Rings Around the World (20th Anniversary Edition, Pt. 2 Remaster) Super Furry Animals

• 1 (Drawing) Rings Around the World (Demo #1) 02:05
• 2 (Drawing) Rings Around the World (Demo #2) 01:53
• 3 (Drawing) Rings Around the World (Demo #3) 02:03
• 4 No Sympathy (Demo) 04:03
• 5 Tradewinds (Demo) 03:44
• 6 Receptacle for the Respectable (Demo #1) 02:16
• 7 Receptacle for the Respectable (Demo #2) 02:20
• 8 Happiness Is a Worn Pun (Demo) 02:39
• 9 Sidewalk Serfer Girl (Demo) 00:23
• 10 Run! Christian, Run! (Demo) 04:08
• 11 Presidential Suite (Demo) 02:53
• 12 The Roman Road (Demo) 04:24
• 13 Patience (Demo #1) 04:21
• 14 Patience (Demo #2) 04:23
• 15 Shoot Doris Day (Demo) 03:44
• 16 Edam Anchorman (Demo) 02:55
• 17 Sanitised (Demo) 02:13
• 18 Fragile Happiness (Demo) 02:34
• 19 Menu Music Medley 26:15
• 20 (Drawing) Rings Around the World (Acapella Phones) 02:00
• 21 Receptacle for the Respectable (Maccapella Celery) 01:00
• 22 Tradewinds (Acoustic Mix) 04:15
• 23 Sidewalk Serfer Girl (Alternate Second Verse) 00:42
• 24 Shoot Doris Day (Excised Third Chorus) 00:53
• 25 Sidewalk Serfer Girl (Unused '70s Rock Edit Section) 00:40
• 26 Alternate Route to Vulcan Street (Instrumental) 04:42
• 27 Sidewalk Serfer Girl (Instrumental) 04:06
• 28 (Drawing) Rings Around the World (Instrumental) 03:35
• 29 It's Not the End of the World? (Instrumental) 03:30
• 30 Receptacle for the Respectable (Instrumental) 04:34
• 31 [A] Touch Sensitive (Alternate Mix) 02:44
• 32 Shoot Doris Day (Instrumental) 04:06
• 33 No Sympathy (Instrumental) 05:06
• 34 No Sympathy, Pt. 2 (Alternate Mix) 02:32
• 35 Juxtapozed with U (Instrumental) 03:10
• 36 Presidential Suite (Instrumental) 05:24
• 37 Run! Christian, Run! (Instrumental) 07:17
• 38 Fragile Happiness (Instrumental) 02:35
• 39 Tradewinds (Instrumental) 05:16
• 40 The Roman Road (Instrumental) 06:03
• 41 Patience (Instrumental) 04:05
• 42 Edam Anchorman (Instrumental) 03:31
• 43 All the Shit U Do (Instrumental) 02:31
• 44 Gypsy Space Muffin (Instrumental) 03:40
• 45 Happiness Is a Worn Pun (Instrumental) 06:11
• Total Runtime 02:53:24

Info for Rings Around the World (20th Anniversary Edition, Pt. 2 Remaster)

This 20th anniversary reissued has been remastered from the original master tapes.

The fifth studio album from Welsh quintet Super Furry Animals was their most commercially successful to date. A musically eclectic record, incorporating pop, prog, punk, jungle, electronica, techno and death metal, the album was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001 and named as Mojo’s best album in the same year. Their major label debut album peaked at #3 on the UK album chart on release, supported by singles ‘(Running) Rings Around The World’, ‘It’s Not The End of the World’ and ‘Juxtapozed With You’. Paul McCartney and John Cale make cameo appearances on the album too.

"Super Furry Animals' leap to a major label in the U.K. with Rings Around the World isn't that drastic of a change -- Fuzzy Logic was also released on Epic in the U.S., Creation was subsidized by Sony, and they never were exactly wanting of money on their previous records -- but the band nevertheless seizes the opportunity to consolidate their strengths, providing an introduction for listeners that may not have been paying attention before. As such, it's hard not to consider it as a bit of a missed opportunity, since this is the first SFA album not to progress from its predecessor, or offer the shock of the new, and that's hard not to miss -- but, if this is the first SFA record you hear, it'll likely intrigue, even dazzle, with its kaleidoscopic blend of pop, prog, punk, psych, and electronica. Still, this is nearly Super Furry Cliff Notes, offering a glossy, big-screen variation on all of their themes -- decadently lush pop-psych, chugging rock & roll, bitter leftism, sublimely warped imagery, experimentalism wrapped in luxurious productions. Alluring, to be sure, and satisfying, too, and there certainly are wonderful details scattered throughout the album, the least of which are cameos by John Cale and Paul McCartney. Plus, there is exceptional songwriting here, such as the cinematic "Juxtaposed With U," "Sidewalk Serfer Girl," and "Receptacle for the Respectable," which encapsulates nearly every side of the band within five minutes. Still, it's hard not to want a little more from the band that was the best pop band of the late '90s. It's hard not to at least want surprises (since there are none) or, if it's going to be a consolidation, to have it be a statement of purpose, since it lacks either an overarching theme or a music that gels. So, it's not what it could have been, but what it is is still pretty damn great, satisfying with its melodies, textures, and ideas. Compared to what Super Furry Animals have done before, Rings Around the World pales slightly but noticeably, but compared to the dead world of mainstream and indie rock in 2001, it still shines brightly." (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG)

