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G-Sides (also spelled as G Sides) is the first compilation album by English virtual band Gorillaz. It was first released in Japan on 12 December 2001 and later on 26 February 2002 in the US and on 11 March 2002 in the UK.

Information[]

The album is composed of remixes, b-sides and bonus tracks which previously appeared on the first extended play and three singles from Gorillaz' self-titled debut album, Gorillaz (Tomorrow Comes Today (EP), Clint Eastwood, 19-2000 and Rock The House).

The b-sides from the two Gorillaz singles released after G-Sides, specifically Tomorrow Comes Today and Lil' Dub Chefin', were not featured on the compilation, as it received no reissue or repress with additional tracks, unlike the debut album.

Most international releases of the album have the same cover, featuring Noodle holding a voodoo doll of Bonesy, the recurrent mascot of Gorillaz. Others, however (specifically the Japanese version and some editions of the US and Canadian standard CDs), have her holding a GodzillaW figurine instead. On the top of the sleeve, the album's title is written in KatakanaW: ジーサイズ (Jī Saizu).

Background[]

G-Sides was originally scheduled only for the Japanese market. In Japan, short commercially released singles of 3-4 tracks were not as popular as they were in the UK, Europe or Australia, and bands frequently released what are in effect extended EPs of tracks collected from several releases.

In Europe, the Japanese track listing was retained (to save on production costs - despite the fact that the debut album had already been reissued to include the Soulchild Remix of 19-2000, making the compilation potentially even worse value for European buyers). To retain this track listing for the US, however, would have been an insult too far, as Left Hand Suzuki Method and Dracula had been included on the standard US release of the debut album. Rock The House (Radio Edit) was dropped too, leaving two other B-sides available for inclusion on the US version: Latin Simone and 19-2000 (The Wiseguys House of Wisdom Remix). This left the US version (as well as the Canadian one) down to just nine tracks, and with it being the only version not to feature the videos to Rock The House and Clint Eastwood on the standard release, US and Canadian fans could justifiably feel a little cheated. Alternate enhanced CD versions (with the Bonesy cover instead of the Godzilla one) were also released in the US and Canada, including the music videos for Tomorrow Comes Today (instead of Clint Eastwood) and Rock The House.

The only B-side track from the commercially released singles at the time missing from the compilation was The Sounder, which initially appeared as a B-side to the standard CD and 12" promo formats of Rock The House and as a bonus track on the French 'Nouvelle Edition' of the self-titled album, as only its edited and shorter version, The Sounder (Edit), was included on the compilation. Despite the inclusion of the radio edit of Rock the House and the short version of The Sounder, the edited version of Clint Eastwood, named Clint Eastwood (Edit), was not, and remained exclusive to the single itself.

Eventually, a 'dream release' of G-Sides, containing a super-set of the tracks on the international and North American editions was released in Brazil in May, instantly becoming a desirable collector's item. Despite these later releases, the track listing of the compilation was not updated to reflect the current state of the band, missing out on the newly-issued singles and their respective b-sides, such as Film Music, and quickly becoming outdated. Tracks exclusive to promo releases or other forms of media, such as the UK Garage Remixes or Dub Dumb, were also left out of the compilation.

G-Sides remains a flawed release and a dedicated fan will want to seek out the individual singles. However, for thousands of other fans, it provided a cheap and easy way of getting hold of many Gorillaz b-sides. The quality, track-for-track, does not approach that of the debut album, and it does not sit easily together as an album with its lackluster track listing and in a controversial order. That said, most of the b-sides are pretty good and so a fan of the band would be well advised to seek it out.

Pressing[]

On 29 August 2020, G-Sides and its successor D-Sides were pressed on vinyl for the first time for Record Store DayW 2020. The pressing followed the track listing of the international versions of the album on a single 33 ⅓ RPM LP. It was limited to 15000 copies in a gatefold sleeve with a printed inner sleeve.

This same pressing was later included on the Gorillaz 20th Anniversary Box Set, released on 10 December 2021.

Track Listings[]

International Releases & US/Canada Apple Music[]

Standard Album
No. Title Length
1. '19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)' (feat. Miho Hatori & Tina Weymouth, remix by Soulchild) 3:29
2. 'Dracula' (prod. Curtis Lynch Jr.) 4:41
3. 'Rock The House (Radio Edit)' (feat. Del The Funky Homosapien) 3:03
4. 'The Sounder (Edit)' (feat. Phi-Life Cypher, prod. Cass Browne) 4:29
5. 'Faust' (feat. Miho Hatori) 3:51
6. 'Clint Eastwood (Phi Life Cypher Version)' (feat. Phi-Life Cypher) 4:52
7. 'Ghost Train' (with Paula Cracker & Bongo Ape) 3:54
8. 'Hip Albatross'   2:42
9. 'Left Hand Suzuki Method' (feat. Miho Hatori) 3:12
10. '12D3'   3:24
Total length:
37:42
Enhanced Section
No. Title Length
11. 'Clint Eastwood (Music Video)' (feat. Del The Funky Homosapien) 4:23
12. 'Rock The House (Music Video)' (feat. Del The Funky Homosapien) 3:43
Total length:
45:40


US/Canada Physical & Digital Releases[]

Spotify, YouTube Music, Pandora, IHeart and Deezer only.

