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Many of the unreleased, B-side, and cover tracks here are less immediate, but no less joyful for the Pavement completist.
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Matador's two-disc Nicene Creedence Edition (nyuk nyuk) goes way beyond the original 12-song release, adding a whopping 31 additional cuts: outtakes, B-sides, compilation tracks, and live radio sessions, all of them top-notch.
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UncutThis slice of weird-rock from a more contented American decade is playful and preposterous in equal measure. [Feb 2009, p.89]
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All this extra material may not carry the same deliberate weight as so much of Brighten the Corners, but it enhances the album considerably, bringing it closer to an album that can stand with Pavement's first three classics.
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Individually as good as much of BTC, the bonus material is almost as listenable as the album itself.
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It may never occupy the place in the indie rock canon that "Slanted and Enchanted" has, and it may not be regarded as the band’s high point like "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain," but 11 years later, this album still sounds great, maybe even better in its old age.
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This reissue bonanza shows the Nineties' premier indie band turning reflective and joyfully screwing around at the same time.
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Under The RadarBrighten the Corners has held up nicely and reminds us of the special gift Pavement had for hyper-literate songwriting that was humorous and heartfelt all at once. [Year End 2008]
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A mountain of shambolic, livewire B-sides and covers of heroes and influence ranging from the Fall to Echo and the Bunnymen, help add a sense of balance and ballast to Brighten the Corners. It makes for an expanded vision of the original while at the same time proving that the original’s vision wasn’t quite so narrow after all.
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If Brighten the Corners signaled a turn to the serious, the 32 outtakes and radio-session cuts compiled here give Pavement plenty of room to, as one B-side aptly puts it, "fuck around."
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A 62-page book and new vinyl pressing complete the package for the audiophiles and superfans, but the real value is in the album itself, an important piece of the history of a seminal '90s band.
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With a couple of exceptions, the Nicene Creedence Edition is the least essential of Matador’s Pavement compilations. But even with this caveat, the package performs the service of reminding us how good Brighten the Corners still is.
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FilterThe second disc of this deluxe edition makes Brighten The Corners's faults more difficult to accept as hard truths. [Holiday 2008, p.98]
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Q MagazineBrighten The Corners found the Califirnian indie five-piece buoyed by a more consistent set of songs than 1995's sprawling "Wowee Zowee." [Feb 2009, p.124]
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Nicene Creedence Ed. doesn't exactly unravel Malkmus' lyrical labyrinths, but the sprawling, double-disc, 44-song set ties up all loose ends, gathering essential B-sides ('No Tan Lines'), outtakes (instrumental 'Beautiful as a Butterfly'), and live sessions.
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Like most modern reissues, this one contains a wealth of B-sides and curios to sift through. Some are fun, like the nasty, thrashing 'Wanna Mess You Around,' but some are for completists only.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 29 out of 32
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Mixed: 0 out of 32
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Negative: 3 out of 32
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Jun 26, 2022Only play this whilst wearing a tired t shirt and jeans , grate slacker songs from true legends
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Aug 15, 2011
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Oct 26, 2010This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view.