LISTEN/MUSIC: Rancid's Life Won't Wait Sessions

Every once in a while I fall into a Rancid phase. It comes and goes but while I'm in it, it's pretty much all Rancid, all the time. Now is one of those phases.

When Rancid's fourth studio album Life Won't Wait was released in 1998 it was panned as a failure, at least by those looking for And Out Come The Wolves Volume II. Had they looked a little deeper, they would find one of the most interesting, diverse, and entertaining albums Rancid would ever put out.

I'll admit when it first came out, I wasn't into Life Won't Wait. Despite the repeated praise from my friend Rob Ticho, I wasn't into it. Even after my guitar teacher Jay Forsythe regaled me with stories about Lars and Tim upon returning from tour with the Lordz Of Brooklyn in support of Rancid, I still wasn't into it. It wasn't until a few years later that I gave Life Won't Wait the listen it deserved and quickly began to realize how amazing an album it really was.

When time came for Rancid to begin recording for their follow up to And Out Come The Wolves, Tim Armstrong approached Vic Ruggiero and David Hillyard from The Slackers with a proposition to jam on something new. These sessions would produce early piano driven versions of  "Hoover Street," "Who Would Of Thought," "Cash, Culture, And Violence," and "Backslide." Of the songs recorded about half would later make it onto the Life Won't Wait album. The song "Policeman" would be included on the first Give 'Em The Boot compilation and credited to The Silencers. At least six tracks remain unreleased. The most interesting of which are "The Last Mod" and "Express Yourself," in which Tim Armstrong tries his hand at rap over a reworking of Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band's "Express Yourself."

Rancid - "Backslide"
  

Rancid - "Express Yourself"
  

Two versions of "Brad Logan" are included, a piano driven version with Tim on lead vocals and the version later released on Chef Aid: The South Park album featuring Lars on lead vocals. Also included are two versions of "Things To Come," the "Bloodclot" b-sides "Stop" & "Endrina" (which features one of the greatest guitar solo moments in Rancid history) and a sans guitar version of the album's closer "Coppers."

Rancid - "Endrina"
  

Rancid - "Coppers (Brooklyn Mix)"
  

FULL DOWNLOAD: Rancid - Life Won't Wait Sessions

Rancid - Life Won't Wait Sessions

01.  Who Would Have Thought (Demo)
02.  The Wolf (Demo)
03.  Backslide (Demo)
04.  Cash, Culture & Violence (Demo)
05.  Things To Come (Demo)
06.  Brad Logan (Demo)
07.  Hoover Street (Demo)
08.  The Last Mod (The Silencers)
09.  Weep For America (The Silencers)
10.  Policeman (The Silencers)
11.  Candy WBD (The Silencers)
12.  Express Yourself (The Silencers)
13.  21st Century (The Silencers)
14.  21st Century (The Silencers - Dub Version)
15.  Brad Logan ( Chef Aid version)
16.  Stop (Bloodclot B-Side)
17.  Endrina (Bloodclot B-Side)
18.  Cash, Culture And Violence (Bass Drop Mix)
19.  Things To Come (Dance Hall Mix)
20.  Coppers (Brooklyn Mix)