Tuesday, August 23, 2011


Suede- Dog Man Star (1994) Deluxe Edition (Bonus Disc + DVD Audio Rip) MP3 & FLAC


"And oh if you stay, I'll chase the rainblown fields away. We'll shine like the morning
and sin in the sun."

Like The Smiths before them, Suede, in its early and best incarnation, was built around the creative (and increasingly personal) tension between its two principal members: vocalist & lyricist Brett Anderson and guitarist Bernard Butler. Looking to blend the theatricality and subversive sexuality of early seventies British Glam with the dark edginess of Post-Punk as a response to the Shoegaze scene that was profoundly devoid of both, Anderson & Butler were able to run counter to nearly every prevailing early-nineties trend in alternative music while fashioning what was to become one of the most successful debut albums in British music history. The two had become close friends after the exit of Justine Frischmann from the band in 1991 (she had dumped long-time boyfriend Anderson in order to take up with Damon Albarn of Blur); however, it was during the two 1993 American tours in support of their debut album, Suede, that the seeds for the dissolution of Anderson and Butler's working relationship were sown. Butler, grieving the death of his father and increasingly disenchanted with the band's indulgent lifestyle while on tour, became an alienated figure in the band. Even with the success of the ironically titled stand-alone single "Stay Together," tensions between Anderson and Butler only increased once work commenced on Suede's follow-up LP, Dog Man Star, which, despite the overwhelming enmity swirling about during its creation, is justly considered Suede's masterpiece. Battling endlessly with producer Ed Buller and demanding a lengthier, more improvisational approach to many of the songs (for example, "The Asphalt World" was initially 25 minutes long and reportedly included an eight minute guitar solo!), Butler was eventually compelled to quit the band before the completion of the album. In hindsight, Anderson claims Butler's exit was inevitable given the dynamic and volatile nature of their creative partnership: "He's that kind of artist, Bernard. He has to experience tension and strife in order to do what he does. And I guess that's fine because it makes him what he is. But I do think that it was a tragedy, him leaving, because there was still a lot of gas left in the tank. I have no doubt we could have gone on to achieve something quite extraordinary if he'd hung around." Bernard Butler: "I felt I couldn't go any further with it, musically. We were just never in the studio making music; there was so much else going on. I was always on my own, writing stuff that was getting wasted. Brett was too busy partying. When it came to recording [Dog Man Star] there were so many things I wanted to do with these songs I'd spent an awful long time trying to mould, working out ideas and trying to challenge myself and challenge the band, and I just heard too many times, 'No, you can't do that.' I was sick to death of it." While Butler would ultimately disown Dog Man Star, it is hard to argue against the album's brilliance; if it is the product of the band's (or Anderson's) solipsistic withdrawal into its own pathos-drenched interiors, it is a withdrawal sketched in the kind of lush melancholy and artistic excess that hadn't been seen or heard from since the height of the British Glam-Rock movement. While largely eschewing the Glam-crunch that characterized much of the debut album, Dog Man Star is bathed in hazy, almost hallucinogenic, textures that echo Anderson's often oblique lyrics, which were directly inspired by his growing appetite for drug-induced states of altered consciousness: "I was actually having visions of Armageddon and riots in the streets and inventing strange things, living in this surreal world [....] I was kind of aware that everything was getting slightly strange. I was quite into all these people that had visions and were slightly off their nuts, people like Lewis Carroll. I was quite into that whole idea of becoming the recording artist as lunatic. I was quite into that extremity, but I was definitely living it. It was good fun!" The album was greeted with a chorus of critical praise upon its release, but failed miserably at replicating the commercial prowess of its predecessor. As such, Dog Man Star is often described as an unfocused artistic failure, but nothing could be further from the truth; in fact, it just might be the most ambitious and enduring work to come out of the U.K. during the nineties.

Dog Man Star  
(Edsel ~ 2011/1994 ~ Deluxe Remastered 2 CD + DVD Edition)

Disc I: Dog Man Star (2011 Remaster)

Tracklist-
 1. Introducing the Band  (2:37)
 2. We Are the Pigs  (4:20)
 3. Heroine  (3:23)
 4. The Wild Ones  (4:20)
 5. Daddy's Speeding  (5:22)
 6. The Power  (4:32)
 7. New Generation  (4:38)
 8. This Hollywood Life  (3:50)
 9. The 2 of Us  (5:46)
10. Black or Blue  (3:49)
11. The Asphalt World  (9:25)
12. Still Life  (5:29)
-Bonus Tracks-
13. Squidgy Bun (Introducing the Band) (Four-Track Demo)  (2:37)
14. Ken (The Wild Ones) (Four-Track Demo)  (5:40)
15. A Man's Song (Heroine) (Four-Track Demo)  (2:55)
16. Banana Youth (The Power) (Four-Track Demo)  (4:02)
17. The 2 of Us (Four-Track Demo)  (6:40)





Disc II: The B-Sides (and an A-Side)

Tracklist-
 1. My Dark Star  (4:27)
 2. The Living Dead  (2:55)
 3. Stay Together (Long Version)  (7:26)
 4. Killing of a Flash Boy  (4:07)
 5. Whipsnade  (4:21)
 6. This World Needs a Father  (3:55)
 7. Modern Boys  (4:09)
 8. Eno's Introducing the Band  (16:05)
-Bonus Tracks-
 9. La Puissance (The Power)  (1:24)
10. The Living Dead (Piano Version)  (2:47)
11. We Believe in Showbiz  (3:47)
12. Still Life (Orchestral Version)  (5:15)
13. The Wild Ones (Original Unedited Version)  (7:17)
14. The Asphalt World (Original Unedited Version)  (11:27)



