Product Description
A 4CD Box-set that gathers together all of the band’s remaining unreleased recordings, which are being officially released for the first time on one comprehensive set that captures the band’s myriad attempts to capture the feeling that Lee Maver attempted to harness in their sound.

Disc One collects the handful of superb singles the band released, including their fresh, spirited debut Way Out (1987), an unreleased version of the glorious Timeless Melody (1989), and of course There She Goes (1988/19990), the band’s one real hit and a much-covered classic that has sound-tracked the sweet moments to countless Hollywood movies, as well as other well loved favourites.

Disc Two features the best of the many out-takes the band produced as they worked through one highly respected producer after another such as John Porter (The Smiths, Billy Bragg), John Leckie (The Stone Roses, Radiohead) Mike Hedges (The Cure, Siouxsie And The Banshees), and Steve Lillywhite (Simple Minds and U2) as well as sessions by Bob Andrews, Dave Allen and Jeremy Allom.

Discs Three and Four give evidence of what a great live band The La’s were and possibly are: the force that comes through in the capturing of two never heard before live concerts, at London’s Town And Country Club in 1989 and at The Marquee in 1991, which help to explain why a band that only released one album over 20 years ago continues to fascinate.

This definitive set is presented in a beautifully packaged hardback box with a 60 page booklet. The striking artwork has been designed by the band's original designer, Simon Ryan. Also included is a detailed essay by acclaimed journalist and author Will Hodgkinson as well as never seen before photos of the band by Paul Cox.

CD 1
1. Way Out
2. Knock Me Down
3. Endless
4. Liberty Ship 4 Track Demo
5. Freedom Song 4 Track Demo
6. There She Goes Original Single Version
7. Who Knows?
8. Come In, Come Out
9. Man I'm Only Human
10. Way Out New Version
11. Timeless Melody Unreleased Single Version
12. Clean Prophet Unreleased Version
13. Ride Yer Camel Unreleased Version
14. Over
15. Clean Prophet
16. All By Myself
17. I.O.U. Alternative Version
18. Feelin Alternative Version
19. Timeless Melody Live at Chicago Metro
20. I Can't Sleep Live at Chicago Metro
21. Callin' All Live
22. Timeless Melody Sound Sampler Version

CD 2
1. Son Of A Gun Take 2 - John Porter Produced 1987 Previously Unreleased
2. Failure John Porter Produced 1987 Previously Unreleased
3. Timeless Melody Rehearsal John Porter Version Previously Unreleased
4. Way Out Rehearsal 1987 Previously Unreleased
5. Doledrum Dave Allen Produced 1987 Previously Unreleased
6. Feelin Alternative Version
7. There She Goes Busker Version John Leckie Produced Previously Unreleased
8. Come In Come Out John Leckie Produced 1988 Previously Unreleased
9. Callin' All Bob Andrews Produced 1988 Previously Unreleased
10. I Can't Sleep Bob Andrews Produced 1988 Previously Unreleased
11. Son Of A Gun Rehearsal 1988 Previously Unreleased
12. Looking Glass Rehearsal Bob Andrews Version Previously Unreleased
13. Failure Jeremy Allom Produced 1989 Previously Unreleased
14. Callin' All Acoustic Jeremy Allom Version Previously Unreleased
15. Son Of A Gun Take 2 Jeremy Allom Produced 1989 Previously Unreleased
16. Freedom Song Mike Hedges Produced May 1989 Previously Unreleased
17. There She Goes Acoustic Version Steve Lillywhite Produced Previously Unreleased
18. Knock Me Down Steve Lillywhite Produced Previously Unreleased
19. Callin' All Steve Lillywhite Produced Previously Unreleased
20. Come In Come Out Rehearsal Steve Ripley Produced Previously Unreleased
21. I Can't Sleep Out-take Instrumental Previously Unreleased

CD 3
1. Son Of A Gun Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
2. Freedom Song Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
3. Clean Prophet Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
4. Way Out Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
5. There She Goes Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
6. Doledrum Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
7. Come In Come Out Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
8. Timeless Melody Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
9. I Can't Sleep Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
10. Knock Me Down Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
11. I.O.U. Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
12. Feelin' Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
13. Callin' All Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
14. Liberty Ship Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
15. Failure Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
16. Looking Glass Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
17. I Am The Key Town Country Club 1989 Previously Unreleased
18. Son Of A Gun (Acoustic) Manchester. Key 103 Jan 1989 Previously Unreleased
19. I Can't Sleep (Acoustic) Manchester, Key 103 Jan 1989 Previously Unreleased
20. Timeless Melody Manchester Key 103 Jan 1989 Previously Unreleased
21. I.O.U. Manchester, Key 103 May 1989 Previously Unreleased
22. Feelin Manchester, Key 103 May 1989 Previously Unreleased
23. Failure Manchester Key 103 May 1989 Previously Unreleased

