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1. Good and Gone
2. Vision and Blues
3. Growing for Gold
4. Tracking the Dog
5. Let's Go Down to the Woods
6. Happy Home
7. Holiday Head
8. President Kennedy's Mile
9. Destroyer
10. Wild Blue Yonder
11. Twin Cadillac Valentine
12. Good and Gone
13. Tracking the Dog
14. Talking Doll
15. Sweet Water Pools
16. I Wanna Be a Flintstone
17. Big Brother Muscle
Though only three Screaming Blue Messiahs BBC sessions are included on this compilation,
it actually has quite a bit of material, owing mainly to the inclusion of 11 songs recorded in concert
(as opposed to in a studio) on March 30, 1985. Otherwise, the CD has three songs apiece from more
standard BBC sessions (in both length and sound) from July 6, 1985, and November 12, 1987.
The March 1985 session in particular might hold special interest for fans, as it captures the
Screaming Blue Messiahs in a live situation not long after their recording career started, including
a couple of songs they'd never put on their official releases. The sound on that portion is good,
though not wonderful, on a set dominated by songs from their debut EP, Good & Gone, and their debut LP,
Gun Shy, which had yet to be released when this concert was recorded. Some fans might appreciate the rawness
of this session, as well as the inclusion of "Vision and Blues" (recorded at the Good & Gone sessions but
not issued) and the more impressive Bill Carter original "Destroyer" (which the band never did put on one
of its official releases). In all honesty, however, the unconverted might be unimpressed by the lack of
variety in their rough bluesy punkish rock at this stage, and the more polished sound and performances
of their subsequent Beeb sessions are actually preferable. That's even true of the one from just a few
months later in July 1985, where even the two songs reprised from the March 1985 concert simply benefit
from more creative tempo changes, eerie guitar textures, and clearer singing. All three of the songs on
the November 1987 session are taken from their second full-length LP, Bikini Red, including of course
a rendition of their modest U.K. hit "I Wanna Be a Flintstone" -- which, while a little ways from their
rawest roots, is simply the most memorable tune here. The package is embellished by lengthy historical
liner notes that serve not just as a useful guide to the sessions, but also as a reasonable overview of
much of their origins and early career.
~Richie Unterberger - All Music
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