winds among all the more typical grunge instrumentation. It still finds its way onto mix CDs of mine.
"Einstein On The Beach (For An Eggman)" by Counting Crows is one of their best songs. It's actually happy--one of the happiest songs I've ever heard, actually--and does a great job of telling about a strange life shattered using allusions to Einsten and Humpty Dumpty.
There are a lot of other good songs as well, and all combine to make this an album extremely worth purchasing. If you like any of the bands on this CD, it's almost guaranteed you'll like some of the others.
And there was supposed to be a "DGC Rarities Vol. 2"--the record store I used to haunt even had a sign up for its release date back in 1995--but I don't think it ever came out. I like this one enough that I'd still buy if it did.