| DGC Rarities Vol. 1 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Compilation album by various artists | |
| Released | July 5, 1994 |
| Recorded | 1990–1994 |
| Genre | Alternative rock |
| Length | 50:23 |
| Language | English |
| Label | DGC |
| Producer | Various |
DGC Rarities Vol. 1 is a rarities album compiled by DGC Records and released in 1994. The songs featured on this album are all B-sides, demos, covers and other rarities recorded by bands on the label. Despite the implications of the title, plans for other volumes were shelved.
The album opens with "Mad Dog 20/20" by Teenage Fanclub. According to Gerard Love, the song is about being a teenager in Bellshill, Scotland. The song was an outtake from their album Thirteen , and, according to the compilation liner notes, had been excluded from the record because its lyrics violated the "Scottish Good Lyric Act of 1973". "Pay to Play" by Nirvana is an early demo version of "Stay Away", a song that would eventually find its way onto their 1991 breakout album Nevermind . [1] Weezer's contribution, "Jamie", was written as an ode to the band's first lawyer. [2] The song was recorded by Dale Johnson as part of a school project. He captured the audio live onto a 2-track recorder, without any overdubs. [1] [2] Although he only managed to get a B+ on the project, Rivers Cuomo, lead singer of Weezer, remarked that the song "sounds cool [and] makes us feel a weird sort of nostalgia for a time in our lives that actually sucked." [1] When it came time for "Jamie" to appear on this album, the members of Weezer were worried that, sonically, it would not be up to par with other tracks. Eventually, the band's A&R representative Todd Sullivan assured them that the song's feel was "amazing", and the members finally agreed. [2]
The Cell song "Never Too High" was recorded in January 1991 in a "cave with rock walls and a dug-out floor". Davie Lowe and Sharpie of Philly's Blue agreed to help out with the song in exchange for beer, and the song eventually was released as a single on Ecstatic Peace Records. Hole contributed "Beautiful Son" to the album. Beck submitted "Bogusflow", a "pisstake of 'Even Flow' by Pearl Jam" that decries bands and musicians wanting only to be like Nirvana; the song specifically, though cryptically, mocks Eddie Vedder. [3] "Compilation Blues" by Sonic Youth was an outtake from their album Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star . It was recorded during the final night of the album's recording sessions. The track never made it onto the final album, and Thurston Moore later called it "a total rarity." [1] According to Anna Waronker and Tony Maxwell of that dog., "Grunge Couple" was written as a tribute to both Sonic Youth and Spinal Tap. [1]
"Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)" by Counting Crows was written by Adam Duritz and David Bryson one night in a hotel room. Duritz kept humming guitar parts, and Bryson kept coming up with vocal melodies; the two finalized the song at 4 am and recorded a rough version of it on the hotel room's answering machine. Although it was a favorite of the band's, it did not fit with the musical stylings of August and Everything After because it was not "mopey enough", so it was left off. [1] The main part of the title is a reference to the Philip Glass opera Einstein on the Beach , whereas the subtitle is a reference to John Lennon. [4] During a self-produced and self-financed recording sessions, The Posies recorded "Open Every Window". Although the band was not pleased with a majority of the tracks recorded during this time, Jon Auer noted that "Open Every Window" was "a song desperately trying to be positive amid the depression." [1] Sloan's "Stove/Smother" is actually a cover medley of two tracks by the band Eric's Trip. The song, which makes use of drum loops, was recorded as two separate pieces before Jay Ferguson put them together on a 4-track recorder. The song was later released on a split 7-inch with Eric's Trip covering the band's composition "Laying Blame" on its a-side as a benefit single for the Halifax-based radio station CKDU on Cinnamon Toast Records.[ citation needed ] "Wild Goose Chasing" by St. Johnny was recorded on behest of DGC Records. Because the band did not have any b-sides or outtakes for this album, they were forced to record a new song. Written in the winter of 1990, Murray Attaway's song "Allegory" opens with four lines from the Appalachian folk song "I See the Moon". Lyrically, the song revolves around the "relation of humanity to the imponderable". [1] The album closes with "Don't Tell Your Mother" by The Sundays. One of the earliest songs written by the band, it was their first studio recording, in around 1988. The song was originally a b-side to the band's single "Can't Be Sure". [1]
The European edition of the album, called Geffen Rarities Vol. 1 omits the tracks by Teenage Fanclub, Hole, Cell, and The Sundays. The album, however, adds a Butcher Bros. remix of "Dropout" by Urge Overkill and "Plague" by Maria McKee. "Dropout" began as a musical loop that had been recorded around the time of the band's 1993 album Saturation . The band never took the song particularly seriously. On the last day of recording, however, Blackie Onassis added guitar and vocals to it, which prompted Nash Kato to note that it sounded like "space folk". [5]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [6] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album a mixed review, awarding it three stars out of five. He felt that while all of the bands and musicians on the album had a recognizable style, the uneven quality of the recordings made the album only "a curiosity." [6] He complimented "Pay to Play", calling it "interesting", as well as "Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)", noting that it is "looser and better than anything on August and Everything After", but ultimately he called the record "a mixed bag". [6] The site eventually chose "Pay to Play", "Jamie", "Compilation Blues" and "Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)" as "picks" from the album. [6] Matt LeMay of Pitchfork Media called the compilation "excellent", using it as the epitome of mid-1990s compilation releases that strove to make available rare songs from notable alternative artists. [7]
Upon its release, DGC Rarities Vol. 1 charted at number 139 on the Billboard 200. [8] In addition, the Counting Crows song "Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)" charted at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, and it hit number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, making the band's first single to do so. [8] [9] Additionally, the Nirvana song "Pay to Play" received limited airplay on US rock radio in late 1994. [10]
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums ( ARIA ) [11] | 95 |
| Australian Alternative Albums ( ARIA ) [12] | 10 |
| US Billboard 200 [13] | 139 |
Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Founded by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, the band went through a succession of drummers, most notably Chad Channing, before recruiting Dave Grohl in 1990. Nirvana's success popularized alternative rock, and they were often referenced as the figurehead band of Generation X. Their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock culture.
