SUPER FURRY ANIMALS

At The BBC STRANGETOWN 8/10

Beeb op deluxe: Creation rebels’ golden age decluttered

“Clarity just confuses me,” sings Gruff Rhys in an August 1997 Evening Session version of “Demons”, an explanation of how Super Furry Animals embraced chaos in their golden age. This bumper collection brings together eight BBC sessions from the most acclaimed band of Creation records’ imperial phase. Impish and wilful at a time when the arena bloat of Radiohead, Oasis and The Verve reigned supreme, Wales’ top psychedelic glam act come across as thunderously wobbly in the takes of “Hometown Unicorn” and “God! Show Me Magic” culled from a 1996 Mark Radcliffe show. Concepts got a little higher as SFA were domesticated toward the end of the decade, but an intimate “Phire In My Heart”, a “Virginia Plain”-style blast through “(Drawing) Rings Around The World” and a cover of The Beach Boys’ “The Warmth Of The Sun” have a hairy immediacy their studio records could lack. A noble beast, all told. Extras: 7/10. Expect to pay stupid money on Discogs for the already sold-out vinyl version, and abandon all hope of getting the micro-edition including a fifth disc, featuring live tracks from a 1999 Cardiff show. CD buyers can take consolation in a sleevenote by Uncut’s own Tom Pinnock.