An old adage says you can’t judge a book by its cover, but right off the bat this four-CD collection is already in the plus column. Riddled with numerous pictures, extensive liner notes, band mates history, and detailed cataloging of the original singles and EP’s accompanied by a foldout poster covered with all the singles covers and further liner notes, the Jesus And Mary Chain have given us something to look at whereas a number of releases of this nature are disappointing in that respect. However this is a b-sides and rarities collection that will, by nature, have its highs and lows, so passive fans of the band need not to apply.
Tons of lost and hard-to-find gems that have not seen the light of day for some time (or never at all) abound. Yet it must be noted to collectors that the vast majority of the aged b-sides collection, Barbed Wired Kisses, released before the end of their studio output, is delightfully repackaged along with a large portion of leftover material hidden on the Mary Chain shelves. Having said that, all the work on here gets the dust up in some quality re-mastering, so previously accessible treats such as “Happy Place” and “Psychocandy” sound all the more better. The sweets don’t stop there. There are numerous acoustic interpretations of songs such as “Teenage Lust,” “You Trip Me Up,” and “Cut Dead” that leave you wondering which version you prefer in the end.
Even though the sound quality wavers in some of the included early takes on known tracks, a labeling such as “demo” in this collection isn’t always a fair tag, because it almost discredits wonderful versions of tracks such as “Just Like Honey” and “Happy When It Rains,” which stand tall on their own, but were rightfully unused for the tone of their respective eras in the Jesus And Mary Chain’s past.
Amongst the many quirks of the Reid brothers was their propensity to produce odd covers from very well-known artists ranging from the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, and Bo Diddley to the Beach Boys (as well as others), and they can all be found here. They even take a stab at Smokey Robinson’s “My Girl” and also join the ranks of numerous artists who have done Leonard Cohen’s “Tower of Song.” All of which are truly in the spirit of the Jesus And Mary Chain, which is to say that you’re not always going to recognize the track unless you’re reading the credits in the back of the sleeve.
If there is anyone on the fence about moving forward with acquiring this four-CD collection encompassing the fifteen-year career for one of the driving creative underground rock forces in the past twenty-five years, I would advise them to take the dive into this honey pot. Though it feels slightly repetitive in the latter half of the collection, The Power of Negative Thinking never loses its sense of intensity even in its quieter moments, all the while reflecting what all their siblings in album-ville have, which is to say feeling negative never sounded so beautiful and, dare I say, smile-inducing as you groove across the room to the sounds.
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