I
must admit I didn’t really love the Super Furrys until this album. I definitely
liked them - my housemates at University in my third year used to play them to
death, especially the Outspaced album
which had just come out that year. In fact, I think I bought Outspaced first, on vinyl, and then I
started buying all the others.They were a handy band to have when DJing too - they’re probably the band I was asked “Hey mate, who’s this?” most when playing them.
By the time Rings Around The World came out, I had been buying their albums as they came out - Guerilla after Outspaced, and then Mwng - partly becase they’re an awesome band, but also because they always did something nice with their vinyl releases.
On Rings Around The World, side C, the side with Juxtapozed With U on it, plays ‘backwards’ - that is, you drop the needle in the centre, where the run-out groove usually is, and it plays from centre out to the edge. Sure, it’s gimmicky, but at least it’s something that sets the record apart from others. You just need to be bloody fast, when side C finishes, to save your needle before it does a suicide leap off the record.
I used to listen to this a lot when I drove over to Ireland to see my long-distance girlfriend in Wexford. As the band are Welsh, it’s quite nice that the album became my soundtrack for driving through that country to get to the ferry port in Fishguard.
Paul McCartney appears on this album too, on Receptacle For The Respectable, channelling his earlier role on one of the Beach Boys’ albums by crunching on some celery and carrots. Nice!
Hit: Juxtapozed With U
Hidden Gem: Receptacle For The Respectable
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