It’s a repost from 8 December 2014….one which got no comments, and so I’m not holding my breath today! The difference being that seven years ago, it was the CD single which was used, while today’s has the recently picked up second-hand vinyl from a charity shop.
“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.”
Back in December 2014, I featured all four songs on the CD single, and mentioned its third track turned out to be a straight lift of something which would appear unaltered on the LP when it was released some three months later. I made the observation that, on first listen, it really felt like a tremendous b-side:-
mp3 : Cornershop – Funky Days Are Back Again
I now know, from having the 7″, whose sleeve is at the top of today’s posting, is that it was in fact a double-A side effort. One which deserved to do a lot better than one miserable week in the charts at #92.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
I can’t let this one go again without a comment! I didn’t much care for the ‘punk’ Cornershop, though I can appreciate it more in hindsight. It was Jullander Shere that really got me on board and I have to say that When I Was Born For The 7th Time and Handcream For A Generation continue to get repeated plays here. I’ve dipped in and out of their releases since though more to do with the sheer amount of music out there than a loss of love for the band. This is a great single and it deserved to be a hit, as did Brimful Of Asha first time around. At least Tjinder wasn’t compelled to mime to the Fatboy Slim version of …Asha when the remixed and re-released single got them on Top Of The Pops.
Great pair of songs to start the week with