The Soup Dragons - A Whole Wide World Of... (1992)

The Soup Dragons formed in Bellshill, near Motherwell in Scotland, in 1985, with a line up of Sean Dickson (vocals, lead guitar), Jim McCulloch (guitar, second voice) who replaced Ian Whitehall, Sushil K. Dade (bass), and Ross Sinclair (drums). After playing a few local gigs, the band recorded their first demo tape 'You Have Some Too' (which I sent away for at the time, and still own), and this was followed by a flexi disc single 'If You Were The Only Girl In The World', resulting in the group signing to The Subway Organization in early 1986. Their first EP 'The Sun In The Sky' was Buzzcocks-inspired pop punk, but the band's breakthrough came with their second single for Subway, 'Whole Wide World', which reached No. 2 on the UK Independent Chart in 1986. The band were then signed to former Wham! co-manager Jazz Summers' label Raw TV, and the 'Hang Ten!' EP was released in 1986, followed by a live EP in 1987. Over the course of their first six singles they gradually developed from twee jangle-pop to a more complex rock guitar sound, which culminated in their first album 'This Is Our Art', which was released on their new label Sire Records in 1988. After the single 'Kingdom Chairs' was taken from the album, however, they returned to original label Raw TV, and in the year after 'This Is Our Art', The Soup Dragons' sound underwent a change from straight-forward indie rock to a rock-dance crossover, which was mainly due to being without a drummer, and buying a sampler and drum machine. The ecstasy-fuelled acid house UK rave scene was on the rise at the time, and eager to be involved, the band started experimenting with the sampler, culminating in the release of the 'Lovegod' album on Big Life Records in 1990, which married dub-heavy beats with synths, acoustic guitars, and breathy vocals. They released the single 'I'm Free' in July, and this up-tempo cover of the Rolling Stones' song, with a toasting overdub by reggae star Junior Reid, was their most successful single in the UK, reaching No. 5, and later appearing on the soundtrack for the movie 'The World's End'. 'Hotwired' appeared in 1992 on the Mercury label, and the single lifted from it, 'Divine Thing', became their biggest US hit, reaching No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. For this album, gone were the hypnotic swells and late-night cigarette lyrics that fuelled their previous release, replaced here by tight, immaculately produced songs that were way more alternative dance and sunny Britpop than moody rave anthems. By 1994, Dickson was the sole remaining member of the band, relying on a bizarre array of session musicians, from Bootsy Collins to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, to help complete the funk, soul, rock, and hip-hop hybrid of the group's final album 'Hydrophonic'. The record received generally apathetic or poor reviews, and the resultant weak sales led Dickson to disband The Soup Dragons in 1995, and form a new group called High Fidelity, which released an EP in 1996, and a series of singles that led to the release of their first full-length LP, 'Demonstration', in 2002. Paul Quinn went on to join Teenage Fanclub, while Sushil K. Dade formed the experimental post rock group Future Pilot A.K.A., and is now a producer for BBC Radio 3. Jim McCulloch joined Superstar, wrote and recorded music with Isobel Campbell, and formed the folk group Snowgoose. Considering that the The Soup Dragons only released four albums in their decade-long career, they recorded and released at least as much music on singles, EPs and b-sides in the same period, and so here it all is, collected together on a three-disc set, where you can trace their beginnings as part of the C86 jangle-pop scene, through their tougher indie rock phase, and then out the other side at the fore-front of indie/dance in the Madchester era, before finally settling back into mainstream rock towards the end of their career.      

Track listing

Disc I - 1985-1987
01 If You Were The Only Girl In The World (Would You Take Me?) (split single 1985)
02 Quite Content (from 'The Sun Is In The Sky' EP 1986)
03 Swirling Round The Garden With You (from 'The Sun Is In The Sky' EP 1986)
04 Fair's Fair (from 'The Sun Is In The Sky' EP 1986)
05 Not For Humbert (from 'The Sun Is In The Sky' EP 1986)
06 Whole Wide World (single 1986)
07 Pleasant Surprised (b-side of 'Whole Wide World')
08 I Know Everything (b-side of 'Whole Wide World')
09 Hang Ten! (single 1986)
10 Just Mind Your Step Girl (b-side of 'Hang Ten!')
11 Slow Things Down (b-side of 'Hng Ten!')
12 Man About Town With Chairs (b-side of 'Hang Ten!')
13 Rosewood Sky (from the 'Sonic Sounds 2' various artists EP 1987)
14 Head Gone Astray (single 1987)
15 Girl In The World (b-side of 'Head Gone Astray')
16 So Sad (I Feel) (b-side of 'Head Gone Astray')

Disc II  - 1987-1989
01 Can't Take No More (single 1987)
02 Whitewash (b-side of 'Can't Take No More')
03 Aha! Experience (b-side of 'Can't Take No More')
04 Purple Haze (b-side of 'Can't Take No More')
05 Our Lips Are Sealed (b-side of 'Soft As Your Face' 1987)
06 It's Always Autumn (b-side of 'Soft As Your Face' 1987)
07 4-Way Brain (b-side of 'Your Majestic Head?' 1988)
08 Them (b-side of 'Your Majestic Head?' 1988)
09 White Cruising (b-side of 'Kingdom Chairs' 1988)
10 Supercherry (b-side of 'Backwards Dog' 1989)
11 Burn Out (b-side of 'Backwards Dog' 1989)
12 Kill Kill Kill Me (b-side of 'Backwards Dog' 1989)
13 Crotch Deep Trash (single 1989)
14 You Can Fly (b-side of 'Crotch Deep Trash')
15 Superangel (b-side of 'Crotch Deep Trash')

Disc III - 1991-1992
01 Electric Blues (single 1991)
02 Unearthed (b-side of 'Electric Blues')
03 Solar Rise (b-side of 'Electric Blues')
04 Blues(b-side of 'Electric Blues')
05 Running Wild (single 1992)
06 Stand Loud (b-side of 'Running Wild')
07 Pleasure (single 1992)
08 What You Want (b-side of 'Pleasure')
09 Dive Bomber (b-side of 'Pleasure')
10 Driving (b-side of 'Divine Thing' 1992)
11 Americana Sweetmeat (b-side of 'Divine Thing' 1992)