Uncollected [ENHANCED]

Galaxie 500

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 3, 2004)
• Original Release Date: August 3, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B0002JP2BG
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #202,135 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Pete Townshend once opined that a Mod's worst sin was "bad timing," a notion that Boston's great alt-rock hope, Galaxie 500, seemed doomed to embody when they broke up on the eve of the Nirvana-spawned post-punk '90s gold rush. This 14-track compilation (plus a video for "Blue Thunder") of assorted demos, b-sides, and oddities was originally one of the highlights of the band's 1996 boxed retrospective and is available here as a stand-alone disc for the first time. The band's '87 demos capture G-500 at their most undistilled and insouciant, highlighted by Dean Wareham's jangly "Walking Song" and the fragile dreaminess of Naomi Young's "On the Floor." Wareham's weakness for tastefully snarky kitsch (which also seasons his droll modern collaboration with Britta Phillips) surfaces on the band's psych-fest cover of the Rutles' "Cheese and Onions," while the '90 outtake cover of Young Marble Giants' "Final Day" (one of the last tracks G-500 cut) offers a tragic example of his band's compelling, if largely unfulfilled promise. A live, '89 medley of the Beatles' "Rain" and Jonathan Richman's "Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste" further underscores the band's charms: a decidedly irreverent affection for pop history, wed to a noisy, psych-punk sense of boundless possibilities. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars One of My Most Loved Discs, November 29, 2008

By	never thought i'd do this but. ... - See all my reviews

These songs are essential for any fan of the band. I can't imagine being without them. The disc was a revelation the first time I heard it, and it remains a top favorite. It's hard to spotlight individual songs, because the overall quality is so high, but "Final Day" alone is more than worth the price of the disc.

5 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good songs, poorly sequenced, June 30, 2005

By	Greg Cleary (Marquette, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Galaxie 500 only released three proper albums during its short life span, so this selection of outtakes and non-album tracks is especially welcome for those who crave that unique, hypnotic sound. It took me awhile to warm up to this CD, though, and I finally realized that the track sequencing had a lot to do with it.

The songs are arranged in reverse chronological order, which is always a bad idea because instead of listening to how a band's sound developed over time, you instead have to listen to it becoming more restricted. So what I finally did was I recorded these songs in a different order, chronological this time, onto one side of a 90-minute cassette tape.

When I listened back to it, suddenly the music all made sense. I should note that I eliminated "Blue Thunder w/sax" because it is an inferior version of the excellent song that can be found in unadulterated form on another album, and I also eliminated "Rain/Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste," because it is really a crime what they did to "Rain." To fill up the tape, I added "Here She Comes Now," the extra track on the CD version of "This Is Our Music," the album which I put on the other side of the tape.

So here's my running order:

1. Walking Song
2. The Other Side
3. On the Floor
4. Oblivious
5. I Can't Believe it's Me
6. Crazy
7. Jerome
8. Song in 3
9. Maracas Song
10. Cheese and Onions
11. Them
12. Final Day
13. Here She Comes Now

And here are the advantages of that running order, compared to the CD:

1. Instead of beginning with the amusing but awkward "Cheese and Onions," the album begins with "Walking Song," a stripped-down, uptempo number that is catchy and is the only track here that really sounds like a garage band.

2. The magnificent "The Other Side," with vocals by Naomi, is now prominently featured as the second track, instead of being buried toward the end of the compilation. This is the best non-album song by Galaxie 500, and is among their best songs ever. It amazes me that such a new band could put together a song that is so dynamic but at the same time so delicate.

3. "Cheese and Onions" takes its rightful place as a bit of comic relief toward the end of the album.

4. "Final Day" is now the last song (almost). What could possibly be more appropriate? It's a great song (I've never heard the Young Marble Giants' original), but is rather dark, so my addition of "Here She Comes Now" lightens the mood.

So if you are a Galaxie 500 fan, buy the album and dust off that old cassette player so you can place these songs in their rightful order. Or maybe you can somehow record them this way onto a blank CD. (I'm unfamiliar with the technology.)

Whoever decided on this backwards running order must have been the same person who decided to put the exact same liner notes in the reissues of all the Galaxie 500 CD's. So what the heck, maybe you can print off my review and use it as liner notes while you're at it. Happy listening!

1 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ok... but could of been better!!!, September 7, 2004

By	Jonny 5 (West Covina, C.A.) - See all my reviews

whether you are a fan or not, galaxie 500 remains as one of the best, unknown bands of the last 20 years. their style remains unchallenged with the durability to remain timeless. however, in this latest album, "500" seems to take a step back in their meloncholic, progressive style that their fans have grown uccustomed to. their first two albums were great, but this one seems to need some work.