Echobelly: “Great Things” (1995)
Great Things comes in a big package with lots of tasty extras.
Kronomyth 2.01: Great things and a lot of good things too.
I’ve been on a bit of an Echobelly kick after listening to On again and decided to dive a little deeper into their double CD single extravaganza to support Great Things. Glad I did, since there’s a lot of great music on here that you won’t find on On. I always felt Echobelly was one of the best of the Britpop bands, and these “leftover” tracks all but confirm it. Here Comes the Scene could have easily made the scene on their first or second album. Then the band challenges what you knew of them by trying something slightly different (God’s Guest List), making a ruckus with and without words (On Turn On, On Turn Off) and waxing romantic on the acoustic (Bunty, One After 5AM). Any one of these songs is a worthwhile discovery for fans. All of them together is a hidden treasure. Oh, yeah, and it also includes “Great Things” which is, you know, pretty great. A promotional CDEP was also released the following year featuring live performances from September 1995.
Original 2CD single version
A1. Great Things
A2. Here Comes the Scene
A3. God’s Guest List
A4. On Turn Off
B1. Great Things
B2. On Turn On
B3. Bunty
B4. One After 5AM
Japanese CDEP version
A1. Great Thing
A2. Here Comes the Scene
A3. God’s Guest List
A4. On Turn On
A5. Bunty
A6. One After 5AM
All songs written by Sonya Aurora Madan and Glenn Johansson.
Promotional CDEP version
A1. Great Things
A2. King of the Kerb (live)
A3. I Can’t Imagine… (the World Without Me) (live)
A4. Insomniac (live)
A5. Great Things (live)
The Players
Andy Henderson (drums), Glenn Johansson (guitars), Alex Keyser (bass), Sonya Aurora Madan (voice), Debbie Smith (guitar) with B.J. Cole (lap steel on “God’s Guest List”). Produced and engineered Sean Slade and Paul Kolderie.
The Pictures
Photography by Ray Burmiston. Design by Stylorouge.
The Plastic
Released on 2CD single on August 21, 1995 in the UK (Fauve, FAUV 5CD/CDX) and on CDEP on October 19, 1995 in Japan (Epic/Sony, ESCA 6328). Also released on promotional CDEP in 1996 in the US (550 Music/Epic, BSK 7532). Reached #13 on the UK charts.
