B-Sides And Rarities - Terrorvision

EMI have a history of treating Terrorvision pretty badly. Having seen them get their biggest hit, EMI promptly dropped the band when they refused to move to a more pop orientated sound that EMI thought would sell better but which the band themselves felt would undermine their core support.

However, this supposedly left EMI around a million pounds out of pocket and they have shamelessly cashed in on Terrorvision's main asset - the unswerving ...
...put out Terrorvision releases with no input from the band themselves. This resulted in a greatest hits album, "Whales and Dolphins: The Best of Terrorvision", with an appallingly designed and next to useless inlay booklet and a swiftly cobbled together "The Essential Terrorvision" album that proved to be anything but essential.

So when I heard EMI were putting out a "B Sides and Rarities" album, I was ... more

EMI have a history of treating Terrorvision pretty badly. Having seen them get their biggest hit, EMI promptly dropped the band when they refused to move to a more pop orientated sound that EMI thought would sell better but which the band themselves felt would undermine their core support.

However, this supposedly left EMI around a million pounds out of pocket and they have shamelessly cashed in on Terrorvision's main asset - the unswerving dedication of their fans. As such, they have repeatedly put out Terrorvision releases with no input from the band themselves. This resulted in a greatest hits album, "Whales and Dolphins: The Best of Terrorvision", with an appallingly designed and next to useless inlay booklet and a swiftly cobbled together "The Essential Terrorvision" album that proved to be anything but essential.

So when I heard EMI were putting out a "B Sides and Rarities" album, I was concerned. Albums like this can be a success, in the right hands, as proved by Thunder's "The Rare, the Raw and the Rest", (also, strangely, an EMI release) although that did have input from the band. But my hopes for something decent were not helped by a comment from Terrorvision's Mark Yates on a message board when the release of the album was mentioned to him. Essentially, the band had no idea in advance that it was being released. In typically dismissive fashion, EMI hadn't bothered to mention it to them.

Fortunately, the track listing gave me hope that it might be OK, at least for the hardcore fan of the band. As that is exactly what I am, I had to have a copy, but it was aimed at my CD player with far more trepidation than a Terrorvision release would normally demand.

The album sets any worries to rest pretty early on, with "Got Away Again" having a driving guitar riff and Tony's trademark shouting vocals and even a slightly funky bass line in parts. It's not one of their strongest tracks, but it certainly wouldn't have been out of place on their "Regular Urban Survivors" album.

Next up is "This Drinking Will Kill Me", which is from way back in Terrorvision's early career and was played live quite often. It's another high tempo driving rock track with a nice raw feel that is in keeping with the title and the lyrics. There's more of a whine to the vocal and the song is nicely reflective of both "Formaldehyde" and "How to Make Friends…" era Terrorvision.

One thing the band never did much of was covering other people's songs. However, this version of Slik's "Forever and Ever" was for an album of covers EMI put out several years ago. Whilst I'm not sure who Slik were, this song was written by the same people who wrote for the Bay City Rollers and it has that kind of sound to it, with a definite 60s rock 'n' roll feel, with a little more rock than usual, thanks to Terrorvision being the way they are. It's the kind of thing you would expect to hear at weddings and, whilst not really being much good, it's interesting to hear Terrorvision step away from their usual sound.

What's more interesting, though, is to hear them step back. "Perseverance (Demo)" is an early version of the same track from their "Regular Urban Survivors" album and it's easy to see why they kept working at it. The bouncy guitar riff that was a band trademark is here and most of the lyrics remained the same. It's really the chorus that is different from the final version and whilst it's not a bad rock-pop song in this version, it's nowhere near as good as it was to become, feeling a little disjointed in this version.

"That's Life" is another from several tracks on this album that were recorded but never made the albums. This one was done just before 1999's "Shaving Peaches" album, but wouldn't have fit there. It's got quite a laid back rock groove with an almost reggae feel at some points, much like "New Policy One" from their debut album, "Formaldehyde". Sadly, it's a mid-tempo rock-pop song which is as close to dull as Terrorvision have come as their trademark "bounce" seems to be missing.

The next track takes us back to Terrorvision's first ever release, the "Thrive" EP and this track would have gone onto the "Formaldehyde" album perfectly. "Blackbird" is more of a driving rock song with mostly shouted vocals, and serves here to show how far Terrorvision progressed throughout their career, as it's not something they would record now, but is perfectly indicative of their early 1990s sound.

"Corpse Fly" is another from those early days and follows up "Blackbird" quite nicely. It's perhaps got a little more of a punk feel to it, with a more violent guitar riff than fans of the band will have become used to, but it's still largely the very early rock sound of the band's "Formaldehyde" album. It's notable for a spoken part over the middle of the song with an Anti-War message, which I don't recall hearing them do anywhere else.

There's another cover up next, with "You Really Got a Hold On Me" originally being a Beatles number. I've not heard the original version, but you can see how they could have recorded this. It's a slower paced number and more rock 'n' roll than Terrorvision are used to and Tony's vocals don't suit it particularly. Again, it's notable for what happens in the middle of the song, with clearer backing vocals and harmonies than ever before on a Terrorvision record. It's quite a foot tapping number, which isn't really the band's style either, but works very nicely, especially as a change of pace.