Standard Album
No. Title Length
1. '19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)' (feat. Miho Hatori & Tina Weymouth, remix by Soulchild) 3:29
2. 'Latin Simone'   3:38
3. '19-2000 (The Wiseguys House Of Wisdom Remix)' (feat. Miho Hatori & Tina Weymouth, remix by Touché) 7:15
4. 'The Sounder (Edit)' (feat. Phi-Life Cypher, prod. Cass Browne) 4:29
5. 'Faust' (feat. Miho Hatori) 3:51
6. 'Clint Eastwood (Phi Life Cypher Version)' (feat. Phi-Life Cypher) 4:52
7. 'Ghost Train' (with Paula Cracker & Bongo Ape) 3:54
8. 'Hip Albatross'   2:42
9. '12D3'   3:24
Total length:
37:38
Enhanced Section (Bonesy cover variation)
No. Title Length
10. 'Tomorrow Comes Today (Music Video)'   3:14
11. 'Rock The House (Music Video)' (feat. Del The Funky Homosapien) 3:39
Total length:
44:27

Brazilian Enhanced CD[]

Standard Album
No. Title Length
1. '19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)' (feat. Miho Hatori & Tina Weymouth, remix by Soulchild) 3:29
2. 'Latin Simone'   3:38
3. '19-2000 (The Wiseguys House Of Wisdom Remix)' (feat. Miho Hatori & Tina Weymouth, remix by Touché) 7:15
4. 'The Sounder (Edit)' (feat. Phi-Life Cypher, prod. Cass Browne) 4:29
5. 'Faust' (feat. Miho Hatori) 3:51
6. 'Clint Eastwood (Phi Life Cypher Version)' (feat. Phi-Life Cypher) 4:52
7. 'Ghost Train' (with Paula Cracker & Bongo Ape) 3:54
8. 'Hip Albatross'   2:42
9. '12D3'   3:24
10. 'Dracula' (prod. Curtis Lynch Jr.) 4:41
11. 'Rock The House (Radio Edit)' (feat. Del The Funky Homosapien) 3:03
12. 'Left Hand Suzuki Method' (feat. Miho Hatori) 3:12
Total length:
48:35
Enhanced Section
No. Title Length
13. 'Clint Eastwood (Music Video)' (feat. Del The Funky Homosapien) 4:23
14. 'Rock The House (Music Video)' (feat. Del The Funky Homosapien) 3:39
15. '19-2000 (Music Video)' (feat. Miho Hatori & Tina Weymouth) 3:53
16. 'Noodle Fight' (Game) -:--
Total length:
60:20

Song Origins[]

  • Latin Simone and 12D3 are B-sides of the Tomorrow Comes Today EP.
  • Dracula and Clint Eastwood (Phi Life Cypher Version) are B-sides of the single Clint Eastwood.
  • 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix), 19-2000 (The Wiseguys House of Wisdom Remix), Hip Albatross and Left Hand Suzuki Method are B-sides of the single 19-2000.
  • Rock the House (Radio Edit), The Sounder (Edit), Faust and Ghost Train are B-sides of the single Rock the House.

Personnel[]

Virtual Band[]

  • Murdoc Niccals – bass guitar, songwriting
  • Stuart '2-D' Pot – vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, acoustic guitar, songwriting
  • Russel Hobbs – drums, percussion, milk bubbles ('Left Hand Suzuki Method')
  • Noodle – guitar, vocals ('Latin Simone', 'Faust', 'Left Hand Suzuki Method'), songwriting
  • Del Tha Ghost Rapper – rap vocals ('Rock The House - Radio Edit')
  • Paula Cracker — guitar ('Ghost Train')
  • Bongo Ape — percussion ('Ghost Train')

Musicians[]

