The Avalanches - Since I Left You: Original Version (not quite)

If you haven't heard The Avalanches, they're best described as a group of record collecting collage artists who make beautiful music to party to. Their earliest recordings are more in the vein of Check Your Head era Beastie Boys, but their best known recordings are more like Paul's Boutique or Double Dee & Steinski's Lessons records due to their heavy use of sampling. Like Paul's Boutique, Since I Left You is one huge collage, but unlike Paul's Boutique there are practically no vocals and the samples don't seem to go together nearly as seamlessly. It almost feels like The Avalanches were trying to combine any records they could find rather than finding grooves that went together, giving the album a really funky feeling. None of this is to say that the album sounds rough or uneasy though, rather it sounds like a wonderfully loose disco party spanning the ages, perfect for a summer party or get together.

When the album was initially released in 2000 on Australia's Modular Records, it was quickly noted that there were a lot of samples that had clearance issues. Because of this, when the album was released internationally, parts were re-recorded or substituted from other sources. Most of the changes weren't terribly noticeable to the average listener, but many fans were disappointed to find their new favorite record altered. With that said, people have been hunting original versions of the album since with mixed results. The Avalanches' mixtape, Gimix, gives a more party-centric spin on the album with lots of songs and samples that could never have been cleared for any version of the album, at least as they're presented there, but some careless bootleggers also created an edit of the Gimix mixtape called When I Met You, altering the flow of the original mixtape with extended portions of some of the songs featured therein. That bootleg should be ignored, while Gimix is thoroughly essential, but original versions of the album are essential too, so it is with great pleasure that I present to you a version of Since I Left You with all of the original samples intact!

This version of the album is sourced from an original Australian vinyl pressing of the album and therefore features a few gaps between tracks where they previously flowed together, though those gaps aren't really a big deal. I don't own the original vinyl, rather I received this a long time ago from a collector who had a 24 Bit, 96 khz vinyl rip with each side as it's own unsplit track. I decided to separate the tracks in accordance with the CD version so you'll find this version in the same order as any standard CD release.

I want to make clear that this post should not be a substitute for purchasing this album. Yes, the standard version has many altered samples but it is still a great release and if you like it you should support the group. If you can find a physical copy of the album, it's worth a purchase simply for the ridiculously thorough sample clearance list in the credits, and the CDs all sound good and have been mastered rather well so you won't find yourself cursing them due to compression or other mastering issues. Also, the US Elektra Records pressing of the CD include incredible video for Frontier Psychiatrist, and you really shouldn't miss out on that!

The Avalanches are still together and have supposedly completed their long-in-the-works follow up to Since I Left You. Their fanbase is chomping at the bit that it is released this year, although rumors of severe sample clearance issues holding up it's release are quite believable. Hopefully we will hear it soon as it will be well worth the wait! If you want to check up on them, you can always visit their official site where they have several free mixtapes available for download, all of which are immensely entertaining.

UPDATE: An excellent message with some great links was left by an anonymous visitor to this post. They bring up the point that the samples in Frontier Psychiatrist in the version of the album featured here are probably the re-recorded versions, used initially because they were unable to clear all the samples at the time of the album's first release. That would make this version of the album slightly butchered or re-edited, but still the same great album for the most part. Check their message in the comments for this post, it's very informative and contains lots of links to back-up their statements, and a big thanks to that anonymous poster for their details, it's truly appreciated! Sharing details like these is really important for fans of The Avalanches, hip-hop and music in general. Again, thank you very much!


The Avalanches - Since I Left You: Original Version

01 Since I Left You
02 Stay Another Season
03 Radio
04 Two Hearts In 3/4 Time
05 Avalanche Rock
06 Flight Tonight
07 Close To You
08 Diners Only
09 A Different Feeling
10 Electricity
11 Tonight
12 Pablo's Cruise
13 Frontier Psychiatrist
14 Etoh
15 Summer Crane
16 Little Journey
17 Live At Dominoes
18 Extra Kings


The Avalanches and their guests on the album are:
Dexter: Animals and Westerns
Gordon McQuilten: Pianos and Percussion
The Villain Tony D: Halos and Heartstrings
Darren: Stand-Up Comedy and Brass Bands
Bobby: Choirs and Guitars

guests:
James De La Cruz: Turntables on Electricity
Antoinette Halloran & Sally Russell: Vocals on Electricity
Saian Supa Crew: Vocals on Flight Tonight


In case you didn't want to do a youtube search yourself, here are the videos for Frontier Psychiatrist and Since I Left You. You owe it to yourself to watch these!

Frontier Psychiatrist


Since I Left You


And just in case you haven't heard Gimix, check it out here. It's just as essential as Since I Left You.