Phantom Power (Deluxe 2023 Remaster) Super Furry Animals

• 1Hello Sunshine (2023 Remaster)03:34
• 2Liberty Belle (2023 Remaster)02:57
• 3Golden Retriever (2023 Remaster)02:27
• 4Sex, War & Robots (2023 Remaster)03:49
• 5The Piccolo Snare (2023 Remaster)06:44
• 6Venus & Serena (2023 Remaster)03:26
• 7Father Father #1 (2023 Remaster)01:54
• 8Bleed Forever (2023 Remaster)03:39
• 9Out of Control (2023 Remaster)02:43
• 10Cityscape Skybaby (2023 Remaster)04:34
• 11Father Father #2 (2023 Remaster)01:51
• 12Valet Parking (2023 Remaster)04:34
• 13The Undefeated (2023 Remaster)04:07
• 14Slow Life (2023 Remaster)07:01
• 15Father Father #301:46
• 16Summer Snow02:29
• 17Blue Fruit04:42
• 18Cowbird05:42
• 19Sanitizzzed02:45
• 20Motherfokker (feat. Goldie Lookin Chain)05:44
• 21Lost Control04:44
• 22The Man Don't Give a Fuck (Live From London's Hammersmith Apollo)22:47
• 23Father Father #1 (Stiwdio Ofn Demo, Gwanwyn 2002)01:53
• 24Hello Sunshine (Stiwdio Ofn Demo, Gwanwyn 2002)03:53
• 25Aluminum Illuminati (Retitled Aluminium Illuminati) [Stiwdio Ofn Demo, Gwanwyn 2002]02:23
• 26Cabbages (Retitled Cityscape Skybaby) [Stiwdio Ofn Demo, Gwanwyn 2002]03:15
• 27Golden Retriever (Stiwdio Ofn Demo, Gwanwyn 2002)02:25
• 28Hummingbird (Retitled Cloudberries) [Stiwdio Ofn Demo, Gwanwyn 2002]04:23
• 29Billy's Gone (Retitled Out Of Control) [Stiwdio Ofn Demo, Gwanwyn 2002]01:35
• 30Head First (Retitled Paddling Pools) [Stiwdio Ofn Demo, Gwanwyn 2002]01:55
• 31No Go (Retitled Summer Snow) [Stiwdio Ofn Demo, Gwanwyn 2002]02:19
• 32Father Father #2 (Stiwdio Ofn Demo, Gwanwyn 2002)01:49
• 33Sex, War & Robots (AV Happenings Demo, Chwefror 2002)03:26
• 34Bluebird 1 (AV Happenings Demo, Chwefror 2002)01:09
• 35Bluebird 2 (AV Happenings Demo, Chwefror 2002)00:48
• 36Bluebird 3 (AV Happenings Demo, Chwefror 2002)01:09
• 37Bluebird 4 (AV Happenings Demo, Chwefror 2002)00:48
• 38Walk You Home (AV Happenings Demo, Chwefror 2002)04:15
• 39The Undefeated (AV Happenings Demo, Chwefror 2002)02:59
• 40Every Building Has Been Built (AV Happenings Demo, Chwefror 2002)01:42
• 41Blue Fruit (AV Happenings Demo, Chwefror 2002)02:52
• 42Valet Parking (AV Happenings Demo, Chwefror 2002)00:34
• 43Valet Parking (Rockfield Rough Mix, Mai 2002)03:51
• 44Out of Control (Rockfield Rough Mix, Mai 2002)14:15
• 45Paddling Pools (Rockfield Rough Mix, Mai 2002)02:15
• 46Miami Vice (AV Happenings Rough Mix, Hydref 2002)07:34
• 47Slow Life (Monnow Valley Rough Mix, Tachwedd 2002)05:09
• Total Runtime03:02:35

Info for Phantom Power (Deluxe 2023 Remaster)

Super Furry Animals were one of the first post-alternative bands, fusing together a number of disparate musical genres - including power pop, punk rock, techno, and progressive rock - creating a shimmering, melodic, irreverent, and wilfully artsy rock & roll. Produced by the band, Phantom Power keeps a much lower profile than the bands previous work. The album for the most part, is awash with pedal steel, acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies. But if you think the creative juices have ceased, you could barely be more wrong. Gruff Rhys' songwriting moves a step forward on Phantom Power, with playful story-based lyrics about turtles, mingers, ninjas and cabbages contrasting with lines about death, radiation and war.

