THE SINGULAR ADVENTURES OF EDWYN COLLINS (Part 6)

The Expressly EP had come tantalisingly close to giving Edwyn Collins that elusive chart smash. Setanta Records sensibly waited till the Xmas 94 nonsense was out of the way before releasing what surely would be a song that the nation would take to its collective bosom:-

mp3 : Edwyn Collins - If You Could Love Me (radio edit)

As I've said previously, when I announced this as #32 in the 45 45s at 45 series back in 2008, this second single from the Gorgeous George LP really deserved a much wider audience. It’s long been my view that if something this easy on the ear with such a heartfelt lyric had been given to someone like Robbie Williams to record, then we would have been looking at an instant crowd-pleasing #1......

Having said that, the arrangement from the chart heavyweights would probably have made it unrecognisable from Edwyn's version.

The single was released on 12" vinyl and on 2xCDs. Rounding up all the various b-sides and extra tracks:-

(1) mp3 : Edwyn Collins - In A Broken Dream
(2) mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Insider Dealing
(3) mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Hope and Despair
(4) mp3 : Edwyn Collins - If You Could Love Me (M.C. Esher Mix)
(5) mp3 : Edwyn Collins - If Ever Your Ready
(6) mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Come To Your Senses
(7) mp3 : Edwyn Collins - A Girl Like You (Victorian Spaceman Mix)

The first of these seven tracks is a cover version - originally a hit for Python Lee Jackson way back sometimes in the early 70s - and with a vocal by Rod Stewart.  It, and the second and third tracks, were produced by Bernard Butler with who Edwyn would work very closely in the years ahead. Hope and Despair is an alternative version of the title track from his 1989 LP....while thee remix of the single is one of Edwyn's little bits of fun.

The last three tracks are on CD2. One is a misspelling of a track that Edwyn has recorded and released previously  -  If Ever You're Ready can also be found on the LP Hope and Despair, with further different versions available on the b-sides of the singles 50 Shades of Blue and Don't Shilly Shally. This particular version is different again and stretches out to almost six minutes in length.  The new song on this paricular CD is Come To Your Senses and it's incredible to think that something this good was wasted as a giveaway bside. The remaining track is of course a remix of one that had originally  been released on the Expressly EP and as Part 7 will show, would be the one that on re-release struck gold for Edwyn...