NME: BRATPACK '98

In what must have been one of the final cassette giveaways ever, this contained 10 tracks from 1997.

1. Deadweight - Beck

Taken from the soundtrack to Danny Boyle's A Life Less Ordinary, Beck released this as a single which acted as a neat stopgap between the release of Odelay and Mutations. The track, which hit #23 on the UK chart, can now be found on the re-issued deluxe edition of Odelay.

2. Meeting In The Aisle - Radiohead

Haunting instrumental taken from the Karma Police single in the UK and No Surprises in the USA. Now available on the OK Computer deluxe edition.

3. Smack My Bitch Up (Edit) - The Prodigy

Probably the most controversial single of the decade, Kool Keith's infamous sample lead to various accusations of misogyny towards Liam Howlett. The X-rated video didn't help the cause despite it's ending being anything but misogynistic. Most level-headed people didn't read anything sinister into the actual words; it was just a brutal sample. The single, which included this edit of the Fat Of The Land original, hit #8.

4. A Thousand Trees - Stereophonics

It's no wonder Stereophonics' debut Word Gets Around became so huge the amount of times they're featured on these FreeEPs. This was one of that album's defining tracks hitting #20 0n single release.

5. Dirt (New Radio Edit) - Death In Vegas

Two edits exist of this Dead Elvis track. A 4:11 edit featured on the original 1996 single release and the 1997 Slayer Edit, slightly shorter at 3:53 and featured here, featured on the reissue. This fared 27 places better than the original but still only managed to hit #61. This version is also available on DIV's Milk It compilation.

6. I'm Just A Killer For Your Love - Blur

From Blur's eponymous fifth album, this one defined the band's new lo-fi sound.

7. The World's Still Open - Mansun

Epic moment from Mansun's stand-alone seventh EP, Closed For Business. Now available again on the 3CD deluxe reissue of Attack Of The Grey Lantern, Paul Draper reveals, in the sleevenotes, that this should have been the EP's lead single instead of Closed For Business itself. It didn't stop the EP hitting #10 becoming Mansun's second Top 10 hit.

8. Why Is A Frog Too? - Bentley Rhythm Ace

Another act heavily featured on late 90s FreeEPs, this is from BRA's (ho-ho) eponymous debut.

9. 20 - Travis

Early B-side from the band's second Independiente single, All I Want To Do Is Rock, which reached #39 on release. Ironically, Travis only hit it big when Travis stopped rocking...

10. Round The Universe - The Seahorses

Total coincidence of course that The Seahorses is an anagram of 'He Hates Roses'. This is from the one and only album released by John Squire's post-Stone Roses group. Only one more stand-alone was released after this in 1998 and the end was nigh.

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.

NME: SPRING OFFENSIVE (1999)

1. Popstar - Suede

One of many B-sides from Electricity, lead single from Suede's 4th, Head Music. The single hit #5 and was the band's last Top 10 hit.

2. Dreamer - Cast

Also on the commercial slide from their Britpop heyday, this was featured on their third album Magic Hour.

3. The Hexx - Pavement

One of the most influential indie bands of their time, this one's from their final album Terror Twilight. Like Suede and Cast, they have recently reformed.

4. Same Old Show - Basement Jaxx

From the first album Remedy, this samples Selecter's On My Radio and, more obscurely, Veda Simpson's Oooh Baby.

5. Dream Lottery - Regular Fries

"We hate the charts and the charts hate us" claimed Regular Fries when they split just 2 years after releasing their debut album Accept The Signal. A damn shame, but they were just too out there for the mainstream. They were right though, the album, which contained this track, peaked at #81.

6. Moaner - Underworld

A rare example of a track edited down for inclusion an album. In a case of the track being far better than the movie from which it came, this started off life as a 10 minute beast on the Batman & Robin soundtrack. It was cut by 3 minutes when it appeared on the album Beaucoup Fish and it's this version that appears here. The full length version can be found on their 1992-2002 compilation.

7. Small Children In The Background - Mogwai

There had to be a Mogwai track on here somewhere...this one's from the No Education=No Future (Fuck The Curfew) EP.

8. Robot New York - Add N To (X)

From Mute avant-garde techno band's album Avant Hard.

9. Bring A Man Down - Mishka

Actually, ignore what I said earlier about 3 Colours Red in a previous post. This dude signalled that the end for Creation was nigh. A vanity signing, Mishka was a Bermudan reggae singer and professional windsurfer. He managed one Top 40 hit on the back of Alan McGee's hype, delivered one album for Creation before the ship sank and vanished. He's still putting out albums..on Matthew McConaughey's label. All very odd.

10. Fame Thing - Ultrasound

Hyped to death post-Britpop, Ultrasound were the next big thing to end all next best things. Fronted by portly yet oddly glamorous lead singer Tiny (it was a joke), their huge and epic sound and outsider image meant their first singles and gigs were met with rapturous applause. Such early acclaim however was destroyed when they released their debut album, Everything Picture, a sprawling double album which both disappointed the critics and undersold. The band never recovered, and that was that. A decade later, they're making a comeback....watch this space?

11. Flame (Exclusive Acoustic Version) - Sebadoh

The first exclusive on this CD and it's exactly what it says on the tin, an acoustic version of Sebadoh's only brush with the mainstream, Flame, which reached #30 in 1999.

