Embrace - Soulmates (2006)

Embrace released their fifth studio album 'This New Day' on 27 March 2006, preceded by the single 'Nature's Law' the week before. This album saw the whole band contributing to the writing, whereas before this the McNamara brothers had written virtually all of the band's material themselves, and they recorded twenty four songs in nine days. In March 2006 they were chosen to record England's official football World Cup 2006 song, 'World At Your Feet', which received its first radio airplay on 21 April 2006 on BBC Radio 1 to a generally poor reception among football fans, but an overall positive reception from music critics. It was released on 5 June 2006, and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 3, while 'Natures Law' entered the charts at number 2, providing them with their biggest hit to date. 'This New Day' went straight into the charts at number 1 and became their third chart topping album in the UK. The band played a new song 'Heart And Soul' live, which was expected to appear on their sixth album, but although a live version of the song appeared on the b-side of the 'I Can't Come Down' single, a studio recording is yet to appear. After the success of the singles and album in 2006, the band withdrew to write material for their sixth album, but it was to be seven years before Richard McNamara finally announced on the band's Facebook page that they were going back into the studio, so that seems the perfect place to draw this series to a close, with this collection of all the b-sides that appeared in 2006. I've titled these five albums in both alphabetical and date order, starting with 'Blind' in 1998 and ending with this post from 2006, and to keep a sense of continuity they're all housed in sleeves which feature an 'embrace'. 

Track listing 

01 Deliver Me (b-side of 'Natures Law' 2006)
02 Collide (b-side of 'Natures Law' 2006)
03 Soulmates (b-side of 'Natures Law' 2006)
04 World At Your Feet (single 2006)
05 What Lies Behind Us (b-side of 'World At Your Feet')
06 Love Orders (b-side of 'World At Your Feet')
07 Whatever It Takes (b-side of 'World At Your Feet')
08 Just Admit It (b-side of 'Target' 2006)
09 Run Away (b-side of 'Target' 2006)
10 One Luck (b-side of 'Target' 2006)
11 Thank God You Were Mean To Me (b-side of 'Target' 2006)
12 Heart And Soul (b-side of 'I Can't Come Down' 2006)

Embrace - Feels Like Glue (2004)

Following the release of 'Out Of Nothing' in 2004, Embrace appeared on Radio 1's Live Lounge, and they recorded a version of the D12 rap song 'How Come', which was later included as a b-side on their 'Ashes' single. 2005 was something of a quiet year for the band, and so in October they released their first compilation,'Dry Kids', which featured 18 tracks taken from singles and EPs across their entire career, but bearing in mind just how many rare recordings were tucked away on their singles and EPs up to 2005, it had to be a very selective track list. Later that year the band released the live album 'A Glorious Day - Live In Leeds', and it was promoted with the release of the studio version of 'Glorious Day' from the 'Out Of Nothing' album, which was their only single from that year. This post collects the b-sides of all the singles from the 'Out Of Nothing' album, released in 2004 and 2005. And is it just me, or is the melody of 'Milk And Honey' suspiciously similar to Bad Company's 'Feel Like Makin' Love'.

Track listing

01 Madelaine (b-side of 'Looking As You Are' 2004)
02 I Ache (b-side of 'Looking As You Are' 2004)
03 Soldiers Hours (b-side of 'Looking As You Are' 2004)
04 The Final Say (b-side of 'Looking As You Are' 2004)
05 Enough (b-side of 'Ashes' 2004)
06 Maybe I Wish (b-side of 'Ashes' 2004)
07 Flaming Red Hair (b-side of 'Ashes' 2004)
08 How Come (Live) (b-side of 'Ashes' 2004)
09 Hallelujah (b-side of 'A Glorious Day' 2005)
10 Feel Like Glue (b-side of 'A Glorious Day' 2005)
11 Red Eye Shot (b-side of 'A Glorious Day' 2005)
12 Milk And Honey (b-side of 'A Glorious Day' 2005)

Embrace - Caught In A Rush (2004)

Following the release of 'Drawn From Memory', Embrace quickly recorded their third studio album 'If You've Never Been', which was released on 3 September 2001. It reached number 9 in the UK chart, but as before, the critical acclaim did not translate into acceptable sales by the label, and the band were dropped by Hut Records in 2002, amid the confusion caused as Virgin Records (Hut's parent company) were taken over by EMI. The final two singles on Hut included the usual non'album b-sides, but it was too late to save the band, and they needed a new label. Around this time frontman Danny McNamara became tabloid fodder due to a rumoured relationship with 90's pop diva Gina G, and he was also in a brief relationship with journalist Jayne Thompson. In 2004 they were signed by Andy McDonald to his Independiente Records label, and released the album 'Out Of Nothing', which reached number 1 on the UK charts. The 'comeback' single that preceded the album was 'Gravity', which had been written by Coldplay's Chris Martin, after Danny McNamara and Martin had become friends following their 2000 tour with Coldplay as support act. The single was a hit, reaching number seven in the UK Singles Chart, and Coldplay have since recorded 'Gravity' as a b-side for their single 'Talk'. This third collection of non-album tracks covers 2001 to 2004, including a three year period between labels when the band didn't release any new music.

