Monday, April 24, 2017

Was '88 Great? Better Than I Remember

We should have seen this coming. A couple of years ago, to mark the 30th anniversary of NME's legendary 'C86' cassette, reissue royals Cherry Red Records released a deluxe edition of the tape, first on CD and later on vinyl. A year later, the label got creative and cashed in on the enormous popularity of the reissue by asking the simple question, what if NME had curated a 'C87'? The three-disc box set was great fun and popular enough to now imagine a wonderful world where a 'C88' also existed.

It's easy to say "enough is enough," but then you look at the tracklist and realize it was a very good year for indie pop. Clare and Matt were getting their feet wet at Sarah. Alan was on fire over at Creation. The best indie label of all time, Martin's Subway Organization, was peaking. Stephen's 53rd & 3rd was wrapping up. How could this compilation not be cool? Preorder 'C88' for a June 30th release.

DISC ONE:
1. ON TAPE – The Pooh Sticks
2. ELEPHANT STONE (7" Version) – The Stone Roses
3. WHERE DO YOU GO (Flexi Version) – The Popguns
4. (WILL NOBODY SAVE) LOUISE – The Man From Delmonte
5. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? (Molesworth Version) - The Charlottes
6. THE THINGS YOU WANT – The Snapdragons
7. A SHELTERED LIFE – Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine
8. ONE SUMMER – Moss Poles
9. LIES – Bridewell Taxis
10. DEFY THE LAW – The Orchids
11. HAPPY LIKE YESTERDAY – The Groovy Little Numbers
12. JULIE CHRISTIE – The Driscolls
13. HIGH – Choo Choo Train
14. CREMATION TOWN – The Poppyheads
15. TATTERED, TANGLED AND TORN - Bradford
16. SO HAPPY TO BE ALIVE – Thrilled Skinny
17. SISTER GOODBYE – The Prayers
18. ANORAK CITY – Another Sunny Day
19. SHE'S GONE – The Train Set
20. BARNOON HILL – Pacific
21. FOREVER HOLIDAY (Ediesta Version) – Blow-Up
22. MARY'S GARDEN – The Mock Turtles
23. THE PENNINE SPITTER – King Of The Slums
24. COLOURS AND SHAPES (Demo) – Pale Saints
25. THE BALLAD OF JET HARRIS – Apple Boutique

DISC TWO:

1. THE HILL – The House Of Love
2. DYING FOR IT – The Vaselines
3. KIRSTY – Bob
4. SLACK TIME – Cud
5. PLEASE RAIN FALL – The Sea Urchins
6. SHAME ON YOU – The Darling Buds
7. PRIZE – Kitchens Of Distinction
8. TOO MANY SHADOWS– The Heart Throbs
9. DO IT FOR FUN – The Bachelor Pad
10. THEY FELL FOR WORDS LIKE LOVE – Hangman's Beautiful Daughters
11. GIVING WAY TO TRAINS – Murrumbidgee Whalers
12. WHAT’S GOING DOWN – The Shamen
13. HEAVEN KNOWS – The Flatmates
14. SPELL IT OUT – The Waltones
15. MRS SUSAN SPENCE – The Wilderness Children
16. YESTERDAY – The Nivens
17. REAL WORLD – Baby Lemonade
18. VILLAGE GREEN – The Clouds
19. FIRE ESCAPE – Rote Kapelle
20. MAD DOGS – Emily
21. THE 18:10 TO YEOVIL JUNCTION – Bubblegum Splash
22. MICHAEL FUREY – Metro Trinity
23. THEME FROM COW – Inspiral Carpets

DISC THREE:

1. SUN, SEA, SAND – The Revolving Paint Dream
2. SURFAROUND – The Fizzbombs
3. PLASTER SAINT – The Church Grims
4. CRUSH THE FLOWERS (Demo) – The Wake
5. SUNSHINE THUGGERY – The Siddeleys
6. CLEAR - Whirl
7. A MILLION ZILLION MILES - Annie & The Aeroplanes
8. YOU OPENED UP MY EYES - Fat Tulips
9. CINCINNATI – Holidaymakers
10. THE CAMERA LOVES ME – Would-Be-Goods
11. ANYWHERE BUT HOME – The Caretaker Race
12. WHO WORKS THE WEATHER – The Great Leap Forward
13. CUBANS IN THE BLUEFIELDS – East Village
14. BYTHESEA ROAD – The Haywains
15. THE OLD ROAD OUT OF TOWN (12" Mix) – The Wishing Stones
16. SHAKE – The Corn Dollies
17. LAND OF GOLD – Bluetrain
18. THE SUN SLID DOWN BEHIND THE TOWER – Reserve
19. APPLE OF MY EYE - Remember Fun
20. MORNING O'GRADY - Yeah Jazz
21. DON'T BURY ME YET – The Raw Herbs
22. CURRY CRAZY - Bad Dream Fancy Dress
23. ON MY WAY – The Claim
24. GLASTONBURY - Rodney Allen





9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I,ve got the metro trinity ep somewhere , excellent 4 songs. Always thought Bob would do a housemartins , they had the tunes and were fantastic live band. Saw them supporting and blowing away a dull as ditchwater 1000 violins at the duchess of york in leeds around this time

The Swede said...

My word. Some names I know well, others I remember vaguely and many that passed me by completely. I assume you'll be digging into this one Brian? I look forward to hearing your thoughts after you've soaked it all in.

TheRobster said...

Same as Swede. This was the year I was just starting out as a fully-fledged indie kid. I had a lot of catching up to do, that's for sure. Some notable omissions though: The Sugarcubes, The Primitives, The Soup Dragons, The Wedding Present. Maybe they featured on previous volumes, but they were still very much part of 1988 were they not?

Brian said...

Swede, My history with these comes down to math. As you know, this is my taste with a capital T. I usually have many of the songs from their original issues, but I never have all of them. Are there enough songs I don't have to make it worth buying? Haven't done the math yet with C88, but my initial thought is I'm buying.

Robster, Here are my thoughts (not a defense, mind you) on the omissions you mentioned. The Soup Dragons and the Wedding Present were on the original C86 and on the imaginary C87 as well. Perhaps didn't want to go to the well a third time. TWP did have two killer singles in '88 though. The singles from Soup Dragons in '88 came from an '87 album. Could have been a factor. Thinking maybe the Primitives were considered too big for this series by '88. Top 10 single and a major label and all that. Primitives did show up on the deluxe reissues of C86 and C87. In keeping with the spirit of C86, Sugarcubes probably omitted because of geography. With disc 1, Cherry Red said they made it a point to choose new blood and bands that broke through in '88. Like you, I don't think any of us would have a problem with the Wedding Present or the Soup Dragons making a third visit on the second or third discs.

FORW, Can report no 1000 Violins... this time. Methinks many songs up your alley on this one.

George said...

I'm looking at the rd disc and thinking that bar The Siddeleys I've never heard of any of them.

Swiss Adam said...

Metro Trinity- I had some of their songs on tape but can't remember a thing about them.

Rol said...

I might be interested in The Pennine Spitter. Further investigation definitely required.

drew said...

By this time I was mostly listening to Acid House and northern soul but a lot of the names are familiar.

JC said...

I only recently got round to getting my hand on C87 and am enjoying it. I can see me picking this up as it coincides (as did C87) with a time when, for various reasons, I wasn't doing much music wise.