How is the Slits second Album?

And believe me, I love Cut

being rereleased on november 22nd, on Blast First Petite. 2 CDs, second CD is remixes and dubs and an interview from US radio. it is all delicious.

listening to brennan green's amazing 'pop your funk' mix (which you can get from his myspace) and there's this incredible dub-fucked track right near the end, which i'm led to believe is the track 'earth beat' from this. amazing!!

i think i checked this out after mark s mentioned it here once. bizarrely underrated album, and much better than the first.

I was surprised how much I liked this album as well, I think it got bad reviews everywhere I read about it.

I'M SO CHOOSYYYYYYYY

and much better than the first.

i love this album, but whatever it is, it isn't MUCH better than 'cut'.

ILM in over-statement shockah!

not better than cut for me, but maybe i'll check them out back to back and think about it.

Meh, earlier this year I replaced my CDR with the Japanese release.

Why didn't they include "Man Next Door"? Or the various other versions from the 7/12"s? They had the room!

tHEY'D BE FROM THEIR rOUGH tRADE DAYS, RIGHT?

Ach, I'm not retyping that.

Yeah Man Next Door was on Rough Trade, I've got that 7". Licensing issues I expect.

I really hate to sound ungrateful and nit-picking about this, but unless they have licenced "In The Beginning There Was Rhythm" and "Man Next Door" from Rough Trade; or unearthed something extraordinary which I've never heard before; then I'm sure it would be perfectly possible to get the whole of Return Of The Giant Slits + "Earthdub" + "Begin Again Rhythm" (B-sides of the Earthbeat 12") + "Face Dub" onto 1CD - so the only reason for extending it to a 2nd disc would be to include the US radio interview (the other side of the "Face Dub" 7" which was given away with early copies of the album), which frankly no-one's exactly likely to want to listen to on repeat (as far as I can remember I've played it all of three times in the last 23 years - and one of those was at someone else's insistence).

Also, given the number of times I've heard that this album's going to be re-released over the last 10 years or-so, I'm inlcined to say I'll believe it when I see it.

Oh and it's good but it's nowhere near as good as Cut (but then Cut is one of the greatest albums of all time imho!) and if anything I think I'd be inclined to rate both the Peel Sessions and Live At The Gibus Club more highly.

Does anyone remember if the versions of "Animal Space" / "Animal Spacier" that were released as a single on Human were the same as the versions on Return Of The Giant Slits?

Also, given the number of times I've heard that this album's going to be re-released over the last 10 years or-so, I'm inlcined to say I'll believe it when I see it.

believe stewart - i'm holding a copy!

"Gibus CLub" that good?

I'll have to track one down.

Gibus Club is fantastic mate - surprisingly good sound quality, fantastic performance, it's like the missing link between the first couple of Peel sessions and Cut, and shows them getting more proficient on their instruments and exploring more jazz influences than were evident on the heavily reggae-influenced Cut.

i need to hear that too - has it been out on CD stewart?

Afaik it's only ever been on CD - I think the tapes only came to light shortly before it was released a couple of years ago. It appears to be oop at the moment but there are plenty of people offering it for sale so it shouldn't be hard to track down.

<i>I really hate to sound ungrateful and nit-picking about this, but unless they have licenced "In The Beginning There Was Rhythm" and "Man Next Door" from Rough Trade; or unearthed something extraordinary which I've never heard before; then I'm sure it would be perfectly possible to get the whole of Return Of The Giant Slits + "Earthdub" + "Begin Again Rhythm" (B-sides of the Earthbeat 12") + "Face Dub" onto 1CD - so the only reason for extending it to a 2nd disc would be to include the US radio interview (the other side of the "Face Dub" 7" which was given away with early copies of the album), which frankly no-one's exactly likely to want to listen to on repeat (as far as I can remember I've played it all of three times in the last 23 years - and one of those was at someone else's insistence).</i>

The first CD contains the original album "as is." The second CD contains *all* the CBS-era b-sides and extras, with a couple of oddities, certainly too much for one disc, even if a lot of it is alternate versions and whatnot. Here's the list for the second CD:

1) Earthbeat (Japanese version)
2) Earthbeat (German version)
3) Dub Beat
4) Face Dub
5) Begin Again, Rhythm
6) Earthbeat (12" version)
7) Earthbeat (7" version)
8) WORT FM radio interview

So where can the Slits fan buy *everything* they ever did on CD? Here's the basic list:

1) The "Cut" CD reissue from a couple years ago contains the entire album, plus non-LP sides "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Liebe And Romanze (slow version)" but does *not* contain another dub b-side . . .

