Things couldn't get worse for wax cylinder collectors, but vinyl buyers haven't been rendered obsolete old hags just yet. There has and will always be smart little labels providing gold soundz to those who refuse to give up the vinyl ghost and, for now, bigger independent labels and even some majors still issue actual spinning records. Following the reissue of Pavement's Brighten the Corners: Nicene Credence Edition (CD Version) comes Brighten the Corners: Nicene Credence Edition (LP Version), released today by the "venerable mega-indie" Matador Records.
Of course, the original album, first released in February of 1997, is included, as are a lot of tasty unreleased, live, and rare goodies, all on four glorious vinyl records. Whether you rate it as a classic in their arsenal or not, a set that looks as good as this might even be worth whatever extravagant sum Matador will ultimately be charging. It's worth owning regardless. (Although Brighten the Corners came out a long time ago, it was not really all that long ago. It never came out on Edison Records, for instance.)
Record 1:
1. Stereo
2. Shady Lane / J Vs. S
3. Transport Is Arranged
4. Date w/IKEA
5. Old To Begin
6. Type Slowly
7. Embassy Row
8. Blue Hawaiian
9. We Are Underused
10. Passat Dream
11. Starlings of the Slipstream
12. Fin
Record 2:
1. And Then (The Hexx) [7" Version, originally released as the B-side to "Spit On A Stranger," May 1999]
2. Beautiful As A Butterfly
3. Cataracts
4. Embassy Row Psych Intro
5. Nigel
6. Chevy (Old To Begin) [previously unreleased mix of a session song featuring different vocal overdubs]
7. Roll With The Wind (Roxy) [previously unreleased mix of a session song featuring different vocal overdubs]
8. Westie Can Drum (Elastica) [reviously unreleased mix of a session track]
9. Stereo (Remix) [remixed by Steve Fisk]
10. Birds in the Majic Industry (previously unreleased full length vocal version)
11. And Then (The Hexx) [unedited full version of the "Spit on Stranger" 7" B-side, previously unreleased; originally was supposed to be opening track of Brighten the Corners]
Record 3:
1. Agony of the Stars (from the film Sweethearts)
2. Westie Can Drum
3. Winner of The
4. Birds in the Majic Industry (originally released as the B-side to "Stereo," January 1997)
5. Harness Your Hopes
6. Roll With The Wind (originally released as the B-side to "Spit On A Stranger," May 1999)
7. Slowly Typed
8. Cherry Area (originally released as the B-side to "Shady Lane," June 1997)
9. Wanna Mess You Around
10. No Tan Lines (originally released as the B-side to "Shady Lane" June 1997)
11. Oddity (Originally appeared on the God Save The Clean - A Tribute To The Clean album, 1997)
12. Date w/IKEA
13. Fin
14. Grave Architecture
15. The Classical (recorded for Radio 1's John Peel Show at BBC's Maida Vale Studio 4, 1997)
Record 4:
1. And Then (The Hexx)
2. Harness Your Hopes
3. The Killing Moon
4. Winner of The (recorded for Radio 1's Evening Session at BBC's Maida Vale Studios)
5. Type Slowly (Live) [originally appeared on the compilation album Tibetan Freedom Concert 1997]
6. Neil Haggerty Meets Jon Spencer in a Non-Alcoholic Bar
7. Painted Soldiers
8. Destroy Mater Dei
9. What Goes On
10. Kris Kraft
11. It's a Rainy Day Sunshine Girl
12. Maybe Maybe (recorded live at KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" program, 1997)
13. Space Ghost Theme I (unreleased song recorded live at WFNX, 1997)
14. Space Ghost Theme II (unreleased song recorded live at WFNX, 1997)
