The Smiths - I Keep Mine Hidden (Rough Trade, 1987)

Smiths rarity from late on.

Morrissey in Swingalonga Moz mode, frollicking down Carnaby Street with his girlfriends Sandie Shaw, Cilla Black and Twiggy.

A breezy b-side from near the end of the band. Johnny, of course, was secretly dreaming of doing stuff like this.

Download The Smiths - I Keep Mine Hidden (Rough Trade, indie mp3, The Smiths mp3)

Scritti Politti - Faithless (12inch Version) (Rough Trade, 1982)

Expansive version of the Scritti Politti classic that takes in Lovers Rock, Miles Davis and Zapp.

What exactly is Scritti Politti?

From scratchy post-punk beginnings to unashamedly uber-polished machine-tooled pop. And onwards to home-made meta-pop across a journey of 30 years. It's always been hard to comprehend an artist responsible for both 'Skank Bloc Bologna' and 'Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry For Loverboy)' but I love them equally.

I came to the 'Songs To Remember' after the future-perfection of 'Cupid & Psyche '85' and it is probably the coolest of all the Scritti albums. A concoction of dub, Lovers Rock and just a hint of the scratchiness of the early records.

Though I wasn't buying Scritti Politti records (or any records at all for that matter) in 1982, you can see that each single release leading up to the album gained an extra lacquer of polish. The sleeves are works of art, modelled on a range of luxury brands, seeming to suggest that Green Gartside was slowly turning Scritti into something similar.

This extended, extended version of 'Faithless' runs to almost ten minutes. It's a luxurious, funk-tinged thing that spins off into instrumental bliss, weaving Miles Davis-esque trumpet and Roger Troutman vocoder into the loose, relaxed extemporisation. Of course, both these influencers would go on to appear on later Scritti records (answers on a postcard...).

Sublime.

Download Scritti Politti 'Faithless (12" Version)' (alternative pop mp3, RT101) (Rapidshare)

British Sea Power 'I Am A Cider Drinker' (Rough Trade, 2005)

Maximum quirkiness as The Wurzels get a makeover.

At the moment I'm reading Roy Wilkinson's book about the imagination, gestation and initial years of the almost mythically quirky British Sea Power. It's a subject he should know about - he managed them until 2005 and two of his brothers are in the band.

A joyful book, it luxuriates in supporting - and, often, seemingly superfluous - detail but speaks breathlessly about their desire to create something unique and special around the band. It paints them as a weird hybrid of Dad's Army, a Prague suburb's amateur boxing club and Paris Fashion Week as re-imagined by Lord Baden Powell.

Which brings us to this tour single from 2005. On the other side, it features The Wurzels turning 'Remember Me' into a scrumpy-powered knees-up. Conversely, British Sea Power turn in a hungover-sounding cover of The Wurzels' finest moment.

Where The Wurzels original is a Saturday night knees-up, British Sea Power render 'I Am A Cider Drinker' as the wasteland of the morning-after-the-night-before. It's a stunned alternative rock ballad, hymning the destructive power of the fermented apple.

Download British Sea Power 'I Am A Cider Drinker' (alternative rock mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Roy Wilkinson's book 'Do It For Your Mum' is highly recommended and available (in an edition of 2,011, of course) direct from the author.

The Smiths 'Girlfriend In A Coma (Demo)' (1987)

Notable for Johnny Marr's reggae-inflected guitar. Looser than the eventual studio version but still breezy.

Nice demo showing a relaxed, almost slap-dash  run-through with the lyric yet to be finalised.

Johnny Marr is either being playful in the aftermath of Morrissey's "reggae is vile" outburst, trying to wind Morrissey up in the final days of the band or just mucking about as he skanks out the guitar part.

The demo version begins with a sombre bass and drum crunch before Marr's shimmering sunsplash guitar ushers in Morrissey's vocal. The rhythm section is a little leaden so it's presumably a very early take. Fascinating though.