"With Rings Around the World, Super Furry Animals took a stab at a streamlined, big-budget album, complete with guest stars and cameos. It was accomplished and accomplished what it set out to do -- namely, elevate the Furries' critical standing, making them a mainstay of Mojo readers and opening some doors in American magazines, who had previously ignored the brilliant Welsh quintet. Nevertheless, it was their least-interesting set of music released to date, often sounding constrained by its polished widescreen aspirations (not to mention its similarly cleaned-up, simplified political stance and lyrics), so it comes as no little relief that SFA loosens up on the sequel to Rings, the superbly titled Phantom Power. Teaming up with producer Mario Caldato, Jr., who helmed the Beastie Boys' comeback, Check Your Head, the Furries come up with their fuzziest record yet, abandoning the Technicolor gloss of Rings for a hazy, slow-rolling collection of elastic pop songs. Caldato facilitates the return of dance beats and hints of electronica, sometimes recalling Guerrilla in its arrangements, but his biggest contribution is to give the record a bit of dirt, grounding this music in reality. This is a mixed blessing, since it means that Phantom Power never takes off the way Radiator or Mwng or even Fuzzy Logic did in its sheer exuberance. This earth-bound feeling is all the more palpable because SFA's sensibilities are still in line with the streamlined attitudes of Rings Around the World. Their different influences and ideas don't intertwine the way they used to; they exist as separate songs. These songs are frequently very good, and display many of the band's attributes, from Gruff Rhys' ethereal yet warm voice and his sweet, enveloping melodies to the group's effortless eclecticism, grounded in neo-psychedelia but encompassing much more, including a new fascination with country-rock. It's a very good listen and there's a certain appeal to the dreamy haze of the production, particularly when it's goosed along by sighing harmonies and sweet steel guitars, sounding something like a Californian Magical Mystery Tour. That, of course, is a good thing, and Phantom Power is a very good album (and, again, compared to many of SFA's peers in 2003, it is far ahead of the pack), but it does lack some of the things that made earlier Super Furry Animals so exhilarating -- the grit, the wild abandon, the absurdity, and the sheer unpredictability, where it was impossible to tell what would happen next. Perhaps this is the inevitable result of maturity, which does make one a little bit older and a little bit slower, but it's still hard not to miss. But, at least they're still making good records, unlike some bands who enter their mature phase." (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG)

Gruff Rhys, lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, harmonica, backing vocals
Huw Bunford, lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Sex, War & Robots"
Guto Pryce, bass
Cian Ciaran, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
Dafydd Ieuan, drums, backing vocals

Digitally remastered

Super Furry Animals
were one of the first post-alternative bands, fusing together a number of disparate musical genres -- including power pop, punk rock, techno, and progressive rock -- creating a shimmering, melodic, irreverent, and willfully artsy rock & roll. As one of the leading bands of the mid-'90s Welsh movement, they were already tagged as outsiders by their tendency to sing entire songs in their native tongue, but their very approach was unique, full of both whimsy and left-wing political activism. What set them apart from their fellow Welsh bands were their infectious melodic sensibilities and their wildly irreverent attitude, which peers like Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, 60 Ft. Dolls, and Catatonia lacked.

Moog Droog Formed in Cardiff, Wales, in 1993, Super Furry Animals were comprised of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw "Bunf" Bunford (guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass), Cian Ciárán (keyboards, electronics), and Dafydd Ieuan (drums). All five members had played in bands throughout their teens prior to forming the group, most notably Rhys, who had previously played in a jangle pop band named Emily that was briefly signed to Creation, as well as a Welsh noise rock band called Ffa Coffi Pawb. Following the dissolution of Ffa Coffi Pawb, Rhys played in a trio with Pryce and Ieuan, which eventually evolved into Super Furry Animals. Initially, the group was a techno outfit, yet they quickly evolved into a neo-psychedelic and progressive pop outfit. After two years or writing and touring, the band signed with the Cardiff-based independent label Ankst and released their debut EP, Lianfairpwllgywgyllgoger Chwymdrobwlltysiliogoygoyocynygofod (In Space), which was sung entirely in Welsh. It was followed within a few months by another EP, Moog Droog, which was also sung in Welsh. Both EPs were produced by Gorwel Owen.

Fuzzy Logic By the end of 1995, Super Furry Animals had gained a strong, cross-generational fan base in Wales while gathering a strong cult following in Britain, which led to a six-album record contract with Creation Records. Prior to signing with Creation, the band had decided to sing the majority of their songs in English, in order to reach a wider audience. Super Furry Animals and Owen produced the group's debut album, which was preceded by two singles in the spring of 1996 -- "Hometown Unicorn" and "God! Show Me Magic" -- which became moderate hits. Fuzzy Logic, the band's debut album, was released in the U.K. in June 1996 to uniformly excellent reviews and a place in the Top 40. Within a few months, SFA had become one of the hippest bands in British independent music, with several of the group's lyrical touchstones -- most notably the notorious Welsh dope smuggler Howard Marks, who appeared on the cover of Fuzzy Logic -- having become pop culture references. Super Furry Animals also became infamous during the summer of 1996 for attending all of the pop music festivals in a gigantic tank.

"Something 4 the Weekend" and "If You Don't Want Me to Destroy You" became hit singles in the summer and fall of 1996. The latter single was scheduled to have a B-side called "The Man Don't Give a Fuck," which was built on a sample of Steely Dan's "Showbiz Kids," but Donald Fagen refused to give the group permission to use the recording. By November, he relented and "The Man Don't Give a Fuck" was released as a limited-edition single in early December; it reached number 22 on the U.K. charts, and became the group's default set closer. Fuzzy Logic also placed in the Top Ten of many critics' year-end polls.

RadiatorSuper Furry Animals entered the studios in January 1997 to record their second album, Radiator, which was released in August 1997. Guerrilla followed two years later, and in mid-2000 the band resurfaced with Mwng. Cameos by John Cale and Paul McCartney were featured on the ambitious 2001 album Rings Around the World, while 2003's Phantom Power was a looser affair. The compilation Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1 and the new album Love Kraft were both released in 2005. The group signed with the Rough Trade label in 2006 and released the addictive pop album Hey Venus! in 2007. Two years later, the group released Dark Days/Light Years and then went on hiatus. Over the next five years, indvidual members pursued solo projects, finally returning to action in 2015 to play concerts promoting the reissue of Mwng. A biography called Rise of the Super Furry Animals saw publication by the end of the year. In 2016, they played several festival dates in the U.S., along with releasing "BING BONG," an anthem for Euro 2016.

This album contains no booklet.