Super Furry Animals - Phantom Power poll

i'm pretty sure that i'm going to vote for "Slow Life" for this one.

a truly wonderful record and the last one i loved by this band.

maybe their best album

venus and serena

"Slow Life" is probably going to win, and probably deserves it, but damn, I gotta throw down for "The Piccolo Snare." What a track!

This was a very very difficult choice. It could have been "Slow Life", which hasn't moved out of my Top 10 favourite Super Furry Animals tracks since the year it was released and is easily one of their finest achievements ever alongside the likes of "Ice Hockey Hair". It could also have been "Venus & Serena", which to me is the single that never was.

Eventually though, I went for "The Piccolo Snare". Why? Because it's simply beautiful. The gorgeous harmonies in the intro, and the way it gives way to this joyous melody, before going into that sampled 'cosmic funk' section at the end. It takes me on a journey in the same way that "Slow Life" does, albeit a very different one, and if "Slow Life" wasn't on the album, I feel it would probably end up being one of their most praised tracks. However, "Slow Life" is on the album, leaving "The Piccolo Snare" a little more overlooked than maybe it should be.

A lot of bands would kill to write a great epic. This album has two embarrassingly great ones to choose from.

Slow Life definitely, special mention to Cityscape Skybaby & The Piccolo Snare.

maybe their best album

― iatee, Thursday, October 27, 2011 12:22 AM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark

It's definitely a contender! I remember having this one on very regular rotation from when it was released up until Love Kraft came out, and even by that point I hadn't got bored of it. Still gives me a warm feeling whenever I listen to it eight years on.

i was not very impressed at the time, after the technicolor sprezzatura of ratw it seemed sorta bland to me. probably liberty belle just over slow life.

This thread and the Radiator thread finally got me to sign up for this site after years of lurking. Count me as a latter day SFA fan. I actively dislike the earlier material, half-like Guerrilla/Mwng/RATW and absolutely adore the four albums after that. Sometimes I prefer the majestic Lovekraft but ultimately I think Phantom is the most successful because it's more immediate. PP has an airiness that is just wonderful, effortless pop perfection. I'm going with Venus & Serena because it's so ingeniously and infectiously awesome but I'm also really fond of Piccolo Snare, Valet Parking, Liberty Belle and Slow Life. The album is so strong I don't think there's really much to be said about it, it speaks for itself.

And I agree with the sentiment in the other thread about them seeming to consistently choose the wrong singles, almost perversely. I chalk it up to the fact that they seem to be a democracy and with every new album I imagine them voting for the single, all disagreeing and then compromising on something more or less appropriate! But then again, I tried to make a SFA mix cd for my friend and couldn't do it because the albums are so of-a-piece. I ended up burning her Phantom Power instead!

I truly hope the hiatus is temporary, I really think the world needs more of the mature SFA. For me they are the only modern pop group that has a catalog that can stand up to the great pop bands from the 60s like Beatles and Beach Boys, not to mention the soul stuff. I don't know much modern pop though so I could be way off the mark. Gruff solo is almost as good but not quite as consistent. Neon Neon has it's moments but overall I find it to be pretty horrific and I never dared check out that album with the guy from Brazil or whatever! Should I?

Welcome to ILM Liam! this site is a lot of fun and so much more enjoyable when you post.

xpost:

Personally, I couldn't recommend the album Gruff did with Tony Da Gatorra, no. There's a track from it that he's been doing in his live sets ('In A House With No Mirrors'), which is okay I guess, but the album sounds more like a Tony Da Gatorra project than a Gruff Rhys project. I find it really abrasive and tuneless, and it's one of the few SFA-related albums that I don't own!

I liked the Neon Neon record a lot though, and I find it interesting that you like 'Phantom Power' and 'Love Kraft' a lot but only half-like 'Mwng'!

This album begings and ends in a great way with two of the best tracs they've ever done. Yet, my vote goes to "Sex, War and Robots" - a country song unlike any country song ever made before or since, and basically SFA at their freakiest and best.

And welcome Liam. By preferring the later material by SFA, you fit into the contratian tradition of ILM, I guess ;)

Yet, my vote goes to "Sex, War and Robots"

Gotta agree w/ Geir on this one.

