The abandoned “shit song” that launched This Mortal Coil
The objectivity of art leaves it open to risks. It’s prone to slip-ups and criminal underestimations, like amazing songs being abandoned, all because of one opinion. In the history of This Mortal Coil, objectivity of art almost cost them a hit.
What sounds great to one person can sound like nails on a chalkboard to another. For a rock and roll fan, looking at the chart feels like a mystery because of this exact reason. While millions upon millions are streaming KPop Demon Hunters‘ uber-hit ‘Golden’, to other ears it simply sounds like obnoxious noise. However, to those same masses, Cameron Winter’s shrieks on a Geese tune, or the accented swagger of Alex Turner or the wail of Wolf Alice might all send their hands instantly reaching for the off button.
It makes sense that taste and opinion would vary over genre likes, but throughout musical history, there have been countless moments where even a united band have been divided over a track, leading to some incredible material being relegated to the vault. All great artists seem to know that struggle well, as so many of them have worlds of unreleased demos. Often, they’re exactly the ones that become fan-favourite cuts, as the opinion of one member, or even one producer or label staffer, might keep a good song down.
In the world of This Mortal Coil, the opinion came from the singer itself. As the group never had clear, fixed members, but were instead a musical collective of artists floating in and out, there never was one distinct sound. It was always changeable which opened them up even more to differing opinions.
One day, when Cinder Sharp was called in to add her voice to a tune, she wasn’t allowed to hear it beforehand. Ivo Watts-Russell, the leader of the collective, loved the track, but when Sharp heard it, she recalled, “I walked into the studio, Ivo put it on, said, ‘This is the song I want you to sing’, and I immediately went: ‘This is shit! This is a shit song!’”
The song was ‘Kangaroo’, which would go on to be one of their biggest hits, but at the time, Sharp couldn’t have been more against it. “I didn’t get it,” she said, “I didn’t understand the kangaroo part”.
Sharp’s dislike of the song was so strong that the band almost abandoned it, adding to the track’s long history of exactly that.
It was initially written by Alex Chilton for Big Star’s abandoned third album. As the band were collapsing and its members simply didn’t care anymore, the record was never properly finished and ‘Kangaroo’ was left in the dust. When Watts-Russell dug it out in the 1980s for This Mortal Coil, the same almost happened again.
But Sharp changed her tune. “I mean, I’ve completely changed my mind,” she said to Louder as singing the song not only made her love their take, but Big Star’s too, as she added, “I love the original version much more than my own”.