Download The Smiths 'Girlfriend In A Coma (Demo)' (indie mp3) (Rapidshare)

The Sundays 'Skin & Bones (Peel Session 1989)' (Parlophone, 1997)

Muddier but still magical session version of the 'Reading, Writing and Arithmetic' cut.

Thrumming bass and solid drums provide an earthy counterpoint to the pealing guitar and vocals on this Peel Session track dating back to before their debut album came out.

Will we ever hear anything new from The Sundays to add to their immaculate catalogue?

Download The Sundays 'Skin & Bones (Peel Session 1989)' (indie pop mp3 download) (Mediafire)

The Strokes 'Last Nite (Original Demo)' (c.2000)

Remember them? Demo from back when they didn't have to think about it.

Irresistable clang and drawl from the once-stratospheric New Yorkers. Perhaps without them there would have been to Libertines or no Arctic Monkeys.

Shame they ran out of steam as this is effortlessly cool.

Download The Strokes 'Last Nite (Original Demo)' (indie mp3 download) (Mediafire)

The Sundays 'Here's Where The Story Ends (Black Sessions 1992)' (Parlophone, 1992)

Nice Black Session live version of 'Reading, Writing & Arithmetic' stand-out.

The Sundays' 'Here's Where The Story Ends' is a chocolatey smooth, comforting piece of whimsical indie from their Rough Trade debut album.

Like the previously posted version of 'Joy', this version is from their Black Session for French radio in 1992. It was eventually released as a b-side of 1997 single 'Summertime'.

'Here's Where The Story Ends' is a gorgeous, rolling piece of indie-pop, a hybrid of Cocteau Twins vocal arcs and the solid acoustic guitar-based songwriting of 'The Queen Is Dead'-era Smiths. The live setting gives the song a more muscular edge that makes it sound more like 'Can't Be Sure' b-side 'Don't Tell Your Mother' than the more, ahem, ethereal mood of the debut album.

Lovely is the word.

Download The Sundays 'Here's Where The Story Ends (Black Session 1992)' (indie music mp3) (Mediafire)

Rough Trade Counter Culture Radio - indie alternative mixtape

Excellent eclectic indie alternative music selection by Rough Trade Shops.

Nice mixtape curated by the staff at Rough Trade Shops, taking in classics like The Sonics and The Skatalites and introducing Little Dragon, Modeselektor, The Field and lots more.

Playlist:
1. 'Have Love Will Travel' The Sonics
2. 'Fidel Castro' The Skatalites
3. 'Santos & Ken' The Stepkids
4. 'Genuine' Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
5. 'Too Late' M.E.D.
6. 'Information Critic (The Heavy Remix)' Black Samurai Ft Daddy Freddy & The Ragga Twins
7. 'Berlin' Modeselektor Ft Miss Platnum
8. 'Scale It Back' Dj Shadow Ft Yukimi Nagano Of Little Dragon
9. 'It's Up There' The Field
10. 'Ritual Union (Maya Jane Coles Remix)' Little Dragon
11. 'Early Morning Lights (Marcel Dettmann Remix)' Sigha
12. 'Sanctum' Throwing Snow
13. 'Popgun' Martyn
14. 'Bax' Mosca
15. 'Hex' Pangaea
16. 'Master Plan' Willie Williams
17. 'Rock For Dub' Prince Jazzbo

Counter Culture Radio_20.10.11 by Rough Trade Shops on Mixcloud

Disco Inferno 'It's A Kid's World' (Rough Trade, 1994)

Mental, ahead-of-its-time fusion of noise, rhythm and melody.

Another highly under-rated band, Disco Inferno struggled on for five years or so in the early nineties on a series of labels. They eventually settled at Rough Trade to unleash a string of mind-busting EPs and a couple of albums.

