Bonus Track Bonanza
Sloan - "The Best Part Of Your Life" (mp3)
Ted Leo - "Old Souls Know" (mp3)
Money Mark - "Love Stains" (mp3)
It's a small coincidence that 3 of my favorite rock albums of the year so far all came with bonus tracks in some form or another, but what's remarkable is that in all 3 cases, those bonus tracks included songs that I actually like as much as anything on the proper albums, which is kind of rare for outtake freebies. Sloan's Never Hear The End Of It is ridiculously overloaded with 30 songs, many of which are among the best stuff they've ever done, so it's kind of surprising that they still had a couple solid leftovers to give away (my copy had a little slip inside with a password to get 2 bonus songs from the Yep Roc website).
The more I listen to Ted Leo's Living With The Living, the more uneven the record sounds to me, a good 4 or 5 absolute stunners surrounded by a couple more that may yet grow on me, and a lot of seriously dull or ill-considered stuff. The EP of Ted solo recordings attached to initial pressings of the album, Mo' Living, isn't any more consistent, but it's nice to hear him trying some different sounds outside of the Pharmacists' power trio setup. I think I was one of the only people who liked the solo recordings on the Tell Balgury, Balgeary Is Dead EP, and I was expecting more stuff like that on here with just guitar and voice, but he actually fleshes out most of the songs with bass and drums. Though I like the Chumbawumba cover, there's not really anything on the EP that anyone would claim was unjustly left off the proper album (even the would-be title track), but "Old Souls Know" comes closest. It still sounds a little underwritten, but I like the weird tempo and Ted's sloppy drumming.
I bought Money Mark's new album just off the strength of how much I liked the album of his that my brother was into years and years ago called Push The Button. That album came out at a time when there were virtually dozens of Beastie Boys associates were releasing 'eclectic' pop albums, but while most of those were completely awful and forgettable, Money Mark actually turned out to be a capable singer/songwriter with a smooth, likeable voice. His latest, Brand New By Tomorrow, isn't as good or as varied as that album, but it is pretty mellow and pleasant to listen to. And one of the two songs on the bonus EP that came with the copy I bought, "Love Stains," is as good as anything on the album (Sean Lennon plays bass on it, but eh, who cares).
Ted Leo - "Old Souls Know" (mp3)
Money Mark - "Love Stains" (mp3)
It's a small coincidence that 3 of my favorite rock albums of the year so far all came with bonus tracks in some form or another, but what's remarkable is that in all 3 cases, those bonus tracks included songs that I actually like as much as anything on the proper albums, which is kind of rare for outtake freebies. Sloan's Never Hear The End Of It is ridiculously overloaded with 30 songs, many of which are among the best stuff they've ever done, so it's kind of surprising that they still had a couple solid leftovers to give away (my copy had a little slip inside with a password to get 2 bonus songs from the Yep Roc website).
The more I listen to Ted Leo's Living With The Living, the more uneven the record sounds to me, a good 4 or 5 absolute stunners surrounded by a couple more that may yet grow on me, and a lot of seriously dull or ill-considered stuff. The EP of Ted solo recordings attached to initial pressings of the album, Mo' Living, isn't any more consistent, but it's nice to hear him trying some different sounds outside of the Pharmacists' power trio setup. I think I was one of the only people who liked the solo recordings on the Tell Balgury, Balgeary Is Dead EP, and I was expecting more stuff like that on here with just guitar and voice, but he actually fleshes out most of the songs with bass and drums. Though I like the Chumbawumba cover, there's not really anything on the EP that anyone would claim was unjustly left off the proper album (even the would-be title track), but "Old Souls Know" comes closest. It still sounds a little underwritten, but I like the weird tempo and Ted's sloppy drumming.
I bought Money Mark's new album just off the strength of how much I liked the album of his that my brother was into years and years ago called Push The Button. That album came out at a time when there were virtually dozens of Beastie Boys associates were releasing 'eclectic' pop albums, but while most of those were completely awful and forgettable, Money Mark actually turned out to be a capable singer/songwriter with a smooth, likeable voice. His latest, Brand New By Tomorrow, isn't as good or as varied as that album, but it is pretty mellow and pleasant to listen to. And one of the two songs on the bonus EP that came with the copy I bought, "Love Stains," is as good as anything on the album (Sean Lennon plays bass on it, but eh, who cares).
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on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 10:09 AM.
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I have an old Money Mark record that I did like. I'll have to check out the new one with the bonus disc.