Customer Reviews

DGC Rarities, Vol. 1

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The best song on this album was "MD 20/20" by Teenage Fanclub. The other songs provide a great measuring for acts like Hole, Beck and my favourite band ever, Sloan. It shows how far they have come since their demo days. The growth is especially noticeable for Beck and Hole. For this novelty alone, I recommend this album

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.

I bought this cd for the songs by The Posies and Weezer. To my surprise most of the other songs lived up to the expectation I had placed on the before mentioned. There were only four let downs, but I always skip them. It is an ablum worth getting for you obessed fans who can not get enough of a particular band.

This CD is good if you want to hear special songs from your favorite artists. Because these songs are rarities, you are not going to hear them anywhere else and it would be a shame to miss out on them. The songs from Hole, Beck, Sonic Youth and Weezer makes the album worth buying, even if you don't know the other artists. If you are buying this to hear "Pay to Play" then you should be warned that it is just like "Stay Away" but with slightly different lyrics. All in all, this CD is really good if you are sick of listening to the same overplayed songs again and again.

The only reason I bought this cd was for the Counting Crows song "Einstein on the Beach," but I was pleasantly surprised with the other songs on it and would reccomend it to fans of any of the bands on this cd.

but this one rocks! Some great tracks here that are not released anywhere else. This compilations has been one of my mainstays for mix tape tracks since it was released. Tracks 2 - 5 are all fantastic; like unheard "singles".

There are enough other reviews to give you a sense of what this comp is (and isn't). I'm only adding to the voices, to say that Guadalcanal fans should note that this version of "Allegory" is NOT the version on _In Thrall_. It's a much more acoustic, stripped-down version. Not better or worse than the album, just different. If you're a completist, you need this. If you thought _In Thrall_ was overwrought, you might really like this "Allegory."