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THE REVIEW
Time for celebrations for Ash as well, who are marking twenty-five years of their career with a new (triple) collection, “Teenage Wildlife.”
It consists of a whopping 51 tracks covering the entire career of the Northern Irish band led by the talented Tim Wheeler, including a previously unreleased track, “Darkest Hour Of The Night,” that revisits certain pop atmospheres featured in their most recent work (just think of “Confessions In The Pool”).
For the rest, the first two discs present the great hits of the past, more or less recent, seasoned with some less obvious tracks: thus, the stellar pop punk of “Burn Baby Burn” and the gems “Goldfinger,” “Girls From Mars,” and “Oh Yeah,” are not missing, which made their debut “1977” (produced by Owen Morris, the mind behind the sound of “(What’s The Story?) Morning Glory” by Oasis) an absolute masterpiece in the genre. Also well-represented is “Free All Angels,” the album of the band's commercial boom (we indeed find “Shining Light,” “Walking Barefoot,” and “Sometimes,” while the messy “Candy” is rightly ignored), and a nod is given to that hidden gem “Nu-Clear Sounds,” a raw Smashing Pumpkins-like fresco still much too little appreciated today (“Jesus Says”).
Needless to say, the most interesting part is the third disc, the one of rarities: besides a curious collaboration with Chris Martin for a reinterpretation of the classic “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays,” various obscure and now almost forgotten b-sides are dredged up, some of which are absolute jewels. Just think of the fantastic “Skullfull Of Sulphur,” “Comet Temple 1,” and above all “Heroin Vodka White Noise,” absolute pearls that make one fantasize about what Ash could have been if they had really stepped on the gas pedal of courage and inventiveness.
The remastering of some tracks from the repertoire is also good, giving new life to crushing pieces like “Clones” and “Kung Fu,” and perfectly calibrated are the revivals from the brave project “A-Z Series,” a series of biweekly singles released between 2009 and 2010 (this makes Ash absolute pioneers, considering we're talking about eleven years ago), among which pearls like “Arcadia” and the title track stand out.
A comprehensive, exhaustive, and truly satisfying collection. A nice snapshot of a band that has reaped far too little compared to what they've sown.
Best track: Goldfinger
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Summary by Bot
Ash's 'Teenage Wildlife' is a comprehensive triple album celebrating 25 years of their career, featuring 51 tracks. The collection spans their career highlights, rare b-sides, and includes a new track plus a collaboration with Chris Martin. It showcases their pop punk roots alongside lesser-known gems and remastered classics. This compilation is a satisfying journey through the band's evolution and achievements.Tracklist Lyrics
01 Cosmic Debris Vol. 2 (Rarities) (00:00)
03 Binary (04:05)
07 Buzzkill (02:29)
08 Return Of White Rabbit (03:54)
12 Coming Around Again (04:44)
13 Arcadia (04:03)
14 Darkest Hour Of The Night (03:49)
16 Cocoon (02:26)
17 You Can't Have It All (03:35)
19 All That I Have Left (03:31)
25 End Of The World (04:03)
29 Twilight Of The Innocents (06:21)
30 Dare To Dream (05:06)
31 Annabel (03:13)
33 Machinery (03:55)
36 Confessions In The Pool (04:22)
37 True Love 1980 (04:05)
38 Here Comes The Music (03:11)
39 Seventh Circle (05:06)
40 Everybody's Happy Nowadays (03:18)
41 Chinese New Year (03:43)
42 Wasted On You (02:55)
43 Comet Tempel 1 (03:12)
44 Heroin Vodka White Noise (05:51)
45 New Tattoo (03:21)
46 When I'm Tired (02:24)
47 Tinseltown (09:07)
48 (silence) (05:57)
49 Hidden Track (01:03)
50 Spellbound (03:17)
51 Teenage Wildlife (06:01)
52 I Shall Not Die (03:23)
53 Skullfull Of Sulphur (03:06)
54 Teenage Kicks (02:28)
55 T. Rex (02:23)
56 Waterfall (04:29)
57 Saskia (03:33)
Ash
Ash are a Northern Irish rock band formed in Downpatrick in 1992 by Tim Wheeler (vocals, guitar), Mark Hamilton (bass), and Rick McMurray (drums). Guitarist Charlotte Hatherley expanded the lineup from 1997 to 2006. They broke through with 1977 (1996) and became known for hooky, guitar-driven singles.09 Reviews
