The sequel to "Sit Down", and one of the most famous Madchester dance hits of the early 1990s. Originally created, like more or less all James songs, in an improvisational jam session (apparently, in an attempt to use the same chord structure as "Sit Down" and then deviate from it), "Come Home" shares something with its more famous predecessor - a less well-known "original" version, recorded and released on Rough Trade in late 1989.
This original mix, a rawer sound, featuring the distinctive klaxon wail of the the two-note keyboard-and-trumpet coda of the track, has been deleted now for 18 years, and was (as noted below) left off the "Fresh as a Daisy" CD set of James singles released in 2007.
A CD single, 7" and 12" was released, along with (like the earlier "Sit Down") a 7" in Australia. Housed in a Central Station sleeve (the Mancunian design duo who were busy making all the distinctive Happy Mondays artwork of the era), again like the original "Sit Down", it's baggy beat and day-glo artwork firmly brought James into the fold of Madchester (even though they were very much elder statesmen). The 12" (RT245) can even be glimpsed in a Stone Roses video (the second version of "Sally Cinnamon") alongside other singles of the time (including Electronic's "Getting Away With It") displayed in the window of Eastern Bloc Records.
The single's release in December 1989 coincided with the burgeoning of indie dance (both the Mondays and the Roses famously appearing on an episode of "Top of the Pops" the month before) - and for the first time, James' music gave a nod to dance culture. The b-side, "Slow Right Down" (sometimes referred to as a "Demo", even though no other version was ever released) was produced by Graham Massey of 808 State. The track itself is in no way dance or acid - in fact it's a semi-acoustic bounce-along with a glorious guitar and violin solo. But Massey's inclusion can be seen as the final piece of the puzzle - as much as anyone in late 1989, James were from Manchester.
Here is the full CD single mastered at 128kps: http://www.protectlinks.com/118147
The other b-side, "Promised Land", is one of James's most overt political songs - far more so than the "Sit Down" b-side "Sky is Falling" from six months before, which briefly touches on environmental issues. Here, Margaret Thatcher (who, unbeknownst to anyone, was actually starting her last year in 10 Downing Street) is name-checked in a vicious, and very specific, attack on the Conversative government. 1988 and 1989 had seen the UK rocked by several large-scale disasters - including the Piper Alpha explosion, the Lockerbie plane crash, and the sinking of the Marshioness pleasure boat in the Thames; Mrs Thatcher was becoming noted for her habit of visiting the emergency services and victims after these disasters and "shaking hands".
Originally, "Promised Land" was unveiled in a two-song GLR radio session from summer 1989, which can be found here: http://www.protectlinks.com/118137
Sadly, unlike many of the other Madchester/Manchester singles released at the dawn of the new decade, "Come Home" failed to chart almost as miserably as "Sit Down". Famously, James' label boss, Geoff Travis of Rough Trade, was of the opinion that the band could easily "sell records to 20,000 people" but no more.
It is not surprising then that James' next album, the milestone "Gold Mother", which they had been recording with Rough Trade's money during the second half of 1989, came out several months later, not on Rough Trade, but on the major label Fontana, who had just signed James - and were determined to promote them in a heavy way.
Following the relatively minor success of their baggy-ish "How Was It For You?" (the first single on Fontana - distinctive not only for the first appearance of the James flower logo (actually the Strip Mine-era logo with petals drawn round the dot of the lower case "j") as well as a return to the old style of single numbered (this single became JIM5, following on from 1986's "Some Many Ways", which had been JIM4), "Gold Mother" itself was released in spring 1990.
Now, there have been at least three different versions of "Gold Mother". The original CD included ten tracks, of which three became rarities - "Hang On", "Crescendo" and "Come Home". The first two were subsequently removed from the 1991 version of "Gold Mother" (unceremoniously dumped for an edit of "Lose Control" and the hit version of "Sit Down") and then reappeared some time later - first as the b-sides to 1998 single "Runaground", before appearing finally as extra tracks on the 2001 expanded reissue of "Gold Mother".
"Come Home" on the original "Gold Mother" is actually a slightly cut version of the 12" mix from the Rough Trade version (note, though, that the Rough Trade version of "Sit Down" does NOT appear on any released of "Gold Mother"). In 1991, it was replaced by the edit of the "Flood Mix" (of which more in a second), and even on the 2001 reissue it was not included on the disc. Strangely enough, though, all versions of "Gold Mother" include the Rough Trade version's lyrics ("you can throw him out, you can spit on him ... " etc) which can cause some confusion!
To backtrack, then, in spring 1990 Fontana decided to re-release "Come Home". To that end, producers and DJs were invited in to help rework the track, including Andy Weatherall (whose was also remixing Primal Scream, St Etienne and My Bloody Valentine at around the same time - and would later work with James again in 1994), Mark Ellis (aka Flood - erstwhile U2 producer) and Martin Glover (aka Youth, see previous posts on Brilliant, KLF, the Orb and Jimmy Cauty).
The chuntering, dancefloor savvy Flood Mix, in ordinary and extended mixes, was released as a CD single (JIMCD6) in summer 1990, and became James' first big hit. Some 12" promos were made available also, featuring the reworkings of Weatherall, Youth, Flood and Warp (not sure if this is one bloke or in some way connected to Aphex Twin's label) as well as a "Live Mix" of "Come Home" recorded by the band (which I don't have, so if anyone can up it, I would be grateful ... )
Below is all the tracks from the CD single, as well as the subsequent remixes released on various CDs and reissues:
http://www.protectlinks.com/118155
The CD single of "Sound" (JIMCD9) features the "Youth Pressure Dub" mix of "Come Home"
The CD single of "Ring the Bells" (JIMCD11) features the "Skunk Weed Skank Mix" - aka the nine minute Weatherall Remix (spot the sample from "Skullduggery", the first track from the first James LP back in 1986). It also features the similar "Hugo Live Dub Challenge", in which long-time Weatherall collaborator and Primal Scream producer Hugo Nicholson smoothes out some of the wrinkles.
The "Weatherall" remix also reappeared on one of the CD singles of "She's a Star" and on a Canadian 2-CD set for "Tomorrow", as well as being compiled on a Japanese import CD from 1991 just called "James".
The US edition of "Gold Mother" (the one with the blue cover, which again is just called "James") features the extended Flood Mix rather than the more usual edit.
To add a sad final coda to this remixing frenzy, in early 1995, on the relatively respected UK dance label Hooj Choons, a dance act called Libido released as track called "Second Coming" (complete with an image of Jesus from the Turin shroud on the cover). Despite not mentioning Booth or Gott or Glennie anywhere on the sleeve (especially not anywhere near the writers' credits), the song is clearly a rip-off of "Come Home", complete with that familiar two note klakon, a "Come"-referencing title, and in some of the later remixes, a keyboard part actually playing, instrumentally, "Come Home"'s chorus.
Anyway, here's the "Second Coming" CD single from 1996: http://www.protectlinks.com/119394
See what you think!
(Oh, and this is the end of my James diversion. From now on, the only James' I'll be concentrating on - at least for a while - will be James Cauty. In the meantime, try this blog: http://only-good-music.blogspot.com/ or http://adventuresbeyond.blogspot.com/ which would appear to be rather useful motherlodes!)