SELECT: FRESH (1998)

1. Brimful Of Asha (Mucho Macho Bolan Boogie Mix) - Cornershop

Before Norman Cook's remix of Cornershop's most famous moment and ode to Indian film culture, Brimful Of Asha was reworked by Sofa Surfers and Mucho Macho, the mix featured here. Both remixes were included on the original release of the single which scraped the Top 60 in August 1997. Of course, it was the subsequent Fatboy remix that received the daytime airplay and propelled the song to #1 in February 1998. This only tells half the story  - Brimful Of Asha had already become an indie classic in its own right by the time the remix had gone overground and was already by some distance Cornershop's biggest hit. The re-release transformed its  status from underground to mainstream classic, the original still gaining some airplay over the remix in certain quarters.  Whether the Fatboy remix or the original is superior remains an indie club argument. Which side am I on? A no-brainer. Everyone should seek out the Cornershop back catalogue for countless examples of this band's genius. Their latest album 'Urban Turban: The Singhles Club' was released in 2012 with a follow up expected in 2013.

2. You And Me On The Run - theaudience

Like countless other bands, Theaudience were touted as the New Smiths. Only with one significant difference, the New Morrissey was a woman. When theaudience fizzled out after Two Top 40 hits and a #22 album, that woman  - one Sophie Ellis Bextor - would almost certainly not follow Morrissey's career path, reinventing herself as a dance pop diva. This track, more electronic in nature than some of Theaudience's other tracks, was a B side to their second single, If You Can't Do It When You're Young (When Can You Do It?).

3. To Ulrike M. (Original Mix) - Doris Days

Also remixed by Zero 7, this track was recorded as a tribute to German left wing militant Ulrike Meinhof, one half of Baader-Meinhof. Doris Days were Swedish and this also features on their 1996 album Live In Poland.

4. Prix Choc (Ultra Dark Mix) - Etienne De Crecy

Originally featured on French producer De Crecy's debut 1997 album Super Discount, this self made remix was featured on the single release for Prix Choc which hit #60 in 1998.

5. International Velvet - Catatonia

The title track from Cerys Matthews and co's second album and the one with the infamous 'Every day I wake up and thank the Lord I'm Welsh' refrain. After debut album Way Beyond Blue spawned a few minor hits, it took semi-novelty indie anthem Mulder And Scully to propel Catatonia into the stratosphere. That single plus Road Rage and three more single releases helped International Velvet sell 900,000 copies in the UK alone. It turned Cerys from an indie pin up to plastered all over FHM and gyrating with Tom Jones within the year. It all went downhill quickly but Cerys recovered from breakdowns and an affair with Gianni from Eastenders and can now be heard on 6 Music.

6.  East Winter - Scott 4

There doesn't seem to be a FreeEP in sight in the late 90s that didn't feature V2's indie country rock three piece Scott 4. This was taken from their 1998 album Recorded In State.

7. Total Turn - Electric Sound of Joy

Originally a limited edition single from 1997 on Earworm Records. By the time this Chesterfield band had released their eponymous debut in 1999, their sound had changed from  the new wave indie rock displayed here to a more electronic sound. After favourable reviews, the band slipped off the radar.

8. Start Again - The Montrose Avenue

Featuring ex Menswear drummer and future 6 Music newsman Matt Everitt in their line up, Montrose Avenue were one of those hyped  major label record industry 'indie' bands.  After their second single scraped the Top 40, the two follow ups, of which Start Again was the second, only reached #59 and #58 respectively. The eponymous debut failed to scrape the Top 100 and that was that. A rarity in the world of magazine giveaways, Start Again actually gained its debut release on this compilation four months before being available as a single.

9. Style Break (Dylan's Drop Mix) - Dylan Rhymes

Real name Martin Beaver,  producer and remixer Dylan Rhymes is best known for his work Naked And Ashamed which was picked up by Smirnoff for their advertising campaign in the late 90s. Rhymes recorded this 12" and another EP, Humphead, for Junior Boys Own. This track is exclusive to this compilation and is a product of his time with JBO. His first album, Dead Famous, was released in 2005 on the Kingsize imprint.

10. Ideal Home - Black Box Recorder

You could write a book about underrated genius and indie  maverick Luke Haines - in fact, he's written a few himself - so let's keep this brief. An alternative rock veteran by the end of the 90s, Haines had been a member of The Servants, released his own album under the Baader-Meinhof moniker and fronted the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful Auteurs. His last attempt at hitting the pop mainstream was under the name Black Box Recorder with vocalist Sarah Nixey and  John Moore, ex Jesus And Mary Chain. First album England Made Me, from where this track is taken, failed to do the business as per usual. However, second album The Facts Of Life hit the Top 40 thanks to the surprise Top 20 success of its eponymous single. Success was fleeting and after the failure of BBR's third album, Haines went solo also becoming something of a pop commentator releasing his memoirs to huge cult acclaim.

