The Posies - Broadcasts, Vols. 1 & 2

A gracious deed it would be for a dedicated Posies fan to go to the trouble of compiling a CD’s worth of radio sessions, and live sets culled from FM and TV broadcasts by Bellingham, WA’s finest, but up that generosity to seven disks and said curator’s devotion is nothing less than a sheer labor of love.  Such an assemblage came to pass in the mid ‘00s, but if you hadn’t caught the bit torrent bug by then, or were otherwise not well connected you likely missed the boat.  Fortunately, I’m going to do the next best thing to turning back the hands of time.

Spanning 1989-2001 (with a heavy concentration on the periods surrounding Frosting on the Beater and Amazing Disgrace) and boasting 140 songs between its seven volumes, The Posies Broadcasts series is as exhaustive, and carefully assembled collection of live Posies tracks from a cornucopia of sources, unavailable elsewhere, including the At Least, At Last box set. Granted, between those 140 tracks, that really boils down to about 30-40 individual titles, but absorbed in moderate doses this trove of John Auer’s and Ken Stringfellow’s blissed out pop grandeur is a thing of a immense beauty. The Posies proper studio albums are totally revered, as well they should be, but onstage or ensconced in the auspices of a cramped radio studio, these guys seemingly never had an “off” night. A few minor flubs here and there, but nothing to detract from the band’s strenuous quality control in terms of songwriting and agile melody weaving.

I’m not letting the floodgates open all at once, rather I’m initially going to ease you into the Broadcasts via the first two volumes, with the rest to follow throughout this spring. I’ve included basic source info amidst the tracklists below, but more details are provided in the info files in each folder. Enjoy.

Broadcasts Vol. 1

KBCS Bellevue, WA, September 1989
1. I May Hate You Sometimes/2. Compliment/3. Suddenly Mary/4. Any Other Way/5. King Midas In Reverse

KUKQ Tempe, AZ 1990
6. Suddenly Mary/7. Any Other Way

KISW Seattle 3/13/91
8. My Big Mouth/9. Suddenly Mary10. This One's Taken11. I Am the Cosmos

KJJO Minneapolis 6/15/91
12. When You Dance I Can Really Love

Modern Rock Live, Westwood One Radio 1994
13. Precious Moments

120 Minutes, MTV 7/27/93
14. Solar Sister (take one)/15. Solar Sister (take two)/16. Dream All Day

WXMT Chicago 7/31/93
17. Earlier Than Expected

BBC Radio One
18. Dream All Day/19. Solar Sister

Belgian Radio, early 1994
20. Dream All Day

BBC Radio One, Phoenix Festival , 1994
21. Golden Blunders/22. Dream All Day

Broadcasts Vol. 2

KDHX St. Louis, December 19, 1989 (concert simulcast)
1. My Big Mouth/2. Suddenly Mary/3. Any Other Way/4. Apology/5. Paint Me/6. Help Yourself/7. I Am the Cosmos/8. Flood of Sunshine/9. Blind Eyes Open

Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles, August 16, 1993
10. Definite Door/11. Solar Sister/12. Golden Blunders/13. Love Letter Boxes/14. Burn and Shine/15. When Mute Tongues Can Speak/16. Earlier Than Expected/17. Dream All Day/18. Any Other Way

Broadcasts 1: Hear
Broadcasts 2: Hear