The band fused regular instruments with triggered samples and a mix of rhythm and melody. 'It's A Kid's World' is a gloriously melodic cacophony that fuses hi-life-ish guitars with the drum break from Iggy Pop's 'Lust For Life' before throwing in samples of a tuba, cartoon soundtrack, a stop-start chorus, what sounds like a recorder, another glorious melody on the outro.

You're literally bombarded with ideas and energy but it's a highly addictive mix. I'd reference some other bands but I really think there's no-one else doing what they did.

Hopefully the release of a newly remastered collection of their five EPs on Cheree and Rough Trade might give them a little overdue recognition. Here's hoping.

Download Disco Inferno 'It's A Kid's World' (alternative, indie, mp3) (Mediafire)

Tindersticks - A Marriage Made In Heaven (Rough Trade Singles Club, 1993)

Gorgeous collaboration between Tindersticks and Huggy Bear's Niki Sin in homage to Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra.

One-off collaboration between Tindersticks and Huggy Bear's Niki Sin from 1993. It was released as part of the Rough Trade Singles Club which maintained a pretty spectacular level of quality across its collection of seven inch vinyl releases. The series effectively documented some of the key players in the early nineties indie alternative scene with exclusive singles by The Auteurs, Butterfly Child, Mercury Rev, Mazzy Star, Ultramarine (a remix of indie electronic bliss-out 'Saratoga'), Levitation and not forgetting Sweet Jesus.

'A Marriage Made In Heaven' is a bright and breezy tune that wears its Lee 'n' Nancy fascination very much on its sleeve. And the single's sleeve too.

Stuart Staples and Niki Sin manage to deliver a bristling chemistry whilst the band create a jaunty pace led by bright guitar chords, rolling rhythm section and some driving strings.

It's more in line with Tindersticks 'City Sickness' or their cover of David Bowie's 'Kooks' on the 'Unwired' EP rather than their shambling cover of 'We Have all The Time In The World' or their later soundtrack work with Claire Denis.

Download Tindersticks 'A Marriage Made In Heaven' (indie mp3 download, mp3, Box)

Gene & Jim Are Into Shakes 'Shake (Part One)' (Rough Trade, 1988)

Sampladelic, pioneering indie-dance crossover gem from 1988.

I know nothing about Messrs. Gene and Jim and I'm pretty sure there wasn't a follow-up single, but 'Shake' is a catchy, Akai S900-powered tune that stands on its own. It fuses a four-to-the-floor beat with a slamming bassline, Batman samples, screeching guitar, a bit of Marilyn Monroe, some wicked Latin trumpet and a lush chorus.

Along with Pop Will Eat Itself, 'Shake' represents one of the parallel current in indie music in the late 1980s as dance music became an increasing influence. This hybrid of drum machine and samples followed in the wake of significant indie label hits for S'Express, Bomb The Bass (both on Mute subsidiary Rhythm King) and 4AD's 'Pump Up The Volume' by MARRS.

The other indie-dance fusion brewing, of course, was the more organic collision of euphoric, nay Ballearic, groove and indie instrumentation as evidenced by Happy Mondays, New Fast Automatic Daffodils et al.

Despite indie labels being able to rule the charts with dance crossover hits, Gene & Jim (on indie powerhouse Rough Trade) were unable to follow suit. However, their spirit lives on in the indie disco in the sky - coming up after the DJ has given Pop Will Eat Itself's 'Def Con One' another spin.

Download Gene And Jim Are Into Shakes 'Shake! (How About A Sampling, Gene?) (7" Version)' (mp3) (Box)

The Woodentops 'Love Train' (Rough Trade, 1986)

Clattering, insistent stuff from one of the great under-rated bands.

Sadly, I didn't pay much attention to The Woodentops at the time, despite being introduced to this wonderful track by a freebie 7" with (long-defunct) music weekly Sounds at the time. I was young, I didn't know any better. That's my excuse.

How could I have been so stupid and not built up a collection of the band's incredible fusion of rock and dance influences? It's hard to fathom.

