Hello and welcome back to my basement for the second installment of “Brian’s B-Side Basement.” We will now continue our mental journey through the universe of Ash b-sides. During this voyage we will encounter some of the most diverse and experimental songs ever released by the band. Now, let us enter the second galaxy.
1977 ERA (1996-1997). This era is often characterized as one of Ash’s most successful moments in the music industry. In this era, Ash’s sound, for the most part, drifted more toward straight-up melodic rock and slightly away from the raw grunge sound of Trailer (although that sound is still reminiscent in some 1977 era songs). Many times when I think “Ash,” songs from the 1977 era are the first to come to mind. The album, 1977, was full of “hit” singles and amazing album tracks. It is one of the few albums I know of where every track on the album probably could have been a single and charted reasonably well. Sadly, that could not be the case and just 5 songs were chosen as singles. However, each of these 5 singles contained 2-3 new b-sides! Let us voyage deeper…
Luther Ingo’s Star Cruiser is the second b-side on Kung Fu. Judging by the title, you would think this song continues somewhere where Day Of The Triffids left off – a journey through space and to the radio star aboard an evil rocket ship. However, you’d be so very very dead wrong. Luther Ingo’s Star Cruiser originally had a working title of “I Wanna Fuck” and seems to be all about sexual frustration and aggression. To this day, it is still one of the fastest, craziest, and truly “punk” songs Ash have released. Additionally, it is by far the most vulgar Ash song (not far ahead of “I’m On Drugs,” however). Here is a small excerpt from the lyrics: “First I'm gonna kill 'em all. Then I'm gonna fuck you. Oh baby, I wanna fuck you up the ass”. My guess is that the title was changed because having a b-side called “I Wanna Fuck” would not go over well with the record label. What makes this song even more interesting though is that it was chosen as an opener for many live shows in 1994. According to inside sources, when Ash would open with this song, people would bolt for the doors, ceasing to give Ash even the slightest chance… hilarious in my opinion, but sad at the same time. Luther Ingo is rumored to be character from Star Wars, but I’ve seen the movies several times and have dug around online and cannot find any character by that name. Thus, it remains a mystery to me who Luther Ingo really is. If my memory serves me correctly, the quote at the beginning of the song comes from some old episode of an old TV show. I do not remember the title of this show, however. Really, this is a song only for the most hardcore of Ash fans. It is aggressive, brutal, and dare I sound twisted when I say: I like it!
The second single released from 1977 was Girl From Mars. This single continued with the space themed and experimental b-sides. A cover of John Williams' Cantina Band is the first b-side. Ash are known to be massive Star Wars fans and thus, Ash’s version of this song is brilliant and better than the John Williams original in my opinion. Complete with many spacey laser sound effects, the song is entirely instrumental. It has been played live on the extremely rare occasion; the most recent being at a special show exclusive to LucasArts and LucasFilm staff in honor of Ash’s part in the development of the Star Wars Republic Commando video game in 2005. Any Star Wars fan should at least appreciate this Ash cover.
The second b-side on the Girl From Mars single is Astral Conversations With Toulouse Lautrec… and, oh what a crazy song this one is. If I was to pick a phrase to describe this song, it would be: futuristic robotic space sex with Tim Wheeler. This 6 minute long song is entirely instrumental apart from 2 aural amusements: (1) Sexual gasps/grunts by Tim throughout the entire song, which continually build and build until Tim unleashes a forceful grunt into climax at 4:35. (2) Random vocoded (robotic) quotes throughout. For example, the song begins with the vocoded line: “Your about to embark on a voyage; a voyage into beyond the stars.” The instrumentation of the song accompanies Tim’s grunts appropriately and then changes a little after the 4:35 climax when the grunts stop and more robotic sound effects start. Finally the song closes with all of the instruments going crazy. Overall, the song is very epic to say the least.
The next single released from 1977 was Angel Interceptor. The 2 b-sides on this single are pretty experimental as well and find Ash continuing to use several interesting and spacey/robotic sound effects. 5 a.m. Eternal is the first b-side on this single and is a unique sounding rock song. There is very little lead guitar to be heard and the little that there is uses a very interesting retro distortion effect. Most of the song is dominated by the drums, bass guitar, and electronic sounds. Furthermore, an echoic flanged effect is present on all vocals throughout the entire song. Judging by the lyrics (which I have tried to decipher here), the song seems to be about being sad and alone after a breakup; not being able to sleep. “As I sit alone thinking, my life is really nothing. I can never stop this feeling.” It is a very unique b-side and one of my favorites from the 1977 era. Due to the fact that the instrumentation and vocals are a bit scattered and unclear, I see 5 a.m. Eternal as a song not for the casual Ash fan, but for those Ash fans who want to explore the band’s more obscure non-album material a bit deeper.
