Barbed Wire Kisses

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Barbed Wire Kisses (B-Sides and More) is a compilation of singles, b-sides and rare tracks by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. Throughout the 1980s the band was known for their prodigious output in these formats, often in limited editions which quickly went out of print. This album collects many of those releases spanning the band's career up to that point.

The band's cover of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?" was used on the soundtrack to the 1988 film Earth Girls Are Easy. "Mushroom" is a cover of a Can song. "Sidewalking" was voted one of the best singles of 1988 by Musician magazine.

The title comes from a line in the song "Cherry Came Too" from the Darklands album.

This album was not included in the 2006 remasterings of the group's back catalogue. All tracks from this compilation, except for "Mushroom" and "Just Out of Reach" (which appears in a re-recorded form on Barbed Wire Kisses) are now included on The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities.

Rhino Records re-released Barbed Wire Kisses as a 2-LP Limited edition of 8,000 copies on 180-gram blood red vinyl for 2015 Black Friday Record Store Day.

Track listing

All tracks written by Jim Reid and William Reid, except where noted.

LP (BYN 15)

Side 1

1. "Kill Surf City" – 3:09 ⁷
2. "Head" – 3:48 ³
3. "Rider" – 2:10 ⁶
4. "Hit" – 3:26 ⁴
5. "Don't Ever Change" – 3:30 ⁵
6. "Just Out of Reach" – 3:04 ²
7. "Happy Place" – 2:22 ⁸
8. "Psycho Candy" – 2:52 ⁴

Side 2

1. "Sidewalking" – 3:32 ⁹
2. "Who Do you Love?" (Bo Diddley) – 4:03 ⁷
3. "Surfin' U.S.A." (Chuck Berry, Brian Wilson) – 2:57 ⁶
4. "Everything's Alright When You're Down" – 2:37 ⁸
5. "Upside Down" – 2:57 ¹
6. "Taste of Cindy (Acoustic)" – 1:58 ¹⁰
7. "Swing" – 2:23 ⁵
8. "On The Wall (Demo)" - 4:46 ⁶

Cassette (BYNC 15)

Side 1

1. "Kill Surf City" – 3:09 ⁷
2. "Head" – 3:48 ³
3. "Rider" – 2:10 ⁶
4. "Hit" – 3:26 ⁴
5. "Don't Ever Change" – 3:30 ⁵
6. "Just Out of Reach" – 3:04 ²
7. "Happy Place" – 2:22 ⁸
8. "Psycho Candy" – 2:52 ⁴
9. "Cracked" – 3:43 ³
10. "Mushroom (Live 1986)" (Can) – 3:16 ⁷

Side 2

1. "Sidewalking" – 3:32 ⁹
2. "Who Do you Love?" (Bo Diddley) – 4:03 ⁷
3. "Surfin' U.S.A." (Chuck Berry, Brian Wilson) – 2:57 ⁶
4. "Everything's Alright When You're Down" – 2:37 ⁸
5. "Upside Down" – 2:57 ¹
6. "Taste of Cindy (Acoustic)" – 1:58 ¹⁰
7. "Swing" – 2:23 ⁵
8. "On The Wall (Demo)" - 4:46 ⁶
9. "Here It Comes Again" – 2:31 ⁶
10. "Bo Diddley Is Jesus" – 3:16 ⁷

CD (BYNC 15)

1. "Kill Surf City" – 3:09 ⁷
2. "Head" – 3:48 ³
3. "Rider" – 2:10 ⁶
4. "Hit" – 3:26 ⁴
5. "Don't Ever Change" – 3:30 ⁵
6. "Just Out of Reach" – 3:04 ¹¹
7. "Happy Place" – 2:22 ⁸
8. "Psycho Candy" – 2:52 ⁴
9. "Sidewalking" – 3:32 ⁹
10. "Who Do You Love?" (Diddley) – 4:03 ⁷
11. "Surfin' U.S.A." (Berry, Wilson) – 2:57 ⁶
12. "Everything's Alright When You're Down" – 2:37 ⁸
13. "Upside Down" – 2:57 ¹
14. "Taste of Cindy (Acoustic)" – 1:58 ¹⁰
15. "Swing" – 2:23 ⁵
16. "On the Wall (Demo)" – 4:46 ⁶
17. "Cracked" – 3:43 ³
18. "Here It Comes Again" – 2:31 ⁶
19. "Mushroom (Live 1986)" (Can) – 3:16 ⁷
20. "Bo Diddley Is Jesus" – 3:16 ⁷

A noisy instrumental included on the same track as "On the Wall" is unlisted on the album sleeve, but is now known to be called "F. Hole." "F. Hole" is a separate track on the 2008 compilation The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities.

Original releases

• ¹ Band's first, non-album single "Upside Down" from 1984.
• ² B-side to "You Trip Me Up" from 1985.
• ³ B-sides to "Just Like Honey" from 1985.
• ⁴ B-sides to Some Candy Talking EP from 1986.
• ⁵ Darklands session out-takes (recorded for Darklands album but did not make final cut) from 1987.
• ⁶ B-sides to Darklands EP from 1987.
• ⁷ B-sides to "April Skies" from 1987.
• ⁸ B-sides to "Happy When It Rains" from 1987.
• ⁹ Released as non-album single "Sidewalking" in 1988.
• ¹⁰ Previously unreleased. Probably from Some Candy Talking sessions.
• ¹¹ Previously unreleased. Rerecorded version. The original version appears on the Power of Negative Thinking boxset.

Personnel

The Jesus and Mary Chain

• Jim Reid - vocals, guitar, production
• William Reid - vocals, guitar, production

Additional personnel

• John Loder - production
• Helen Backhouse - design
• Andrew Catlin - photography

Charts

Year	Chart	Position
1988	UK Albums Chart	9