A First Sight Of The Stems

The Stems 1987 debut LP sits comfortably in the pantheon of timeless Australian albums of the era. The first single ‘At First Sight’ is a bona fide classic of Australian indie-pop and the subsequent singles ‘For Always’ and ‘Sad Girl’ cemented a truly engaging and high-quality debut album. The Stems, like their Western Australian compatriots Hoodoo Gurus, The Go Betweens and from across the trench The Church, straddle a retro-jangle garage pop sound that relies on shimmering guitar and organ that is solidly held together by melodic and catchy hooks. Originally issued through Mushroom Records' White Label on vinyl, the album only saw limited CD release at that time. In the early 90s Rolling Stone Magazine included it in the top 100 Australian releases of all time. The 2003 reissue includes a bonus disc with 15 B-sides & live recordings (many of which are available on CD for the first time), 'Sad Girl' (Single Version), 'Grooviest Girl In Town', 'My Beach', 'Can't Forget That Girl' (original demo previously unreleased) & 10 live recordings from the Old Melbourne Hotel, 4/18/1986 - 'Rosebud', 'Make You Mine', ‘Mr Misery’, ‘Under Your Mushroom’, 'She's A Monster', 'Love Will Grow', 'The Otherside', 'Does It Turn You On', 'All You Want For Me', & 'Stepping Stone'.

This album is pure listening pleasure and will delight all who take the plunge to download and listen up. There is a 500 CD run released in 2017 for the 30 year anniversary of the classic 1987 album with the additional studio tracks as a bonus. This means that the live tracks from the Old Melbourne Hotel are only available with this 2 disc reissue. Grab it!

Originally posted by “Beneath The Sound” or “Burning Flames From Under The Ashes” blogs, who have both gone private, so shared here in MP3 @ 320kbps

The Stems; At First Sight Violets Are Blue [2 CD]

1.      At First Sight

2.      Sad Girl

3.      Rosebud

4.      Man With The Golden Heart

5.      Running Around

6.      For Always

7.      You Can’t Turn The Clock Back

8.      Move Me

9.      Mr Misery

10.   Can’t Forget That Girl

11.   Never Be Friends

12.   The Otherside

1.      Sad Girl (Single Version)

2.      Grooviest Girl In Town (B’side)

3.      My Beach (B’side)

4.      Can’t Forget That Girl (Demo)

5.      Rosebud (Live)

6.      Make You Mine (Live)

7.      Mr Misery (Live)

8.      Under Your Mushroom (Live)

9.      She’s A Monster (Live)

10.   Love Will Grow (Live)

11.   The Otherside (Live)

12.   Does It Turn You On (Live)

13.   All You Want Me For (Live)

14.   Stepping Stone (Live)