To obsessives who are willing to stick aorudn till the bitter end, here's the finest moment from the most-inconsistent album (1995's Soulscraper) of the MC4's career.There are two B-sides here, including the attractive acoustic ballad "Skywide" which is otherwise unavailable.Much more MC4 HERE.
Is this the last great Mc4 tracks? Let us know what you think in the COMMENTS section (where you'll find the "Android Dreams" link).
Two nice non-album B-sides, both warmer sounding than anything on the 1996's aptly-named Soulscraper. Much more MC4 HERE. Don't forget to leave a COMMENT (which is where you'll find the skidding link).
1995' s Soulscraper is sometimes called MC4's 'grunge album' due to the thicker, chunkier guitar sound that dominates songs like "The Dog Lady" but fear not listeners, Wiz's gift for sad-but-strong hooks (check out "Android Dreams") is still there beneath the thick layer of gunk.
So what do you think of the Soulscraper era of the MC4? Let us know in the COMMENTS section (where you'll find the link as well.)
MRML READERS: Don't miss our top ten Mega City Four videos over atThe Big Takeover
Opinions are divided over Mega City Four's 1993 album, Magic Bullets.
Jack Rabid (at both The Trouser Press and allmusic.com) says the album, "fails to match Sebastopol Rd.'s end-to-end excellence... Still, it's far from a failure. "Perfect Circle" jump-starts the album, the single "Iron Sky" is a lacerating, fresh gem, "Enemy Skies" recalls the whomp and whack of the band's early days and "Speck" closes things on a somber note. Best of all, the melodies still stick to you like a dog in a thunderstorm."
Spavid of Willfully Obscure says that the album "is a favorite of many, if not most die-hard MC4 fans. And while it may lack the visceral thrust of their early material, "Wallflower," "President," and ''Toys" convey the kind of bittersweet pathos that so many of the Brit-plop hopefuls of MC4's era could hold a candle to. Not that they'd even try to of course."
Our own commenter extraordinaire CallPastorJerkface says the album is, "Achingly melodic and, well, just aching now that you mention it, the Four's fourth proper studio album is perfect fodder for a sad lonely day in your room/on the bus/at your cubicle. Some might say that all that sadness makes Bullets proto-emo-pop in its narrow focus on the ground beneath its feet but when the Mega's do raise their heads and run for the horizon ("Rainman", "President", "Greener") you'll find it hard to keep up. Excellent production, glorious guitar soaked pop songs with lyrics that speak to who you are (or were depending on how well the Prozac's working for you) and a nice variety of tempos and song templates may make this a good first Four-ay into the Mega City."
In my view, it's a more consistent album than Sebastopol Road but it lacks a song as perfect as `Stop`. And while I remain a devout fan of the hard-hitting, pop-punk-oriented Decoy years (1988-1990) I`ve really come around to subtle power of the more Brit-poppish Big Life years (1991-1993).
So leave us a COMMENT about how you rate Magic Bullets(and that`s where you`ll find the link, as well). Support the band
MRML READERS: Don't miss our top ten Mega City Four videos over at The Big Takeover
While searching for Mega City Four related goodies, I came across this (previously unknown to me) singles compilation on Vinyl Solution from 1989:
I considered posting this release but since it's just an earlier version of Terribly Sorry Bob (with better art direction), it seemed like a better idea to just share the cover art with you and finally post my favourite Mega City Four release.
These early singles (as I discussed in detail HERE) define Mega City Four for me and that's no insult to my (ever-growing) love of their later work it's just that this is one of the most insanely-ignored singles collection in existence - don't miss it!
Track List
A1 Miles Apart A2 Running In Darkness A3 Distant Relatives A4 Clear Blue Sky A5 Less Than Senseless A6 Dancing Days Are Over A7 No Time B1 Awkward Kid B2 Cradle B3 Finish B4 Severence B5 Thanx B6 Square Through A Circle
Credits
* Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Gerry Bryant * Drums – Chris Jones (28) * Guitar, Backing Vocals – Daniel Luther Jonathan Brown * Guitar, Lead Vocals, Lyrics By – Wiz (7) * Producer – Alan Scott (tracks: A5-A6), Iain Burgess (tracks: A7-B6), Matthew Fisher (tracks: A1-A4), M.C.4*
Notes
This is a compilation of the first five singles on Decoy. · A1-A2 originally released on Miles Apart / Running In Darkness (7'') · A3-A4 originally released on Clear Blue Sky / Distant Relatives (7") · A5-A6 originally released on Less Than Senseless / Dancing Days Are Over (7") · A7 is a bonus track, originally released on Vinyl Solution freebie 7" (same recording session as B1-B2) · B1-B2 originally released on Awkward Kid / The Cradle (7") · B3-B6 originally released on There Goes My Happy Marriage (12", EP)
Is Terrible Sorry Bob the best MC4 release? Give us you opinion in the COMMENTS section(where you'll find the Terrible Sorry Bob link)
For a fantastic dose of MC4 rarities visit the ever-wonderful, Willfully Obscure.
