The Sound of Speed is a compilation of singles and rare tracks by British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band The Jesus and Mary Chain

The Jesus and Mary Chain

The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...

. The tracklisting below is for the version released in most of the world - the Japanese version dropped "Snakedriver", "Something I Can't Have", "Write Record Release Blues", "Tower of Song", "Little Red Rooster", "Lowlife" and "Reverberation", but added "Subway", "In the Black", "Terminal Beach" and "I'm Glad I Never".

Track listing

All songs written by Jim Reid

Jim Reid

Jim Reid is the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid -The Jesus and Mary Chain:...

 and William Reid

William Reid (musician)

William Adam Reid is a guitarist, composer and, at times, singer for the Scottish alternative rock band, The Jesus and Mary Chain.-The Jesus and Mary Chain:...

, except where noted.

LP (4509-93104-1)
Side 1

1. "Snakedriver" – 3:44
2. "Reverence (Radio Mix)" – 5:39
3. "Heat" – 3:00
4. "Teenage Lust (Acoustic Version)" – 2:25
5. "Why'd You Want Me?" – 3:15
6. "Don't Come Down" – 2:39
7. "Guitarman" (Jerry Reed Hubbard) – 3:43
8. "Something I Can't Have" – 3:02

Side 2

1. "Sometimes" – 2:53
2. "Write Record Release Blues" – 2:58
3. "Shimmer" – 2:46
4. "Penetration" – 2:48
5. "My Girl" (Smokey Robinson
   Smokey Robinson
   William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
   
   ) – 3:05
6. "Tower of Song" (Leonard Cohen
   Leonard Cohen
   Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
   
   ) – 4:49
7. "Little Red Rooster
   Little Red Rooster
   "Little Red Rooster" is a song that is a classic of the blues. Howlin' Wolf recorded "The Red Rooster" in 1961, a song credited to blues arranger and songwriter Willie Dixon, although earlier songs have been cited as inspiration...
   
   " (Willie Dixon
   Willie Dixon
   William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
   
   ) – 3:25
8. "Break Me Down" – 2:29
9. "Lowlife" – 3:27

CD (4509-93104-2)

1. "Snakedriver" – 3:44
2. "Reverence (Radio Mix)" – 5:39
3. "Heat" – 3:00
4. "Teenage Lust (Acoustic Version)" – 2:25
5. "Why'd You Want Me?" – 3:15
6. "Don't Come Down" – 2:39
7. "Guitarman" (Hubbard) – 3:43
8. "Something I Can't Have" – 3:02
9. "Sometimes" – 2:53
10. "Write Record Release Blues" – 2:58
11. "Shimmer" – 2:46
12. "Penetration" – 2:48
13. "My Girl" (Robinson) – 3:05
14. "Tower of Song" (Cohen) – 4:49
15. "Little Red Rooster" (Burnett, Dixon) – 3:25
16. "Break Me Down" – 2:29
17. "Lowlife" – 3:27
18. "Deviant Slice" – 3:01
19. "Reverberation" (Roky Erickson
    Roky Erickson
    Roky Erickson is an American singer, songwriter, harmonica player and guitarist from Texas. He was a founding member of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic rock genre.-Biography:...
    
    , Tommy Hall
    Tommy Hall
    Tommy Hall is the name of:* Tommy Hall , British cyclist* Tommy Hall , British football player* Tommy Hall , Australian musician...
    
    , Stacy Sutherland) – 3:46
20. "Sidewalking (Extended Version)" – 7:52

Original releases

• Track 20: Non-album single "Sidewalking
  Sidewalking
  "Sidewalking" is a song by The Jesus and Mary Chain. It was released as a non-studio-album single in March 1988. It was included in the compilation album Barbed Wire Kisses which came out shortly after...
  
  " from 1988.
• Tracks 11, 12, 13, 16: B-sides to "Blues from a Gun
  Blues from a Gun
  "Blues from a Gun" is a U.S. Modern Rock number-one hit from The Jesus and Mary Chain's album Automatic from 1989. It spent three weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart...
  
  " from 1989.
• Track 18: B-side to "Head On" from 1989.
• Tracks 14, 17: Part of Rollercoaster
  Rollercoaster (EP)
  Rollercoaster is an extended play by the Scottish rock band The Jesus & Mary Chain, released in September 1990. The EP was released by Blanco y Negro Records on 7-inch vinyl, 12-inch vinyl, cassette single and CD single. It reached number 46 on the UK Singles Chart and number 25 on the Irish...
  
  EP from 1990.
• Tracks 2, 3, 7: B-sides to "Reverence" from 1992
• Tracks 5, 9: B-sides to "Far Gone and Out
  Far Gone and Out
  "Far Gone and Out" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock group The Jesus and Mary Chain and the 2nd single from the group's album Honey's Dead...
  
  " from 1992.
• Tracks 4, 6, 19: B-sides to "Almost Gold" from 1992.
• Tracks 1, 8, 10, 15: Part of Sound of Speed
  Sound of Speed
  Sound of Speed is an extended play by the Scottish rock band The Jesus & Mary Chain, released in 1993. The EP was released by Blanco y Negro Records on 7-inch vinyl, 10-inch vinyl, cassette single and CD single. It reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart...
  
  EP from 1993.

The Jesus and Mary Chain

• Jim Reid
  Jim Reid
  Jim Reid is the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid -The Jesus and Mary Chain:...
  
   - vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , production
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  
• William Reid
  William Reid (musician)
  William Adam Reid is a guitarist, composer and, at times, singer for the Scottish alternative rock band, The Jesus and Mary Chain.-The Jesus and Mary Chain:...
  
   - vocals, guitar, production, engineer (tracks 11 to 14, 16, 18, 19)
• Ben Lurie
  Ben Lurie
  Ben Lurie is an Australian musician, best known as a member of the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from 1989 to 1998.-Biography:...
  
   - bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
   (track 1), guitar (track 15)
• Nick Sanderson
  Nick Sanderson (musician)
  Nick Sanderson was an English musician, most famous for being the front man in Earl Brutus, and a short-term member of the critically acclaimed Scottish alternative rock band, The Jesus and Mary Chain.-Musical career:...
  
   - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
   (tracks 1, 8)

Additional personnel

• Brad Davidson - bass (track 15)
• Wiff - drums (track 15)
• Dick Meaney - engineer (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 8 to 10, 15)
• Anjali Dutt - engineer (track 2)
• George Kaleve - engineer (track 4)
• Alan Moulder
  Alan Moulder
  Alan Moulder is one of Britain's premier alternative rock record producers. He has worked with such artists as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Elastica, Gary Numan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Curve, Ride, Lush and My Bloody Valentine, Lostprophets, Shihad, Ivyrise and Placebo, as well as with many American...
  
   - engineer (track 7)
• Flood - engineer (track 17)
• John Loder - production (track 20)
• Colin Bell - photography