Track listing

01 Anywhere You Go (b-side of 'Wonder' 2001)  
02 Everyday (b-side of 'Wonder' 2001)
03 Today (b-side of 'Wonder' 2001)
04 Caught In A Rush (b-side of 'Wonder' 2001)
05 Fight Yer Corner (b-side of 'Make It Last' 2001)
06 It's You I Make It For (b-side of 'Make It Last' 2001)
07 Giving, Forgiving And Giving In (b-side of 'Make It Last' 2001)
08 What You've Never Had You'll Never Have (b-side of 'Make It Last' 2001)
09 Wasted (b-side of 'Gravity' 2004)
10 Too Many Times (b-side of 'Gravity' 2004)
11 The Shot's Still Ringing (b-side of 'Gravity' 2004)
12 Waterfall (b-side of 'Gravity' 2004)

Embrace - Brothers And Sisters (2000)

After releasing the'Hooligan' single in 1999, Embrace followed this with their second album 'Drawn From Memory' in March 2000, which reached number 8 in the UK Albums Chart. Although the album was supported by a tour with the then-fledgling Coldplay, its sales were relatively low, although critical reception was good, with NME in particular praising the album.  They covered Bob Dorough's '3 Is A Magic Number' on the B-side of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You', and they also released two other Christmas cover versions of the traditional song 'Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire' and Greg Lake's 'I Believe In Father Christmas'. Three more singles were released from the album in 2000, and as before the b-sides of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You', 'You're Not Alone', and 'Save Me' were exclusive to the those releases, and so here they all are for a non-album collection from 1999 and 2000. 

Track listing

01 I've Been Running (b-side of 'Hooligan' 1999)
02 I Can't Feel Bad Anymore (b-side of 'Hooligan' 1999)
03 3 Is A Magic Number (b-side of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You' 2000)
04 Top Of The Heat (b-side of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You' 2000)
05 The First Cut (b-side of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You' 2000)
06 I Know What's Going On (b-side of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You' 2000)
07 Get On Board (b-side of 'Save Me' 2000)
08 Still So Young (b-side of 'Save Me' 2000)
09 Brothers And Sisters (b-side of 'You're Not Alone' 2000)
10 Happy And Lost (b-side of 'You're Not Alone' 2000)
11 Come On And Smile (b-side of 'You're Not Alone' 2000)
12 A Tap On Your Shoulder (b-side of 'You're Not Alone' 2000)

Embrace - Blind (1998)

Brothers singer Danny McNamara and guitarist Richard McNamara started creating songs with the aid of a cassette recorder in Bailiff Bridge, West Yorkshire in 1990. Soon a drum machine was added, and an initial set of Goth-influenced songs was written and recorded, but ultimately scrapped, before a second set of songs was written. They recruited Mickey Dale to play keyboards, and after various auditions, drummer Mike Heaton joined the band. A period of consolidation of existing songs and writing of new ones followed, but it proved hard to settle on a name, so gigs were initially performed from 1992 onwards under one-off names, such as Curious Orange, Christianne F, Shimmer, Lady Bum, and Mesmerise. Eventually they settled on 'Embrace', and although he was familiar with the American band Embrace, Richard thought it was a good name, despite it having been used already. The band wrote a letter to seek approval from Ian Mackaye who replied that it was alright for the English band to use the same name, though he said that it could possibly cause some confusion. Steve Firth joined the quartet in 1996 to add bass to the group, and their current and permanent line-up was in place. In 1996 the band recorded a three track demo in a recording studio in Huddersfield, which was sold at concerts in cassette form, and this now extremely rare demo consisted of the songs 'Overflowing', 'Say It With Bombs' and 'Sooner Than You Think'. 

A second spell in a Manchester recording studio yielded some rough mixes, one of which was deemed good enough to be released on a cassette attached to the Leeds fanzine The Expression She Pulled. In October 1996, the group signed with the Virgin subsidiary Hut Recordings, but eager to establish indie credibility, they released their debut single 'All You Good Good People' on the hip indie label Fierce Panda in February 1997. Over the next few months, it was followed by the singles 'Fireworks' and 'One Big Family', which were both released on Hut, and although those two singles were successful, it was the re-release of 'All You Good Good People' on Hut in October that proved to be their breakthrough, entering the charts at number eight. After building a following through the release of the singles, their debut album 'The Good Will Out' was released on 8 June 1998 and went to number 1 in the UK Albums Chart. The album achieved critical acclaim as well as success in terms of sales, going gold on its first day of release, becoming one of the fastest-ever-selling debut albums by a British artist, and going on to sell over 500,000 copies domestically. Right from the start the band were extremely prolific in the recording studio, and their early EP's included a number of songs that were not included on that debut album, so this first in a series of posts gathers up all those non-album songs from 1997 and 1998 into one place.  

Track listing

01 Blind (from the 'Fireworks' EP 1997)
02 Dry Kids (from the 'One Big Family' EP 1997)
03 You've Only Got To Stop To Get Better (from the 'One Big Family' EP 1997)
04 Butter Wouldn't Melt (from the 'One Big Family' EP 1997)
05 You Don't Amount To Anything - This Time (from the 'All You Good Good People' EP 1998)
06 The Way I Do (from the 'All You Good Good People' EP 1998)
07 Free Ride (from the 'All You Good Good People' EP 1998)
08 Feelings I Thought You Shared (b-side of 'My Weakness Is None Of Your Business' 1998)
09 Don't Turn Your Back On Love (b-side of 'My Weakness Is None Of Your Business' 1998)
10 Love Is Back (b-side of 'Come Back To What You Know' 1998)
11 If You Feel Like A Sinner (b-side of 'Come Back To What You Know' 1998)
12 Perfect Way (b-side of 'Come Back To What You Know' 1998)