Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By The Flaming Lips, Warner Brothers Records 2018.
This is the first official Flaming Lips ‘best of’ collection and they haven’t done things by half.
The three CD box set is 52 tracks in length and includes some amazingly rare curios.
Along with 11 Warner Bros era singles, including for the first time singles from Transmissions From The Satellite Heart (1993), Clouds Taste Metallic (1995), The Soft Bulletin (1999), Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002) At War With The Mystics (2006), Embryonic (2009) and their current album Oczy Mlody (2017) they’ve delved into the archives to wheedle out some of their best known album tracks and some extra special rarities.
There have been some impressive compilations that have crossed my desk in recent months but few can compare to this collection. And this release is only volume 1.
The selection includes songs from all their albums, single B-sides, many of which have not previously been available on album, studio out-takes and several previously unreleased tracks that were cut from albums.
One of the aural treasures is the previously unreleased demo track, Zero To A Million, which features the band’s short-lived line-up that included Jonathan Donahue on guitar (Mercury Rev) and Nathan Roberts on drums.
This track was on the original cassette tape which led to the Lips signing to Warner Brothers.
Amongst the other curios is The Captain, which was a track that didn’t make the Soft Bulletin album. This track has developed a life of its own and become a fan favourite at live gigs.
There are also tracks from BBC sessions along with another rare gem, Noodling Theme, which is from the 2001 Flaming Lips soundtrack to an indie film called Okie Noodling (a film about bare-head fishing in Oklahoma).
There are a couple of tracks that have never been offered before:- Spiderman Vs Muhammed Ali was never released in any form and Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear Part 2 existed on a USB drive, along with two other tracks, buried within the edible Gummy Fetus sold on tour in 2001.
But possibly the most interesting of all is the closing number, Silent Lord, which is a mash-up of Silent Night with Spacemen 3’s, Lord Can You Hear Me, taken from a 2008 Christmas edition 7” picture disc.
If you’re a Flaming Lips Fan this compilation is a must have but if you’re only interested in having some Lips in your collection then I recommend this box set.
