Forever Now Bonus Tracks

For some time I had been listening to the bonus tracks on my 2002 remaster of The Psychedelic Furs' brilliant album Forever Now and I decided to share my thoughts about them. There are six songs and they include two b-sides, two live recordings, and two rarities. The rarities are ones that were already released officially but are completely different versions, and they are interesting and unique. The b-sides and live songs are great too, and they really show how awesome and creative The Psychedelic Furs are.

So let's get started, here are my views on Forever Now's bonus songs.



The Live Tracks.

"President Gas" (Live): This live performance of "President Gas" was from a show The Psychedelic Furs did at The Ritz in New York City back in 1982 and was broadcasted (along with four other songs from that concert) on the radio program The King Biscuit Flower Hour. Some time later it was included as a b-side on the US single of "Run And Run." On the original version of "President Gas" there is no saxophone at all, but on live versions of the song the saxophone takes the cello's place. It is a wonderful replacement, and the saxophone manages to capture the cello's magical sound from the studio version. On that 1982 performance I wonder if the saxophonist was Mars Williams?

"No Easy Street" (Live): This was a b-side for the "All That Money Wants" single in 1988 and according to the liner notes on my copy of Forever Now, it was recorded live in '88 and was featured on The King Biscuit Flower Hour. This live version of "No Easy Street" is amazing, and Richard Butler's vocals are absolutely incredible. The music is great as well, it's just so mysterious and breathtaking.


The B-Sides.

"Aeroplane": "Aeroplane" was the b-side to "Love My Way" (UK single) and it is a great song. The music on the verses is fast-paced, with bunches of frenzied saxophone and Richard Butler sings quickly to accompany the music. But on the choruses the music goes sort of slow and so does Richard's vocals. "Aeroplane" was recorded during the making of Forever Now along with another b-side and that is...

"I Don't Want To Be Your Shadow": The b-side to the UK single of "Danger" "I Don't Want To Be Your Shadow" is one of the most perfect b-sides I've ever heard, and the song is just so awesome. In fact, it is one of my absolute favorite Psychedelic Furs songs of all time. The song sucks you right in, it's upbeat and catchy, and puts you in a good mood.


The Rarities.

"Alice's House" (Early Version): "Alice's House" first appeared on 1984's Mirror Moves but an earlier outtake of the song was recorded during the Forever Now sessions in 1982. The music in the outtake is way different than the official version, and there's a minor lyric change as well. Both versions of "Alice's House" are interesting to listen to because the one on Mirror Moves has the keyboards and that 80s sound, but the earlier version doesn't have the keyboards at all and the music, in my opinion, has a darker tone which sort of fits the meaning of the song. The early version is really amazing and if you haven't heard it yet, you definitely gotta check it out.

"Mary Go Round": This is a previously unreleased version of "Yes I Do" with the same music but entirely different lyrics. I love the verses in this version and the merry go round type music matches the lyrics in the choruses. But here's something I heard that was weird. About four years ago I listened to my vinyl copy of Forever Now (the original US version) and when "Yes I Do" came on for some reason it has the verses from "Mary Go Round." But the choruses were the same as the official version. It makes me wonder if it's the other way around in the original British LP. Like where it's the verses from "Yes I Do" but the choruses are from "Mary Go Round's." Over in the UK "Yes I Do" was known as "Merry-Go-Round" so maybe it's true? I could be wrong though.


Hope you enjoyed this and to be honest I had trouble doing this one because of the writer's block that I had. But thankfully I managed to pull through and I'm glad it's already finished. I'm actually going to do another new blog and this upcoming post will be interesting, and I can't wait to share it with you all. Until then, see you in the next one.

Photo: Tom Sheehan