It's a grab-bag for sure, with the mood and styles switching wildly from cut to cut. Among the fun tunes are early '90's concert recordings of Teenage Wasteland and Same Thing, complete with the screaming teenage fans from a time when they were the hottest band in Canada. And make no mistake, they were. The pure joy coming off their stage in those days was phenomenal, with Page and Ed Robertson able to ad-lib and joke and get everyone (even me) dancing. I never dance. Ever. Just that once. Just check out their word-perfect version of The Beastie Boys' Shake Your Rump to hear how much energy they put into their shows.
A couple of other familiar numbers turn up in different forms. A demo version of Old Apartment is really early, just Page and guitar, not far from the moment of conception. On the other end of the scale, the remix of One Week is a blast, lots of drop-in effects but still with the full verses and such, making this overly-familiar number seem new again. It's pretty obscure, I'd never heard it before, and was only included on some European and Australian CD singles.
The unreleased tracks and demos are largely from the more serious side of the Ladies, always a tougher sell for them. Of them all, I'd pick the unreleased Page/Robertson composition Half A Heart, from 2000. You'd swear it could have been written after, and about, the "troubles" of 2008, Page's very public and embarrassing bust. It's soaked with shame and regret, begging for sympathy, and you have to sympathize with the guy. There are also a couple of good jaunty numbers that add to the collection, Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! and I Can, I Will, I Do, both with the group's classic crisp writing, and a bit more fun than most of their music of that decade. Overall, there's nothing here that needed to be released back in the day, no hidden genius gems, but it's all worthy too, and a no-harm set to add to your BNL collection.
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