Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Odds and Sods From Epic Soundtracks

I have never compiled a list of the my favorite albums of the '90s. If I ever did, I'm quite sure Epic Soundtracks' 1992 record 'Rise Above' would make my Top 10. His admiration for Brian Wilson was strong on this one, and there are moments when the predecessor's term "pocket symphony" is an apt description for this brilliant piece of work.

In 1999, two years after his death at the not-so-ripe age of 38, his brother, Nikki Sudden, compiled a single-disc collection of outtakes, home recordings and live performances that included a few nuggets from the 'Rise Above' era. This was a daunting task for Sudden, writing that "what [Soundtracks] has left behind are countless cassettes" with many versions of the same songs. Sudden had no idea which compositions were meant for public consumption. He just hoped he "managed to put together something that [Soundtracks] would have been proud of." The final product would be called 'Everything Is Temporary.' If you're a fan, it's well worth your time. Not everyone agrees with that assessment, but you can judge from the selections below.

When listening to Soundtracks' work, you can't help but feel a little sad at what could have been, but I'm grateful his older sibling took the time to get this work out there. Sudden, incidentally, also passed away prematurely, in 2006, at the age of 49. He, too, is missed, but we'll listen to his work another day.

Epic Soundtracks - Fallen Down (mp3) ('Rise Above' outtake)
Epic Soundtracks - She Sleeps Alone (mp3) (Live - Kino, Ebensee, Oct. 14, 1995)

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