CD 4
1. Son Of A Gun Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
2. Freedom Song Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
3. Clean Prophet Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
4. Come In Come Out Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
5. Way Out Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
6. Timeless Melody Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
7. I.O.U. Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
8. I Can't Sleep Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
9. There She Goes Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
10. Doledrum Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
11. Follow Me Down Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
12. Knock Me Down Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
13. Feelin' Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
14. Alright Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
15. Liberty Ship Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
16. Callin' All Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
17. Failure Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
18. Looking Glass Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
19. Swashbuckler Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
20. I Can't Sleep Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
21. Feelin' Marquee 23/4/1991 Previously Unreleased
22. There She Goes 2 Meter Session, 3FM (Dutch Radio) Previously Unreleased
23. Timeless Melody 2 Meter Session, 3FM (Dutch Radio) Previously Unreleased
24. Doledrum 2 Meter Session, 3FM (Dutch Radio) Previously Unreleased
25. Feelin' 2 Meter Session, 3FM (Dutch Radio) Previously Unreleased
26. Alright 2 Meter Session, 3FM (Dutch Radio) Previously Unreleased

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003AYBCLY/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003AYBCLY/?tag=imwan-21

IN!

Sign me up.

A 4-CD box set for a group that released one album? Who do they think they are, the Sex Pistols? (Actually, the Pistols only got 3 discs.)

Sign me up!

Yes, squeeze every last drop out of the La's legacy, I'm in too!

I'm in. My only disappointment is that the set only has 6 versions of There She Goes!

Calling all obsessive compulsives! One album leads to a 4 cd comp. However, this might be justified. I was just over at Amazon uk and the samples are up. The unreleased/alternate/live stuff is, at the least, compelling. And it makes Lee Mavers case that the album as released was not representative of the band. The live stuff is worth the admission price. This really is overkill, but as the story of a band derailed by a search for the perfect sound, it's a history lesson on pop music. I'm in for this, and by the way, if you order through Amazonuk it's about ten bucks cheaper than Amazon US, even with Vat. The price is actually lower at checkout.

Jeez thats a big box, what the hell?

One album = a 4 CD retrospective with over 90 songs?

Where's the DVD?

Yikes! It's out tomorrow! Really looking forward to this.

Got this from Amazon today. I haven't begun to listen to all of it, but what I've heard so far is outstanding. La's fans are going to dig this in a big, big way.

Can a band who has only released one album in their career possibly deserve a 4-disc box? Oh, yeah.

By the way (not BTW, I'm so sick of internet abbreviations), the package is really great, too. Nice hard-bound book format with lots of info and stories about the band. I'm looking forward to reading all of it.

What a shame this guy (Lee Mavers) can't get it together and record some new material. He's clearly a huge talent, as this box demonstrates. And apparently quite a head case, as some of the anecdotes indicate.

Thanks, calijawn. Haven't seen this guy in YEARS!

Agreed. I've only been able to listen to the studio portion, but beyond a few missteps (the eight minute Beefheart blues of Ride Yer Camel should've remained buried), the alternate/unreleased takes better the official versions by a good margin. You can hear the band trying different arrangements and approaches to the songs and the more acoustic based, less formal sound suits them well. Mavers voice is rougher/more expressive and his versatility in that department shines. There's an acoustic take of "There She Goes" on the second disc that is so pretty and light that it changes the whole feel of the song. This set shows that even the simplest sounding pop songs are rarely that at all. The La's truly were robbed of their debut, this proves it. Excellent piece of pop archaeology and worth it if this is your cup of tea. Can't wait to get to the live stuff.

From what I've been able to listen to so far, I think that's pretty much right on the money. I've been impressed by the alternate takes and demos in that they all seem to have a different feel than the versions I know, but they all seem like really good alternate directions (for instance, there are several versions of There She Goes, and they all feel different enough that it never seems repititious). And I think this box illustrates something that I've read quite often about this band -- that they are (were) at their best doing rough, mostly acoustic versions of these great songs. Not that the other versions aren't great, too.