The Singles is a new 2CD 34-track chronological round up of the A and B-sides issued by Scottish Punk / New Wave legends The Skids between 1978 and 1981 (though Cherry Red were unable to licence All The Young Dudes / Hymns From A Haunted Ballroom from the Working For The Yankee Dollar 2nd 7”).
Highlights from this set includes the singles Sweet Suburbia (No.70), The Saints Are Coming (No.48), Into The Valley (No.10), Masquerade (No.14), Charade (No.31), Working For The Yankee Dollar (No.20), Animation (No.56), Circus Games (No.32), Goodbye Civilian (No.52) and Woman In Winter (No.49).
The Saints Are Coming was covered in 2006 by U2 / Green Day as a benefit single for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The booklet contains in-depth notes on each track and was overseen by The Skids official website.
Mastering for this release was by James Bragg.
The first disc
Charles (from Feb 1978) opens the collection, with the single recording that was issued on the No Bad Records label. The other two tracks from the original single (Reasons and Test-Tube Babies) were not included on any Skids studio albums, and are possibly vinyl rips (due to some audio drop-outs).
Sweet Suburbia (September 1978) was my introduction to the band and both single tracks were not included on the original track listing of the bands debut album. Open Sound remains one of The Skids finest b-sides.
The Saints Are Coming for me is the start of the bands imperial phase, and contains one of Stuart Adamson’s most iconic guitar riffs, as the key track on the Wide Open EP. Night And Day is another standout b-side.
Into The Valley is probably the bands most well-known song, and a track I hear at every home game at The Valley, the home of my beloved Charlton Athletic. The b-side T.V. Stars (Live) is still performed by the current incarnation of the band at its gigs – with a slight updating of some of the lyrics!
Masquerade is my favourite and most played Skids song, that I still own on 7“ vinyl. The production from John Leckie and Bill Nelson makes the song burst out of the speakers with such power. The release also included a key Skids track in Out Of Town, plus Another Emotion and Aftermath Dub (a Masquerade remix).
Charade features the debut of Rusty Egan (Rich Kids / Visage) on drums, and is an intensely addictive song. Non-album b-side Grey Parade is a welcome addition, and hints at the sound that was to come with the bands final album a few years down the line. Wonderful synth lines make this one of the bands most memorable b-sides.
Disc two
Working For The Yankee Dollar opens the second disc, and what an opening. Originally another Bill Nelson production (which appears on one of the two mixes of the Days In Europa album), the single was remixed by Mick Glossop and was released in November 1979 (my favourite year for music).
Animation saw the band move into the 80s, and was a minor UK hit, though it deserved to do better. Adamson’s guitar is superb and adds real depth to one of Stuart and Richard’s finest co-writes. B-side Pros and Cons features catchy keyboard lines, and the single marked the end of bassist William Simpson and drummer Rusty Egans time in the band.
Circus Games (with one of Jobson’s finest vocal performances) was issued in edited form as a single and was backed by One Decree.
Goodbye Civilian from The Absolute Game was also issued as a single in edited form, with the final single from the album and the last to feature Adamson as a full-time band member being released in November 1989, the anthem that was Woman In Winter.
1981 saw the band stripped down to a duo of Jobson and bassist Russell Webb, aided and abetted with guests such as Billy Mackenzie / Alan Rankin (Associates), Alan Darby (Fashion) and Mike Oldfield. A selection of mixes of Fields and Iona, plus the accompanying b-sides including the final Stuart Adamson appearance for The Skids on Brave Man, round off the album.
Fields still holds up well as a great Skids single, with its rousing chorus.
The Skids – The Singles is an enjoyable compilation that covers a rich period in music history as punk / new wave switched to post-punk and then mutated into the vibrant, colourful pop of the 1980s
“Carry on, oh carry on
The effort and the struggle”
The Skids, Fields
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Buy The Skids – The Singles 2 x CD from Amazon
DISC ONE
Charles
Reasons
Test-Tube Babies
Sweet Suburbia
Open Sound
The Saints Are Coming
Of One Skin
Night And Day
Contusion
Into The Valley
T.V. Stars (Live)
Masquerade
Out Of Town
Another Emotion
Aftermath Dub
Charade
Grey Parade
DISC TWO
Working For The Yankee Dollar
Vanguard’s Crusade
Animation
Pros And Cons
Circus Games
One Decree
Goodbye Civilian
Monkey McGuire Meets Specky Potter Behind Lochore Institute
Woman In Winter
Working For The Yankee Dollar (Live)
Fields (7’’ Version)
Brave Man (7’’ Version)
Fields (12’’ Version)
Brave Man (12’’ Version)
Iona (7’’ Version)
Blood And Soil (7’’ Version)
Iona (7’’ Version 2)
Mr Kinski's Music Shack 
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