11. You,  My Baby And I - Alex Gopher

French house DJ who released this single 1998 plus an album of the same name in 1999. Gopher started off his career in a band called Orange which also featured future Air members Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin. He has released a plethora of 12" singles and an eponymous album in 2006.

12. Desert Cats -Warm Jets

Named after the Brian Eno album, Here Come The Warm Jets, this indie pop band gained tabloid attention when lead singer Louis Jones fleetingly stepped out with Zoe Ball. The attention didn't help their album, Future Signs, climb any higher than #40 and the band were quickly dropped despite two Top 40 hits. This track was released as a B side to the original release of their single, Hurricane.

13.  8 Steps To Perfection - Company Flow

Massively critically acclaimed underground hip hop from New York. This was taken from their 1997 album Funcrusher Plus.

14. Kurt Russell - Ultrasound

Big singer, big sound big hype. Considered by the music press of the day as contenders to become a huge crossover success and compared in some quarters to Suede, the release of their sprawling double album in April 1999 put paid to any of those hopes. Early singles were well received - this track released as part of the Best Wishes single (#68) - and met with some Top 40 chart success. However, the album, Everything Picture, was met with derision by the inkies resulting in a #23 chart placing, a loss of press support and the inevitable split. A second album, Play For Today, was released in 2012 after the band's reunion.

15. Adrenalin - Purity

London based electronic duo who toured with Depeche Mode in the late 90s. This was released as a 1997 single and on their album Bullets For Words a year later.

16. Sofa Rockers (Richard Dorfmeister Remix) - Sofa Surfers

Austrian rock, electronic and jazz hybrid. This remix was released on the Sofa Rockers single in 1997. Taking us back to Track 1, Sofa Surfers remixed Cornershop's Brimful Of Asha on its first release the same year.

17. Electric Hairdo - Lionrock

Formed by Justin Robertson at the turn of the 90s, Lionrock released a number of singles throughout the decade as well as remixing a host of big name singles including Manic Street Preachers' Australia, The Shamen's Boss Drum, Big Time Sensuality by Bjork and New Order's 1963. They released their debut album, An Instrinct For Detection, belatedly in 1996 which hit the Top 30. Although the 1998 follow up, City Delirious, didn't match its success, it did contain their biggest hit Rude Boy Rock which became a Top 20 hit. This track was also released on that second and final album. Justin Robertson continues to produce and remix under his own name, The Prankster, Revtone or The Deadstock 33s.

MELODY MAKER: THE MAKER'S DOZEN (1999)

"The Best New Homegrown Talent" according to Melody Maker. How did this lot fare then in the 21st Century then?

1. Daria - Chicks

From the EP 'Little Monkeys With Lots Of Money', this Irish girl punk pop band, a mini-Breeders if you will, were Melody Maker cover stars, played support for Manic Street Preachers and Sonic Youth and were signed by Dreamworks on a two album deal. Chicks soon fell apart and their much touted debut album "Chicks Do Philly" never hatched.

2. The Rock (No Handshakes Mix) - Delakota

Formed from the ashes of Senseless Things, Delakota were an indie-dance hybrid, a poor man's Primal Scream. Their debut album hit #58 and spawned three Top 75 hits including The Rock which hit#60. A decent start, but the band quickly disappeared. This remix, co-mixed by Tim Goldsworthy, was featured on the single.

3. Dope Slax - Seafood

Alt-punk band from London influenced by Sonic Youth. This track, an XFM session, appeared on their first album, Messenger In The Camp, a compilation of their early Fierce Panda EPs. The band went on to attain a cult following scoring a number of Top 200 entries over the next decade.

4. Uncle Benson - Ten Benson

Named after a packet of cigarettes, this comedy psychedelic/heavy metal outfit released a clutch of acclaimed singles and EPs in the late 90s recording a couple of Peel Sessions along the way. In 2002 they released an album called Satan Kidney Pie - enough said.

5. Into The Waves - Witness

The silliness of Ten Benson gives way to serious alernative Americana...from Wigan. The Verve-ish Witness (Nick McCabe was mates with them)were well received by the music press but a little too uninteresting for commercial success. Their two albums both hit the Top 75 but they soon faded away. This track was the AA side of their first single, along with Quarantine.

6. Why Did My Igloo Collapse? - Ooberman

From the Shorley Wall EP which was one of THE critics' favourites of 1998. After the EP's cult success Ooberman were the band most likely to in 1999. However, despite good reviews and a Top 40 single with Blossoms Falling, subsequent singles and their debut album The Magic Treehouse bombed. The band plodded on but Shorley Wall remained their crowning glory.

7. We've Gone Wrong - Llama Farmers

Greenwich indie-punk four piece who released a number of Top 200 singles and an album Dead Letter Chorus in 1998/9. This track acted as a B side to their biggest single, Big Wheels, which hit #67. They also released a single called Yellow in 1999 which was probably better than that Coldplay muck.