In terms of Bunf's contributions to Super Furry Animals, 'Sex, War & Robots' is up there as one of his greatest IMHO. My favourite of all of Bunf's contributions definitely has to be 'White Socks/Flip Flops' from Dark Days/Light Years though. I like 'The Horn', 'Battersea Odyssey' and 'Back On A Roll', but 'Sex, War & Robots' and 'White Socks/Flip Flops' are in a different league entirely IMHO.

"White Socks/Flip Flops" rules

I voted "Cityscape Skybaby." That song's amazing. Not much else to add. Phantom Power is a truly great album that got swept away under the rug of time. Maybe it was a year or two too late or early. I truly believe SFA are one of the few bands out there that make they records they alone want to make.

piccolo snare!

this is between cityscape skybaby, the undefeated and slow life for me.

I didn't really like this album at first, I think mostly because they put the three most boring songs right at the beginning and I guess every time I put it on those first times I kind of lost interest before the album got interesting.

maybe their best album

I was super disappointed with the album when it first came out. It just seemed so beige after RATW. And now, I think I might agree with the above statement!

those statements make me think i should burrow in and reassess. but for now my knee-jerk pick will be "liberty belle", because it was the standout at the time and is still awesome now.

though some credit to "hello sunshine" for always making me think of Rachel Bilson in the O.C.

Piccolo Snare.

i hate this band and everyone that likes them

okay not really

well kinda

Why?

they're a band people mainly like when they've given up on music

i don't know, i think i'm mainly projecting

I got this (and the previous) DVD versions at a market stall back when they weren't that old.

"Hello Sunshine" is a great opener.

Voted "Slow Life" anyway, got into it when I got the singles collection.

As for the best album claims, I still stand by "Radiator" as their pinnacle, but this may be their second best IMO. And also the last really great one they made, although the next couple were also fine.

You may well be right in that, but for me "Guerilla" was the one, probably because it was the first one I bought.

As stated in the Radiator thread I liked this for a few weeks after it came out but then just got bored of it and didn't really play it again,until last week. I'm happy to admit I was totally wrong it's a brilliant album, my third favourite of theirs now.

Slow Life and Sex, War & Robots are the two highlights, not sure which one I'll vote for yet. I'd like to give The undefeated a shout, to me that was the most obvious single on the album.

they're a band people mainly like when they've given up on music

i don't know, i think i'm mainly projecting

Doesn't make much sense.

The number of people in this thread saying that they were disappointed in it at first surprises me, if only because I got into this album pretty much straight away! I also remember this album getting a better initial reaction than 'Rings Around The World' from the UK SFA fans at the time, not to mention stronger reviews!

Thanks all for the welcome!

Well, this is getting more than a little off topic, but... I'm a person who's mostly given up on nowadays music so Thomp's stereotype is not completely inaccurate in my case. I feel that where most bands are ignorant of history and they're too often reinventing the wheel, a group like SFA is polishing and refining the wheel. With great respect, love and affection for that history. Does that make any sense?

It's possible I'm just lacking perspective and highly probable that twenty years from now I'll be kicking myself for missing out on all sorts of great stuff, but for now it's diminishing returns for me with modern music.

I personally only have time for artists that are really consistent and inventive, not to mention idiosyncratic. I like music where I can immerse myself in a whole catalogue of a particularly inmitable artist and learn from the ups and downs. Music where you can really trust the artist. These artists are few and far between. I feel the same with films. I think Truffaut said "the worst Hitchcock is more interesting than the best Huston." and that sums it up as far as what I look for in art.

Super Furry Animals push all my buttons and I'm not even close to being a big pop/indie/singsong whatever you want to call it guy. To be honest, I'm surprised I even got past the band name (I fell in love with Gruffs voice after hearing his guest spot on that Mogwai album!)

Agree with you, liam, but I have to admit I'm pretty much a fan of their early material as well. I've found it hard to resist the greatness of their early b-sides or Fuzzy Logic material. Gruff's voice and their knack for playing catchy, crunchy riffs draws me in all the time. It's a testament to their ability as musicians they've scaled up the complexity.

I feel that where most bands are ignorant of history and they're too often reinventing the wheel, a group like SFA is polishing and refining the wheel. With great respect, love and affection for that history. Does that make any sense?

