Label: STUN VOLUME/Universal Music/Pias
Review by Tony Cannella
It is hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since Garbage released their debut masterpiece on an unsuspecting populace. In celebration of said 20th anniversary Garbage has released a deluxe version of their debut with a ton of bonus material. In addition, Garbage also introduced us to the extremely talented and super cool vocalist Shirley Manson (she had previously fronted the band Angelfish, but Garbage brought her to a whole new level of popularity and notoriety). In addition to Manson, Garbage features producer Butch Vig on drums – up to this point he was known more for producing some album called “Nevermind” by some band from Seattle called Nirvana. Not a bad track record there. Steve Markers (bass) and Duke Erickson (guitars) rounds out the band. Where to start? Well, at the beginning might be a good idea and the opening tune “Supervixen” really gets the ball rolling with a cool start/stop riff that carries the track. Next is the more laid back and deliberately paced “Queer”. The next track was my introduction to Garbage and still one of my favorite songs, “I’m Only Happy When It Rains” is simply fabulous. Song like “Not My Idea”, “Vow”, “Stupid Girl” and “Fix Me Now” are all tremendous.
In addition to the regular debut album, the 20th anniversary edition comes with a bonus disc called “G Sides”. This disc features b-sides (or G-sides?) and rare tracks from the band, including “#1 Crush” which is another all-time favorite from the band. Other highlights include: “Subhuman”, “Girl Don’t Come”, “Trip My Wire” and “Kick My Ass”. As I mentioned, these songs are primarily b-sides, rarities and soundtrack songs but many of them hold up quite well next to the songs that made the album. They are not just throw away songs, I point to “#1 Crush” as a perfect example of a song that could have easily found a home on any Garbage record.
The debut album from Garbage is just a fantastic album and arguably their best (although I would put “Version 2.0” and “Not Your Kind of People” in the conversation as well). This re-issue just reinforces the greatness of the album and added bonus material is just another perk to buy this album. 20 years on and “Garbage” still holds up as a great album.
Rating – 95/100
Tracklist
CD1 – Garbage
- Supervixen
- Queer
- Only Happy When It Rains
- As Heaven Is Wide
- Not My Idea
- A Stroke of Luck
- Vow
- Stupid Girl
- Dog New Tricks
- My Lover’s Box
- Fix Me Now
- Milk
CD2 – G-Sides
- Subhuman
- Girl Don’t Come
- Sleep
- Driving Lesson
- Trip My Wire
- #1 Crush (Nellee Hooper mix)
- Butterfly Collector
- Alien Sex Fiend
- Kick My Ass
Line Up
- Shirley Manson – Vocals, keyboards & guitar
- Steve Marker – Guitar, keyboards
- Duke Erikson – bass, guitar, keyboards
- Butch Vig – Drums, percussion