King of Sweet

Untitled

History

By 1993, His Name Is Alive's albums were generally being released by 4AD in both the USA and the UK. However, leader Warren Defever did not have an exclusive contract with 4AD. Defever stated in interviews that the arrangement with 4AD was quite loose; 4AD president Ivo Watts-Russell would release what he was interested in, and Defever was free to release the rest elsewhere. While this mostly resulted in homemade cassettes released through Defever's Time Stereo imprint, a CD called King Of Sweet appeared in the fall of 1993. The CD was made up mostly of songs that had appeared on the self-released cassettes, including several songs that eventually appeared on Home Is In Your Head. In particular, there are four songs that are based on Home Is In Your Head's "Are You Coming Down This Weekend?", albeit in much longer versions than the the 18-second version that had originally appeared.

The song "Honey Babe, My Blue-Eyed Babe," had been recorded for Mouth By Mouth under the name "Underwater." "Underwater," however, didn't make the final cut of the album, and remain unreleased until the 1999 compilation Always Stay Sweet.

The original CD release was a limited to 2000 numbered copies, making this a highly sought-after and expensive release. It is now available in a remastered form as a downloadable purchase from the Time Stereo website.

Track listing

1. Take A Look around You
2. A Bird In Every Tree
3. This Weekend
4. Drive The Dreamy Demon Down
5. Lake (Theme For Sweet Hearts)
6. Blissfield (Sweet Corn)
7. Bears (King Of Sweet)
8. Ode On A Dave Asman
9. A Dave In The Life
10. Honey Babe, My Blue-Eyed Babe
11. The Shepherd's Flute Is Always Playing
12. Are You Coming Down This Weekend?
13. Soul Resides In The Horse Barn
14. Driftin Blues
15. Meet Me By The Moonlight, Alone