MELODY MAKER: STEVE LAMACQ'S BOOTLEG SESSION VOLUME 3 (1999)

1. King Of Snake (Barking Mix) - Underworld

The only Underworld track to share a co-writing credit with Giorgio Moroder, thanks to its interpolation of Donna Summer's I Feel Love, King Of Snake was edited down from its full 9 and a half minute length from the Beaucoup Fish album into two separate single mixes,the Straight (Mate) Mix and this one. The third single from the album, it reached #17 in 1999. The title of the remix, a play on words referencing an insane state of mind and the place in Essex, was resurrected in 2010 for Underworld's most recent album - Barking.


2. Caught By The Fuzz - Supergrass

Exclusive version recorded for Lamacq's Evening Session in April 1999. The fact that this was recorded five years after its original release, whilst in the throws of promoting their third album, was testament to the song's enduring appeal. Caught By The Fuzz was released as Supergrass' first limited edition single on Backbeat Records in 1993 and released as their first single proper a year later. Despite narrowly missing a Top 40 place, the track became a modern day classic and helped turn debut album I Should Coco into a million seller.


3. Pyromaniax! - Arsonists
Underground hip hop from New York, this is taken from the rap crew's 1999 debut album As The World Burns. One more album, Date Of Birth, followed in 2001.


4. Paint Nothing - Idlewild

Before they found the folk, Idlewild were a pretty mean live proposition. Shambolic and messy live, Roddy Woomble spent half of their live sets crawling along the floor like a man possessed. This chaotic, yet compelling, start was captured in their debut mini-album Captain which gained not considerable support from Steve Lamacq himself to whom the band probably owe their entire career. Idlewild's rough edges were smoothed out more and more as the next 10 years unfolded, the first signs being their debut album Hope Is Important. Whilst not abandoning their edgy and angular sound completely, the album edged more towards a more commercial sound that would reap further rewards in later years. Paint Nothing is from that album.

5. Stuck On Me - Sukpatch

Electronic hip-hop from the Tie Down That Shiny Wave EP from the Beastie Boys' Grand Royale stable. Other Sukpatch releases were released on Sub Pop and Moshi Moshi amongst others.

6. Oi To The World - The Vandals

US pop punk band who formed in 1980 and have undergone various radical line up changes in their 30 year career despite an influence a new wave of 90s punk acts such as Green Day and The Offspring. Oi To The World was originally released in 1996 as part of the band's Christmas album of the same name. An album which contained a ditty entitled Christmas Time For My Penis of which we will say no more and move on - only to say this is an exclusive live session version so, Vandals completists everywhere, take note that man.

7. Bursting Off The Back Beat - Jacknife Lee

Early single from producer Jacknife 'Garret' Lee which reached #153 in the chart and taken from his debut album Muy Rico! Lee had modest success with subsequent albums, but much like his earlier incarnation as guitarist with the heavily hyped indie rockers Compulsion, his career failed to take off. Jacking in the solo albums, however, and concentrating on producing other artists seemed to do the trick though....his credits including recent output by U2, REM, Weezer, Snow Patrol and Kasabian.

8. Generator - Elastica

The build up and release of Elastica's 1995 eponymous album was huge and Justine Frischmann et al were seen as guiding lights in the thriving Britpop scene. Frischmann's relationship with Damon Albarn and the fact she was an ex-girlfriend of Brett Anderson, having once been a member of Suede, kept Elastica in the headlines. Despite accusations of plagiarism from both Wire and The Stranglers, the album reached #1. Then it all fell apart and the band disappeared, only to resurface in 1999 having undergone various line up changes. The result was a low key 6 track EP called, well. '6 Track EP' which acted as a document to what the band had been up to in their lost years prior to the release of their second, and final album, The Menace. The EP contained a Mark E Smith collaboration in How We Wrote Elastica Man and this, Generator. The version here is exclusive to this EP and was recorded  live at Reading in 1999. The track also featured in a re-recorded version on the second album.

9. Going Out - Vyvyan

Short-lived all girl indie group from the West Midlands who only released on single and one mini-album, Teenage Wannabes on the Sympathy  From The Record Industry imprint. They did have to time to record one evening session and this version of the album track is featured here.

