I am of the opinion that When I Was Born For The 7th Time, released by Cornershop back in 1997 is a tremendous record. It is the best known of all the band’s LPs thanks to it having the original version of Brimful of Asha which, thanks to a remix from Norman Cook, stormed to the top of the singles chart.
It was an album which received great acclaim on its initial release but for a time, not long after the remix was such a hit it did seem that many critics, having watched on as the band moved from cult status into commercial success, felt they could have a bit of a go at Cornershop’s particular mix of pop, dance, funk and politics, underpinned by a sub-continental groove. It certainly caught the band on the hop and caused a bit of a rethink on whether the fame and fortune was really worth the hassle and it would be five years before the next record was released.
Despite having all the hallmarks of a great single, Brimful of Asha wasn’t selected as the first single from the LP. That honour went to the ridiculously catchy Good Shit. Except that it didn’t quite….everyone involved knew that releasing a song with that title and a chorus of ‘Good Shit’s all around good people’ was doomed to an instant ban. So with the change of one little letter and taking it to the plural:-
mp3 : Cornershop – Good Ships
It still of course for the most part sounds as if nothing has been altered which is probably why it hardly got any radio play and was the latest in a run of flop 45s.
The first of the b-side reveals the full extent of the intro on the album version and then proceeds with a great instrumental version of the track:-
mp3 : Cornershop – Intro/Good Ships (instrumental)
The next track on the CD single turned out to be a straight lift of something which would appear unaltered on the LP when it was released some three months later. But at the time it just felt like a tremendous b-side:-
mp3 : Cornershop – Funky Days Are Back Again
And finally, with two minutes extra instrumental funkiness and an infectiously catchy drumming outro:-
mp3 : Cornershop – Funky Days Are Back Again (extended beats mix)
Enjoy
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 