I've always been a fan of the single format. Perhaps because a lot of the first records I bought tended to be cassette singles from Woolworths. Whilst some people overlook them and head straight for the album, I've always felt it was worth investing in singles for one main reason: the b-side! Whilst these days a lot of groups see it as an opportunity to bundle off a dodgy remix and increasingly, in our digital world, no b-side altogether. However, in it's hayday the other side of the wax was an opportunity for a group to display another side to their craft - perhaps a song that didn't gel with the rest of the record, perhaps a demo, or a cover. In some cases the b-side would end up almost as popular as the a-side (see New Order's 1963, originally released as the b-side to True Faith in 1987, later issued as a single in it's own right).
Right then, my first audible treat for you comes in the form of the b-side to Million Dead's 2003 single Breaking the Back. The track in question is There are Ghosts, a cover of a Karate song from their 1998 record The Bed is in the Ocean. As previously mentioned, the b-side is a great chance for a group to throw down a cover of a group that have been an influence on their music, and Geoff Farina et al may not instantly be an obvious influence on Million Dead, their take on the track shows similar regard to breaking the standard as Karate's take on indie, punk, jazz and the blues.
Million Dead
'Breaking the Back'
Integrity Records, 2003
b-side:
Recorded at Mighty Atom Studios, Swansea by Joe Gibb.
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