If you were paying attention to alternative rock in the early 2000s, the name "Andrew W.K." likely stirs up a boatload of emotions. Was he a fun-loving, hard-living, one man party machine? Was he a corporate construction? Was he a darker type of fraud, as suggested by producer "Steev Mike" (link NSFW and relatively nuts) who may actually just be W.K. playing a prank on his delightfully bewildered audience?
Whatever the case may be, Andrew W.K. is celebrating the recent 10th anniversary of his debut album, the hard-rocking I Get Wet, with a new deluxe edition filled with unreleased and truly off-the-wall bonus content.
Known for its hard-driving, almost violently upbeat songs ("She is Beautiful," "Party Hard," "It's Time to Party," "Fun Night") and shocking cover art (the image of the long-haired W.K. staring intently toward the viewer with his nose dripping blood all the way down his face is still pretty out there), I Get Wet wildly polarized critics - Pitchfork rated it an 0.6 out of 10 upon initial release, only to name it one of the 200 best albums of the decade - and made Andrew W.K.'s career as an experimental musician, partier, raconteur and motivational speaker (his latest speaking gig scheduled for next month is, no kidding, a My Little Pony convention).
For the double-disc reissue, W.K. commissioned new cover artwork (a photorealistic oil painting of the original sleeve by artist Gonzalo Garcia) on top of a booklet with new liner notes and unseen photos, and added a bonus disc of demos, alternate takes and live material. The live cuts are particularly notable, having been recorded through a specially-made system of microphones and monitors meant to amplify the sound to a much rawer degree, mimicking what the artist would hear while onstage. The cherry on top of this hard-partying sundae? A collector's edition, exclusive to U.S. residents, will feature an autographed booklet, an air freshener in the shape of Andrew W.K.'s bleeding nose from the LP sleeve and..."something"; an assortment of "mystery party items" including locks of hair, used plane tickets, receipts, pieces of cut-up jeans, photos and surely much, much more.
The packages are out on August 28; click below to place your orders - and if you do order the collector's set, do be sure to share what you got with your package.
Andrew W.K., I Get Wet: Deluxe Edition (Century Media, 2012)
Disc 1: Original LP (released as Island Records 314 586 588-2, 2001)
- It's Time to Party
- Party Hard
- Girls Own Love
- Ready to Die
- Take It Off
- I Love NYC
- She is Beautiful
- Party Til You Puke
- Fun Night
- Got to Do It
- I Get Wet
- Don't Stop Living in the Red
Disc 2: Bonus material (all previously unreleased)
- It's Time to Party (Live)
- It's Time to Party (1999 Version)
- Party Hard (Live)
- Party Hard (1999 Version)
- Girls Own Love (Live)
- Girls Own Love (1999 Version)
- Ready to Die (Live)
- Take It Off (Live)
- I Love NYC (Live)
- She is Beautiful (Live)
- She is Beautiful (1999 Version)
- Party Til You Puke (Live)
- It Just Got Hotter (Sundogs Version)
- Got to Do It (Keyboards Version)
- I Get Wet (Live)
- Don't Stop Living in the Red (1999 Version)
i remember reading about him at the time in the UK press, and i think i might've picked up the import on ebay or somewhere when it came out, and i LOVED it, and still do, especially at the gym! Just fun loud catchy kinda goofy hard rock, not unlike what The Darkness is/was up to, and completely misunderstood, I think, at the time.....thanks for the heads up! LOVE the site, and have learned about cool stuff i had no idea was out! jim