Give Me Some Truth is an electro-pop cover of the John Lennon original song. This is truly one of the most different and strangest Ash songs. The entire song is sung using a vocoder (the same vocoder used in Astral Conversations) and has some very interesting electronic sound effects. Most of the vocals really cannot be understood. Also, I could swear the song uses a theremin (look it up) for some of the background noise, but I’m not entirely sure. It would definitely be interesting to see Ash attempt this song live. For some reason, when I hear this song I always picture Ash dressed as robots in a big dark spacey studio recording it on all sorts of electronic devices. This is the only song Ash has done completely on synthesizers. It’s not a favorite of mine, but is definitely not a throwaway track. It is rightful b-side.
On the final two singles from 1977, the style of the b-sides drifted away from the electronic/robotic experimentation. The Goldfinger single, Ash’s 4th single from 1977, contains 3 very different b-sides. The first of these is I Need Somebody. This song was apparently written by Mark while in the hospital and is pretty depressing. “I can't be myself when I'm alone. I think stupid things when left on my own. I need somebody to be around.” The instrumentation sounds like a song you would hear on Broadway, for it contains a piano and provides a very big band feel for the listener. Also, it sounds like it was recorded live, but actually was not. Sound effects of a crowd clapping and cheering were added into the song after it was recorded. The instrumentation does not seem to go with the lyrics at all. It’s not often you hear such an upbeat sounding song with such somber lyrics. Put simply, it is not one of my favorite Ash songs.The next b-side on the Goldfinger single is Sneaker. It is a complete turnaround from the previous track. While I Need Somebody is extremely depressing, Sneaker is extremely positive and upbeat. Sneaker is fast, grungy, and inspiring. It contains awesome roaring distorted guitar parts, pounding drums, and semi-distorted vocals. It’s a bad ass song, but was perhaps too fast and heavy to be included on 1977. Despite it not being an album track, it was played live often during the Trailer era shows. However, when played live the lyrics were almost completely different (and worse).
Why the lyrics were changed for the live performances is unknown to me. The live version relied more on bass guitar distortion, while the recorded version uses a couple layers of guitar parts, giving it an overall more grungy sound. The regular lyrics to the song were not written by Ash, but were written by Barry Peak of Backwater, another Northern Irish band Ash used to frequently play shows with in the early days. Mark Hamilton of Ash wrote most of the music to the song however, so it can be said that Sneaker was co-written by Mark and Barry. The song’s original title was “Easter Island” and spawned from a side project collaboration of Mark and Rick from Ash, Barry Peak from Backwater, and Shaun Robinson (currently in Oppenheimer). This collaboration made up a band called Sneaker. “Easter Island” was the only song Sneaker ever released; it appeared on an X-Wing Records compilation CD. The early version contained Rick on guitar, Mark on bass, Barry on guitar/vocals, and Shaun on drums. By the time Ash inherited and polished the song, they opted to call it “Sneaker” rather than “Easter Island.” Enough of this history though… this song is a personal favorite of mine because of the uplifting lyrics and the surge of energy created by listening to it. “Don't get up. It's the pain. And it hits you down and down. Let it flow. Let it ride. Like a rocket through your heart!” Whenever I need motivation and energy, I play Sneaker. If I’m feeling down and need cheering up, I play Sneaker. If I feel nervous or hesitant, playing Sneaker often takes the feeling away. It is just one of those songs… It leaves an impact on you (at least it does for me). Regarding Sneaker’s lyrical meaning; it simply seems to be about getting through rough times. It is certainly one of my top 3 Ash songs and probably my favorite b-side of any era. Fortunately, Sneaker was put on Cosmic Debris, Ash’s “best of” b-side compilation release, so it has not been easily forgotten like many of the other 1977 era b-sides.
The final b-side on the Goldfinger single is a cover of the old popular Temptations song, Get Ready. “And I'm bringing you a love that's true. So get ready, so get ready. I'm gonna try to make you love me too. So get ready, so get ready 'cause here I come.” Ash’s version is a pretty standard 90’s rock sounding cover and is outstanding. You’ll most likely get a nostalgic feel listening to it. It is also a somewhat inspiring song and makes a good closer to the Goldfinger single. Oddly enough, Get Ready was also released as a limited 7” single with a b-side of its own…… called Zero Zero. I would consider this song Ash’s attempt at a b-side to a b-side. It is a very trippy song with very retro instrumentation. The song is pretty ambient, contains a very repetitive blippy electronic part, and features Tim telling a story rather than actually singing.