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Scott Shriner, and Brian Bell.
Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, multi-instrumentalist David Immerglück, bass guitarist Millard Powers, and guitarist Dan Vickrey. Past members include the drummers Steve Bowman (1991–1994) and Ben Mize (1994–2002), and bass guitarist Matt Malley (1991–2005).
Rivers Cuomo is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and songwriter of the rock band Weezer.
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star is the eighth studio album by American experimental rock band Sonic Youth, released on May 10, 1994 by DGC Records. It was produced by Butch Vig and recorded at Sear Sound studio in New York City, the same studio where the band's 1987 album Sister was recorded. Unlike its predecessor Dirty, Experimental Jet Set features a more low-key approach and references the band's earlier work on the independent record label SST Records. The album contains quieter and more relaxed songs that deal with personal and political topics.
That Dog is a Los Angeles-based rock band that formed in 1992 and dissolved in 1997, reuniting in 2011. The band originally consisted of Anna Waronker on lead vocals and guitar, Rachel Haden on bass guitar and vocals, her sister Petra Haden on violin and vocals, and Tony Maxwell on drums.
DGC Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, which is owned by the Universal Music Group.
With the Lights Out is a box set by the American rock band Nirvana released in November 2004. It contains three CDs and one DVD of previously rare or unreleased material, including B-sides, demos, and rehearsal and live recordings. The title comes from the lyrics of Nirvana's 1991 single "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The box set was planned for release in 2001, but was delayed by a legal battle with Courtney Love, the widow of Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain. As of 2016, With the Lights Out had sold 546,000 copies in the US.
"Lithium" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It appears as the fifth track on the band's second album Nevermind, released by DGC Records in September 1991.
"Pennyroyal Tea" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the ninth track on the band's third and final studio album, In Utero, released in 1993.
"Aneurysm" is a song by the American rock band, Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic, and drummer Dave Grohl. It first appeared as a B-side on the band's breakthrough "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single in September 1991. A second studio version was released on the rarities compilation, Incesticide, in December 1992.
"Polly" is a song by the American alternative rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the sixth song on their second album Nevermind, released by DGC Records in September 1991.
The Posies were an American power pop group. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow.
"Sappy" is a song by the American rock band, Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It was first released as a hidden track on the AIDS-benefit compilation album, No Alternative, in October 1993.
Murray Attaway is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist for the Marietta, Georgia alternative jangle pop rock band Guadalcanal Diary. After the band's breakup, Attaway recorded one solo album, titled In Thrall, which was released by DGC Records in 1993, produced by Tony Berg. An alternate version of the track "Allegory" from In Thrall was included on DGC Rarities, Vol. 1.
"A Long December" is a song by American alternative rock band Counting Crows. The ballad is the second single and 13th track from their second album, Recovering the Satellites (1996). Lead singer Adam Duritz was inspired to write the track after his friend was hit by a car, making the song about reflecting on tragedy with a positive disposition.
The discography of American rock band Sonic Youth comprises 15 studio albums, seven extended plays, three compilation albums, seven video releases, 21 singles, 46 music videos, ten releases in the Sonic Youth Recordings series, eight official bootlegs, and contributions to 16 soundtracks and other compilations.
"Einstein on the Beach " is a song recorded by Counting Crows from the album DGC Rarities Vol. 1. It was included on the band's best-of compilation, Films About Ghosts . The title of the song was inspired by the Philip Glass opera Einstein on the Beach. The song became the band's first number one song on the Modern Rock chart, beating their previous highest-charting single, "Mr. Jones" which reached number two. However, "Mr. Jones" stayed longer on the Modern Rock chart and became an enduring pop hit, whereas "Einstein" failed to achieve the same success.
"Hanginaround" is a song by American rock band Counting Crows. It is the first track on their third album, This Desert Life (1999). Released on October 18, 1999, the song reached number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming their biggest hit on the chart from this album. It also reached number one on the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart, their second number-one single on this listing.
"Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" is a single by American rock band Counting Crows. It is the second track on their third album, This Desert Life (1999). The song reached number three on the US Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart and number 16 on the Canadian RPM Top 30 Rock Report. In April 2022, American Songwriter ranked the song at number three on their list of "The Top 10 Counting Crows Songs".
Geffen Rarities Volume 1
Geffen Rarities Volume 1
