The peel session version is one of the band’s greatest achievements: Marr channels his inner progressive Americana guitarist (foreshadowing his later work with Bert Jansch, a pioneer of this folk based sub genre, the fingerpicking in this seems to subconsciously reference early Neil Young, John Fahey and the intricacies of folk tune interpretations) to stunning effect. The slathering of generous echo gives the track an eerie, somewhat cold feeling; a reflection of the apprehension leaking from Moz’s lyrics maybe?
Talking of the lyrics, here they are simple, much like “Asleep”: and like the latter track, they provide the foreboding cherry on top of a deliciously melancholic cake.
“I would rather not go back to the old house. There are too many memories there.”
The studio version loses a lot of the two-man subtlety of the Peel variant: not the fault of Rourke and Joyce themselves; only the more commercial production on the guitar and bass tones make for a less impactful gut punch of the kind the “original” launches into you.
So, when considering the superior version, this is truly up there with the typical top ten fodder you see on countless lists, no question about it.
10/10 (or 6/10 for the redone version).