![B-Sides [EP]](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002IQFCW.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg)
Release Date: 03 August, 2004
Audio CD
Tracks
- The Professor...(Live at Cornucopia) - (from Blower's Daughter )
- Lonelil y (original demo) - (from Cannonball or Woman Like A Man )
- Woman Like a Man (live unplugged) - (from Cannonball )
- Moody Mooday - (from Cannonball )
- Delicate (live in Dublin) - (from Volcano )
- Volcano (instrumental)
- Volcano (?97 demo)
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Rating 5.0
raw emotions erupt on "B-Sides"...After finishing my first introduction into the world of Damien Rice with his Closer album, "O", I had to immerse myself into more. His music is lyrically beautiful and his sound will pull you from wherever your life is into a state of serenity and emotion. His music is like an addiction, and I couldn't just stop with one album, so, as a gift I was handed "the B-sides" which holds some of Rice's lesser-known songs.
What I loved the most about this album was the raw taste that Rice presented. There are a few more moments of profanity, less of a "album" feel, and so much more emotion that you can literally cut it with a knife. There is this sensation of going on an adventure without any money in your wallet when listening to this album. Rice unplugs himself for some of the songs like "Woman Like a Man" and "Volcano (DEMO)". For me, this gave me a deeper insight into the music of this great artist. I adored the instrumental version of "Volcano" because it showed me another side of his musical talent. If you listen to the "Volcano" version on "O" then listen to this instrumental version, I think you will feel two different things. The instrumental version seemed haunting and extremely sad, while the other was a bit more uplifting. This is what I love about his music, you can find yourself in two places while listening to the same song.
My personal favorites from this album were "Volcano (DEMO)" and "The Professor". I recommend this album to anyone wishing to explore more of what Rice has to offer. If this is your first taste of Rice, you may be a bit disappointed, but for those growing number of fans out there ... this is a perfect album to add to your collection!
Grade: ***** out of ***** Quenches The Thirst Left By ODamien Rice was one of my favourite singers of 2004 because of his debut album "O." That album was a slow-burner up the UK album charts and spent most of 2004 in the Top 40, frequently climbing into the Top 10. I bought it in August 2004 the day after I saw Madonna in concert, and every time I listen to it, I'm always reminded of my day out in London. I was blown away by Damien and his amazing voice. There was something so relaxing about his music, and I instantly went out and bought "B-Sides," desperate to hear more material from him.
To begin with, I didn't really like this collection of songs too much, and it spent quite a few months on my shelf. It's only in the past few weeks that I forced myself to listen to it in an attempt to find something I would like about it, and to my surprise, I did. This record was released in the UK with a total of eight tracks, but there's only seven on the US version, apparently. The artwork for the covers of the different version are also different in America and the UK. This is a short and sweet collection of songs and the run time is only just over 30 minutes. Because of this I wouldn't consider it essential for casual fans, and only essential for those of you who are desperate to hear more of this Irish crooner.
The first song is the great "The Professor & La Fille Danse (Live At Cornucopia)" which is a light and gentle mid-tempo number. This is very typical of something you'd find on O, but not quite as good. That's why it's a b-side, obviously! The lyrics are good but a bit explicit which doesn't seem to suit Damien as much as you think it would. These gentle songs don't sound very appetising with all the expletives being thrown around. "Lonelily (Original Demo)" is an amazing song and probably my favourite on the album. It's quite short, but very beautiful. The verses are sung very well, and the raspy vocals in the chorus make this one of the best songs I've heard by Damien. "Woman Like A Man (Live Unplugged)" is another great song and is rather raw, primal and animalistic. Damien is joined by Lisa Hannigan on the vocals, as she serves as the haunting muse that dominated throughout O. The guitar on this song is really impressive and the high-pitch vocal duo between the two near the end is the highlight. "Moody Mooday" is a great song that features a distant wailing by Damien in the background as he cries "Moody!" This song swirls around in your mind like milk just added to a coffee, and the tortured vocals resound throughout.
"Delicate (Live In Dublin)" was recorded live in Temple Bar Music Centre in Dublin on December 30th 2001. This is a great live version of easily one of my favourite songs of the past year. This is sung before Damien became a big name in Ireland and England, and to hear the raw talent is pretty amazing. "Volcano (Instrumental)" is a rather startling instrumental of one of Damien's most well-known songs. This sounds nothing like the version on O, because it is more upbeat and obviously because there's no vocals. I actually prefer the original version, but this is a pleasant enough listen. "Volcano ('97 Demo)" was recorded on December 3rd 1997 on a walkman just after the song was written. This is a rather rough production song but that's the point - the capture the essence of a great song the moment after it was written. From the date, this song is actually rather old so had been in the works years before it made it onto O. The final song is "Cannonball (Radio Edit)" which is the song that made Damien a household name here in the UK. This song wasn't exactly a huge hit in the charts, but it became the spark that ignited the Damien Rice frenzy last year and saw O sell 1 million copies.
OVERALL GRADE: 7/10
This collection of songs leaves you satisfied after wanting to hear more from Damien Rice. The disc is presented in a cardboard sleeve design much like the one for O, but slightly different. The eight songs here are all great for hardcore fans or people who want to hear more. If you were disappointed with O, then there's not much chance that you'll like what's on offer here, so I'd stay clear if that sounds like you. The only downside to this album is the amount of swearing in tracks one and three. If any artist wants to use swear words, that's fine with me, I don't object to it, but here with Damien Rice it doesn't seem to fit very well. Overall a great collection of songs.Lovely._B-Sides_ is delightful. Vocally, Rice is absolutely flawless, and his acoustic guitar licks are vibrant. "Lonelily" shines above the rest here, though, being an extremely catchy ballad with a lush guitar melody. It's heartfelt, beautiful, and comes off as being quite an emotional tune. Normally, I wouldn't recommend checking out a b-side unless one an avid collector, but the songs on this release are gold. |
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