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del Amitri
When I first heard 'Nothing Ever Happens' I was hooked by the lyrics. You never usually heard biting social commentary on daytime Radio 1. Since then I have bought all del Amitri & Justin Currie releases. He should be a national treasure, but like most really talented songwriters he is typecast & forgotten.
del Amitri had a keen sense of humour, but most of what we heard were songs about breaking up with, leaving, being left by, cheating on or being cheated on by, various girlfriends. Plus a bit more keen social commentary hidden away amongst the heartbreak.
Like many great bands, del Amitri hid some of their best songs on B sides. So if you think you know del Amitri - make sure you have the following songs in your collection.
Plus I'll be listing a few rarities worth finding and will even go through each album individually (eventually).
MY Absolute favourite del Amitri songs:
Hammering Heart (del Amitri 1985)
So Many Souls To Change (Nothing Ever Happens B side)
Don't I Look Like The Kind Of Guy You Used To Hate (Nothing Ever Happens B side)
Evidence (Nothing Ever Happens B side)
Another Letter Home (Move Away Jimmy Blue B side)
Stone Cold Sober (Waking Hours 1989)
You're Gone (Waking Hours 1989)
This Side Of the Morning (Waking Hours 1989)
Empty (Waking Hours 1989)
Nothing Ever Happens (Waking Hours 1989)
Scared To Live (Spit In The Rain B side)
Be My Downfall (Change Everything 1992)
Surface Of The Moon (Change Everything 1992)
The First Rule Of Love (Change Everything 1992)
Always The Last To Know (Change Everything 1992)
Long Journey Home (When You Were Young B side)
The Verb To Do (When You Were Young B side)
One Thing Left To Do (Twisted 1995)
Tell Her This (Twisted 1995)
Driving With The Brakes On (Twisted 1995)
In The Frame (Roll To Me B side)
In The Meantime (Driving With The Brakes On B side)
Someone Else Will (US CDS of Roll To Me / Here & Now 10" B side)
Sleep Instead of Teardrops (Not Where Its At B side)
No Surrender (Justin Currie - What Is Love For 2007)
The Fight To Be Human (Justin Currie - The Great War 2010)
Hard to find and little known rarities:
'Hammer & Peach' - unreleased track from the first album era: Park Lane Archives album (along with lots of other great Scottish bands).
'del Amitri' - 1st album remastered and with 4 bonus tracks including a "version" of Brown Eyed Girl. On Superfecta Recordings. It sounds like Justin didn't know the original song!
This Side Of The Morning (live in a car park at 2am) - on the 12" picture disc of 'Move Away Jimmy Blue' - Brilliant, you can hear that they've woken up the birds!
'Ace Of Spades' (live) - Motorhead cover found on the bonus Live at Abbey Road CD on the Hatful Of Rain Ltd Edition.
There are TWO versions of 'The Return Of Maggie Brown'. The version on the Spit In The Rain CDS is NOT the same as the version on the Stone Cold Sober CDS.
They sound like different recordings rather than remixes.
Talking of remixes, the version of Stone Cold Sober on the Roll To Me CDS is not the single or album version. It is a completely different version. Different intro, different mix, different vocals. If anything it is even moodier. One for the completists!
Someone Else Will is one of my favourite del songs but it was hidden away on the 10" of Here & Now. BUT it is on the US version of the Roll To Me CD single
All the Cd singles have great B sides, many of which are not on the Lousy With Love compilation. There are also lots of acoustic versions, and alternative versions and remixes too of some of their best songs. Plus a few too many live versions.
more to come soon..........
It's all about the WORDS!
the lyrics were the first thing that grabbed me when I bought the Nothing Ever Happens 12" single - every track was wordy, almost poetic. There were stories, details, whole worlds created in 3 minute bursts that most other mainstream bands could not create. I was hooked. When I then bought the self titled debut album (from 1985) I was surprised at the different musical style. But the lyrics were still great. Either Q or NME recently likened that album to the best things the Smiths ever created - for its style and lyrics.
Justin Currie is now a solo artist and the lyrics are still great. Maybe the music is not quite up to the par of the early stuff.....but the lyrics to No Surrender are as good as anything he's ever written - a proper RANT!
Here's a thought or TWO. There is reportedly an unreleased collection of songs recorded between the first two albums! AND there is DEFINITELY an unreleased del Amitri album recorded after Can You Do Me Good that no record company was interested in releasing.
PLEASE JUSTIN, can we have them released?!!