Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Sloan Wins Again



Sloan has unleashed their second digital only release, B Sides Win. When they put out their "hits" collection A Sides Win a few years back, I wondered when this one would rear its head. I really wanted them to put the rare stuff out, and I really wanted them not to do it. I mean, I love this band, and at the moment, their first two records from back in the early 90's are competing with 2006's Never Hear the End of It (the mammoth 29 track try-everything-we-can epic) for my favourites. But, like many aging collectors, the digital age has trumped our personal passions. I worked hard to amass my rare Sloan tunes, bought rare 45s, German cd-singles, magazines with flexi-discs or cd-singles, compilations...and now for $9.99 you can get 26 of those hard-bought gems.

And it's good, too. From the early semi-grunge/shoegaze stuff to the genius pop that followed to the rock-radio-ready riffers to the newer let's-take-a-stab-at-greatness clasic songcraft showcases, it's all there. If you haven't been paying attention to these guys lately, remember, these are the B-sides, the cast-offs, the rarities - not every band can pull together a collection like this and still have good stuff left over. I think my fave that didn't make it on here was a cover that came out in 1992 - can anyone guess what it is? Click on "learn more" in the player below to buy or get more details.










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