DVD (Ripped to FLAC)

Tracklist-
 1. Stay Together (Video Mix)  (4:08)

-Dog Man Star Tour Films
 2. Heroine  (3:46)
 3. We Are the Pigs  (4:05)
 4. The 2 of Us  (5:51)
 5. Killing of a Flash Boy  (4:05)
 6. Pantomime Horse  (6:12)
 7. The Asphalt World  (9:25)
 8. The Hollywood Life  (4:06)
 9. The Wild Ones  (4:40)
10. Still Life  (8:18)

-Live at the Casino De Paris, Nov. 27, 1993
11. Intro  (1:17)
12. The Drowners  (4:08)
13. The Hollywood Life  (3:49)
14. We Are the Pigs  (4:15)
15. Metal Mickey  (2:58)
16. My Insatiable One  (3:18)
17. Animal Nitrate  (3:34)
18. New Generation  (4:59)
19. So Young  (5:02)
20. Sleeping Pills  (4:16)
21. Stay Together  (7:32)

-Live at FNAC, Les Halles, Paris, Nov. 27, 1993
22. Dolly  (4:00)
23. High Rising  (4:32)
24. Animal Nitrate  (4:21)
25. Still Life  (3:21)
26. Brett Anderson / Bernard Butler 2011 Interview  (26:03)




Suede- "My Dark Star" (1994) Live on MTV's Most Wanted

25 comments:

  1. Yep, surely one of the greatest British albums ever.

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  2. I'd say it's one of the greatest British bands ever. When I was a teenager I wanted to be a Suede member lol.

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  3. scurfie, this one's an absolute classic

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  4. Dr Hank, completely agree. Makes me wonder what could have been

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  5. Dave, they should have had you replace Butler ;)

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  6. This album is such a deep part of me. When I first started posting on forums and chat rooms, I was looking for an anonymous name or "handle" and I chose Dog Star...got a little flack due to some "Actors" band playing summer festivals, but even now some of my oldest internet friends still call me Dog. Always was, and always will be, my favourite Suede album

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  7. AndieJames, ah yes, I had forgotten about that actor's band. Anyway, this will always be my favorite Suede album as well

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  8. odd i just got 257 mb, megaupload that's just the first 9 tracks of Suede- Dog Man Star (1994) Deluxe Edition. nobody seems noticed this

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  9. They were very much on their own league at the time, Suede got my attention from their first Lp. For me it wasn't the same without Butler, but still great music. However there can be something positive out of a bad situation, like Buttler's 'People Move On' which is magnificent. Thanks voix for all the Suede remasters. Saludos.

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  10. Anon., I have no idea what you are referring to. If you are trying to download the first disc, you need to download two files. I split the first disc in half in order to keep each folder under 500mb. The link for disc 2 is further down the page

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  11. El Isabelino, for me, Suede w/out Butler just didn't compare. I will post the reunion album by The Tears soon

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  12. Great post V - I have never understood this band's obsession with sounding like they are underwater...Thanks again

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  13. Wait I can say that a little less negatively, I like Suede but they use to much PHASE frequently.
    It is what it is and I appreciate the post.

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  14. sradams777, thanks and enjoy the set

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  15. One of the very best albums of the 90's. I remember that I used to listening it every day for years! Thanks so much for the deluxe edition!

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  16. (rl) matiné, definitely one of my favorites from the 90s as well. Enjoy this great music in all of its remastered glory!

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  17. You mean Asphalt World started out even longer? I'm gonna have to hear that!
    First album didn't actually grab me in a big way when it came out, but something made me go out and grab this one straight away. Maybe it was because I heard one of the less Suede-Self-Titled-sounding songs on the radio, or maybe it was just the artwork?? Regardless, it still gets a regular airing 'round my way.

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  18. cakelunch, I too liked this one much better than the debut when they first came out. There's just something untouchable about "Dog Man Star." Possibly the most under-appreciated masterpiece of the nineties

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  19. Thank you for posting this, and for getting me back on a Suede kick. I saw them live in London a few times around the release of the "Suede", "Dog Man Star" and "Coming Up" albums, and had forgotten just how camp Brett could be on stage with his tambourine... they were great performances and I particularly remember one at the Roundhouse which was like an open air show in winter. We were all freezing in the crowd and wearing winter coats and he came out and heated up the place with his energy. Great live performers.

    I've also found the interviews interesting to listen to, and it's good to hear Bernard Butler finally articulating some of what was going on in his head at the time. For my money, the more orchestral direction he was heading in with "Dog Man Star" saw fruition in "The Sound of McAlmont & Butler": a wonderful record that should really form part of this series (if it is a series).

    Finally, I now know why I bumped into Brett and Bernard coming out of a greasy spoon cafe in Hornsey last winter looking all suave... on the way to film the interviews!

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  20. Anon., a wonderful comment. Thank you! I really envy the fact that you got to see this amazing band in their prime. The recent re-issues have sent me on a major Suede kick as well. While this is not a series, I do feel inclined to post a few more Suede-related albums, and the McAlmont/Butler album is a terrific idea :)

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  21. wow!! i'm in agreement-this is one of the best brit. albums ever.

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