Colossal Youth & Collected Works

Incredible collection of YMGs back catalog (1978-1980). Arguably the inventors of indie pop, twee, minimalism that depends entirely on melody, texture, and space. Belle and Sebastian, Mates of State, etc might not exist otherwise. Simple “crisp and dry” guitar and bass that work double time as percussion , muted, “intensely rhythmic and stripped-down”, basslines often indistinguishable from guitar, intertwined like the DNA that the two brothers share, a style dubbed as “knitting” by the guitarist himself. Sometimes a simple primitive drum machine of the day joins in, or Wurlizter organ, but always present is the crystalline clear lovely lilting female vocals that provide the overwhelming melodies that carry this music, a voice described accurately in the liner notes as having “plaintive simplicity and cool pallor”. Deriving elements of post-punk, simple sing/songwriting and even crooning, this band is indefinable, though their record collections have been known to contain artists including Kraftwerk, Eno, Waits, Ultravox, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Foundation stuff that cannot be missed.

Three discs, each with separate envelopes and track by track descriptions. Go straight to CD2 track 7 if you don’t know what to play (or play any off of disc three, letting John Peel choose).

CD1: Colossal Youth

This was their only full length release, here in its entirety.

Guitar/Bass/percussion/vocals: CD1-1, 4, 8, 10, 13, 14
Guitar/Bass/vocs: CD1-2, 5, 11, 12
Wurlitzer/vocs: CD1-3
Wurlizter/bass/vocs: CD1-6, 7, 8, 9

1) pretty melodies, classic stuff
2) upbeat with rockin guitar 3) wurlizter only with electro drums, no vocals
4) beautiful melodies
5) almost pensive fast paced guitar
6) organ and bass, melodic but darker, more chill
7) playful almost comical organ dominates
8) no organ, pensive but bright, hooky vocal melody
9) minimal beat, organ heavy, very melodic vocs
10) twang guitar and percussive bass
11) jangly guitar, very melodic bass, almost wanky
12) slow phrased vocs
13) pensive, almost a punk song feel
14) strummy guitar heavy
15) instrumental: organ and simple drum machine, noises, almost experimental



CD2: Singles and Salad Days

Many instrumentals, typified by very simple drum machine beats bordering on being just a metronome. Also different takes/versions of songs on Colossal Youth release

Instrumentals:
1) walking bass line, almost comical/muzak organ over metronome beat
2) nice guitar and bass, pleasant
3) smarmy guitar and bass, over metronome
4) stylin’ bass, guitar and urgent near-dance beat
5) organ over melodic bass, simple feel
6) faster paced, organ and bass

Vocals appear again:
7) beautiful ode to Nuclear annihilation, this one appeared on a famous Rough Trade comp, play this song if you only play one YMG song
8) pensive pace, guitar/bass
9) guitar centered, good composition
10) organ/bass, pretty
11) dissonant organ, almost noisey/experimental instrumental
12) slow, darker, organ/bass/perc.
13) version with lower fi guitar, recorded muddy
14) another mix of track 5
15) different take on Choci Loni, vocals not as tight, more guitar squeak

Instrumentals again:
16) lower fi take on simple near-experimental last track on Colossal Youth
17) very experimental in a sense, minimalism 18) take on simple organ centered track

Vocals return with near-demo quality versions of tracks from Colossal Youth:
19) version of track 5 from first disc
20) track 8, pleasant
21) track 13 take, great song and this take is cool song
22) take on track 4 with painful distortions and other studio mess ups, makes it cool, unique

Other:
23) another take on track 10 from this disc
24) version of track 8 from this disc
25) minimal percussion and bass, very minimal
26) noisey organ in center

Disc 3: John Peel Session 1980

Live versions of great songs from Colossal Youth, all songs great:
1) simple percussion, bass and melodic vocals
2) guitar/bass/percussion, lovely
3) live ode to nuclear annihilation, fantastic
4) dark pensive organ, soaring melodic vocs, percussive bass
5) (Salad Days song), pleasant guitar/bass and metronomic percussion