12. Download (Remix) - Super Furry Animals

SFA exclusively released the Llwybr Llaethog remix of Download on the Melody Maker Reading '98 CD which you can read about on this site. Bizarrely, the following year, yet another exclusive remix of the same track appeared on this CD. A nice surprise as it isn't billed as a remix on the sleeve itself apart from the credits which state the the track to be remixed by Kevin Ford and John Griffiths, who just so happen to be.....Llwybr Llaethog. It's a slightly dubbier version of the '98 mix. A great lesson in reading the small print and the credits. A massive hidden gem, and a must for all SFA fans.

13. The Spark That Bled - The Flaming Lips

A trailer for what was to become THE critics' favourite of 1999 The Soft Bulletin. This track was for a short while exclusive to this CD.

14. She's So Strange - Travis

When Travis' laddish rock n roll gave way to melancholy, with added Nigel Godrich on production duty, their second album The Man Who became unstoppable and sold over a million. This is taken from that very album.

NME: CLEAN SWEEP - LIVE AT THE LONDON ASTORIA (1998)

Note: All these tracks were, as the title suggests, recorded Live At The London Astoria between the 18th and 25th January 1998 on the NME/Miller Genuine Draft London Shows. These versions are all exclusive to this release.

1. Bad Behaviour - Super Furry Animals

SFA once said that they deliberately didn't release certain tracks as singles because they'd become too big a hit and overshadow the group. This stomper, from their 1996 debut album Fuzzy Logic, would surely have been one of those they had in mind... This version speeds up the song even further - it's a riot.

2. Traffic - Stereophonics

Stereophonics' first Top 20 hit - and from their debut 'Word Gets Around'.

3. Good Feeling - Travis

Title track from Travis' more upbeat Top 10 debut album.

4. Down Down Down - Warm Jets

Short-lived indie band whose lead singer Louis Jones became a brief tabloid fixture due to his dalliance with Zoe Ball. Their one and only album Future Signs hit #40 and contained two Top 40 hits. This was featured on their Move Away EP.

5. Radars - Dawn Of The Replicants

What were East West thinking signing Dawn Of The Replicants? Whatever they were on, I'll have some, please. One of the most inventive bands of their time, DOTR's wonky psych-rock was laden with hooks and a complete joy to behold. They were never going to hit the heights East West predicted and they retreated to indies after album number two. This was from their debut album One Head Two Arms Two Legs and originally the lead track on the Rhino Rays EP. In a parallel universe, they're probably huge.

6. You Just Have To Be Who You Are - Idlewild

Before Idlewild made it big with expansive and melodic rock inspired by REM amongst others, they were loud and fast with Roddy Woomble prone to screaming and rolling about on the stage in a rather worrying manner. This is clearly one of those moments. The track appeared on their debut mini-album Captain.

7. Ex Cowboy - Mogwai

Then unreleased track from post rock legends Mogwai, so this was a real incentive for fans to get a copy of this CD. The studio version didn't appear until a year later, on their album Come On Die Young.

8. One Man's Fear - Lo Fidelity Allstars

It's full title is actually One Man's Fear Another Man's High and appeared on their debut single Kool Rok Bass. Lumped in with the Big Beat crowd, Lo Fidelity Allstars were a much more complex beast taking in influences from funk, Northern Soul, electronica and early 90s indie. Their second single Disco Machine Gun famously got them into trouble after The Breeders complained that a sample from their Cannonball hadn't been cleared...all copies of the single had to be withdrawn with immediate effect and the sample was taken out, and the song renamed, for inclusion on their album. The original studio cut of One Man's Fear also included a sample that isn't present on this live version....of Jack and Vera Duckworth!

9. Come Taste My Mind - Earl Brutus

Knowingly chaotic indie rock band consisting of ex-World of Twist members Gordon King and the late Nick Sanderson and also Jamie (Martin's brother) Fry. This appeared on their album Tonight You Are The Special One, and, at about the same time as the release of this free CD, as a single in its own right where it became their biggest hit - charting at #88.

1o. My Own Summer (Shove It) - The Deftones

It wasn't just about British Indie music...the Deftones' US allternative metal also made an appearance on this NME tour. This was featured on their breakthrough album Around The Fur and appeared as a single in March 1998 hitting #29.

11. Assassin - Asian Dub Foundation

ADF's potent and politically charged mix of punk rock, ragga, dub and dancehall won many admirers and they became an incendiary live unit. This was featured on their Top 20 album Rafi's Revenge.

12. Running On The Spot - Bentley Rhythm Ace

Mistitled - this is Run On The Spot from BRA's eponymous debut album.

13. I Never Have Been Done - Theaudience

Every year, a band always emerged who were touted as the New Smiths. In '97 it was the turn of Theaudience. Only this time, this was the Smiths with a female at the front....none other than 18 year old Sophie Ellis Bextor. Whereas Theaudience called it a day after poor sales of their debut album, SEB fared slightly better.... To all fans of SEB expecting this to be a completely unreleased track - beware! Although this live version is exclusive, the track itself appeared on their album as 'You Get What You Deserve'.

14. Tightrope Walker - Therapy?

A track from Therapy?'s final major label album Semi-Detached. Soon after this, Therapy? retreated from the mainstream and have spent the last decade as a much rawer, exclusive concern.

15. Rocket USA - Spiritualized with Suicide

Saving the best till last, Spiritualized, fresh from the across-the-board acclaim given to their masterpiece Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space were joined on stage by hugely influential electronic punk band Suicide - Alan Vega and Martin Rev. This 10 minute live reworking of a track from Suicide's eponymous debut helped seal both band's status as past and present musical mavericks. Essential.