Artist: They Might Be Giants
Date Released: 1991
Label: Bar/None
Produced By: They Might Be Giants / Bill Krauss
Tracklisting:
- Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal
- Lady Is A Tramp
- Birds Fly
- The World's Address (Joshua Fried Remix)
- Nightgown Of The Sullen Moon
- I'll Sink Manhattan
- It's Not My Birthday
- Hello Radio
- Mr. Klaw
- Kiss Me, Son Of God (Alternate Version)
- The Biggest One
- For Science
- (Untitled)
- (She Was A) Hotel Detective (Single Mix)
- The Famous Polka
- When It Rains It Snows
- We're The Replacements
- Don't Let's Start (Single Mix)
Review[]
This is a compilation of the first four They Might Be Giants EPs—or, well, kinda; the fourth EP that this includes, the Purple Toupee EP was slated for release but never actually came out; there's also a track that was on a special Bar/None label compilation that didn't appear on an EP. With the release of Then, this compilation has become mostly redundant EXCEPT for one thing—this is the only place, other than the actual EP to get the far superior single mix of (She Was A) Hotel Detective (not to be confused with She Was A Hotel Detective). It's actually a dandy side of They Might Be Giants -- their B-sides are typically great (for example, you could compile an album of all the Apollo 18-era B-sides and you'd have as good a record as they'd put out), and it's cool to hear this side of the band—loose, funny and experimental. Unlike many other bands, They Might Be Giants would typically record the EPs after the album, so these songs were always slated to be B-Sides—which allows far more in the way of doing goofier stuff (like, "For Science" -- a two minute, multi-part rock opera about a space invasion). You could definitely do worse than picking this one up. Even though it's just they stuff they threw away, I love this release. - Rev. Syung Myung Me