Makes a lot of sense. Except I would rather say most recent "hip" acts are inventing something else than the wheel, that the world never asked for nor needed, they just invented it because they wanted to invent something new too ;)

It makes perfect sense, but as much as I like Super Furry Animals 'polishing and refining' of the wheel, it doesn't prevent me from looking for, and occasionally admiring/liking/loving new wheels.

I wonder if SFA will sound to me in 10 years like XTC does to me now: proficient and inventive, delightful and annoying by turns, with lyrics that make me say "what was I thinking when I adored them wholeheartedy?", very much of a time and a phase of my life... and something I almost never want to listen to for more than one song at a time anymore.

I've proclaimed both bands the best and most consistent guitar/pop band since the Beatles at one point or another.

I'm in the minority in adoring the later stuff, as well. I got on the bus with RATW (a few years after it was released) and it, Phantom Power, and DD/LY are my utter faves. Hey Venus, the debut, and Radiator I mostly like; Mwng and Love Kraft drag for me... and I've never heard Guerilla or Out Spaced in their entireties, somehow.

I was super disappointed with the album when it first came out. It just seemed so beige after RATW.

Agreed. After seeing them on the RATW tour--where they were so exuberant and unapologetically eclectic, you couldn't help but want to hug them and proclaim them the best band in the world on the spot--Phantom Power felt considerably less experimental on its face -- with the electronics dialed back and more conventional rock dynamics pushed to the fore. In retrospect, it's mostly just as gonzo as before, but instead of being slugged over the head with the eclecticism in the arrangements or jump cuts, the detours are hidden in the form and the sequencing. Most of this wasn't readily apparent (to me, anyway) until Love Kraft, which stretched out some this stuff like Silly Putty on a comic strip.

As for the best song, I'm really not sure. I've always been partial to "The Piccolo Snare" -- but listening back now, I'm really enjoying "Sex, War and Robots," "Slow Life," and "City Scape Sky Baby."

As much as I can understand why people could have been disappointed a little bit by the toning down of the production on 'Phantom Power', it still surprises me that so many people were. Especially since I remember that this is the band that followed up 'Guerrilla' with 'Mwng'. When they followed up 'Rings Around The World' with 'Phantom Power', it wasn't really that much of a surprise to me. The one constant throughout Super Furry Animals career for me is the strong songwriting, personally.

*so many people here

they're a band people mainly like when they've given up on music

SFA was my first ever 'real' gig as a kid.
I really really love the first two albums, but found Guerilla a big letdown and a lot of the songs became annoying. So I didn't listen to too much after that but I'm thinking now maybe that was stupid and I should give them all another listen.

After all these years I still struggle to remember how many of these songs go from reading the titles and a couple of months ago I played it several times to try and overcome this. Hasn't quite happened yet... it all sounds, well, nice, though. As of yet, it's the one SFA album to get under my skin, despite there being nothing horrible about it at all.

*fail to get under my skin TIME FOR BED

Guerilla was touted as their attack on the mainstream album, yet strangely it contains most of their least commercial stuff.

I think Gruff is still convinced that 'Guerrilla' should have been the big seller out of all of their albums!

I guess one thing that does disappoint me about the later Super Furry Animals has nothing to do with the quality of the material on the records, but rather the bands reluctance to play cuts from some of those albums after the tour has finished.

If we were to take the end of the 'Phantom Power' tour as the Lightning Fryday gig (1st October 2004), then they've only played 'Hello Sunshine', 'Golden Retriever' and 'Slow Life' live since. That's a stupendously low number, especially given that all tracks from the album (with the exception of 'The Undefeated' and possibly 'Venus & Serena') were played live during the tour.

'Love Kraft' and 'Hey Venus!' have generally fared worse: 'Zoom!' is the only song to be played live from 'Love Kraft' since the tour for that album. During the tour they played 'Atomik Lust', 'The Horn' (which didn't really work well live as much as I like it), 'Ohio Heat', 'Lazer Beam', 'Frequency' and 'Cloudberries'. Gruff has done 'Psyclone!' during a solo gig, and 'Walk You Home', 'Oi Frango', 'Back On A Roll' and 'Cabin Fever' were never played. Of the 'Hey Venus!' songs, all of the tracks from that album were performed during the tour - but only 'Neo Consumer' made it into the 'Dark Days/Light Years' sets. Y'know, you think they'd at least have played 'Run-Away'...

