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The extra material is more hit and miss. In particular TV Trays is incredibly bad (as Ben Gibbard seems to accept in the sleeve notes), and it's the only Death Cab song I actively dislike, and Flustered/Hey Tomcat! seems pretty pointless and a little self indulgent. Nevertheless, the better songs more than make up for this. State Street Residential, and Army Corps of Architects are particularly noteworthy. These are all pretty downbeat compared to New Candles (the only DCFC song I've heard with Chris Walla on lead vocals), a perky pop/punk-ish song which is similar to TV Trays while miraculously managing to be enjoyable. This Charming Man takes a similar style, and although I find it quite enjoyable, I'd imagine others would see this as heresy towards the original. Gibbards 'creative' interpretation of Morrisey's lyrics might also cause offense with some of Morrisey's more fanatical followers, but only those without a sense of humour.
All in all a pretty inconsistant compilation, but worth it for the gems, and 18 songs for this price isn't bad either. If you are a fan, buy it. If not, I'd suggest starting with 'The Photo Album', or 'We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes'
It's not just the perfect background noise for any situation but it demands attention and can make the saddest man remember when everything was better. With loops, jangly guitars, and the occasional Farfisa, DCFC craft a melodic backdrop for Benjamin Gibbard's cozy vocals.
Honestly, this is an incredible album, but you have to be a Death Cab fan to appreciate it. Yes, this is their first demo and their B-sides. So don't complain if you buy it and aren't pleased because it's not "up to their usual quality"
But this album gives you insight into Death Cab that you aren't going to find anywhere else. So if you care about this band and actually appreciate their music in a moving sense, it's incredible. Some of the B-sides on this album are more incredible than the original songs. Also, it's amazing to hear the differences between the songs that made it onto latter recordings and those which were laid down for You Can Play These Songs With Chords.
So stop complaining. If you didn't like this album, you don't really like Death Cab. If you do, however, this is a rare treasure. Buy it, but only if you're a real fan. You know who you are.
The opening eight tracks are a re-release of the demo recordings singer/guitarist Ben Gibbard did in 1997 (released with the same title as this compliation). Playing all of the instruments himself, the bulk of these demos resurfaced a short while later on Death Cab's first proper album, Something About Airplanes (then played with a full band). For the most part, the sound quality is awfully lo-fi, which recorder/future DCFC guitarist Chris Walla was obviously aiming for. As for the music, most of the songs are close enough to the final product, which is two-thumbs-up material. The few demos that didn't make it, like "Hindsight" and "That's Incentive" (with its limber bassline) show that not all songs cut were bad.
The rest of the material is a collection of B-sides from DC's history. Some, like "TV Trays" and the original version of "Song for Kelly Huckaby," are on the verge of being subpar. Others, like the pretty "Army Corp of Architects," the quasi-Built to Spill-ish "Prove My Hypotheses" and the Something About Airplanes misfire "State Street Residential," are some of the best tracks the band has recorded. Some, like the hilarious cover of the Smiths' "This Charming Man" and the 'European Dance Hit' "Tomorrow," just don't fit into any catagory.
For the most part, this is a great collection of songs Death Cab fans will be eager to get ahold of. For the newcomer, this may prove to be a confusing assortment of tracks.
Oh, side note: the CD insert is a great help: I was always interested in who plays on songs, and this delievers in addition to the amusing notes provided by the band members.
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