2) . . . but this tune, "Typical Girls (Brink Style") is available on the "Wild Dub: Dread Meets Punk Rocker
Downtown" CD compilation on the German label Select Cuts, which also has dubby postpunk tracks from a number of fine bands.

3) The "Live At The Gibus Club" CD contains a great early (pre-"Cut") live set with good sound.

4) "The Peel Sessions" CD contains three complete Peel sessions and is fab. Get the 10-song, not the 7-song, version.

5) "In The Beginning: A Live Anthology 1977-81" contains 8 "punk era" and 7 "dub era" tracks from the band.

6) The non-LP side "In The Beginning There Was Rhythm" is on the CD compilation of the same name, on Soul Jazz Records, with other tracks by 23 Skidoo, This Heat (etc.)

7) All the CBS-era material will be on the new UK 2xCD reissue of "Return Of The Giant Slits," as above.

What's missing from CD?

1) The version of "Man Next Door" and its b-side 'version' have not been on CD. The band now controls these, so don't ask me where they are.

2) The "Untitled" album of early stuff and demos from Rough Trade is still not on CD, despite an announcement that it would be (in Japan) last year - it looks like that was cancelled. That said, one thing from it has leaked out - the version of "Number One Enemy" is on the "In The Beginning" CD anthology of live stuff.

3) The famous Slits bootleg, which had many titles, including "Typical Girls" live isn't on CD, except for the songs that weren't recorded in the studio for CBS. (The non-CBS tunes are all on the "In The Beginning" live anthology.) Presumably there was a contractual obligation not to release alternate versions of songs first recorded for CBS.

Of course, there's new stuff as well, plus various Ari recordings, the New Age Steppers, non-CD Rip Rig & Panic with Ari and more, but that's another thread!

Stewart Osborne totally OTM here.

fuck a CD I'm still sad I used to have all this on vinyl, inc. that free interview 7"... (selling) regrets, I've had one or two.

Dee Dee - best ILM artist guide I've ever seen, cheers mate!

I have a Slits LP from a long time ago and need help identifying it.
I got it when I was a music critic in Sydney and it has a white cover and a white label. On the label (both sides are the same) is a big printed "Y". Written in black pen in and around the label are the following: Y3LP, A Boring Life or What is it?, No More Rock and Roll for You, Vaseline, Bongos on the Lawn, Slime, No 1 Enemy, Once Upon a Time in a Living Room, Mosquitoes, Face Place, Let's Do the Split.
Help me out Slits fans...

it's a live album Y put out in 1980 called "bootleg retrospective". it was the first slits record i bought. i don't think i've ever listened to it all the way through.

Great little interview.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/oct/10/viv-albertine-ive-done-everything-bad-i-wanted-to-do-theres-only-boring-stuff-left

Live Gibus is on Spotify!

Love Viv, and don't sleep on her solo work!

Her book(s) = Awesome

I loved the first one, need to read the 2nd

Albertine has had an amazing second wind as a writer and actress.

I slept on the sophomore record for a long time due to the Spin Alternative Record Guide slamming it

read earlier taht Viv Albertine books are bineg made into tv shows. May have been tied in with that Guardian q&A thing that I saw it.
Hope they stay pretty true to the books and hope there are more books to come. Do enjoy her writing.

THink I still don't have a pohysical cd of the 2nd lp.
Do love teh first one and wish I had more of the earlier stuff. There are a few live sets from the punk era circulating not sure what studio or if there is any.
Peel presumably captured them in their ramshackle era.

Albertine has had an amazing second wind as a writer and actress.

Oh! What has she acted in?

this is excellent. an interview with the slits before they had recorded any music. also features mark perry (atv) on top form, the mekons, charlie harper and jimmy pursey.

1978: Is it PUNK to PROFIT? | Omnibus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSYv07nom_I