SCENES OF A SEXUAL NATURE : EVEN MORE OF A TURN-ON THAN I COULD HAVE DREAMED OF

Up until a couple of weeks back, I had never spent £70 on a single bit of music. Indeed, up until a couple of months ago, I would never had dreamed of spending that amount of money on a single bit of music. But when I read that Chemikal Underground were putting together a box-set of Arab Strap material, then I knew that was all going to change.

The original intention had been to put an order in through the excellent Chemikal Underground website, but when I read that the label were accelerating the release of the boxset so that it would be in shops in time for Record Store Day on Saturday 17th April 2010, then I changed tack and decided to buy it over the counter.

As it turned out, by the time I got to my favourite wee indie shop in Glasgow, they had sold out of whatever copies they had got in for the day, but they reassured me more stock would be in within days. And they were right, and so on Wednesday 21st April, I handed over more money than I ever dreamed I would for a single bit of music.

Actually, I didn't hand over money. I paid with a bit of plastic. And actually, it wasn't for one piece of music when you look through the contents of the boxset.

OK, I already owned copies of the LPs The Week Never Starts Around Here and Philophobia. And I had a copy of the various singles etc released between 1997 and 1998 which were available on a specially compiled CD. But what I didn't have previously were:-

- a copy of the first ever Arab Strap gig at King Tut's in Glasgow in October 1996;
- a copy of the gig at T In The Park (aka Nedstock) in July 1998:
- ten demo songs, some of which never saw the light of day in the recording career;and
- seventeen other bits of music, made up of rare recordings, John Peel Sessions and an old unreleased track specially recorded in late 2009 for inclusion in the box set.

And on top of that, there are sleeve notes from Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton that are royally informative, enlightening, entertaining and very fucking funny (c'mon, its Arab Strap I'm writing about here....I can use an expletive).

Was it value for money? Well, I reckon so. I've often scoffed at people who bought all sorts of box sets and limited edition material released by well established musicians on major labels on the basis of them being fools for further lining the pockets of moguls. This purchase feels different - I know from talking to folk involved in Chemikal Underground how tight their margins have been over the years, and nobody involved in the label, owners and artistes alike, has become obscenely rich as a result. Furthermore, my purchase at a local record store helped play a small part in hopefully helping to a healthier than normal turnover in the middle of April.

There's 43 new, live or different versions of songs that I now own from making this purchase. Maybe in the future when the boxset has sold out that Chemikal Underground will make some or all of them available to buy on digital form on an individual basis. I hope so.....but in the meantime, I hope that no-one minds if I offer up, for a limited period of time, two of the tracks.

The first is a different version of the band's famous debut single that was re-recorded for a John Peel Session. To quote from Aidan's sleevenotes:-

.....a new version of our debut single in which the lyrice were rewritten to document the most recent weekend and the trip down to London to do the session. Unfortunately, these new lyrics are shit. Also, for some reason - probably legal - they omit the highlight of the trip, an incident at our horrible hotel involving the cheapest cider we could find mixed with even cheaper cherryade, Malcolm's head, a charity shop oil painting and some gaffer tape.

mp3 : Arab Strap - The First Big Peel Thing

And from a different Peel Session, an incredible version of one of the most amazing songs to open any album.

mp3 : Arab Strap - Packs Of Three

Yes, it is a slightly sanitized version so that it could go out on the radio, but again to quote Aidan's notes:-

...we were a much more focused and sophisticated group - the difference between this Peel Session and the last is quite dramatic. I can't imagine a better document of the 1998 four-piece Arab Strap sound than the tracks from this session and, if you may permit me a modicum of gentle hubris, I think they sound quite brilliant.

If there is one thing that disappointed me about the box-set, it was Aidan's closing words after describing how well he and Malcolm had got on when they had turned an old instrumental into a new song in the Autumn of 2009 - he simply says 'There are no plans to reform properly, in case you're wondering.'

How sad. I harbour hopes that one day they will at least play one more gig.

I can't recommend this boxset highly enough. I know its an awful lot of money to splash out, but I reckon its a luxury that should be indulged in. And even at £70, it's still an awful lot cheaper than most of the hundreds of pairs of shoes and handbags that Mrs Villain stows away in various cupboards.

Happy Listening.