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Hard To Get Volume One - An Island Rarities Compilation
2003
Island

Various - Hard To Get Volume One - An Island Rarities Compilation (Cover Artwork)

Review by: Scott
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Island Records (link)

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Published on October 14th 2003

Out of all the majors out there pilfering the indie scene for the next big thing [or at least a decent-sized cash cow to tide over their boss], Island is one of the few that actually seems to have their collective shit together. This compilation, billed as a rarities collection, seems to be Island's way of saying "who's got the talent now, bitches?"

Or maybe not, but still - unreleased Thursday and Thrice tracks pretty much allow Island to school just about everyone else. Thursday's contribution, a cover of Sigur Ros' "Ny Batteri" is 6 minutes of sheer beauty - Geoff's voice has never sounded better than when he's just singing gibberish [oops, I mean "Hopelandic." Whatever.]. The Thrice song on here, "Eclipse," is available on the vinyl version of The Artist In The Ambulance, but since most kids these days don't buy vinyl, the label put it on here. It is a killer song, uptempo, heavy, good sing/scream interplay, and a nice slow breakdown to wrap it all up. Better than most of what made the full-length.

Now while these are probably the two biggest selling points of this compilation, there's plenty more unreleased material to be unearthed here. The Audio Messiah himself, Andrew WK, contributes a demo version of "We Want Fun," which allows you to peek into the recording process of the man. Sure, this is technically the same song as the final version, but it's definitely not polished at all, and there's a lot more piano and strings coming through in the mix. AWK's vocals are also quite snottier, it's kinda neat.

Letter Kills, Scatter The Ashes and Die Trying are the three completely unknown bands on here, and while the label is trying to push them as "screamo" or whatever [more like The Used-lite meets bad bar rock, especially with Scatter The Ashes], none of them are really that good. Die Trying does get points for a catchy little counting thing going on in their vocals, though.

Autopilot Off's "Clockwork," presumably off the oft-delayed full-length, sounds great and really rips. Lots of cool guitar effects going on, and there's a neat spoken word bit in the middle of the song.

The bogus part comes with the tracks from The Bronx and Fall Out Boy, both of which are previously released. At least they picked my favorite Bronx song, that being "They Will Kill Us All." Not exactly a rarity to me, but to the average consumer, it is.

Island has really amassed quite the talent roster in recent years, and there's plenty more that isn't represented on this comp. I'm sure Volume Two will include tracks from Rival Schools, Elvis Costello, Sum 41 - who knows, maybe even an unreleased Johnny Cash song could turn up. This compilation isn't perfect, not by a longshot, but it's a neat little release for those who truly appreciate music, and the bands that make it.

Stream entire CD here

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 24, 2005 at 1:44 PM (EST)
My Score:

make love not war http://www.los-angeles-casino.com/lanir/casino-directory-2005.htm l

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 18, 2003 at 3:46 AM (EDT)
My Score:

somewhere, there exists a list of things that just should never be done in order to maintain cosmic balance

thursday covering sigur ros is somewhere near the top of that list

Posted by inagreendase on 2003-10-15 18:56:44
My Score:

Yeah, "Clockwork" is re-recorded. From the first 30 seconds it sounds just as good anyway. This score is for that song.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 15, 2003 at 1:58 AM (EDT)
My Score:

"I called Dreamworks today to inquire about the new signings, had a vey pleasent chat with the head of A&R
about the labels status within the punk rock community and his general response was "Fuck the Kids"

BOO-YA!"

haha, well played.
and well said by dreamworks. all you have to do is read a site like this to see how fickle 'music' fans are. the more i go to shows and read stuff like this, the more it (punk/the scene/hardcore/emo/etc) seems more like a fashion show than a sincere appreciation for art.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 15, 2003 at 12:32 AM (EDT)
My Score:

I called Dreamworks today to inquire about the new signings, had a vey pleasent chat with the head of A&R
about the labels status within the punk rock community and his general response was "Fuck the Kids"

BOO-YA!

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 1:29 PM (EDT)
My Score:

scatter the ashes is terrible

it sounds like some dude sitting in his home with a stolen pro tools rig and some crappy instruments.

when i first heard the "a mix between glassjaw and afi"-description i thought it was gonna be pretty cool, but what sucks so much about them is that you can really hear how they are TRYING to sound like that mix, and forgetting that they are a band on their own (or a dude, or whatever).

