Phantom Bride EP (2009)(belated 4th single)

[Pughie]

UK Release Date
10 August 2009

Tracks previously released as promo-only 12" vinyl (1990).
Tracks taken from:
Push Me Shove Me / Senseless (ERAS 1)
Ship Of Fools / Who Needs Love (Like That) (ERAS 2)
Sometimes / Weight Of The World (ERAS 3)

CD – CD Mute 420
Phantom Bride – 2009 Re-master
Hallowed Ground – Vincent Clarke's Big-Mix
Chains Of Love – Almighty 12" Essential Mix
Phantom Bride – Ghostly Groom Dub by FrankMusik
A Little Respect – Wayne G & Alan Allder Hurdy Gurdy Club Mix
Heart Of Stone – Joebot's 'Ounce Of Bounce' Remix
Phantom Bride – Dogmatix's 12" Tearless Mix
Chains Of Love – Plastic Operator Remix

Digital – iMute 420
Phantom Bride – 2009 Re-master
Hallowed Ground – Vincent Clarke's Big-Mix
Chains Of Love – Almighty 12" Definitive Mix
Phantom Bride – Ghostly Groom Dub by FrankMusik
A Little Respect – Wayne G & Alan Allder Hurdy Gurdy Club Mix
Heart Of Stone – Joebot's 'Ounce Of Bounce' Remix
Phantom Bride – Dogmatix's 12" Tearless Mix
Chains Of Love – Plastic Operator Remix

[moxxey]

Question which has always intrigued me.

Phantom Bride was on The Innocents, which was released April 1998. But Phantom Bride was played live during The Circus era, particularly at Radio 1 in March 1997 on the Mark Goodier show. Sounded more like a demo track.

I've always wondered why they chose to play Phantom Bride whilst promoting The Circus and why so early on, too?

[kwerty]

Phantom Bride was on The Innocents, which was released April 1998. But Phantom Bride was played live during The Circus era, particularly at Radio 1 in March 1997 on the Mark Goodier show. Sounded more like a demo track.

I've always wondered why they chose to play Phantom Bride whilst promoting The Circus and why so early on, too?

Nah they didn't do those session tracks in March 1987 - the date on the album listing and Wikipedia is wrong! (I hadn't noticed that before!) - it probably should be March 1988

Those Mark Goodier sessions we on the radio AFTER Ship Of Fools was already in the charts, but before The Innocents was released. I know that because I remember listening to the show and taping the tracks at the time - and Phantom Bride was introduced as 'Crying' (probably hadn't decided on the song title yet!)

As for why that song - I suppose they maybe just wanted to include something from the new album on the show that wasn't the latest single, which Goodier was probably going to play anyway.

But yeah.. it definitely WAS NOT March 1987!

[moxxey]

But yeah.. it definitely WAS NOT March 1987!

Makes sense. Phantom Bride also sounded like an early-ish demo (and called Crying, as you said), so it was very confusing considering Ship of Fools was completely polished and finished at the time! It didn't seem to make sense that the track was so unfinished at that point as normally tracks are completely finished months as it took ages back then to prep the physical production etc.

[kwerty]

Makes sense. Phantom Bride also sounded like an early-ish demo (and called Crying, as you said), so it was very confusing considering Ship of Fools was completely polished and finished at the time! It didn't seem to make sense that the track was so unfinished at that point as normally tracks are completely finished months as it took ages back then to prep the physical production etc.

I think a lot of the sounds are in there - they're just more subdued and favouring a more bass driven version - but yeah it certainly sounds more raw than what we finally got on the album.

The turnaround for getting a finished version done in time for the album does seem kind of tight - although I've no idea how long or how quickly it takes - but we have to consider that it was unlikely the sessions were performed live in the radio studio in March '88 and were probably recorded some time in advance, so the timeline would have most likely been longer than it first seems.

That's assuming it is an unfinished version of course - they may have just chosen to do something a bit different with the session version!

For a long time I've had a theory that Phantom Bride was maybe one of the last songs they put together for the album. It sounds slightly out of place on the Innocents to me and I always though it might have been more at home on Crackers International, perhaps in place of She Won't Be Home if Crackers International wasn't a Christmas single! Just something about the way it sounds to me compared to the other tracks on the album (Imagination maybe being another one).

As for why including that song for the session? If it was the latest song they'd put together, maybe it was just the one they were currently most excited about as it was fresh!