They have tons of songs I wish they'd play live. I doubt everyone could ever be satisfied. They're hardly the only band out there that sticks to the well known songs. That said, they still pulled out a song like "Blerwyrtihng" on the last tour and they even had a voting game online to choose a song or two they'd play during individual dates on their last US tour. They did "If You Don't Want Me to Destroy You," which was surprisingly well received given their small number of American fans.

Saw them do their acoustic bingo thing at a festival once. Pretty cool, especially the "Teenage Fanclub version" of Northern Lites. I can't remember anything that obscure being chosen though

The band seem to like 'Blerwytirhwng?' a lot - they've selected it to be on both the 'Out Spaced' and 'Songbook' compilations (as well as its original inclusion on the Llanfair PG In Space E.P.). It wouldn't have been anywhere near my first choice as a song to resurrect, though, as much as I like it. If we're talking about just the stuff on Llanfair PG In Space, I think 'Organ Yn Dy Geg' has had criminally few live airings since '96!

Saw them do their acoustic bingo thing at a festival once. Pretty cool, especially the "Teenage Fanclub version" of Northern Lites. I can't remember anything that obscure being chosen though

― Number None, Friday, October 28, 2011 3:31 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

Having a guess here... Electric Picnic '06?

bingo

MAIN SET:

Slow Life, Juxtapozed With U, Hello Sunshine, (Drawing) Rings Around The World, Drygioni, Zoom!, Atomik Lust, Cloudberries, Receptacle For The Respectable, The International Language Of Screaming, If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You, God! Show Me Magic, Do Or Die, Calimero, The Man Don't Give A Fuck.

BINGO SET:

The Gateway Song, Colonise The Moon, The Horn, Northern Lites, Foxy Music, Focus Pocus, Fire In My Heart, If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You, Something For The Weekend, Inconvenience, Bad Behaviour.

So you got 'The Gateway Song' before it was released on 'Hey Venus!' (they started playing it live as far back as 2004), and probably the first ever performance of 'Inconvenience' from 'Dark Days/Light Years'... 'Foxy Music', 'Focus Pocus', 'Drygioni'!!

They first played that version of 'Northern Lites' at the generally otherwise terrible Glasstonbuy Festival 2007, although then it was announced as being performed in the style of Big Star.

The decision to close shows with 'Keep The Cosmic Trigger Happy' since the Hey Venus! days has been welcome - even they must be sick of 'The Man...' by now?

Well my memories of the weekend are a tad hazy. I remember being mad to go to the Furrymania event in Dublin which was one of the first times they did those acoustic bingo sets, but i had to work that weekend. Not many bands that could pull off their own mini festival

I always assumed the Teenage Fanclub reference was kind of sarcastic

xxpost:

The thing about 'The Man Don't Give A Fuck' is that while it's always been great live in its extended form, I don't consider it to be anywhere near one of the bands best tracks! They've still been playing 'The Man Don't Give A Fuck' as a penultimate track, and occasionally closing with it, but I'd still rather they bumped it in favour of something else... I think they've played it at every gig since '97...

They could always play "Smokin" instead

They should have released a live version of that 'rock version' of 'Northern Lites' as a B-side, I think. It still stands up well as a song in that arrangement, IMO. I was always a bit gutted at the fact they didn't release 'The Gift That Keeps Giving' as a proper physical single... but I guess after 'Run-Away' flopped big-time...

They could always play "Smokin" instead

― Number None, Friday, October 28, 2011 3:52 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

Yeah, I could see them working that up into an extended gig closer, it has a similar 'chant' feel to 'The Man Don't Give A Fuck'. I don't know if it would work as well, though. When I heard 'Pric' for the first time on 'Dark Days/Light Years', I thought to myself "finally! they've come up with something that could take the place of 'The Man Don't Give A Fuck' at gigs!"

