Camper Van Beethoven

Camper Van Beethoven were one of the great, pioneering indie rock bands. When Spinart released the Cigarettes & Carrot Juice box in 2002, legions of Camper fans probably rushed out to pick up remastered versions of great albums that had been out of print for years. Two years later, when Spinart made the individual albums available again, this time augmented by bonus tracks (the box set contained just the original albums, as issued), those who bought the box most likely felt like they were being taken advantage of. After all, it was the dedicated fans who rushed out to buy the box, the same fans who would most desire bonus tracks. For Camper Van Beethoven, the third album, at first glance it may appear that the four extra tracks are the extent of the bonus material, but that's not the whole story. The bonus tracks are interesting: a demo of "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (later recut for Key Lime Pie), and a song called "Pope Festival" that lost its lyrics and became "The Fool" from Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart. A different version of "Love the Witch" showed up later on Jonathan Segel's Storytelling album (as did "Still Wishing to Course"). There's also a tune called "Deux Foises," which is an obvious companion piece to "Une Fois" that just didn't make the cut the first time around. Most curious for the devoted, however, is that several of the songs ("Lulu Land," "Hoe Yourself Down") are significantly longer than originally issued, even on the box set. Those details and the superb remastered sound should take the sting out of having to purchase this music again for the hardcore fans; folks buying for the first time will just be pleased. This is Camper Van Beethoven at their most psychedelic. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide