BKITW- YBR

Back in my tape trading days, one of my favourite acquisitions was a copy of the unreleased album Seven Days A Week from Tommy Stinson's band, Perfect. Stinson formed Perfect after his first post-Replacement's solo project, Bash and Pop disbanded. This led to Perfect recording an EP, When Squirrels Play Chicken which showed much promise and wetted the appetitite for a full-length. In 1997, the band recorded the album, tentatively titled, Seven Days A Week with Jim Dickinson producing and despite completing the record it was shelved. It had more to do with the record label being acquired by another label, you know that kind of bullshit, rather than the quality of the music, I think. Advance copies of the record were sent out, which is why copies of the album circulated (hence my copy). I thought this album was one of the best albums by an ex-Replacement and it was definitely the best thing Tommy Stinson has produced (so far).

Not knowing the biz at that time, I couldn't understand how a band couldn't get their product into the hands of their fans, but in those days it seemed a band was made or broken by their label and distributors. Nowadays, indie bands have more options to be heard, but it's still challenge to make a real living, recording, selling and performing. Eventually, Seven Days A Week was remixed, resequenced and retitled, Once, Twice, Three Times A Maybe and released by Rykodisc in 2004, years after the band broke up.

A band that has a similar story is Best Kissers In The World and their unreleased album that was to be the follow-up to their first full length, Been There. I first discovered the band when I bought a used cassette of Been There for $3.00. Not knowing anything about the band, I bought it souly on the fact that they were from Seattle and I was pleasantly impressed by their noisy guitar sound and their surprisingly catchy melodic songs. Their sound is not unlike Perfect and reminded me of an amped up Posies or Model Rockets, probably the best 3 bucks I've ever spent on a tape. For the next record, Yellow Brick Roadkill, BKITW recorded, mixed, mastered and sent out advance copies only to be dropped by their label and never see their album released. Fortunately, some advance copies are floating around on eBay and the web which give fans a listen to what could have been. Listening to these tracks makes me wonder if the band might have continued on longer if Yellow Brick Roadkill was released, much like Perfect, both bands disbanded shortly after their failed releases....talk about deflating!

Have listen, as far as I know YBR hasn't been released yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it does because this album is even better than Been There...and since it was completed (promo released) the sound is flawless. A great, great sounding album!
Enjoy!

BEST KISSERS IN THE WORLD
Yellow Brick Roadkill (1996)

01. Hit Parader
02. I Suppose
03. They Give Each Other Diseases
04. Diary
05. Dance Of the Spanish Fire Weasel
06. Roadside Attraction
07. Worried About It
08. Royal Pain In The Ass
09. Lonely Enough To Lie
10. I Fucked Up Again
11. Dead Have Everything
12. Countin’ Out Dexedrine
13. One Of These Daze

Sorry, I had to remove the link (see comments).