In fact, the similar 'chant' feel of 'Smokin'/'The Man Don't Give A Fuck' is one of the issues I have with the tracklisting of the 'Out Spaced' compilation... I understand that they tried to put 'Out Spaced' together as if it were a "proper album" that stood up in its own right, but putting those tracks so close together in the song order, and very early on in the album (tracks 1 & 3) wasn't really a good idea, IMO.

It's Bunf's favorite album!

I can't wait for Bunf's solo album to come out!

He did the soundscapes thing again yesterday in Manchester. I'm really curious to see what he can come up with next. I'm actually shocked so many on here seem to adore "Sex, War and Robots," which I remember being one of the tracks that threw people through a loop in 2003 since it was the first time Gruff didn't take lead vocals. Also because people seem pretty sour on Bunf unless we're talking "White Socks/Flip Flops," which many seem to think is the best on DD/LY.

If you haven't, listen to "These Bones." It's awesome. That's my favorite SFA b-side and a Bunf lead.

I always assumed the Teenage Fanclub reference was kind of sarcastic

Maybe jokey rather than sarcastic - initially, at Glastonbury it was introduced as the 'Big Star' version, then as far as I know referred to as the 'Teenage Fanclub' version from their Connect Festival appearance of that year, where Teenage Fanclub were playing on the same bill, same day

They referred to is as the 'Teenage Fanclub' version when I saw 'em on the Hey Venus! tour, also.

Yeah i shouldn't have said sarcastic really, seeing as the Furries are pretty affable sorts

He did the soundscapes thing again yesterday in Manchester. I'm really curious to see what he can come up with next. I'm actually shocked so many on here seem to adore "Sex, War and Robots," which I remember being one of the tracks that threw people through a loop in 2003 since it was the first time Gruff didn't take lead vocals. Also because people seem pretty sour on Bunf unless we're talking "White Socks/Flip Flops," which many seem to think is the best on DD/LY.

If you haven't, listen to "These Bones." It's awesome. That's my favorite SFA b-side and a Bunf lead.

― afriendlypioneer, Saturday, October 29, 2011 12:10 AM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark

I'm really hoping for an album of proper songs from Bunf. Hopefully it is! I've always loved 'Sex, War & Robots' myself.

'These Bones' is indeed a great song, and was completely wasted as the flip to the 'Run-Away' single. Super Furry Animals have had some great B-sides over the years, but in my opinion 'These Bones' definitely didn't deserve its fate of being the flip side of the Super Furry Animals' lowest charting single. Should have been on 'Hey Venus!' IMO. It's that good. It's up on Spotify, but I've noticed they've edited the ending off.

I have USA versions of RATW and Hey Venus! that are 2xcds with all the b-sides on the second disc and I definitely wouldn't want to be without any of those songs. These Bones is indeed great, so is Aluminum Illuminati. I like the when the other guys get a chance to sing, although I think it was an acquired taste. Lovekraft really got a lot richer once I got used to their voices/styles. How are the b side songs from Phantom Power and Lovekraft?

How are the b side songs from Phantom Power and Lovekraft?

'Summer Snow' (B-side of 'Golden Retriever') is one of my favourites, and I think could have fitted quite snugly on the album itself. 'Blue Fruit' (the other B-side of 'Golden Retriever') is another Bunf-sung number, but I couldn't call it one of his best - there's some nice bits in it (I really like the bridge), but its definitely not album/single worthy IMO. 'Cowbird' (B-side of 'Hello Sunshine') is an instrumental which kinda points the way to the slower, more string-laden music of 'Love Kraft' - it plays like a jam on a chord sequence but with a string arrangement added to it, and I find it quite beautiful. 'Sanitizzzed' (the other B-side of 'Hello Sunshine') is a Rings Around The World out-take (as was 'Aluminium Illuminati', funnily enough) which is kinda fun and melodic but nothing more - it's okay and inoffensive really, but it won't rock your world in any way.
Of the 'Slow Life' B-sides (it's billed as an EP, but it feels more like a standard single to me), 'Motherfokker' is pretty decent, but your enjoyment of the track will pretty much hinge on whether you can tolerate the rap stylings and humour of Goldie Lookin' Chain, who feature quite prominently on the track. The other 'Slow Life' B-side, 'Lost Control', is basically an instrumental which re-works elements of 'Out Of Control'. If I'm to be honest, it's not really essential for anyone who isn't a hardcore fan. Parts of this version feature in the American Sasquatch documentary that was on the Songbook DVD (parts of the recording session of 'Motherfokker' are on there also).