Gruff Rhys, lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, harmonica
Huw Bunford, lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, pedal steel
Guto Pryce, bass
Cian Ciaran, keyboards, backing vocals
Dafydd Ieuan, drums, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "Receptacle for the Respectable"


Produced by Chris Shaw and Super Furry Animals

Digitally remastered

Super Furry Animals
were one of the first post-alternative bands, fusing together a number of disparate musical genres -- including power pop, punk rock, techno, and progressive rock -- creating a shimmering, melodic, irreverent, and willfully artsy rock & roll. As one of the leading bands of the mid-'90s Welsh movement, they were already tagged as outsiders by their tendency to sing entire songs in their native tongue, but their very approach was unique, full of both whimsy and left-wing political activism. What set them apart from their fellow Welsh bands were their infectious melodic sensibilities and their wildly irreverent attitude, which peers like Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, 60 Ft. Dolls, and Catatonia lacked.

Moog Droog Formed in Cardiff, Wales, in 1993, Super Furry Animals were comprised of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw "Bunf" Bunford (guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass), Cian Ciárán (keyboards, electronics), and Dafydd Ieuan (drums). All five members had played in bands throughout their teens prior to forming the group, most notably Rhys, who had previously played in a jangle pop band named Emily that was briefly signed to Creation, as well as a Welsh noise rock band called Ffa Coffi Pawb. Following the dissolution of Ffa Coffi Pawb, Rhys played in a trio with Pryce and Ieuan, which eventually evolved into Super Furry Animals. Initially, the group was a techno outfit, yet they quickly evolved into a neo-psychedelic and progressive pop outfit. After two years or writing and touring, the band signed with the Cardiff-based independent label Ankst and released their debut EP, Lianfairpwllgywgyllgoger Chwymdrobwlltysiliogoygoyocynygofod (In Space), which was sung entirely in Welsh. It was followed within a few months by another EP, Moog Droog, which was also sung in Welsh. Both EPs were produced by Gorwel Owen.

Fuzzy Logic By the end of 1995, Super Furry Animals had gained a strong, cross-generational fan base in Wales while gathering a strong cult following in Britain, which led to a six-album record contract with Creation Records. Prior to signing with Creation, the band had decided to sing the majority of their songs in English, in order to reach a wider audience. Super Furry Animals and Owen produced the group's debut album, which was preceded by two singles in the spring of 1996 -- "Hometown Unicorn" and "God! Show Me Magic" -- which became moderate hits. Fuzzy Logic, the band's debut album, was released in the U.K. in June 1996 to uniformly excellent reviews and a place in the Top 40. Within a few months, SFA had become one of the hippest bands in British independent music, with several of the group's lyrical touchstones -- most notably the notorious Welsh dope smuggler Howard Marks, who appeared on the cover of Fuzzy Logic -- having become pop culture references. Super Furry Animals also became infamous during the summer of 1996 for attending all of the pop music festivals in a gigantic tank.

"Something 4 the Weekend" and "If You Don't Want Me to Destroy You" became hit singles in the summer and fall of 1996. The latter single was scheduled to have a B-side called "The Man Don't Give a Fuck," which was built on a sample of Steely Dan's "Showbiz Kids," but Donald Fagen refused to give the group permission to use the recording. By November, he relented and "The Man Don't Give a Fuck" was released as a limited-edition single in early December; it reached number 22 on the U.K. charts, and became the group's default set closer. Fuzzy Logic also placed in the Top Ten of many critics' year-end polls.

RadiatorSuper Furry Animals entered the studios in January 1997 to record their second album, Radiator, which was released in August 1997. Guerrilla followed two years later, and in mid-2000 the band resurfaced with Mwng. Cameos by John Cale and Paul McCartney were featured on the ambitious 2001 album Rings Around the World, while 2003's Phantom Power was a looser affair. The compilation Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1 and the new album Love Kraft were both released in 2005. The group signed with the Rough Trade label in 2006 and released the addictive pop album Hey Venus! in 2007. Two years later, the group released Dark Days/Light Years and then went on hiatus. Over the next five years, indvidual members pursued solo projects, finally returning to action in 2015 to play concerts promoting the reissue of Mwng. A biography called Rise of the Super Furry Animals saw publication by the end of the year. In 2016, they played several festival dates in the U.S., along with releasing "BING BONG," an anthem for Euro 2016.

This album contains no booklet.