MRML has spent so much time on neglected early nineties UK rockers Mega City4 that we;ve amassed a nearly unparalleled NINETEEN posts on the band (see HERE!). With this CD single (insanely never part of an album!) we see the band playing at the top of the their 2nd peak.
COMMENTS on the MC4 are always a good thing!! (Even though the link for the Shivering Sand single is right HERE!)
So three years after Sergeant Pepper Knew My Father (see HERE) raised the profile of UK indie-pop in 1988, someone must've decided that a sequel was in order. Only Billy Bragg (more HERE) and Frank Sidebottom (R.I.P.) remain in the cast and a new charitable plot was duly crafted ( "All profits raised by this album are being donated to Oxfam to help their relief program in Cambodia. War is over if you want it").
So were back in the pre-Nirvana UK underground and it`s gonna be a mixed bag according to your personal bias. Certainly this album has personal faves (Billy Bragg, Heavenly, Mega City Four, Senseless Things) as well artists I appreciate (Paul Weller solo, John Otway, The Pooh Sticks) plus a dose of artists I cannot for the life of me recall a thing about (everybody else). You`re take on it may well differ...
1 Revolution - Billy Bragg 1:50 2 True Life Hero - Pooh Sticks 2:16 3 She Said, She Said - Driscolls 3:29 4 Across the Universe - Family Cat 4:10 5 I Must Be in Love - Senseless Things 1:57 6 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - Moonflowers 5:24 7 I Am the Walrus - John Otway 3:23 8 All to Much Loves - Young Nightmare 4:33 9 Don't Let Me Down - Paul Weller 4:05 10 If I Needed Someone - Anyways 3:33 11 It Won't Be Long - Heavenly 2:08 12 A Hard Day's Night - Mega City Four 2:55 13 Flying - Frank Sidebottom 2:18 14 Drive My Car - Brilliant Corners 3:27 15 I'm Only Sleeping - Family 3:14 16 Rain - Beatle Hans & The Paisley Pervers 4:40 So which do you reckon is the better tribute album, Revolution No. 9 or Sergeant Pepper Knew My Father. Leave us a COMMENT (which is where you`ll find the Revolution No. 9 link)
P.S. Having brought two of my regular muses, Billy Bragg and Mega City Four together (via The Beatles) you might well expect it's time for another holiday in MC4 and you'd be right but I have a little personal archaeology to drag you through first...
Black & Noir Records was a cool French punk/pop/garage/rock n' roll label from the late 80's and early 90's. While may of the band on the label were French, the label had many English bands from this era, such as Mega City Four (much more HERE) who contribute a blistering run-through of Hüsker Dü's "Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely". While the band released a couple of live versions of this song, this is the only known location of a studio take.
This rip comes from Wilgy (much thanks to him and a thank-you post is on the way) and preserves the band's battle-hardened live show (at their peak they were playing 200 shows a year) circa 1992.
Even six posts into a lengthy series, we STILL very much appreciate fresh comments:
Speaking of which, the COMMENTS section is where you will find the link for Inspiringly Titled The Live Album
So as my "final" MC4 post of this series (there'll be another soon enough) here's the Shivering Sand Live 7", which includes the band's run-through of Hüsker Dü's "Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely".
(It's like a a medley but there's not much prime MC4 footage floating around.)
Peel Sessions Recorded On 19th July 1988 1 Clear Blue Sky 3:03 2 Alternative Arrangements 3:05 3 Severe Attack Of The Truth 2:43 4 January 3:35 5 Distant Relatives 3:20
Peel Sessions Recorded On 19th September 1993 6 Stay Dead 4:10 7 Clown 4:17 8 Prague 3:59 9 Slow Down 4:17
COMMENTS are always a good thing!!
Speaking of which, Peel Sessions link is in the COMMENTS section
Okay I sold my vinyl copy of Mega City Four's second album, Who Cares Wins, back in '91 and probably didn't regret it much till yesterday. It's an album that grows on you slowly, in my case, glacially. My initial disappointment stemmed from a certain sameness to the record's sound and shortage of those magical Wiz hooks. Perhaps I expected something along the lines of The Doughboys' sophomore album, Home Again where the sensitive-pop-kids-with-loud-guitars shtick went 3-D, with sympathetic production and a commensurate leap in songwriting strength. But that's not quite the way of this album,which employs most of the lyrical and musical tricks of their earlier work without adding any one obviously new element.
But a consistent MC4 album is no bad thing. Instead of the songs leaping out at you, they skulk in the shadows waiting to found and appreciated; it's a very passive-aggressive as pop albums go.
