I guess I've been a little overwhelmed lately but I'm glad to get back to my other job, jibber-jabbering about music, and whatever else crawls into my consciousness.
I went on the fab web site for New Zealand's Mutton Birds, A Religion of a Kind and found to my surprise that the self-released CDs that were sold on their defunct web site store are now available again.
The discs are Too Hard Basket, a collection of B-sides, unreleased and alternate tracks, Angle of Entry a live acoustic set, and Live in Manchester, a live electric set. If you go to the website there is a link to Discogs where they are being sold.
I had the first 2 discs, which I purchased directly from the Mutton Birds website.
Too Hard Basket, as I said, is an odds and sods compilation--completists will want it most definitely. Some of the material I could do without, but there is a lot of great stuff. Notably, their version of Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper, which appeared in Peter Jackson's movie The Frighteners. Less cowbell, but a lot more of Don McGlashan's harmonium. But there is a lot more. Inbetween Man is a great number--for a split second you might think you were listening to a Martin Phillips/Chills tune. There is the simmering Zombieish He Turned Around (with Time of Season "ahs") and the torchy country rockin' Ballad of Kelvin. Three minutes is essentially a perfect 60's pop tune with great harmonies. Hard to believe it didn't make any of their albums. Ash Wednesday is another brilliant song, maybe the best song on the record, a song that had not been released before. So Long is also a great, more uptempo number. Face in the Paper and Answerphone are also very good. So basically I am saying the good songs greatly outweigh the so-so tunes. So all in all a worthy addition to the Mutton Birds canon.
Angle of Entry is a corker, Live at the 12 Bar Club in London. An acoustic set circa the release of Envy of Angels, probably the first album for the uninitiated listener to pick up. Great, great album. So, while there is a lot of Envy of Angels represented on the set list, there are also the old classics for the Kiwi expatriates in the audience to sing along to, like White Valiant, Dominion Road, and the great nostalgic I wish I was in "Wellington". I think even with the old songs, you have a road tested band playing an intimate setting. The there is a warmth and ease to the set that shines a different light on the earlier numbers. Really great disc--I've played it to death over the years.
Live in Manchester was a tough one for me to get. I procrastinated and procrastinated, and during this period the band stopped being a band, and Mutton Birds store became a historical, inactive shop. I had trouble finding the disc for sale anywhere, much less actually being able to buy it. This past year I got lucky and won an Ebay auction. Live in Manchester is an electric set, recorded around the time of their also highly recommended Rain, Speed and Steam album. Very glad I was able to get this, and this particular disc was autographed by 3 band members. Another great set. It includes classics like Winning Numbers, which is one of my favorite song of theirs, Pulled Along By Love, and Small Mercies. It also includes tracks from their first two albums and Envy of Angels.
I have no idea whether they whipped up a new batch of discs, or they were stock that has been sitting around for years. If you are an interested party, I wouldn't wait around on these.
It came to my attention that the Mutton Birds reunited last year and did some touring. For those of us who didn't make the shows, the band released a live album Free Range, commemorating the tour,which is readily available. I would definitely recommend A Religion of A Kind, the aforementioned fan site, which has loads of live mp3's and info about the band. I remember actually pinching myself when I got to see Don McGlashan briefly perform in Brooklyn a few years back at Big Takeover Magazine's 30th anniversary show. Seeing him sing Anchor Me left an indelible imprint on me. Who knows? Maybe the Mutton Birds might someday come tour in the US and Canada. It would definitely make me pretty happy.
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