Missing Songs

Maxïmo Park | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 21, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warp Records
• ASIN: B000BX10VE
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,599 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Never let it be said that Maximo Park is in it for the money. The upstart British band could have easily cashed-in on the big buzz surrounding its spiky debut album, 2005's A Certain Trigger by releasing eight different versions of the disc using its healthy cache of rarities (you know, just like Bloc Party). Instead, the smartly dressed post-punkers have simply stuck all their b-sides/outtakes/demos on this cut-rate CD and opted to get on with their lives. But that doesn't make Missing Songs disposable. Expanding on the angular guitars, fractured dance rhythms and singer/resident comb-over revivalist Paul Smith's literary lyrics, there are moments here that make you want to punch Maximo Park in the face for leaving off their "real" album. "Fear of Falling" is one of those, offering a glimpse at what the Smiths would (hopefully) sound like if they came out in 2004 instead of 1984. The minimalist cover of John Lennon's "Isolation," is another one, reinterpreting the song much like you would expect it to be done by Joy Division. Naturally, there is quite a bit of filler too, but what did you expect? As a companion piece to A Certain Trigger, it's hard to beat. --Aidin Vaziri

Product Description

After an incredibly successful World Tour, including recent sell-out shows in Australia and a UK Mercury Prize nomination, there's no denying that Maximo Park have a massive fan base now firmly set, as one of the top Indie rock bands in the world today. After huge exposure on radio via the singles 'Apply Some Pressure', 'Going Missing', 'Graffiti', 'The Night I Lost My Head' and 'The Coast Is Always Changing', the band now releases a fan-friendly CD comprising their B-sides and extra non-LP tracks recorded to date. Warp. 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maximise Your Maximo, December 20, 2005

By 

The Wasp (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Missing Songs (Audio CD)

A year of impressive live performances and hot singles such as Apply Some Pressure and Graffiti have made Maximo Park's debut album A Certain Trigger a favourite for fans of the revitalised British rock movement. Frontman Paul Smith's stage presence is equal parts Ian Curtis and Ian McKellen, orating like a Shakespearean actor from a book of lyrics one minute before erupting in an angular dance aptly aping the Maximo Park sound.
With the advent of Dual Disc, tour editions and repackaged albums it seems that music fans are being suckered into buying numerous versions of their favourite albums to ensure they don't miss out on the bonus rarities. Unlike closely aligned UK group Bloc Party - who have managed to release four separate fan-screwing versions of their debut Silent Alarm this year - Maximo Park take a positive stance by offering Missing Songs as both a stand-alone disc and as a special package coupled with the staggering A Certain Trigger.
Clocking in at a little over a half hour, Missing Songs kicks off with the excellent A19 and the brief John Lennon cover Isolation, previously available as part of a Q magazine promotion. As well as the dead Beatle, XTC are also offered a tribute of sorts with the track Trial And Error, which comes close to approximating Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding's art rock sound. The acoustic Stray Talk and the Kaiser Chiefs-with-added-xylophone feel of Hammer Horror are highlights, with the gloriously tinny demos of Apply Some Pressure and Graffiti an intriguing commodity compared to the versions polished up by in-demand Brit producer Paul Epworth.
Comprising unreleased commodities and non-LP tunes from the Newcastle group, Missing Songs emerges as a worthier and more revealing album than many legitimate releases from 2005 upstarts such as Art Brut, Babyshambles and The Subways. The double-headed power of A Certain Trigger and Missing Songs prove that bringing back the comb-over is the least of Paul Smith's 2005 achievements.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Way better than this has any right to be, February 21, 2006

By 

Willie D - See all my reviews

This review is from: Missing Songs (Audio CD)

EP's and b-side albums so frequently suck that I stressed about blowing hard earned cash for this, even if it was only $9. A Certain Trigger was maybe my top album of '05 so I was prepared for disappointment. While not matching the highs of ACT, there is nothing here of decidedly lower quality (save the demos, which are worthless). The production is a bit less dense and there is less of a "wall of sound" effect than on ACT which does make this sound a bit "cheaper" but this occasionally becomes a revelation like on "Stray Talk". Worth every penny.

3.0 out of 5 stars Non-essential Maximo, August 1, 2006

By 

W. M. Davidson (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Missing Songs (Audio CD)

This is one of the those b-side collections that make you think, "They really picked the right tracks for the album." Not that these songs are terrible-- they're just lacking the extra spark of the songs that did make "A Certain Trigger." Most notable are "Fear of Falling," which sounds the closest to something that could've found a place on the album, and a fascinatingly lo-fi demo version of "Apply Some Pressure."