Clandestine Classic IX - Save Me, I'm Yours (#keepingitpeel)

The ninth post in an occasional series that is intended to highlight songs that you might not have heard that I think are excellent - clandestine classics, if you will. Maybe they'll be by bands you've never heard of. Maybe they'll be by more familiar artists, but tracks that were squirelled away on b-sides, unpopular albums, radio sessions or music magazine cover-mounted CDs. Time will, undoubtedly, tell.

Today's offering is a Peel session track by one of my favourite bands, Gene. I've raved about them before, most notably when I wrote a top ten gigs list a little while back. They were ace, and I'd wish they'd reform, but let's not digress... Today's offering has been especially chosen to tie in with the #keepingitpeel initiative started by Webbie. To avoid paraphrasing him, I'll just quote him directly:

There should be a web version of the John Peel Day, with this one being commemorated by all the bloggers, tweeters, LJ users and tumblr’s out there. If you are Facebook then please join in too. So on the 25th October 2010 I want everybody to post a Peel Session track by any of their favourite bands. If you are a Facebook user post a link to a You Tube video. If you are on Twitter then on October 25th post a tweet using the hashtag: #keepingitpeel and add a song/video clip, again from a Peel session.

So here's my contribution, in memory of the late, great DJ. Save Me, I'm Yours was recorded by Gene for a Peel Session on the 14th of December 1995, and beautifully showcases the band's many strengths. It also illustrates nicely how there was much more to them than the lazy Smiths comparisons they suffered (or enjoyed?) early in their career.

Gene split a long time ago. A couple of the members went on to form the also-quite-good Palace Fires, and you can read what Martin Rossiter's up to these days on Twitter and Facebook. If you just want to revel in the excellence of Gene though, you can find today's clandestine classic on the band's Peel Session double CD, whilst the original studio recording can be found on their 1997 album Drawn To The Deep End (from which my fiction blog unashamedly steals it name). Alternatively, naughty downloading boys and girls may be interested in this, but you didn't here that from me. Or, from YouTube, how about the Peel Session version and, for the sake of completeness, the studio version too. And remember, keep on #keepingitpeel...