Released: 1994
Tracks: [1] Shoot all the Clowns (Remix); Tibet; Tears of the Dragon [alt.];
[2] Shoot all the Clowns (Extended Mix); Cadillac Gas Mask; No Way Out – Continued
Best track: Tibet
Tracks to skip: Extended Mix of Clowns, Cadillac Gas Mask
Shoot all the Clowns was the 2nd single from Balls to Picasso and there were 2 versions released as CD singles. I decided to combine them for this review because I keep them in the same case and it’s just easier this way. The remix of Shoot all the Clowns on disc 1 is actually better than the album version; it didn’t bother me to listen to it. Tibet and the alternate version of Tears of the Dragon on single #1 are both from the ‘lost’ Keith Olsen album that I talked about in the last review. Tibet is a lot more poppy than anything Bruce has ever done, and while it’s a simple track, it’s very cool. Excellent song in my view. This version of Tears of the Dragon is cool as hell (OK, the flute bit at the end is pretty fruity, but who cares). It’s a total and complete re-working of the track and it’s very cool. A lot of different musical bits are here and Bruce really presents it in a whole different way. I really, really dig this and it’s just another reason why he should get off his butt and go ahead and release that ‘lost’ album. As a single (with the extra goodies) it’s pretty damn good. It’s more experimental than Bruce usually gets and he gets some big thumbs up from me.
Disc 2 (single #2) starts off again with Clowns, this time in an extended version. It’s pretty useless and hearing it twice in 15 minutes is really annoying. I don’t like the extension of it. I mean, it’s a bad song anyway, so why would I want to hear more of it? Eh, it’s a skipper. Next comes a truly awful song, Cadillac Gas Mask. Yes, I know it’s an AC/DC ‘tribute’, but it’s just horrible. Plus I can’t stand AC/DC anyway! The problem with this song, besides being poorly written and annoying, is that it’s what AC/DC would sound like as a pop band…AC/DC without the balls. Possibly the worst song Bruce has ever written. Ugh. Part 2 of No Way Out is the last song on this disc. It’s definitely the redeeming part of this single. Pretty cool track. I love the ‘drowning man sees daylight’ part. That rocks. The good thing is that this track is available on Bruce’s Best Of Bonus Disc (a disc of B-sides and rarities) so you dorky collectors really don’t need to bother getting this 2nd single of Shoot all the Clowns (unless you’re *really* dorky!). I think the first disc is essential for collectors since both of the extra tracks kick ass and aren’t available anywhere else.
Ratings: Single #1 – 90, single #2 – 67
*****
In 2005 all of Bruce’s albums were remastered and reissued with a bonus disc of all B-sides associated with the particular album. Well now! This means that *all* of the B-sides for Balls to Picasso can now be found on the bonus disc and thus, you’ll get all of the Keith Olsen tracks…at least all the ones that were released. The bonus disc for Balls to Picasso has 16 tracks and this means that you no longer have to search out a million different singles to get all the tracks: they’re all on the Balls to Picasso Expanded Edition. Hooray!
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