10. Such A Rush - Coldplay

Hidden in the depths of this CD then are Coldplay whose Blue Room EP, featuring this track, was released to limited but widespread acclaim in 1999. The release gained support from Lamacq's Evening Session, hence their inclusion here,  and led to a co-headlining tour with Welsh band Terris, a set of dates heavily hyped by NME who proclaimed these two bands as the future of music in the 21st Century. Those who mock NME for making such a noise over Terris, who fell flat on their arse, seem to have forgotten that they had more success with their championing of Coldplay who went on to world domination. An early version of Such A Rush was included on Coldplay's debut Safety EP, currenty fetching a crazy £870.00 on Ebay. A copy of Terris' debut EP, The Time Is Now, described by NME as semi-legendary at the time, recently failed to sell on Ebay....for 49p. Better luck next time, lads.

11. Lamacqnaut 2000 - Frigid Vinegar

Novelty indie rap played to death on the Evening Session in 1999 under the original single release title, Dogmonaut 2000. This adapted version paying tribute to the host was performed on the Session and included here exclusively. Despite record label Rotator's website - still active - suggesting that Frigid Vinegar aka Alex Lusty, could soon be seen performing on CD:UK, it never quite happened...

12. Radio Beatbox - Hedrock Valley Beats

AKA D Declan McLaughlin who released several singles and 12"s under the Hedrock Valley Beats moniker at the start of the millenium. The sleeve notes here claim that it's taken from "the first release on Bright Star Records" in 1999. Was it also the last??

13. Sunburn (Session) - Muse

Another huge band making an early appearance. At the time of this evening session, August 1999, Muse had released 2 limited EPs one major single, Uno, which had scraped the Top 75 and their second, Cave, was just around the corner. Initially dismissed as the next set of Radiohead copyists to come and bite the dust, support for Muse grew and grew beyond their initial fanbase and, despite a slow start, their debut album Showbiz knocked up strong sales and produced three Top 40 hits including Sunburn, their first major hit when it hit #22 in early 2000. As Muse shed the Radiohead-lite sound of their debut and became louder, more progressive and more bombastic, they became one of the UK's biggest bands. This is the only place you'll legitimately find this version so it's essential for all Muse completists.

14. I Love Only You - Hefner

Perhaps the most indie of all late 90s indie bands, Hefner were active from 1997 -2002 and produced a raft of singles and EPs, four albums and a number of radio sessions, most notably for John Peel. Never destined for commercial success at any point, this is taken from their second album The Fidelity Wars which hit the Top 200 for a week at #165.

Q ESSENTIAL DANCE (2001)

Don't normally include stuff from this era on TheFreeEPs but this one's an exception....there's some massively rare stuff on this one so it makes the grade.

1. Woke Up This Morning (Chosen One Mix) - Alabama 3

Or as Alabama 3's compilation, Hits & Exit Wounds, called it - The Sopranos Mix. Despite never being a proper hit - it reached #80 both on its original release AND reissue - this is one of the most heard songs of the new millennium after HBO chose this as the theme tune to their phenomenonly successful series The Sopranos. The blues-gospel-rock troupe, actually from Brixton, are still going but this will be the one that keeps paying the bills.

2. Connected - Stereo MCs

Let's draw a veil under those blasted phone adverts and remember this a 90s electronic hip hop classic. Already leaders of the UK hip hop scene, this was their commercial breakthrough hitting #18, its parent album spawning a further 3 Top 20 hits. They still sound the same 20 years later but it's sofisticated.

3. Voodoo Ray - A Guy Called Gerald

Acid house pioneer Gerald Simpson's all time classic. The 'Voodoo Ray' sample is actually a sample of Peter Cook delivering the phrase 'Voodoo Rage' which was cut short due to the lack of memory in Gerald's recording equipment.

4. Even Better Than The Real Thing (Perfecto Mix) - U2

The original version of this track hit #12 back in 1992; just weeks later Paul Oakenfold's remix went Top 10 becoming a dancefloor smash. Oakenfold, along with Steve Osborne, was the most in demand dance producer and remixer of the 90s, producing amongst others Happy Mondays' Pills Thrills N Bellyaches and transforming rock songs like this, and later U2's Lemon, into club hits. His massive hit rate with the Perfecto imprint continued for the next decade. Don't mention Shifty Shellshock.

5. True Faith (Morel's Pink Noise Edit) - New Order

Rare remix of New Order's 1987 classic. Morel's remixes appeared on a 2001 US promotional 12 inch - this was an exclusive edit of the Club Mix making this CD an instant collector's item for New Order fans. The remix is still rare though it did reappear on the bonus fifth CD of New Order's 2002 boxset Retro.

6. Go - Moby

Moby's Twin Peaks sampling rave classic breakthrough from 1991 is still his greatest single. The track originally peaked at #46 but hit the Top 10 a few months later. The song also samples Jocelyn Brown's 'Love's Gonna Get You'.

