It’s a matter of taste, of course, as there are quite a few people who can’t stand David Surkamp‘s distinctive voice, yet a lot of listeners find PAVLOV’S DOG‘s music fascinating enough to fiercely love this ensemble. Formed a bit more than fifty years ago, the St. Louis collective may have broken in 1977, yet they were back with a new line-up in 2004, and two decades further down the line the Surkamp posse are ready to celebrate their glorious beginnings with the band’s first-ever box set.
Planned for release on September 20th on five discs – to be made available on LPs and CDs, with the former format omitting some material – “Essential Recordings 1974-2018” will not contain anything that hasn’t been issued before, including a smattering bonus tracks, both studio and concert ones, but it’s good to have everything in one place. Sure, “essential” can hardly describe these extras yet such a word does go some way to explain the absence of the veterans’ two live sets and “The Pekin Tapes”; however, the exclusion of 2010’s “Echo & Boo” from the collection which, otherwise, spans the group’s entire discography up to their last album, "Prodigal Dreamer" from six years ago. The box cover, a reproduction of “Pampered Menial” artwork, seems somewhat counterproductive, though.
Essential Recordings
1974-2018
CD 1 – Pampered Menial (1975):
1. Julia
2. Late November
3. Song Dance
4. Fast Gun
5. Natchez Trace
6. Theme From Subway Sue
7. Episode
8. Preludin
9. Of Once And Future Kings
CD 2 – At The Sound of the Bell (1976):
1. She Came Shining
2. Standing Here With You
3. Mersey
4. Valkerie
5. Try To Hang On
6. Gold Nuggets
7. She Breaks Like A Morning Sky
8. Early Morning On
9. Did You See Him Cry
CD 3 – Lost in America (1990):
1. Lost In America
2. A Hardly Innocent Mind
3. Don’t Rain On Me
4. Not By My Side
5. Pantomime
6. Breaking Ice
7. You & I
8. All Night
9. As Lovers Do
10. Brown Eyes
bonus tracks:
11. Late November (live 1990)
12. You & I (live 1990)
13. Brown Eyes (live 1990)
14. Theme From Subway Sue (live 1990)
15. If We Never Meet Again (live 2005)
16. Angels Twilight Jump (live 2005)
17. Suzanne, I Love You (live 2006)
18. Don’t Rain On Me (live 2006)
CD 4 – Has Anyone Here Seen Sigfried? (2007):
1. Good Bye Trafalgar
2. Falling In Love
3. Only You
4. Painted Ladies
5. I Love You Still
6. Jenny
7. Today
bonus tracks:
8. Stop Short (original studio outtake)
9. It’s All For You
10. Suicide
11. While You Were Out
12. Falling In Love (alternative mix)
13. Julia (acoustic 2007)
14. She Came Shining (live 2012)
15. Fast Gun (live 2011)
16. She Breaks Like A Morning Sky (live 2011)
17. Paris (live 2011)}
18. Good Bye Trafalgar (live 2012)
19. Only You (live 2012)
CD 5 – Prodigal Dreamer (2018):
1. Paris
2. Hard Times
3. Winterblue
4. Thrill Of It All
5. Easter Day
6. Hurting Kind
7. Aria
8. Waterlow
9. Suzanne
10. Crying Forever
11. Being In Love
12. Shaking Me Down
13. The Winds Wild Early
