A Place for Us to Dream: 20 Years of Placebo celebrates the nihilistic English alt-rock veterans’ first two decades via a handsome two-disc set that also boasts a 32-page book of pictures curated by co-founders Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal.
Opening with the band’s propulsive 1998 hit “Pure Morning,” the perfect distillation of Placebo’s seedy Suede-meets-Harvey Danger brand of goth and Brit-pop-tinged glam rock, A Place for Us to Dream drops a little fan bait early on via the soaring new single “Jesus’ Son.” Less sordid than live staples like “Nancy Boy,” “Taste in Men,” and “The Bitter End,” all three of which are included here, it retains the group’s nervy energy, but leans harder on the anthemic side of things. Obviously, the collection’s biggest selling point over 2004’s Once More…
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…with Feeling: Singles 1996-2004, is the inclusion of post-Sleeping with Ghosts gems like “Meds,” “Infra Red,” “Too Many Friends,” and Molko and Olsdal’s brooding rendering of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” Placebo have always been a solid singles band, and A Place for Us to Dream delivers the kind of easy, bullet point retrospective that newbies and casual fans can get behind. Longtime listeners will already have these songs — “Jesus’ Son” also appears on the 2016 Life’s What You Make It EP — but between the booklet and the nice mix of radio and album edits, there’s plenty here for even the most ardent Placebo follower to sink their teeth into.
1. Pure Morning (Radio Edit) [03:58]
2. Jesus’ Son (Radio Edit) [03:19]
3. Come Home [05:09]
4. Every You, Every Me (Single Version) [03:34]
5. Too Many Friends [03:34]
6. Nancy Boy (Radio Edit) [03:19]
7. 36 Degrees (Version 2016) [04:53]
8. Taste in Men (Radio Edit) [04:00]
9. The Bitter End [03:11]
10. Without You I’m Nothing (feat. David Bowie) (Single Version) [04:11]
11. English Summer Rain (Single Version) [03:10]
12. Breathe Underwater (Slow) (Single Version) [05:28]
13. Soulmates [03:06]
14. Meds (feat. Alison Mosshart) (Single Version) [02:54]
15. Bright Lights (Single Version) [03:31]
16. Song to Say Goodbye (Radio Edit) [03:53]
17. Infra-Red [03:15]
18. Running Up That Hill [05:10]
19. B3 (Radio Edit) [03:53]
20. For What It’s Worth [02:51]
21. Teenage Angst [02:41]
22. You Don’t Care About Us (Radio Edit) [03:51]
23. Ashtray Heart [03:38]
24. Broken Promise (feat. Michael Stipe) [04:13]
25. Slave to the Wage (Radio Edit) [03:46]
26. Bruise Pristine (Radio Edit) [03:00]
27. This Picture [03:33]
28. Protège Moi [03:15]
29. Because I Want You (Redux) [04:19]
30. Black-Eyed [03:47]
31. Lazarus [03:24]
32. I Know (Version 2008) [05:03]
33. A Million Little Pieces (Radio Edit) [03:45]
34. Special Needs (Edit) [03:29]
35. Special K [03:49]
36. Loud Like Love [04:26]
Lifes What You Make It EP includes three new songs (a cover of Talk Talk’s “Life’s What You Make It”, “Autoluminescent” and “Song #6”), as well as the 2016 single “Jesus’ Son” and two live recordings of “Twenty Years”.
1. Life’s What You Make It [05:18]
2. Jesus’ Son [03:36]
3. Twenty Years (Live at Europavox Festival 2015) [04:36]
4. Autoluminescent [03:39]
5. Twenty Years (Live at Evening Urgant, Moscow 2016) [04:22]
6. Song #6 [04:27]