There's only a couple of 'Love Kraft' B-sides, if only because 'Lazer Beam' was the sole single. Firstly, there's 'Sunny Seville' which was recorded as part of the 'Love Kraft' sessions and was in contention for the album itself. It's actually one of my favourite post-2000 B-sides, but I can see why they left it off. It's more of an upbeat electro-pop song which is completely at odds with the slower, lusher material on 'Love Kraft'. I like it a lot. 'Colonise The Moon', on the other hand, is an acoustic song that only features Gruff which uses the 'No Sympathy' picking style again. I wouldn't put it up there in terms of SFA B-sides, although it does feature the priceless lyric: "I vomited throughout your saxophone solo".

The album which had the strongest B-sides to me was 'Radiator'. Tracks like 'Wrap It Up', 'Hit And Run', 'Cryndod Yn Dy Lais' and 'Carry The Can' were as good as, if not better, the tracks that made it onto the album. Gruff still plays 'Cryndod Yn Dy Lais' during his solo shows, and 'Wrap It Up' was a favourite of Cian's, if I remember rightly.

Those Radiator B-sides were really great, I actually signed up to e-music or some russian site to download them iirc. I get 'wrap it up' in my head whenever I put on my fancy coat :)

There's a few non-'Out Spaced' B-sides/EP tracks that I should give honourable mention to, really: 'Organ Yn Dy Geg', 'Waiting To Happen', '(Nid) Hon Yw'r Gan Sy'n Mynd I Achub Yr Iaith', 'Wrap It Up', 'Hit And Run', 'Cryndod Yn Dy Lais', 'The Matter Of Time', 'Charge'...

A sadly neglected track for me is 'Patience', which wasn't put on the B-side of a UK single (I think there was a planned fourth single for the album which didn't materialise) and only featured on the DVD version of Rings Around The World here. The Americans were far more lucky and got it on the extra disc that came with the album, but we didn't get that one on CD (unless you ordered the import version). Bit of a shame really, because I find that song to be extremely beautiful, especially the ending section.

Thanks, Turrican, that's a lot of info. Patience is indeed excellent.

Sex War And Robots dragged for me in 2003, yet now is clearly a highlight, especially with that coda.

I always wondered why Calimero never made it to Out Spaced, yet they continued to play it live subsequently. I always thought Tron Mr Urdd was overlooked as a great b-side.

I'd advise anyone to make a playlist of all their non-album tracks in chronological order. I continued buying all the singles, but from Northern Lites onwards didn't really bother to listen to them more than once until recently, when I realised there was hours of unfamiliar stuff to get to know. A great discovery was 'The Matter Of Time' - too meandering for Guerilla but a great lost track nonetheless. Interesting to see how there were 2 or 3 RATW outtakes that were held back until later.

They referred to is as the 'Teenage Fanclub' version when I saw 'em on the Hey Venus! tour, also.

― Turrican, Saturday, October 29, 2011 1:26 AM (4 hours ago)

Yeah i shouldn't have said sarcastic really, seeing as the Furries are pretty affable sorts

― Number None, Saturday, October 29, 2011 1:27 AM (4 hours ago)

Yeah, calling it the Teenage Fanclub version seemed to stick after that Connect Festival gig (though Big Star did play the following day, as I can hardly forget). Gruff is picked TFC as one of his singles of the year in 1997 ('I Don't Want To Control You')

Also: Never More is Daf, isn't it?

I always wondered why Calimero never made it to Out Spaced, yet they continued to play it live subsequently. I always thought Tron Mr Urdd was overlooked as a great b-side.

If I remember correctly, there was a conscious decision by the band when compiling 'Out Spaced' to put it together and sequence it as if it were an album in its own right, rather than a compilation, so they kinda went for the B-sides that would "fit together" or at least were somewhat similar in nature/had a certain 'feel' to them, and in doing so ended up leaving off all the comparatively straightforward, concise and poppy ones like 'Waiting To Happen', 'Wrap It Up', 'Calimero' etc. in favour of the, I guess, more "interesting" ones: 'Arnofio/Glo In The Dark', 'Dim Brys, Dim Chwys', 'Focus Pocus/Debiel' etc. - It was also an opportunity to get 'The Man Don't Give A Fuck' onto an album, because at that point in time it had only been released on a limited edition single!

