Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff [IMPORT]

Sarah McLachlan

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 17, 1996)
• Original Release Date: December 11, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: NETTWERK UK
• ASIN: B000005RQQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,312 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The Sarah McLachlan cottage industry rolls with Rarities. This disc of hard-to-finds and extended remixes offers some choice morsels for casual fans and a whole plateful for the faithful. The Freedom Sessions proved that McLachlan can do some nice stuff with a cover tune, and she offers a sweet handful here. Fellow Canadians Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell get lushed-out respectively with "Song For A Winter's Night" and "Blue," and McLachlan also works her magic with XTC's "Dear God" and the Billie Holiday classic "Gloomy Sunday." Each is dark, but engaging, like so much of McLachlan's own material, including this set's brooding "Full of Grace" and "I Will Remember You." --Michael Ruby

Product Description
Never released in the U.S., this 1996 collection features 13of the Canadian singer/ songwriter's best B-sides, covers, rarities & soundtrack contributions, 1987-1996. Housed in a double gatefold slipcase, it includes 'Possession' (Rabbit In The Moon Remix), 'I Will Remember You' (from the film 'Last Of The Mohicans'), covers of XTC's 'Dear God', Gordon Lightfoot's 'Song For A Winter's Night' & Joni Mitchell's 'Blue', plus live cuts & more mixes! A Nettwerk release. The full title is 'Rarities, B-sides, And Other Stuff'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Covers..Don't Care Much for Remixes, July 9, 1999

By A Customer

This CD sounds good in the first half and not so good in the second half. I'm not a fan of remixes thus my reason for stopping the CD after Track 9.

"Dear God", an XTC cover, is fabulous. The first time I heard it, my jaw dropped..literally. Here, an angry Sarah is unleashed and we get to hear her scream towards the end. If you are a deeply religious person, you will get offended by the song's negative potrayal of God. My friend, who's a devout Christian, is an ex-fan of Sarah simply because of this song.

"Gloomy Sunday", the Billie Holiday song known to drive some people to suicide, is another stunner, though it can get quite depressing after many listens. This is my first introduction to a live Sarah song. You can tell, from the silence of the audience, that they're enraptured by Sarah's haunting voice.

Another favourite is "Song for a Winter's Night", a Gordon Lightfoot cover. It sounds like a Christmas song but it's actually about just wanting another person to snuggle up with on a cold winter night.

Joni Mitchell's "Blue" cover is another great one. I'm now a fan of Joni Mitchell. "Drawn to the Rhythm" live is OK and "Shelter"(violin mix) sounds much better than the Solace version.

If you enjoy remixes of Sarah's songs, you should get this CD. Otherwise, just get it for the wonderful covers.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great addition to a fan collection, July 18, 2002

By	Sandy (Brussels, Belgium) - See all my reviews

I agree with most of the reviewers that the highlights of this collection are rather the covers and live tracks than the remixes, even if some of them actually work well.

The raging "Dear God", the full of longing "I will remember you", the magical "Song for a winter's night" and the haunting "Shelter" (better version than the original) are valuable additions to a fan collection. The live tracks "Gloomy Sundays" (a beautiful acoustic, almost religious version) and "Drawn to the rhythm" will please all those who enjoyed "Mirrorball". Add to this "Full of grace" from "Surfacing" and the excellent cover of Joni Mitchell's "Blue" (also available on "Tumbling Towards Ecstasy"). Those tracks alone will justify the money spent on this collection for a fan. If you're new to Sarah, it will give you an idea of who she is and you will get some of her most beautiful tracks here, but I recommend to check her studio albums to get the full picture before you make yourself an opinion.

LunaSol remix of "Fear" brings African rhythm to the song, it sounds a little bit Peter Gabriel produced. "As the end draw near" sounds like an 80's electro track (Kraftwerk, early Depeche Mode). It's not my favourite here, as Sarah's voice is mixed deep down in the music, I don't find it terrible though. "Vox" was never one of my personal favourite songs, but if you loved the original you will for sure find the extended mix delightful. "Into the fire" extended mix has an agreeable oriental flavour. This track leads you to dance. Rabbit in the moon turned "Possession" into a club track. If you liked Sarah's collaborations with Delirium you will not mind. The remixers did not butcher the song too much and Sarah's vocals have not been too altered. It's worth listening and can become captivating even if the original remains better.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For The Diehard Sarah Fan, April 2, 2004

By	Alan Caylow (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Sarah McLachlan's 1996 release, "Rarities, B-Sides, & Other Stuff," is exactly what it says it is, a collection of rare & hard-to-find tracks that Sarah recorded between 1989 and 1996---some for movie soundtracks, some as single B-sides, some live stuff, and some remixes. It's probably not an essential purchase for the casual Sarah fan, but for the diehard Sarah follower, it's an excellent batch of rare Sarah material. Sarah's cover songs are all marvelously done: the controversial XTC song "Dear God," the Billie Holiday classic "Gloomy Sunday," the Joni Mitchell staple "Blue," and Gordon Lightfoot's "Song For A Winter's Night." "I Will Remember You," which Sarah recorded for the film, "The Brothers McMullen," is a beautiful song, and one of Sarah's most popular tunes. The pretty "Full Of Grace" later appeared on Sarah's "Surfacing" album, and the Sarah favorite "Drawn To The Rhythm" is included here in a great live version. As for the remixes, they work for the most part, especially the remix of "Fear," which is given a powerful, driving rhythm track. Only two tracks come up short: "As The End Draws Near" is an obscure song by the group Manufacture that Sarah did a guest lead vocal on, but the song is a little *too* electronic-sounding for my taste, and the remix of Sarah's signature tune "Possession" just doesn't work, as all the beauty of the original song is gone. But overall, "Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff" is a definite must-purchase for Sarah McLachlan's most-devoted fans. If you love Sarah's music, then you can't go wrong adding this CD to your collection.