8. The Sad Witch - Hefner

Probably the 'indie-est' band of the late 90s. Singer Darran Hayman was particularly awkward looking, met his band mates at art school and played lo-fi indie folk rock that is destined to never climb higher than #50 in the hit parade. However, they attained a massive cult following recording 10 Peel Sessions in their six years together. This track is from their debut album Breaking God's Heart.

9. Closet Heroine - The Crocketts

Welsh rock band who tragically released an album in 2000 called The Great Brain Robbery. This one is from their debut album called We May Be Skinny & Wirey. V2 dropped them for crimes against album titles in 2001. Singer Davey McManus formed The Crimea soon after.

10. Wheelking 1973 - One Lady Owner

Glam-punks on Creation who hit the dizzy heights of #136 with this single in 1998. An album There's Only We and a couple of follow up singles also surfaced but it was soon to be bye bye One Lady Owner and not long after that bye bye Creation and Three Colours Red.

11. Choke Bore (Jeans Remix) - Scott 4

Indie-country fusion dubbed as 'electronic cowpunks'. Scott 4 met with critical acclaim, especially with their 1999 album, Works Project. This remix from a track on their 1998 Recorded In State LP first surfaced in 1997 as a promotional 12 inch making this the one true rarity on this compilation.

12. Lipstick, Cigarettes, Packet Of 3- Younger Younger 28s

A cross between The Human League and Shampoo singing an ironic song about getting drunk you say? How can this possibly fail to reach higher than #61? Because it sounds like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmNQIgIPGw8

Thanks to DF118 who gives more background to this down below...

BSE BANGIN' SUMMER EXTRAVAGANZA: SELECT (1999)

1. Prologue To History - Manic Street Preachers

B-Side to the Manics' #1 single If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next and considered by some to be a lost classic. This also featured on the band's 2003 rarities compilation Lipstick Traces.

2. Organ Yn Dy Geg - Super Furry Animals

The first track on SFA's first EP, the spectacularly titled Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerchwryndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (In Space), this was omitted from their B-Side/rarities compilation Out Spaced and was a weclome addition to this freebie for completists who couldn't afford the pricey CD version of the EP.

3. Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp (Chemical Brothers Remix) -Mercury Rev

Relatively laid back remix from the Chems of the closing track on Mercury Rev's critically acclaimed Deserter's Songs album. This featured on the single for the track which peaked at #26.

4. Explode (Remixed) - The Cardigans

Alternative version of a track from the Gran Turismo album. This appeared on the Top 10 single Erase/Rewind.

5. Implement Yeah! - Suede

A homage to Mark E Smith, this was originally intended as a B side to the Filmstar single but subsequently dropped. A live version was released as a fan club only CD in 1997 but this studio version is an exclusive. The only time you'll ever hear Suede do The Fall.

6. She's So Strange - Travis

Taken from the mega-selling album The Man Who.

7. On Days Like Yours - Ben & Jason

This is from the London singer-songwriter duo's mini album Hello. They went their separate ways in 2003 - Ben stayed in the music industry whilst Jason went on to write for Viz

8. C'mon Cincinatti (M. Organs Village Mix) - Delakota

Short-lived indie-dance hybrid formed from the ashes of The Senseless Things. This remix is featured on the C'mon Cincinatti which hit #55 in 1998.

9. New Style - Orbital

Remix featured on the second CD single of Orbital's Top 20 single Style. The track was produced almost completely with a Stylophone hence the title. The original can be found on the Hartnoll brothers' album Middle Of Nowhere.

10. Jumbo (Jedi's Electro Dub Mix) - Underworld

Featured on the first CD single of the #21 single Jumbo, this is one of two mixes by Jedis. The glorious original is on the classic Beaucoup Fish.

11. Burn The Light - Cast

From Scousers' third under-achieving album Magic Hour.

12. Fame Thing - Ultrasound

This also appeared on NME's Spring Offensive compilation featured earlier so obviously this was the track used to lure people to buy their album Everything Picture. Didn't work.

13. (1903-70) - Idlewild

From the CD single to When I Argue I See Shapes, the band's commercial breakthrough. The song is a tribute to artist Mark Rothko, the title being his birth and death dates.

14. Madam, Your Carriage Awaits - Bentley Rhythm Ace

Probably hurrying the Pop Will Eat Itself reunion (see below), BRA's second album, For Your Ears Only, was released to little fanfare and bombed. This is an excerpt.

15. Lefturno - Scott 4

Named after Scott Walker's fourth album, Scott 4 were an indie country-rock band whose album Works Project met with huge critical acclaim in 1999. Commercial success eluded them, this single reaching #181, but they released two more independent albums in 2002 and 2005, the latter under the guise of the Scott 4 Free Rock Orchestra.

16. Raymond's Shop - Stereophonics

B-side to the early single More Life In A Tramp's Vest, released here presumably to show off their rare tracks after huge success with the Performance & Cocktails long player.

17. Paranoid People - 3 Colours Red

From their second album Revolt. Named after what most people did when they listened to 3CR probably.