One of the least surreptitious moments of the album is "No Such Place As Home" which packs an album's worth of hooks into 4:09.
So, give WCW a spin and see if it takes less than 20 years to grow on you.
So (as per yesterday's post), WHY did I sell those Mega City Four CD's? I could proffer dozens of reasons ranging from the financial to the spiritual to the practical but the clearest motivations in that case were geography, climate and history.
Y'see, I discovered the MC4 while sharing a basement apartment with my girlfriend in the wet climes of Vancouver, British Columbia in the early 90's. With the sound of grunge roaring all around me, I focused on things faster, catchier and perhaps a bit tinnier, like the MC4. I first found Tranziphobia, then Terribly Sorry Bob (my favourites!) then Who Cares Wins and the Live Album and finally, Sebastopal Rd. on vinyl, all of which I sold and replaced with CD's. I played tapes of those albums on my ever-present Walkman during a hundred downpours (mostly literal but a few more metaphorical ones) and those songs became attached to that mountainous place, that damp environment and that specific girlfriend.
So when I returned to my home in the yawning prairies, perhaps something of me got left in a West Vancouver dumpster. Maybe that loss of place and the great break-up that was soon to follow, pushed me to jettison a few necessities amongst the genuine dead weight.
Rest in Peace, Wiz - I'll correct my mistake one day.
Here's a cool live 7" from 1992, which has no overlap with the collection of rarities posted yesterday. (For Much More Megas - go here.)
Have you ever regretted something you've sold? Tell us about it in the comments section!
Speaking of the comments section, that's where you'll find the link for Stop (Live)
I sold all my Mega City 4 CD's during an epic purge back in the mid-90's and it remains one of my most regretted transactions. (For looooots more MC4 at MRML go here)
Now, in celebration of regular COMMENTER CallPastorJekface (who did our guest post on the band's Sebastopal Rd., which earned over 500 D/L's!!) finally tracking down a copy of Terribly Sorry Bob let's give a listen to this bootleg collection of MC4 B-sides (where some of their best songs were relegated to).
Leave us a comment with your take on the MC4!!!
Speaking of the comments section, that's where you'll find the link for B-Sides & Rarities
I stopped following Mega City Four after Sebastopol Road. After listening to, "Iron Sky" another of Wiz's soaring, hooky anthems, I see that I may have erred.
To hear the album from which the single derives, Magic Bullets, go visit the conspicuously concupiscent, Willfully Obscure.
It's an easy argument to say that "Terribly Sorry Bob" contains MC4's highest highs and that "Tranziphobia" is their best overall album. But, for me, my real love of Wiz and co. started with a ride down "Sebastopol Road". Yes, the breathless popcore of their earlier work has been slowed to a more standard rock n' roll pace but that does nothing to negate the insane catchiness and intelligence that seemed as natural to Wiz's songcraft as breathing underwater is to Aquaman.
O.K., not everything on "Seb. Rd." is a hit (the album seems to go back and forth between mini-masterpiece and decent filler on a track by track basis) but, when they're on, it's shocking how fabulous those Four were. Take the lead off track, "Ticket Collector", as but one example. A catchy riff to start followed by an every/only teen vocal that builds to the heart-bludgeoning refrain: "I've all the time in the world for you / but I'm using it up on me". "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why they call it a crush."
It's an on-going frustration that Mega City Four's mastery of power pop is as neglected and sniffed at in critical circles today (I recently read their name followed by the words "and other lesser English bands" in a book that had the gall to tell me I had to hear at least four fucking Morrissey solo albums before I die!) as it was in their heyday. Thank the little fiber optical cables that strangle the globe that we can, on a whim, tune into a Mega-work such as Sebastopol Road for ourselves and leave the opinions of those who tell us what our tastes should be in the dust.
Oh wait, that's me isn't it? Terribly sorry.
MRML Readers: Leave us a comment telling us what you think of this, or any other, era of Mega City Four
MRML is a blog about the devestating effects of culture: music, politics, comics plus etc. blah blah blah. At times MRML will post fine, unpurchasable three-chord obscurica (punk, pop-punk, new wave, mod, power-pop, gospel, reggae, hardcore, rockabilly, folk, country...whatever.) - - - - - - "The otherwise unavailable files in this blog are posted for a limited time and are intended for educational, non-commercial use. These files were transcribed from what are believed to be out-of-print sources. If you are aware of any of these items being readily available from commercial sources, or if any of these files infringe upon rights that you hold, please notify us so that we can quickly remove the referenced items immediately." - - - SUPPORT THE ARTISTS - BUY MUSIC!
If you have any questions or music to donate you can contact me at musicruinedmylife (at) gmail (dot) com
Re: Re-Ups
MRML does not plan to restore all of the content lost in The Great Mediafire Gutting of 2012. Polite requests may be made in the appropriate section, regular commenters will get priority.
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