There's another very old number up next with "Suffocation". The acoustic guitar during the intro and verses sounds like Thunder's "Until My Dying Day", but it does get a little more open for the chorus, with a more driving rock sound straight from the "How to Make Friends…" or "Formaldehyde" era. The whispered sections will surprise and confuse long term fans of the band, although they do fit in fairly well. Again, it's another unique sound on the album, in terms of the rest of the band's output.

"What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor?" is perfectly naff, but sums up the band's sense of fun perfectly. It's a driving rock version of the traditional sea shanty that somehow seems just about right. The backing vocals over the chorus are pretty dodgy, as are the wind and sea sounds that the band themselves added. But there's a bluesy edge to the guitar solos which makes me think of the Faces and if there's a version of Terrorvision doing "Stay With Me" anywhere, which could be quite fun to listen to.

It's back to the rock 'n' roll again, as Terrorvision cover the Dave Clark Five's "Glad All Over". Sadly, with Tony's almost shouted vocal style, this does sound more like a slightly inept pub band at some points, but it's quite a lot of fun and it does sound like they're having a lot of fun. As a big fan, it's worth listening to because it's Terrorvision doing something different, rather than because it's any good.

"Tom Petty Loves Veruca Salt" was Terrorvision's contribution to EMI's original 1995 "Help" album. It's as close as the band is ever likely to come to being a cocktail hour band and this reminds me of a tune I heard "Incubus" doing a couple of years ago. Terrorvision's guitarist Mark Yates recalls that this track surprised a lot of people at the time and you can see why, as it's so totally different to anything they'd released before. Strangely, on this album, it seems less out of place, blending in nicely, if not seamlessly, with the rock 'n' roll songs.

There's another cover version yet, with David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" getting the Terrorvision treatment. Again, this is another one I've not heard the original to, but it's quite a good track, with a much more produced sound than Terrorvision usually have. It does have quite a retro feel, quite 1970s, but doesn't end up sounding too dissimilar to some of the more laid back tracks from the band's "Regular Urban Survivors" album, which was released the year after this was recorded.

"Tea Dance" is another early Terrorvision track and another live favourite. It's a little more upbeat and jaunty than "Tom Petty…" but has very much the same cocktail hour band feel. It could almost completely nondescript, if it weren't for the foot tapping rhythm and it's almost a shame when it comes to an end after only a couple of minutes.

The next one up is a Cheap Trick cover, but never having heard their version "Surrender", I at first thought this was an early Terrorvision track. The vocal is perhaps a little more whiny than usual, but it's a driving rock song with a bit of a bounce to the riff and would have fitted quite nicely on the "Formaldehyde" album.

Like "Tea Dance", "Too Stoned to Dance" is a very early track. It's pretty amusing that Terrorvision should have so many songs with the word "dance" in the title, as vocalist Tony Wright was once described as being one of the worst dancers in rock! Despite being an early song, there is some pretty heavy synth use that gives this a 1980s pop-electronica feel with a rock edge and puts it on a par with "D'Ya Wanna Go Faster", from their final album, "Good To Go". But it's got that typically bouncy beat and I can't understand why this song never got a release as it's a lot better than many of their album tracks, sends the crowd wild whenever they play it live and it's quite easily the best track on display here.

Sadly, that's as good as it gets, as the album ends on a bit of a down note. "Mr Buskerman" sounds like something you might hear a pub folk band performing with a laid back groove that really goes nowhere. There's a bit towards the end where the song becomes a little more raw and bluesy with a nod to the Faces, but that's really as interesting as it gets.

"Sailing Home" is more of the same, and possibly worse. It's more sea shanty than folk song, but falls about half way between "Mr Buskerman" and "…Drunken Sailor", without ever being a mildly interesting as either of those tracks. It's a disappointingly mundane end to an album that is quite an experience.

For someone who isn't already a Terrorvision fan, this album doesn't really have much to recommend, as it's not particularly indicative of the band's sound as a whole. For sure, there are some very good Terrorvision moments on here, and some very good rock and rock 'n' roll songs. But there's not much of the bouncy cheesypopmetal sound that the band made their own for much of the 1990s. For someone looking to get into the band for the first time, the greatest hits album "Whales and Dolphins" is a much better place to start.

However, if you're already a fan of the band, this is an album you really must have. As an album, it's not really all that special, but for a chance to see a quite different side of the band you already love, it's almost priceless. As sad as it is to see EMI still making money from Terrorvision without their knowledge or input, this time they've actually put some thought and effort into things and picked a decent range of songs that cover pretty much the whole of the band's lifespan, from their first ever release to the sessions recorded for their last EMI studio album, 1999's "Shaving Peaches". It's far from being classic Terrorvision, but it does have some intriguing side roads along the journey through their career.

Maybe one of the best things about the album is that it's amazingly good value for money, too. You can pick it up for £7.99 from play.com, £6.99 from Amazon, or £4.07 from the Amazon Marketplace. Townsend Records, who have always been very supportive of Terrorvision in particular and rock music in general, have it for £5.99. At 18 tracks and 59 minutes long, this represents good value for any album, but even more so for one with this much interest for a fan.

If there's a Terrorvision fan in your life, this will make for an ideal gift with Christmas not too far away. If you are the only Terrorvision fan in your life, then buy it for yourself, as that's acceptable too, and it will delight over the cold months ahead. And if you're not yet a Terrorvision fan, buy "Whales and Dolphins" and become one! 

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