The Definitive Del Amitri Rarities Series, Vol. 2*: The Waking Hours B-Sides

Glaswegian pub-rockers Del Amitri don't exactly have legions of fans. But among those who do love the band, there are no doubt many who own all six of their studio albums (save, perhaps, their self-titled debut, about which more later), plus the Best-Of compilation which featured a handful of non-album singles, and think they have all the material available by the band. What they don't realize is that there are actually scores of Dels tracks that were only released as b-sides of singles or on limited-edition versions of their albums. If you add up the many otherwise-unreleased original songs, plus live and alternate versions, the band's discography literally more than doubles!

One album-length collection, Lousy With Love: The B-Sides, was released as a companion to the Best Of compilation, Hatful of Rain, but that disc contained only a baker's dozen (plus one hidden track) of those rare songs. (Since that album is still in print in the U.K. - available at Amazon through the above link - its songs will not be included in these posts.)

And these rare tunes are not tossed-off filler!  In fact, many of them rank with the best stuff Dels leader Justin Currie ever wrote. It's a shame that more of these tracks have not been compiled and made available to the public, instead of languishing obscurely on long-out-of-print singles or import editions.

So let me do my part to rectify that!  Today's post is the first in a TEN-PART SERIES that will, collectively, offer a whopping SEVENTY-SIX TROMBONES -- er, TRACKS :^) -- which were officially released, but are no longer in print!

If you're not familiar with the band's output, today's batch o'tracks is as good a place as any to start. If you haven't been convinced of Currie's brilliance as a songwriter by the time you get to the two tracks from the Nothing Ever Happens single, I guess these guys just aren't for you.  Musically, they're far from the most original band on the planet, as they themselves would no doubt admit, but Currie's clever, grousy, funny, misanthropic lyrics mark them as a great band, nonetheless.

Actually, though, on their self-titled debut from 1985, del Amitri -- then spelled with a small "d", mind you! -- DID have a strikingly original sound, taking the spiky, linear, intersecting guitar sound of seminal New York band Television, and rendering it with acoustic guitars in more melodic songs.  Many fans of the band the dels eventually became (i.e. the Dels!) neglect or disavow this material, since it does sound so different from the rest of their output. Still, the debut remains my favorite album of theirs, and one of my favorites of all time. I wanted to start off this series with these tracks from their second disc, Waking Hours, since they will no doubt have broader appeal. But their are a handful of early tracks which were not appended to the great reissue of the debut from a few years ago (which added three bonus tracks), which I will offer next as Vol. 1 in the series, before continuing chronologically through the band's career.  There will be posts of uncollected songs from each stage of their career, followed by a series of live and/or alternate recordings.

I'm really excited to share this material, the secret history of Del Amitri, a band that deserved more attention than they got. Speaking of which, I'd be most remiss if I didn't direct your attention to Justin Currie's new, second solo album, The Great War, a strong follow-up to his masterful solo debut, What Is Love For. If these posts leave you hungry for more, make sure you hear what he's up to today!  Meanwhile, get ready for plenty of The Rare Stuff -- Del Amitri style!

Contents (Title/Source):

No Holding On/Kiss This Thing Goodbye

Slowly, It's Coming Back/Kiss This Thing Goodbye

Fred Partington's Daughter/Kiss This Thing Goodbye [10"]**

Another Letter Home/Move Away Jimmy Blue

April The First/Move Away Jimmy Blue

More Than You'd Ever Know/Move Away Jimmy Blue

Don't I Look Like The Kind Of Guy You Use To Hate?/Nothing Ever Happens

Evidence/Nothing Ever Happens

Talk It To Death/Stone Cold Sober

As usual, encoded at 320kbps for your aural pleasure.

* Volume 1 to follow (see above)

** The track here is actually from Twisted-era single Tell Her This, but it originally appeared on a 10" single of Kiss This Thing Goodbye.

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