I'd advise anyone to make a playlist of all their non-album tracks in chronological order. I continued buying all the singles, but from Northern Lites onwards didn't really bother to listen to them more than once until recently, when I realised there was hours of unfamiliar stuff to get to know.

I'd advise anyone serious about this band to do the same - there's at least 3 full CDRs worth of B-sides to get through, and some of it is as good as, if not better than what went on the albums. I've always thought, too, that with this band their music is best listened to in bulk!

A great discovery was 'The Matter Of Time' - too meandering for Guerilla but a great lost track nonetheless.

It was actually in contention for 'Guerrilla' if I remember, but they left it off for exactly that reason.

Also: Never More is Daf, isn't it?

Yup! Although I'm sure Gruff does one of the background vocals.

I like Gruff's bg box on "The Horn."

This remix they did is really awesome and I don't think anyone's heard it:

http://www.myspace.com/thetenantssupermen/music/songs/blaze-on-a-la-maison-sfa-remix-11295227

The original is total shit. I'll share it for comparison's sake and to show you why it's so much better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9OSoKt0jRI

And this is a really great example of how well Gruff and Bunf work together. I'm actually surprised that they haven't released a perfect album yet given how effortless it all seems to them.

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

Oops!

Here's a youtube playlist I've made of pretty much all the B-sides in order, with non B-sides (but extra tracks, non-album tracks nonetheless) tacked on the end. The only two B-sides I couldn't find were the two from the 'Golden Retriever' single...

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFD20AD3A4E4C74D7&feature=viewall

Very cool! I will be checking all this stuff out soon!

Turrican dropping knowledge in this thread

I reckon Turrican could write a killer 33 1/3 on this band. They deserve it.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I just listened through most of those b-sides and am pretty shocked by the consistency of their b-sides. Maybe it's just me, but I hear enough material for a couple more great albums and sometimes even feel puzzled by their omission of some of this material on their proper albums. "Sunny Seville" is fucking awesome. I know it doesn't fit in at all on Love Kraft, but I think it could've knocked out "Lazer Beam" if they really wanted it to.

Shame there were no b-sides to DD/LY. I'm sure they did record extra material, though.

i did get a chance to listen to this again, more mellow than i remember. still voting for "Still Life."

"still life" "Slow Life"

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Not at all surprised "Slow Life" made it.

Even though I voted for 'The Piccolo Snare', I'm not surprised that 'Slow Life' took the top spot. It's definitely one of Super Furry Animals greatest achievements, IMO. Very pleased to see 'The Piccolo Snare' made it to second place though - it definitely deserves it.

Third place onwards is where it starts to get interesting for me: I kinda thought 'Venus & Serena' might have made it into third place, but I'm really surprised that 'Cityscape Skybaby' came above it... it's one of those tracks that bowled fans over when the record first came out, but these days I hardly ever hear it being talked about and I've always found it to be quite underrated in recent years. More love for 'Liberty Belle' than I thought there would be too.

Also, in a bit of contrast to the 'Radiator' poll where the singles were way up there, two out of three of the singles from this record only managed one vote each.

It's a great album. I'm pleased a few people managed to rediscover it due to the recent polls.

Yeah, the very same. 'Love Kraft' should be the next one to get the poll treatment, I reckon. That one would be very interesting, because everyone seems to praise and criticise different tracks.

If someone asked you what are the SFA's like, you'd play them "Slow Life", them in a nutshell.

I would be all over a Love Kraft poll -- the last two polls have had me digging back over these records and rediscovering quite a bit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26FoPz5YWiA

What do you think of that? They just released it as a single yesterday.

Isn't this, like, the fourth single released from Gruff's 'Hotel Shampoo'? I'm really surprised that he's managed to release so many singles from his solo album and do quite a big tour, considering what happened with Super Furry Animals' 'Dark Days/Light Years'...

I second the "do Lovekraft next" notion.

Have a feeling possibly four people would vote. I'd like to see if "Back on a Roll" charts, though.

Cloudberries obv