Legendary indie/post-punks, The Breeders have just announced a UK tour to tie in with the 30th Anniversary of their sophomore album, Last Splash. Supporting on the 4 UK dates will be Londoners Big Joanie. Tickets go on general sale on Fri 2nd Feb at 10:00. Presale options are available from Weds 31st Jan.
A defining album of the 90s, Last Splash turns 30 this year. To celebrate, the record has been remastered for the first time, using the original ½ inch analog tape, lovingly worked on by Kim, Benjamin Mumphrey, and Miles Showell at Abbey Road. The tape, consisting of final mixes, but un-sequenced and unmastered, was only recently rediscovered in the Warner Bros. archive, a discovery that has made possible this ultimate audiophile vinyl pressing, and also brought to light two unreleased tracks from the 1993 Last Splash recording sessions, a bonus which will delight fans.
Last Splash was mixed at the legendary Record Plant in Sausalito, a labyrinth of dark carpeted hallways hung with the gold and platinum records of Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, and Jefferson Airplane. One morning, setting up a mix, the engineer accidentally erased the first 45 seconds of ‘Do You Love Me Now.’ Miraculously, a copy of the 2” tape had been made—mailed to Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis with an invitation to overdub guitar on ‘Divine Hammer’—and the engineer was able to rebuild the missing part, a painstaking process (before digital recording) that took seven days.
The album has never sounded so good. Titled “Last Splash (the 30th Anniversary Original Analog Edition), cut at half speed at Abbey Road, it now spans two 12” discs running at 45rpm. Also included is an exclusive one-sided etched 12” disc featuring the two “new” tracks: a song that Kim co-wrote with Black Francis titled ‘Go Man Go,’ and a different version of ‘Divine Hammer’ with lead vocals by J Mascis and titled, naturally enough, ‘Divine Mascis.’ For this special release, the late Vaughan Oliver’s iconic sleeve art has been gloriously reimagined by his long-time design partner Chris Bigg. A Japanese CD release will also be available.
