It's now been long enough since Full Collapse came out that we can all agree that it is amongst the finest albums of the 2000's. It was great at the time, but I'm pleased to see how well it has aged. I still listen to it regularly and have very fond memories of the time I saw them play it in full (and the excitement and joy I felt when they casually mentioned that they were going to be playing it in full that night).
This EP contains four live songs from Full Collapse and one new song, Jet Black New Year. As a huge fan of Full Collapse and these songs in particular (especially Understanding in a Car Crash and Paris in Flames), I'm happy to have these live versions. The introduction to Standing On the Edge of Summer reminds you just how many Thursday songs are about people Geoff Rickley knows who have died. The band have essentially broken up (but are playing a show this year?) so it's nice to have a live document of the band.
Jet Black New Year is one of the best songs the band wrote and I know I'm not alone in thinking that. In the albums that followed Full Collapse I remember people often using the phrase "the best thing they've done since Jet Black New Year". It's certainly one of their heavier songs and the lyrics are great, especially the countdown at the end. The insert with the record contains five stories - one from each band member about new year, except for the last which is about the recording and tension in the band at the time. I can see the tension in the song, but the song is all the better for it; the anger works for them.
I always thought it was strange to pair up one of their best songs with four live recordings rather than any other new songs, like you'd normally find on an EP. By the sounds of it, the band only just managed to record this one song, so perhaps the pressure to record any more to go with it just then would have been too much. I'm glad that the song exists in some form. This is the original vinyl pressing of the EP, which has different artwork to the cd and recent re-press. The sleeve is a folded bit of cardboard as a lot of the Victory Records releases were at the time. The a4 insert is numbered out of 2000 (mine is #1015) and the vinyl is one-sided clear vinyl. One-sided clear vinyl is the strangest thing, because you can see the groves on the other side but feel how flat the b-side is. I've tried to photograph it below, but it doesn't come out in the picture.
Format: One-sided 12", a4 insert, numbered (#1015/2000)
Tracks: 5
Cost: £11.50 new
Bought: eBay
When: 23/03/04
Colour: Clear
Etching: none
mp3s: no
