Anniversary of the Year: 20 Years Since the Release of Giant Steps by The Boo Radleys

"For 64 minutes in 1993 The Boo Radleys revolutionised The Beatles and out Smiled The Beach Boys. For 64 minutes they were the greatest band on the planet." This was the conclusion of [sic] Magazine with the release of the expanded edition of Giant Steps back in 2008 and is spot on though you can add in the finest moments of My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jnr, and The Flaming Lips along with a bit of dub reggae. Back in 1993 it was made album of the year by the NME and Select Magazine...

Below is the Moon mix via Spotify and it is also on Deezer and I think it manages to improve on those 64 minutes by including the best of the B sides from the album. The Sound of Speed makes an amazing opening track and a more appropriate opening for such a brilliant album. After the first 3 songs from the Lazarus ep it is then the full album except that it is the 12" version of Lazarus which is simply one of the greatest pieces of music ever. The best of the songs from the other singles and Lazarus re-release follow with (I Wanna Be) Touchdown Jesus, Further and Cracked Lips, Homesick being highlights. The 2008 expanded edition also included two eps from their previous album Everything's Alright Forever which are quite brilliant and have been included in the Moon Mix of that album which is also available via Deezer and Spotify. It includes two of Martin Carr's finest moments the magnificent album opener Spaniard and the B side Sunfly II (Walking with the Kings), which always reminds me of Born Slippy by Underworld only a lot better and released three years earlier.  The album as a whole has aged very well; the tunes and vocals are just a bit hidden compared to Giant Steps but patience will bring reward. Wake Up! was the follow up to Giant Steps but its expanded edition is not available via Deezer or Spotify but unlike all the tracks on the Giant Steps expanded edition, the tracks are all on Grooveshark and you can check them out via a previous Moon post. The origiional album is also being re-released on vinyl you can get it here. Enjoy.

And if this floats your boat then you must check out A Best of Brave Captain on the Moon Martin Carr's post Boo project as is it just as brilliant. Also for a more recent album with a Martin Carr influence check out My Autumn Empire on the Moon