S Poddar
Mark Lanegan’s 2004 album, Bubblegum, is getting a deluxe reissue for its 20th anniversary. The collaboration between Beggars Arkive and Lanegan’s estate has resulted in Bubblegum XX, a remastered double-LP set to be released on August 23. Additionally, a four-LP box set will be available, featuring two bonus LPs filled with rarities, outtakes, and 12 previously unreleased tracks.
The album has been remastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road Studios. This edition marks the first time Bubblegum is presented as a double LP, unlike the original 2004 vinyl which fit the 50-minute album onto a single disc. The bonus discs include a remastered version of Here Comes That Weird Chill (Methamphetamine Blues, Extras & Oddities), now with three additional songs.
The final LP in the set, Demos & Unreleased Songs, offers four tracks produced and mixed by Troy Van Leeuwen, recorded in various hotel rooms with Lanegan on vocals and Van Leeuwen playing all instruments. One of the highlights is “Union Tombstone,” featuring Beck.
Van Leeuwen reflects on the sessions: “These hotel demo sessions were basically forgotten. When I heard about Mark’s passing, memories came flooding back. I searched through my archive and miraculously found these sessions. It was as if they were fresh out of the tap. The rough mixes are a time capsule that holds up even after 20 years. It’s a true gift from Mark to those of us who love him and his raw expression of beauty. Every listen humbles me, and I’m honored to share his gift.”
The Bubblegum XX box set includes a 64-page hardcover book with essays by Troy Van Leeuwen, Josh Homme, Chris Goss, Alain Johannes, David Catching, Greg Dulli, Duff McKagan, and Brett Netson, along with studio notes and unseen photographs by Steve Gullick. Josh Homme recalls, “When he told me: ‘I’m calling it Bubblegum,’ I thought he was joking. Knowing Mark, it was darkly humorous. He wanted to be a new piece of bubblegum on a sunny day, but he was the gum stuck under the desk. He was the dark lord.”
Here’s the artwork and tracklist for Bubblegum XX:
Bubblegum – 2XLP
- A1. When Your Number Isn’t Up
- A2. Hit The City (with PJ Harvey)
- A3. Wedding Dress
- A4. Methamphetamine Blues
- B1. One Hundred Days
- B2. Bombed
- B3. Strange Religion
- B4. Sideways In Reverse
- C1. Come to Me (with PJ Harvey)
- C2. Like Little Willie John
- C3. Can’t Come Down
- D1. Morning Glory Wine
- D2. Head
- D3. Driving Death Valley Blues
- D4. Out of Nowhere
Here Comes That Weird Chill (Methamphetamine Blues, Extras & Oddities) – 1XLP
- A1. Methamphetamine Blues
- A2. On The Steps of the Cathedral
- A3. Clear Spot
- A4. Message to Mine
- A5. Lexington Slow Down
- A6. Skeletal History
- B1. Wish You Well
- B2. Sleep With Me
- B3. Sleep With Me – Version…
- B4. Sympathy (previously only available on the Has God Seen My Shadow anthology)
- B5. Mirrored (B-side from Hit The City single)
- B6. Mud Pink Skag (B-side from Hit The City single)
Demos & Unreleased Songs – 1XLP
- A1. Heard a Train
- A2. Union Tombstone (featuring Beck)
- A3. Josephine
- A4. Kingdom
- A5. Soldier
- A6. Little Willie John (Alternate version of Like Little Willie John)
- A7. Blood (Crackers & Honey)
- B1. You Wild Colorado (Johnny Cash cover)
- B2. Revolver (original demo, of song eventually used on Isobel Campbell)
- B3. Leaving New River Blues (previously only available on the Has God Seen My Shadow anthology as Heaven Is Dry)
- B4. St. James Infirmary (cover)
- B5. Willie John (Alternate version of Like Little Willie John)
- B6. Pure Religion (Alternate version of Strange Religion)