7. Retox - Fatboy Slim

From the album Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars. This track features vocals from Ashley Slater who was also the lead singer in Freakpower, the brainchild of Norman Cook. That's Norman Cook from the Mighty Dub Katz and Pizzaman who used to be in Beats International and The Housemartins. But who is this mysterious Fatboy Slim?

8. Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat) - Les Rhythmes Digitales

Originally released in 1997 to critical but minimal commercial success, Les Rhythmes Digitales aka Stuart Price, fared a little better in 1999 when it hit #60. It wasn't until 2005 that Jacques Your Body finally hit it big - its use on a Citroen advert ensured it finally hit the Top 10 nearly a decade after its initial release. Price is now a massively in demand producer and songwriter collaborating with The Killers, Kylie, Take That, Madonna. Oh, and Keane.

9. Pearl's Girl (Edit) - Underworld

The truncated, but no less awesome, single edit of this Underworld classic. Originally from their masterpiece Second Toughest In The Infants, this was a Top 30 hit twice reaching #24 in 1995 and #22 on the back of Born Slippy. Underworld fans should check out the US Pearl's Girl EP, almost an album in its own right.

10. The Time Is Now - Moloko

Not even endless use on Sky Sports alters the fact that this is one of the classiest #2 hits of all time. When they weren't producing luscious dance pop, Moloko were tripping balls, their debut album Do You Like My Tight Sweater named after Roisin Murphy's chat up line to partner and collaborator Mark Brydon. Sadly, Murphy split from Brydon and the world is sadly far saner without them. Murphy has since recorded two solo albums to critical acclaim.

11. So Hard (David Morales Remix) - Pet Shop Boys

OR NOT. A Q cock up but a collector's dream. The David Morales Red Zone remix is an absolute beast and personally chosen for inclusion on PSB's Pop Art Remix collection in 2003. Chris Lowe waxed lyrical about this gargantuan mix in the pages of Q that month. Only, the remix here isn't the original David Morales Red Zone Remix but the David Morales Radio Edit, not bad but a shorter, slightly watered-down and more radio friendly version of the mix losing the power of the original. Seeing as this hadn't been released in the UK - it had appeared on a German remix single - this actually made this Q release a whole lot more collectable for completists of one of the world's most collectable groups. Needless to say, Q apologised for the mess up in the following issue with Chris Lowe stating that his comments in the previous issue should in no way be attributed to the remix that actually appeared on the CD. Oops.

12. World In My Eyes - Depeche Mode

A DM classic from the dark synthpop masterpiece Violator. The band's seventh was their most successful critically and commercially, selling 13.8 million copies worldwide. This single was relased in the UK as the album's last single hitting #17. DM's Andy Fletcher has also cited this as his favourite Depeche Mode song.

13. Take California - Propellerheads

Big beat duo who released their one and only album Decksanddrumsandrockandroll in 1998. It was one half of the duo, Will White's, ill health that cut short their career which had got off to a flyer with their remake of On Her Majesty's Secret Service and their ubiquitous collaboration with Shirley Bassey, History Repeating. This was the duo's debut Top 75 single from their Top 10 album.

14. Devil In Sports Casual - Midfield General

The epitome of the big beat boom of the late 90s. Not surprising really - Midfield General was in reality Damian Harris, owner of Brighton's big beat label Skint. Harris would soon be sponsoring more midfield generals when the label became the long term sponsor of Brighton & Hove Albion FC.

15. Once More - The Orb

The Orb's 2001 album Cydonia, featuring this #38 single, was a sidestep for Alex Paterson et al featuring vocals and traditional song structures. The album did contain The Orb's usual ambience though and refreshingly contained a track called A Mile Long Lump Of Lard.

16. Pacific 707 - 808 State.

Pacific 707 is actually the single version of the house classic Pacific State. The original version appeared on their debut album Quadrastate and was remixed a year later to become their debut Top 10 hit. The acid house pioneers - yes, more of them - released a clutch of albums over the next decade and a half collaborating with, amongst others, James Dean Bradfield, Bernard Sumner and Bjork.

17. Tension (Live From The Q Awards) - Orbital

We end with an exclusive live version of this Orbital track from their album The Altogether; another reason to get hold of this CD - it doesn't get much better than Orbital live does it? Of course, the techno duo reformed last year and are back on stage. Their new AA side Don't Stop Me/The Gun Is Good even survives a Buggles sample.

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.