I scored Here Came the Psychedelic Furs: B-sides & Lost Grooves at a wrecka stow in Arizona last month. I had no idea this collection existed until I stumbled across it for a mere seven dollars in a used CD bin. The Furs have become one of my favorite bands in the last decade, although I have been enjoying them since I practically wore out their Talk Talk Talk album on cassette back in 1981. I missed a lot of their catalogue because most of it wasn’t available where I grew up. MTV, when it still played music videos, kept me up to date on their newest singles, but that was it.
As a result, this collection has allowed to me hear a lot of great stuff that I didn’t know existed. It starts off with a loud, gritty dance mix version of “Aeroplane” that’s over five minutes long, was produced by Todd Rundgren, and was the B-side of the “Love My Way” 12″ single from 1982.
“Another Edge” (the B-side of the “Here Come Cowboys” single from 1984) is pretty much a krautrock track with Tim Butler adding some great slap bass to the electro-beats and flashy horn section. “Badman” (taken from a promo-only 12″ release of 1989’s “Should God Forget”) has that cool psych-saxophone / spooky bass / cracking drums / drone guitar mix that only the Psychedelic Furs seem to pull off without effort.
“Birdland” is the B-side of the “All That Money Wants” single from 1988, and is a slick, dark bit of shoegaze. Up next is another five-minute-plus, Rundgren-produced dance mix from the 1982 “Love My Way” 12″ single – “Goodbye.” Richard Butler‘s vocals and lyrics are in fine form as he growls about the proliferation of apathy (“Yesterday’s news is today’s news…You don’t remember, you forget, that’s the way the stories all go…I’ll see you all around sometime if I ever go back there.”) and, at the same time, finding strength in leaving negativity.
Speaking of “Love My Way” B-sides, “I Don’t Want to Be Your Shadow” was on the flip side of the 7″ version of that single. It’s has a cool, pulsing beat and a surprising bit of guitar shredding. The 7″ remix of “Heartbeat” from 1984 originally appeared on the B-side of “The Ghost in You” single. It’s another track full of Richard Butler’s bass groove, this time churning out disco funk along with the guitars, and frantic saxophone blasts.
A cover of “Mack the Knife” (the B-side to the “Angels Don’t Cry” single from 1987) is a fun inclusion, barely recognizable, and a dark, broody version that turns the title character into someone probably found more in dark basement clubs than swanky jazz affairs. “New Dream” (taken from the 1987 “Heartbreak Beat” 12″ single) is a slick blend of 1980s city pop, shoegaze, psychedelia, and a goth of goth. It reminds me of some of The The‘s work from the same era. The guitar solo on it from John Ashton is especially good. Mars Williams was also on saxophone by this point, and you can hear how much he elevates the band right away.
The 12″ remix-edit version of “Here Come Cowboys” from 1984 is another fine example of Richard Butler’s vocals and lyrics, this time taking a jab at masculine stereotypes (“It’s so hard at times to take it serious. It really gets to be a drag when all we really need is love. Here comes cowboys, here to save us all.”). You can practically feel Butler sighing as his eyes roll upwards at the idea of angry dudes screwing things up yet again.
The extended 12″ mix (over eight minutes!) of 1987’s classic “Heartbreak Beat” is top-notch. The 7″ remix of “Angels Don’t Cry” from the same year is a picturesque love song that borders on pop-alternative, another type of song the Furs do well while other shoegaze bands chose to cover their feelings on love with walls of sound (which isn’t a bad thing, by any means, and can be quite effective and evocative). Want another remix from 1987? How about Shep Pettibone‘s 12″ remix of “Shock?” It turns the track into a nightclub hit with bright vocals, saxophone, and synths but never losing it’s rock edge.
The last two tracks are live cuts. The first is a recording of “President Gas” (a song that, unfortunately, never goes out of style) on The King Biscuit Flower Hour from 1983 and was on the B-side of the “Run and Run” single. The second is “No Easy Street” and was only released on maxi-cassette (Remember those? They were cassettes that featured one song per side.) in 1988. Both are sharp recordings. “President Gas” is fuzzy and growling, while “No Easy Street” is haunting stuff that borders on dark wave at some points.
This collection is well worth tracking down if you can find it, and it begs for the Furs to release a large retrospective. There has to be a vault of live cuts, demos, and other rarities somewhere on top of their already impressive catalogue.
Keep your mind open.
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