The EditoriaList: Eight Great EPs
posted in: Features • Rock
EP stands for Extended Play. The word left off at the end is Single, as these were originally all about singles with some bonus material. This list, however, is about the EP as an artistic statement unto itself. Like a great short story, the EP can thrill you in a way that a full-length LP (Long Player) can’t; its succinctness and concentrated power leaving you excited and needing more. On this list, the EPs may or may not be based on an album single, as long as it hangs together as its own listening experience.
8. Jim James (as Yim Yames) “ Tribute To¦
Shortly after George Harrison’s death in 2001, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James went into the studio and cut a handful of George’s songs, selecting several of the best solo and Beatle compositions (drawing heavily from The White Album and All Things Must Pass). The resulting EP was not released until 2009. James is solo here, with acoustic guitar, multitracked voice, and a shitload of reverb; the sum of which lends a lonely, timeless air to Harrison’s already mystical songs. The recordings are pretty true to the original arrangements, but James has such a unique style (particularly in this spare environment) that the songs are reinvented. AMG’s Andrew Leahey puts it well: “˜My Sweet Lord,’ once a communal hymn, is stripped of its choral arrangement and turned into a solitary prayer, while The Beatles’ ˜Love You To’ leaves its Indian homeland in favor of the swampy American backwoods.”
7. Mission of Burma “ Signals, Calls, and Marches
This EP was originally released (in 1981) with six songs, including the seething That’s When I Reach For My Revolver, then was amended and re-released in 1997 with the anthemic Academy Fight Song and Max Ernst. Signals, Calls, and Marches is probably the most accessible MoB recording (Roger Miller called it mild mannered in comparison with their aggressive live show) and, as such, helped propel into the 80s the gospel of post-punk / underground / college rock / whatever you want to call it (long before “alternative”). Like most of the EPs on this list, it should not be treated by any fans or curious listeners as an afterthought or any less important than their LPs, but instead as an integral part of the Burma catalog.
6. U2 “ Under A Blood Red Sky
Under A Blood Red Sky sees U2 just emerging as the premier rock band of their era, and the eight live tracks within are compelling evidence as to why. There’s been a lot of talk about this next song, maybe too much talk. This is not a rebel song! This is ˜Sunday Bloody Sunday!’ Bono shouts to the audience at the intro. I don’t care what kind of noise follows that kind of statement, but I can’t wait to hear it, can you? The band is tight as hell and they don’t let up until the record is over.
5. My Bloody Valentine “ Tremolo
Tremolo edges out MBV’s Glide as their best EP, but they’re both so good, that it’s really a matter of taste. Or maybe just mood. But on Tremolo, the architecture of Kevin Shields’ tone-bending soundscapes is so deliberate and well constructed that it allows melody and dissonance to exist together in, dare I say, harmony. Tremolo is breathtakingly measured and balanced. There are precious few bands like this, who can lull you into a state of bliss with towering walls of guitar noise.
4. R.E.M. “ Chronic Town
An incredible five-song set, Chronic Town is the first R.E.M. release and includes the classic Gardening At Night (a different mix than that on Eponymous). The EP is out-of-print, but all of the songs are available on the later outtakes collection Dead Letter Office, which is highly recommended itself. The band makes it all sound effortless here, and Michael Stipe’s vocals are as prominent and as clear as they would be for their next few records.
3. Urge Overkill “ Stull
Stull is a favorite from the U.O. catalog because it finds the different facets of the band overlapping, as they morphed from hipster indie rockers to full-on amped-up glam rock heros. This EP features their best-known recording, a cover of Neil Diamond’s Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon, which would later be prominently featured on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. They veer into punk, big fuzz rock, laid-back ’60s groove, Stones-y grit, and beyond, all within six songs.
2. Radiohead “ My Iron Lung
This is a true extended play single. The Bends-era Radiohead released a really impressive amount of high-quality B-sides, and I always thought they could have made a stellar LP from those songs in between The Bends and OK Computer. The My Iron Lung EP is as close as we’ll get to that. And at eight songs (including the title single from The Bends), it’s a damn satisfying listen. It’s a testament to the quality of their album tracks that songs like The Trickster, Punchdrunk Lovesick Holiday, and Lozenge Of Love were relegated to second-tier. You Never Wash Up After Yourself is a hidden gem, and the EP ends with the popular acoustic version of the Pablo Honey hit Creep.
1. The Pixies “ Come On Pilgrim
Sometimes it’s a fine line between what constitutes an EP and an LP. Come On Pilgrim contains seven songs and is closer to being considered an LP than, say, the eight-song My Iron Lung. This is perhaps because The Pixies release contains top-level songs that, apart from a re-recording of Vamos for their next LP, are otherwise unreleased and integral pieces of the band’s catalog. Come On Pilgrim is The Pixies debut, and what a compelling set it is. Nothing else sounded like this in 1987, from the casually spooky opener Caribou to the heavy, almost-blues of Nimrod’s Son. The Pixies synthesized so many different styles in this one EP, that it’s difficult to pin them down. Each song is daring and confident, a thrilling joy to listen to.
