Music Arcades: James: We're Going to Miss You

These CDs are close relations of I Know What I'm Here For, three weeks ago, being another single from the 1999 Millionaires album. As in that case, the price stickers still stick to the jewel cases show that I had to go to different record shops to get both versions. Dedication.

I'm pretty sure this was the last of three singles from the album, and it has an air of scraping the barrel about it. The mix of We're Going to Miss You on the single is different from the album version — and, for my money, less radio-friendly.

By some distance my favourite version of the song is Eno's, which appears on CD2. It's altogether more muted and understated, with a different vocal, more spoken than sung. Eno also holds back the chorus until nearly three and half minutes in. In common with a few of James' later songs, there's something contrived about this chorus. It's very arena-friendly, and you sense the band trying too hard to have a hit, and to recreate the Sit Down effect.

So again the main attraction for me was the 'B-sides', Pocketful of Lemons and Wisdom of the Throat (a very Tim Booth title). These don't have Eno's fairy dust; they're less smooth and polished, though neither is a rough diamond.