MP3: Mogwai - Government Commissions Volume 2

I'm in a rather amusing situation at the moment. The reason why most of the songs on my blog only stay on for a few days is that due to lack of funds i'm forced to use the very small amount of webspace provided free by my awful ISP, Pipex. This means that to put new things up, the old must go. However due to that companies general incompetence, they seem to have turned some sort of switch on their FTP server that means that I can currently upload as much as I want. Who knows how long this will last, so I thought that while it does I should take advantage of it.

Mogwai's Government Commissions record is one of the best compilations of John Peel session tracks (the recent release from The Delgados also deserves a mention), but long term fans might have noticed how incomplete it was. Although it works well as a single disc compilation, I thought people might appreciate hearing some of the tracks that were left out.

First up are two tracks to complete the bands first session with Peel, which was recorded in December 1996 and broadcast on the 11th January 1997. Superheroes of BMX and R U Still In 2 It? appeared on the GC compilation, the two tracks left over were Summer (Priority Version) and an early version of Waltz For Aidan (at the time called Waltz For Jo).

Next up are three tracks to complete the bands second session, which was pre-recorded in January 1998 and broadcast on the 17th February. Only Helicon 2 appeared on GC, with the other tracks being Christmas Steps (at the time called Procedure 4), Ex-Cowboy and the bands cover of the Guns N Roses song Don't Cry.

The band's third session for Peel again took place in 1998, and was broadcast on the 1st September. Kappa and CODY (at the time called Country) eventually appeared on GC, with the two other tracks being Rollerball and a track called Spoon Test, which would later be retooled into the middle section of May Nothing But Happiness Come Through Your Door.

The bands next appearance on the show took the shape of a live performance in front of a small crowd at the Maida Vale Studios (where all of Peels sessions were recorded). It was broadcast on the 17th October 2001, and none of the tracks made it on to the GC compilation. You could say that that was because they were live songs rather than sessions, but GC did feature other live tracks recorded for Peel and Lamacq, so i'm not sure of the band's reasons for excluding this performance. I think it's a great session, especially as it mixes the very old (Radar Maker from Young Team) with tracks that at the time were very new (My Father, My King, You Don't Know Jesus).

That's all for now. The band did make one more appearance on Peel, in 2003 for another live in the studio performance (only two songs of which appeared on GC), but at the moment I can't find my recording of them, so they'll have to wait for another time. The GC compilation also featured a few tracks from sessions the band had done for Steve Lamacq, and again there are left over tracks from those sessions, so who knows, if I can track them all down maybe i'll post a Government Commissions Volume 3. Actually it kind of works out well that I couldn't find it right now, as the songs below make up 73 minutes worth, good enough for a nice CDR burn.

My recommendations would be to download them as soon as you can, as i've no idea how long they will be kept online. Don't say I don't ever spoil you.

Mogwai - 01 Summer (Priority Version) (11th Jan 1997)
Mogwai - 02 Waltz For Aidan (11th Jan 1997)
Mogwai - 03 Procedure 4 (aka Christmas Steps) (17th Feb 1998)
Mogwai - 04 Ex-Cowboy (17th Feb 1998)
Mogwai - 05 Don't Cry (17th Feb 1998)
Mogwai - 06 Rollerball (1st Sept 1998)
Mogwai - 07 Spoon Test (1st Sept 1998)
Mogwai - 08 Intro (17th Oct 2001)
Mogwai - 09 Yes I Am A Long Way Home (17th Oct 2001)
Mogwai - 10 Nick Drake (17th Oct 2001)
Mogwai - 11 You Don't Know Jesus (17th Oct 2001)
Mogwai - 12 Radar Maker (17th Oct 2001)
Mogwai - 13 My Father, My King (17th Oct 2001)