However, The Woodentops are still knocking around today, supporting Belle and Sebastian at the Roundhouse back in May, and still releasing music.

The consequence of my ignorance is that I have only recently picked up a (vinyl) copy of their excellent 'Giant' album and reacquainted myself with 'Love Train'.

Opening with surf-y, twanging guitar, it settles into a breakneck rockabilly groove, Rolo singing with passion and soul, invoking us to make like The O'Jays and get in rhythm with the Love Train and frug along to the cowbell-enhanced groove.

Download The Woodentops 'Love Train' (mp3) (Mediafire)

Blood Sausage 'Billy Joel' (Wiiija, 1993) (mp3 download)

Huggy Bear side project (featuring Jo Johnson and Niki Eliot) on Rough Trade offshoot Wiiija, 'Billy Joel' features the sublime poetry of Dale Shaw and is a hymn to the Streetlife Serenader himself.

The first thing I should confess is that, like the narrator of this track, I love Billy Joel's seventies output. There, I said it. I love the Piano Man.

The music on this track from the 'Happy Little Bullshit Boy' 10" sounds like an improvised, spacious version of incidental music from an episode of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show where Charlie is 'back on the brown'.

Laid-back bass, drums and guitar are married to some rough-and-ready but alluring flute work. It creates a sympathetic setting for the spoken word reflections on Dale Shaw's idolisation of Billy Joel.

Things take a turn, when the song explodes into a stumbling riot of distress as Dale recounts Joel's marriage to Christie Brinkley and the subsequent sell-out of 'Uptown Girl'.

"Everything he did just turned to shit... I never forgave him - It was like a part of me had died."

Personally, I quite liked 'Tell Her About It' though.

Download Blood Sausage 'Billy Joel' (mp3) (Box.net)

Gruff Rhys 'Colossal Smile' (Rough Trade, 2006) (mp3)

Cute b-side action from Super Furry Animals' singer in his solo guise.

'Colossal Smile' is the flip to the aces 'Candylion' single. It's a simple, acoustic guitar and vocal, ramble with amusing lyrics. Shaker and whistling make for a nice instrumental break and make way for the immortal line "you changed my mind about Guns 'N' Roses".

Download Gruff Rhys 'Colossal Smile' (mp3) (Mediafire)

The Sundays 'Don't Tell Your Mother' (Rough Trade, 1989) (mp3)

Sprightly, Smiths-y b-side action from The Sundays, showing another side to their sound to balance the ethereal longing of 'Joy'.

'Don't Tell Your Mother' is a strident piece of pop, assertive and intricate with an 'Is It Really So Strange?' rockabilly twang to it.

It comes freshly ripped from a recently-acquired 12" copy of their debut single 'Can't Be Sure' and shows that they toned down the Johnny Marr guitar chops from their sound early on. Wise move as it only detracts from the sweet beauty of their sound.

Download The Sundays 'Don't Tell Your Mother' (mp3) (Mediafire)

British Sea Power 'Who's In Control?' (Rough Trade, 2011)

There seems to be a surprising amount of Record Store Day stuff knocking about after the event this year. Still, shouldn't complain as it means I managed to pick up a copy of the British Sea Power contribution, a nice double 7" in a gatefold sleeve.

Among the four tracks is 'Who's In Control?' which is a strident, firey rocker that rails at the state of advanced Capitalism that we find ourselves in. It's tempered with a hint of resignation though. "Oh, were you not told? Do you not know? Everything around you's being sold... Sometimes I wish that protesting was sexy on a Saturday night."

The guitars churn out a furious riff, the drums are like thunder and it occurs to you that the song would sound great bellowed out as a football chant. And, of course, it would be entirely appropriate for football fans to be singing about the things they know being bought and sold.

Classic Sea Power then.

