Go-Betweens

LE GROUPE LE PLUS SOUS-ESTIME DE L’HISTOIRE DU ROCK?

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In 1996, the French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles voted 16 Lovers Lane the best album in their then 10-year history. They put The Go-Betweens on the cover with the strapline “The Go-Betweens, the most underrated band in the rock history.  

It was issue #58 of the magazine, dated 22-28 May 1996, and it came with a free 11-track CD, the first eight of which were acoustic demos of songs on 16 Lovers Lane, with the others being album cuts of one song from each of 16 Lovers Lane, Talulah and Spring Hill Fair.

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A copy of the CD was gifted to me a while back by a good friend of this blog, JC Brouchard.   With it being Bastille Day, I thought it would be appropriate to thank JC for such a kind gesture and in doing so, offer the opportunity to hear the demos.

mp3: The Go-Betweens – Was There Anything I Could Do? (demo)
mp3: The Go-Betweens – Wait Till June (demo)
mp3: The Go-Betweens – The Devil’s Eye (demo)
mp3: The Go-Betweens – I’m Allright (demo)
mp3: The Go-Betweens – You Won’t Find It Again (demo)
mp3: The Go-Betweens – Love Goes On! (demo)
mp3: The Go-Betweens – Love Is A Sign (demo)
mp3: The Go-Betweens – Dive For Your Memory (demo)

JC

5 thoughts on “LE GROUPE LE PLUS SOUS-ESTIME DE L’HISTOIRE DU ROCK?”

  1. A brilliant band and a fantastic album. I prefer the full band versions of the songs on 16 Lovers Lane only because you can hear the significant contribution that Lindy Morrison, Amanda Brown and John Willstead made to The Go-Betweens’ sound. However, the demos only highlight what great songwriters Grant and Robert were/are.

    The fact that Wait Until June and You Won’t Find It Again didn’t even make the final cut for 16 Lovers Lane is incredible. The latter was included on my very first Go-Betweens purchase, the posthumous collection 1978-1990 and it remains one of my favourite Grant songs. The lyrics and vocals are just breathtaking (and heartbreaking).

  2. Hello JC,
    Thank you ! I’m glad you enjoyed the CD.
    Every time I see a cheap copy, I pick it up and gift it to a friend. It’s not extremely rare in France because the magazine was widely distributed at the time.
    These demos were finally made officially available again only in 2019, but it was a glimpse and you’ll miss it opportunity as it was on the “G stands for Go-Betweens volume 2” box set (https://www.discogs.com/release/14487280-The-Go-Betweens-G-Stands-For-Go-Betweens-The-Go-Betweens-Anthology-Volume-2), which was not cheap and must have sold out days after its release.
    I don’t usually drink alcohol but, on this special day, I’ll raise a glass of Champagne to you to celebrate Bastille Day and both our 60th anniversary year.
    JC

  3. I don’t think the Go-Betweens were underrated; critical acclaim was pretty global and feverishly enthusiastic. They just didn’t sell huge amounts of records. Khayem is right, the full band versions are better. Demos are nearly always a case of listening once, thinking ‘mmm, nice’, then returning to the finished recording. That said, while the songs on 16LL are wonderful, the production is just a little too sweet and shiny for it to be their best LP. Caught between Before Hollywood and Spring Hill Fair myself, but everyone will have their own choices.
    Luke Haines, a mate of Robert and Grant, loved You Won’t Find It Again enough to record his own cover. Worth a listen.

  4. Thanks. Loved them for years (though Liberty Belle and Tallulah are my favourites) and never got a copy of this (though I have “sourced” some of them).

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