Mogwai advice needed

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Ian
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Mogwai advice needed

Post by Ian »

I bought Young Team when it came out, but it didn't really click with me so I left it there. My wife Mary bought their most recent album when it came out, and I thought it sounded pretty good, but again I didn't investigate any further. When I saw that they were playing at The Garage in London in February, I thought it would make a good Christmas present for Mary, so I got a couple of tickets as well as Stuart's book. This was the catalyst for Mary to start playing a lot of their stuff on Spotify, and it has finally made sense to me.

I've bought all of the regular albums via Bandcamp (the ones listed in the brief discography on Wikipedia here). I know they don't tend to include the singles on their albums. Can anyone give me some advice on what to get so that the important singles are covered? Anything else essential? Thanks for any help!
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sunray
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by sunray »

My Father My King EP, a single 20 minute epic track of gargantuan proportions. If you dig the noisier end of Mogwai this is absolutely essential.

Ten Rapid is a good collection of early singles. Also check out EP+6.
For live albums Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996-2003 is a must. Special Moves also worth delving into.
I'm not sure if there's any collection of late period singles. Although i think in latter years the singles were on the albums. Happy to be corrected on all this by someone more in the know.
There's loads of Mogwai threads here so all the info required is probably in there somewhere, but who has the time to wade through all those? :lol:
Enjoy :)
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Vancouver
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by Vancouver »

Reiterating Ten Rapid and EP+6. Essential.
Ian
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by Ian »

Thanks both, very helpful!
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mkb
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by mkb »

Some of the more recent standalone stuff appears on Central Belters, the best-of compilation.
heisenberg
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by heisenberg »

Don't feed them after midnight.
Don't get them wet.
Don't expose them to direct sunlight.

Sorry, couldn't resist :lol:
beaker73
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by beaker73 »

Also, read Stuarts book 'Spaceships Over Glasgow', it's a fun read, well written and made me pull out my Mogwai records again.
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Ian
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by Ian »

beaker73 wrote: Wed Jan 11, 2023 5:11 pm Also, read Stuarts book 'Spaceships Over Glasgow', it's a fun read, well written and made me pull out my Mogwai records again.
Yes, it was very good, highly recommended to all. I'm sticking with the albums and the above suggestions of Ten Rapid, EP+6 and MFMK for now, quite enough to be getting on with, it's a bit overwealming trying to process it all at once. Long car journey tomorrow, I've made a chronological playlist.

Come On Die Young is an early favourite, a bit more downbeat than the others I've listened to. It's Wiki page suggests it's not as well thought of as some others, that was a surprise to me.
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sunray
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by sunray »

Ian wrote: Wed Jan 11, 2023 5:23 pm Come On Die Young is an early favourite, a bit more downbeat than the others I've listened to. It's Wiki page suggests it's not as well thought of as some others, that was a surprise to me.
That's a surprise to me also, I always thought it was a firm fan favourite. In saying that, it would be bottom of the pile for me. What can i say? I like the noise!
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angel-sighs
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by angel-sighs »

It's never too late to get into a band right?
I would also have plumped for the earlier work to get people started.
Come On Die Young seems divisive, it is rather clean sounding (and a bit samey.. or you could say it maintains a mood) compared to a lot of their other material but i like it a lot.

I don't think the band have ever really made a bad album, but there's a fair few that are just 'okay', mainly in their latter career. Later on everything gets a bit less minimalist and more richly textured with keyboards, electronics, etc. I would say the highlight of the later stuff is 'Hardcore'.. closely followed by Every Countrys Sun.
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by Shinesalight »

Bit of a late response to this thread but it slipped by me for some reason. I'm a huge fan of the band and I think they pretty much are fighting with Spiritualized for top spot as my favourite band ever. I think I listen to Mogwai more than any other artist at the moment, whether its on the turntable, on my phone or in the car. Their music relaxes and excites me in equal measures. I think 'Young Team' is my personal favourite but I think you can't go wrong with 'CODY', 'Hawk Is Howling', 'Hardcore Will Never Die' or the latest one. I really love the live album 'Special Moves' too. I understand why 'CODY' can split opinion but I love it... especially the trio of 'Ex-Cowboy', 'Chocky' and 'Christmas Steps' towards the end.

Got Stuart's book for Christmas too Ian and it was a thoroughly good read and interesting to hear him get into a lot of similar stuff I was into at the time. My wife went to a lot of the gigs in Glasgow and Edinburgh at the same time he was there. I took her to see them in Brighton a couple of weeks ago and, even though she's not a big fan generally, she was absolutely blown away by the performance. Every time I've seen them they have been breathtaking and they have such a huge body of work now.
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natty
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by natty »

Also, if your original copy of Young Team is vinyl and in good condition, you might want to have a peep at the value on Discogs.com...
angel-sighs
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Re: Mogwai advice needed

Post by angel-sighs »

Shinesalight wrote: Wed Mar 08, 2023 10:15 am . I really love the live album 'Special Moves' too.
Yeah, good shout. This would be a good place to start by including key songs from a few different albums. And it gives an idea of just how good they are live. They have been doing this so long they have got the live stuff down to a fine art.
It's a really well recorded live album too. Not overproduced but gives a really good idea of what they sound like

natty wrote: Sun Mar 12, 2023 8:50 pm Also, if your original copy of Young Team is vinyl and in good condition, you might want to have a peep at the value on Discogs.com...
Crikey! Wasn't the original release actually a bit hampered by really flat mastering? Or perhaps that was only the CD. It is one of the few reissues where a remaster was actually 100% needed
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