To me, this song has always been Ash’s “What the fuck are they on?” song. Zero Zero seems like it was randomly recorded while Ash were mentally in another world. The lyrics remind me somewhat of Rick’s backing part in Hulk Hogan Bubblebath -- they seem to be taken from a novel. I can’t really make out what the song is about because the lyrics are so random, but they are interesting nonetheless: “From the silver shoals in the heavenly skies, it’s a river of beer meandering serenely across the wide waters, rising high; rising into the horizon, drawn deeper and higher…a little glowing flame getting hotter and hotter, kindling, kindling inside.” Come to your own conclusion on that one! You can download this song at The Ash Files.
The final single from 1977 was the Oh Yeah single. This single contained 3 b-sides which were played live often at 1977 era shows. T. Rex, the first b-side on Oh Yeah, was definitely the most popular b-side of the 1977 era and was rumored to be the band’s favorite 1977 b-side. The song is very fitting to the straight up melodic rock feel of 1977. Perhaps it was not included on the album because it is a short and simplistic song -- the lyrics aren’t Ash’s best. The song is very inspirational, positive, and all around feel-good. It seems about doing whatever you feel like doing, not holding back. “Coming up following the feeling…and the night is young. Let it go following this feeling. Let it come” It is the standard feel-good b-side of the 1977 era, much like The Little Pond was of the Trailer era. The only question that has lingered in my mind is: Why is the song called T. Rex? Perhaps the song was inspired by the 60’s English rock band of the same name? Who knows? What I can tell you is that T. Rex is simply a fantastic song.
Everywhere Is All Around is the second b-side on the Oh Yeah single and is a short, fast, rocker with an absolute mental ending. The song really ends at 1:35 and goes into a minute long crazy outro with some wild distorted guitar effects and pounding drums. One highlight of the song is the message that it repeats multiple times: “Everywhere is all around. Find it if you can. Make the most of what you've found. Keep it with your plans.” My take on the song is that it was simply created to motivate listeners when it comes to cherishing what life brings and holding on to what you have. The song was left off of 1977, but was still one of the best b-sides of the time. When played live it was often used as a show closer before the encore. T. Rex and Everywhere Is All Around were both on the Japanese version of 1977. On that version, Everywhere Is All Around was the album closer. One word to describe this track: Exciting.
The final b-side on a 1977 era single was a cover of ABBA’s Does Your Mother Know?. I definitely cannot say it’s the best cover Ash have done. The song was taken from a radio session and has a very poppy sound. I’ve never been a fan of ABBA. And, to put it bluntly, the lyrics of this song annoy me: “Well I can dance with you honey if you think it’s funny. Does your mother know that you’re out? And I can chat with you baby, flirt a little maybe. Does your mother know that you’re out?” Surprisingly, it was played live often during 1977 era shows. It is one of Ash’s worst b-sides in my opinion. Still, it is worth an occasional listen. On a positive note, it does have a great bass part.
So, those were all of the official “b-sides” on 1977 era singles, but there were two other non-album tracks released during this era that deserve some attention. The first of these is I Only Want To Be With You. This song was released on a fan-club exclusive 7” vinyl called Barbie. It was the feature song on the A-side of the 7” and is a cover of the very popular oldies song of the same name, originally by Dusty Springfield. “It doesn’t matter where you go or what you do. I want to spend each moment of the day with you. Oh, look what has happened with just one kiss. I never knew that I could be in love like this. It’s crazy but it’s true. I only want to be with you.” Similar to Get Ready, the song is a feel-good love song and an awesome cover. It was played live a few times during the 1977 era shows, but not near as often as the covers of Get Ready and Does Your Mother Know?. The Ash version actually sounds kind of like it was recorded before the 90’s, but obviously was not. This is my favorite cover from the 1977 era and fortunately can be downloaded at The Ash Files.
The final 1977 era non-album track is called Devil’s Haircut. It is not a song (and no it is not a Beck cover), but is rather a goofy recording of an answering machine message left for Tim by Weezer guitarist Brian Bell talking about Matt Sharp from Weezer getting a haircut. It’s pretty comical to listen to a couple times… You can download it at The Ash Files.Other songs Ash played for the first time during the 1977 era included a live, rockin’ cover of Elvis’ Jailhouse Rock and a studio demo of I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (later released during the Meltdown era). Both can be found at The Ash Files.
Well, hopefully you’ve thoroughly enjoyed this segment of our mental trek into the Ash b-side cosmos. In the next issue, we will take an excursion to the galaxy of Nu-Clear Sounds era b-sides. Until next time, from here in my basement this is Brian signing out. Merry Christmas!
Brian a.k.a. FireSka