Liquid Skin

Product Information

Records that aren't in picture sleeves will either be in a company sleeve or a generic plain sleeve. The fact that we had been students was supposed to be some kind of problem, but every single band going had been to art college or university or something.

Ball described it as a "party record", with the "general theme" being "how many different ways we can play the same song in four minutes". Following this, the band toured across the UK and Australia, where they played the album in its entirety.Blue Moon Rising' evolves from jazz-soul into something almost resembling Pearl Jam going Latin-country, 'Las Vegas Dealer' delves into odd time signatures while Northern Soul piano blends with ska rhythms. A vast array of demos as well as live recordings of the track provide a unique insight into not only the recording of the record but also a view of the band opposing traditional guitar music at the height of Britpop. It was amusing because it wasn’t really felt by us, other than it’s just something that some frustrated musician has written. As the horn-section is incorporated into the tracks closing stages, it furthers a somewhat jazz sound that permeates small sections of the record, but is perhaps best showcased within this track.

By November 1998, the band were working at Abbey Road Studios, where they recorded strings, before moving to a mansion near Hastings.While the arrangements can be intricate, songs such as the folky 'Revolutionary Kind' use simple repeated guitar hooks as their base, leaving the band to playfully add the colours and texture that defines their sound. Those gigs were some of the best that we have ever done and we’ve done probably, upwards of a thousand now together. Someday' moves into lo-fi funk-folk, and hip hop beats to fuel the very odd and very impressive electronic blues oddity 'Summer', another cut from the archive that would've made 'Liquid Skin' a more diverse collection. It comes as no surprise that the record's highest-charting hit single was the joyous 'Rhythm And Blues Alibi', another superbly arranged helping of "juke joint smoked paradise" which is as beautiful as it is easy-going, sounding even more wonderful 20 years on.

Despite missing an opportunity to also include the B sides from the era, some of the unreleased material here is fantastic and undoubtedly essential for any fan of this unique outfit.When I was going through a bunch of the CDs just looking for stuff, alternate mixes what have you, I came across this tune that I personally have no recollection of whatsoever. We were just writing all the time, we’d be dealing with 24 songs for each record and on another day those songs might have made the record. Liquid Skin was reissued in 2019 as a two-CD set that included a live show, demos, and alternative versions. XS Noize looks back on this momentous release from a band that would become the ‘Fab Five’ of the ‘80s.