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 12:45 PM (EDT)
My Score:

"Hey asshat, it's Samsonite, in case you were having trouble as well..."

Whatever, Mavis Beacon. You just let me know how that call goes.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 11:00 AM (EDT)
My Score:

so this means fall out boy signed to island

Posted by inagreendase on 2003-10-14 09:52:41
My Score:

Scatter the Ashes doesn't sound so much like the Used-lite as they do a mix between AFI and Glassjaw. I think most people have either made or agreed on the latter comparison.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 7:12 AM (EDT)
My Score:

Hey asshat, it's Samsonite, in case you were having trouble as well...

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 3:57 AM (EDT)
My Score:

"Dreamworks have already made money on the JEW deal...

Give em a call about the others and by the way they are listed under D right next to you DICK..."

If by "making money" you mean they barely broke even and might have enough to buy Davey another parasol, then yes, they "made money" on the Jimmy Eat World deal - but thats not a reflection on the band, its a reflection on just how hard it is to sell records now.

And since you seem to be more adept at counting than spelling, I did you a little favor:
Dreamworks Records
9268 W 3rd St
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: (310) 288-7700

Slappy, swammy, swanson.....SAMPSONITE!! I was way off!

Let me know how it goes...

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 2:29 AM (EDT)
My Score:

Dreamworks have already made money on the JEW deal...

Give em a call about the others and by the way they are listed under D right next to you DICK...

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 2:25 AM (EDT)
My Score:

that thursday song on there is one of THE WORST songs i've ever heard. ever. how can you people listen to that guys voice?? honestly, the falsetto stuff is unbearable.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 2:22 AM (EDT)
My Score:

"With all the hype surrounding Thursday and Thrice and Island spending hundreds of thousands dollars on marketing and promoting these bands, I'll bet the farm that neither band will soundscan
500,000 records within the first year of release. Island will most likely not even come close to breaking even on signing both bands..."

breaking even? wow, you must be an accountant. what you SHOULD do is call Dreamworks and ask them how they're ever going to break even on Jimmy Eat World, AFI, Brand New, or Saves the Day. look in the phone book under "D".

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 12:38 AM (EDT)
My Score:

they have other ways of making money on bands. Major label math is funny like that.

Posted by THAT_GUY on 2003-10-14 00:26:57
My Score:

Well slap my ass and call me Shirley, there IS. Never mind my comment about no CKY track.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 12:23 AM (EDT)
My Score:

With all the hype surrounding Thursday and Thrice and Island spending hundreds of thousands dollars on marketing and promoting these bands, I'll bet the farm that neither band will soundscan
500,000 records within the first year of release. Island will most likely not even come close to breaking even on signing both bands...

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 12:22 AM (EDT)
My Score:

Island seems to be decent. I mean for a major they have cred. They seem to treat the artists well and they have a good line-up. Go island. Oh, and it's Marley's label. If that's not jam I dunno what is. The score is for Mr. Bob Marley, and not because of the pot thing.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 12:01 AM (EDT)
My Score:

they don't even let you stream the entire thing. that's funny.
but i have the thursday song and they get a 10 for it.

and to the guy who said there is no CKY there is a CKY song on there.

-greyicewater

Posted by THAT_GUY on 2003-10-13 23:36:12
My Score:

I'm #3 !!! SO PFFT !!!

Oh, and #2....

Oh, and....damn InAGreenDase....,I will be #1 someday....

Wait, I don't care.

Wait !!!

I like the new MxPx CD; after enough listens it's grown on me.

Posted by THAT_GUY on 2003-10-13 23:33:59
My Score:

I can't believe no Elvis Costello or Rival Schools, and I'm almost disppointed at no Ash song. Also, doesn't it seem weird that there's no CKY or Sum 41 tracks ? They are after all 2 of the bigger bands....

Posted by inagreendase on 2003-10-13 23:23:23
My Score:

"Clockwork" was on the split with Slick Shoes that came out a few years back. The 3 original songs APO contribute to that split make it one of my favorite splits ever, if only for their side. I love those songs to death. Wonder if this version is re-recorded, I'll have to stream and check it out...

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