  • Damon Albarn – vocals, songwriting, keyboards, piano, melodica, guitars, bass guitar, drum programming, flute ('Rock The House - Radio Edit')
  • Jason Cox – drums, drum programming
  • Tom Girling – drum programming
  • Dan The Automator – sampled loops, drum programming ('Latin Simone')
  • Kid Koala – turntables
  • Miho Hatori – additional vocals ('19-2000' remixes, 'Latin Simone', 'Left Hand Suzuki Method')
  • Cass Browne – drums ('The Sounder - Edit')
  • Junior Dan – bass guitar ('19-2000' remixes, 'Latin Simone', 'Dracula', 'Rock The House - Radio Edit', 'The Sounder - Edit' 'Left Hand Suzuki Method')
  • Mike Smith – trumpet ('Latin Simone'), saxophone ('Dracula')
  • Phi-Life Cypher
    • Si Phili – rap vocals ('The Sounder - Edit', 'Clint Eastwood - Phi Life Cypher Version')
    • Life MC – rap vocals ('The Sounder - Edit', 'Clint Eastwood - Phi Life Cypher Version')
    • DJ Nappa – additional vocals ('Clint Eastwood - Phi Life Cypher Version')
  • Tom Tom Club
    • Chris Frantz – additional percussion ('19-2000' remixes)
    • Tina Weymouth – additional vocals ('19-2000' remixes)
  • Soulchild – remix, drum programming, arrangement ('19-2000 - Soulchild Remix')
    • Stuart Bradbury
    • Damien Mendis
  • Touché – remix ('19-2000 - The Wiseguys House Of Wisdom Remix')

Technical[]

  • Gorillaz – production
    • Stuart '2-D' Pot ('Dracula')
  • Jason Cox - engineering, production
  • Tom Girling - engineering, mixing, co-production
  • Dan the Automator – production (except '19-2000' remixes, 'Latin Simone', 'Clint Eastwood - Phi Life Cypher Version', '12D3', 'Rock The House – Radio Edit' & 'Left Hand Suzuki Method')
  • Curtis Lynch Jr. – production ('Dracula')
  • Cass Browne – production ('The Sounder')
  • Soulchild - additional production ('19-2000 - Soulchild Remix')
  • Toby Whelan - engineering assistance
  • Laurence Diana – engineering ('19-2000 - The Wiseguys House Of Wisdom Remix')
  • Howie Weinberg - mastering

Artwork & Design[]

Release Dates and Chart Positions[]

  • JAPAN: 12/12/01 – highest chart position: did not chart
  • US: 26/02/02 – highest chart position: 84
  • UK: 11/03/02 – highest chart position: 65
  • FRANCE: 12/03/02 – highest chart position: did not chart
  • GERMANY: 02/04/02 – highest chart position: did not chart
  • AUSTRALIA: 22/04/02 – highest chart position: did not chart

Samples[]

Gallery[]

GSidesAppleMusic GSidesUKBackCover GSidesBrasilSilSil
The full image gallery for G-Sides may be viewed at G-Sides/Gallery.

Trivia[]

  • On the Bonesy variation of the front cover, the top of Murdoc's hair is sliced off.
    • His skin color also appears green in certain releases, while in others, it is a dark beige.
  • The US, Canadian and Brazilian CDs list Latin Simone as being the spanish version with Ibrahim Ferrer. However, they actually include the original English version instead, sung entirely by Damon Albarn.
  • In Brazil, G-Sides received heavy promotion alongside the remix album Laika Come Home by the Spacemonkeyz. Both albums were promoted together on posters and advertisements; had an exclusive 2-track promo CD containing Ghost Train and Lil' Dub Chefin' and were also packaged together in an exclusive 2-CD box not available anywhere else.
    • Despite the Brazilian version of the album claiming to include the Soulchild Remix version of the 19-2000 music video, it instead includes the video for the original version of the song.
    • In addition, there is also a spelling mistake in the indicative 'Parental Advisory' classification card, where it is written as 'Vocabuláro' instead of 'Vocabulário' (which stands for 'Vocabulary').
  • The Enhanced CD section was done by Glasseye, who also produced the interactive sections of various other singles, such as Tomorrow Comes Today and Rock The House.
    • On the UK and JP releases, the 'Credits' and 'QuickTime Install' screens from the Enhanced section display the title 'Rock the House' instead of 'G-Sides'. On the BR release, however, no title is present.
  • A rare bundle comprised G-Sides in a shrink wrapped copy with the debut album for the Colombian market. Oddly, G-Sides is the lead release. A sticker advertises the set as the 'pair of the year'.
    • At the time, in Colombia and Venezuela, G-Sides was advertised and promoted as a new studio album rather than a compilation.
  • The Argentinian release is labelled as a 'Limited Edition' on the front cover, despite not including any additional content in comparison to the standard European edition and lacking the OBI strip.
  • On the European Warner Music reissues of the compilation, the cover art is significantly darker compared to the original one. In addition, the 'Gorillaz' logo is also slightly blurry instead of sharp and clean, and it lacks the OBI strip present on the original release.

References[]


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