Download British Sea Power 'Who's In Control?' (mp3) (Mediafire)

The Auteurs 'Housebreaker / Valet Parking' (Rough Trade Singles Club, 1993)

The unsung heroes of Britpop, The Auteurs poured The Kinks, Roxy Music, a huge dose of acerbic wit, sixties chamber pop, bitterness, a singular vision and some more acerbic bitterness into a series of wonderful albums. Along with Suede and Blur's 'Modern Life Is Rubbish', The Auteur's albums are pretty much all I'd save from the flames if I happened to encounter the breakout of fire at The House of Britpop.

These two acoustic versions of tracks from the peerless 'New Wave' were paired-up for the Rough Trade Singles Club and show off Luke Haines' songwriting craft in its full glory. The laid-back setting just serves to the reveal the sneer in Haines' voice amid the acoustic guitar, bells, gentle bongos and cello.

Luke Haines memoir of the Brit Pop era ('Bad Vibes') is well worth reading also.
Bad Vibes: Britpop and my part in its downfall

Download The Auteurs 'Housebreaker (Acoustic)' (mp3) (Mediafire)
Download The Auteurs 'Valet Parking (Acoustic)' (mp3) (Mediafire)

The Sundays 'Joy (Black Session)' (1992)

The Sundays were an intriguing proposition. Just three albums between 1990 and 1997 and then nothing since. They set the indie world alight with their 'Can't Be Sure' single in 1989, such an other-worldly thing of beauty which, if memory serves, was top of the Festive Fifty that year.

Their debut album 'Reading, Writing and Arithmetic' was a fully-realised object of fascination when it came out. Little echoes of The Smiths and Cocteau Twins maybe, but a sound that was uniquely theirs.

The album ended with the song 'Joy' coming in with a patter of drums and little frills of melodic guitar. Sumptuously melodic and graceful, just a slight twinge of melancholy, eventually building to a crescendo with more strident guitar adding depth before Harriet Wheeler exhales the last syllable and it ends.

This version is from France Inter DJ Bernard Lenoir's Black Sessions series, recorded live in 1992.

Download The Sundays 'Joy (Black Session)' (mp3) (Mediafire)

Aztec Camera - Walk Out To Winter (7" Single Version) (Rough Trade, 1983)

A recent second-hand purchase, interesting for it's popped-up synth chimes and decidedly different arrangement from the 'High Land, Hard Rain' version.

Having just read the engrossing 'Rough Trade: Document and Eyewitness' book, it's obvious that this radio-chasing overhaul derives from the period when Rough Trade were trying to get their more commercially-viable artists into the charts (see 'Songs To Remember'-era Scritti Politti also). The producer was Tony Mansfield a pop producer whose CV also includes Mari Wilson, a-ha and Captain Sensible.

I much prefer the album version as but this is interesting as an historical artefact. And it's still a beautiful song.

Download Aztec Camera 'Walk Out To Winter (Rough Trade 7" Version)' (mp3, Box.net)

Sweet Jesus 'Phonefreak Honey' (Rough Trade, 1992)

An almight "Screeeee!" ushers in the breathless pop thrill that is 'Phonefreak Honey' by short-lived Birmingham band Sweet Jesus.

In all they released a trio of fine singles plus one in the Rough Trade Singles Club. The first of the trio was this, a seamless amalgam of Jesus and Mary Chain, T Rex, My Bloody Valentine and maybe even a bit of The Primitives.

The grinding but harmonious guitars are laden with syrupy drones and feedback. The rhythm section sets out a furious, driving pace and a sugary hermaphroditic vocal tops things off. The lyric is concerned with all manner of incomprehensible things like wave machines (or maybe I'm mis-hearing and it is "weight machine") and, of course, the aforementioned "phonefreak honey".

It's all topped with an awesome "na-na na-na na na" chorus and, speeding to the end under sheets of MBV guitars, it's all done in 150 seconds.

Download Sweet Jesus 'Phonefreak Honey' (shoegaze, indiepop, fuzz, JAMC, MBV) (Divshare) (mp3)

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