Pitchfork: Stiff Records Reissues Five Forgotten Gems

Stiff Records Reissues Five Forgotten Gems
LPs by Tracey Ullman, Wreckless Eric, Rachel Sweet, Any Trouble, Dirty Looks

Pioneering punk imprint Stiff Records-- the label credited with breaking Elvis Costello and the Damned, among others-- has plunged deep into its vaults and emerged with a bevy of lesser-known beauties from their early years, all of which will be reissued this coming Tuesday, April 3.

You Broke My Heart in 17 Places boasts strangely-straightforward gooey gal-pop from world's first Simpsons fan Tracey Ullman. Wreckless Eric-- perhaps best known in 2007 as the dude who penned the tune Will Ferrell uses to woo Maggie Gyllenhaal in the minor-key Stranger Than Fiction-- is represented by the sprawling Big Smash LP. Fool Around, the debut of then-16-year-old Rachel Sweet, packs chunky Motown-style R&B far less saccharine than her name might suggest. Dirty Looks' The Complete Stiff Years throws together a pair of the moddish Staten Island trio's Stiff releases, Dirty Looks and Turn It Up. And Any Trouble's Where Are All the Nice Girls? is sure to sooth the same itch pre-Armed Forces Elvis Costello scratched.

All five reissues are given the deluxe treatment, with bonus tracks and new liner notes. Full tracklists-- and we do mean full-- after the jump.

Tracey Ullman: You Broke My Heart In 17 Places:

01 Breakaway
02 Long Live Love
03 Shattered
04 Oh, What a Night
05 Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)
06 Move Over Darling
07 Bobby's Girl
08 They Don't Know
09 I'm Always Touched by Your Presence Dear
10 You Broke My Heart in 17 Places
11 I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten
12 Dancing in the Dark *
13 The B-Side *
14 Move Over Darling (Extended Version) *
15 My Guy *
16 Thinking Of Running Away *

*bonus tracks

Wreckless Eric: Big Smash:

Disc 1:

01 Popsong
02 Wreckless Eric
03 Tonight (Is My Night)
04 Too Busy
05 Broken Doll
06 Can I Be Your Hero?
07 Back in My Hometown
08 It'll Soon Be the Weekend
09 Strange Towns
10 Excuse Me
11 Break My Mind
12 Good Conversation
13 Out of the Blue

Disc 2:

01 Whole Wide World
02 Take the Cash (KASH)
03 Let's Go to the Pictures
04 Walking on the Surface of the Moon
05 Hit and Miss Judy
06 I Wish It Would Rain
07 Reconnez Cherie
08 Veronica
09 Brain Thieves
10 Semaphore Signals
11 I Need a Situation
12. Final Taxi
13 There Isn't Anything Else
14 Little Bit More *
15 Take the Cash (KASH) (live) *
16 I Need a Situation (live) *

* bonus tracks

Rachel Sweet - Fool Around:

01 Just My Style
02 B-A-B-Y
03 Who Does Lisa Like?
04 Wildwood Saloon
05 Stay Awhile
06 Suspended Animation
07 It's So Different Here
08 Cuckoo Clock
09 Pin a Medal on Mary
10 Girl with a Synthesizer
11 Stranger in the House
12. I Go to Pieces *
13 Sad Song *
14 Truckstop Queen *
15 Tourist Boys *
16 Be Stiff *

* bonus tracks

Dirty Looks: The Complete Stiff Years:

Disc 1:

01 They Got Me Covered
02 Love Crimes
03 You Can't Love Me
04 Lie to Me
05 Take a Life
06 Let Go
07 12 O'Clock High
08 You're Too Old
09 Accept Me
10 Disappearing
11 Drop That Tan
12. Rosario's Ashes *
13 Tailin' Love *
14 Automatic Pilot *
15 They Got Me Covered (live) *
16 Love Comes in Spurts (live) *
17 The Girl (live) *
18 Stepping Stone (live) *

Disc 2:

01 Daddy's Gone
02 Living Alone
03 Carrie
04 You've Got It
05 Do We Need It
06 Animal
07 Turn it Up
08 Deceit
09 Hit List
10 Born Again
11 Kiss of Death
12 Time Is Up
13 It Was

*bonus tracks

Any Trouble: Where Are All the Nice Girls?:

01 Yesterday's Love *
02 Second Choice
03 Playing Bogart
04 Foolish Pride
05 Nice Girls
06 No Idea *
07 Turning up the Heat
08 Romance
09 Hurt
10 Girls Are Always Right
11 Growing Up (US version) *
12 Honolulu
13 (Get You Off) the Hook
14 Nice Girls *

*bonus tracks