That being said, the first two things in this download were posted on the old What We Want Blog, ripped from the actual singles themselves; which I must say, both kick ass. The artwork for the Dine Alone 7inch which you see to the left makes the 7inch worth having alone. To the best of my knowledge, the songs here are demos and follows the "s/t" ep released on Revelation Records, predating the first lp, "Slip."
The second 7inch here, "Divorce/Voice Killer" comes after the"Slip" lp, but predates their final lp "Manic Compression" and was actually released as a promo single. Both 7inches showcase some of Quicksand's finer moments as they move further from a direct hardcore influence and more towards their own signature sound. Rich guitar layering & effects, an ever present bass guitar, and drums that drive things forward through a sound that almost bounces along at times.
The last inclusion here is the "Rarities & B-Sides" fan compilation. I've seen a few different versions of this in the last few years. Usually they contain the same songs, but in a different order and quality. All to often the downloads of this are ripped at 128 kbps, which is just about the musical equivalent of eating McDonals past the age of 10 years old. The one posted here is at 160kbps, save for the last track, Supergenius which I could not find on any of the 160k versions. This compilation features as it says, B-sides and unreleased tracks. There's a fair amount of demo tracks along with some live tracks and what are said to be songs from the record the band was working on when they had briefly reunited in in the late 90's (specifically '98/'99). There's a lot of good tracks here, including a version of the stellar track "Shovel", and my two personal favorites on the compilation, a cover of the Smiths "How Soon Is Now?" (bonus from an import of the "Slip" lp and the unreleased track "In the End." Listen to it, the song can just swallow you whole with that opening riff, and then the vocals just sail right over the song- I try to avoid any flair for the dramatic with the blog, but Quicksand tends to defy most conventions, even now, more than 10 years after parting ways.
Enjoy!
Download: Quicksand - Divorce & Dine Alone 7inches + B-Sides collection
Great stuff. Slip on CD came through a few weeks ago, and I'm having trouble discerning the 7" rips, the versions in the rarities collection, and the album versions. If they are demos, that's a seriously consistent performance, but could they be a slightly rough mix of the same takes? Still a demo of sorts, mind. The album art's the same lady who did the Manic Compression cover and a few other things for the band, but the name escapes me.
ReplyDeleteFunny how, from here in the rarities collection, you get an insight into how Schreifels' projects began to blend and follow on. I imagine part of it might have had to do with Island owning him as an artist. "World's Fastest Car" became the name of one of those projects, a couple of songs from that project were salvaged for Rival Schools, and I think "Requiem" was recorded under all three monikers, and released under none, so these rarities are great for demonstrating transitions that somewhat explain a big change in sound between releases.
Thanks for the comment. The divorce and Dine alone 7inches are rips of my personal vinyl.
ReplyDeleteThe B-sides are a collection put together by someone else and shared around the internet. If I recall right both 7inches are on the collection, but I prefer my rips. But theyre included because I wanted to present the collection as a whole.
"Dine Alone" has shown up a few times on comps and remixed (remastered).
It's long been thought (and accepted) that some of the songs on the B-sides are Quicksand from their unfinished third lp as well as either World's Fastest Car or Rival Schools demos
Thnaks so much!!!
ReplyDeletePretty cool your place!!!
Peace & Vibes!!!
Is this still available for download? The link didn't seem to work for me.
ReplyDelete