''Always Stay Sweet'' is a compilation album by

His Name Is Alive His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label. Throughout the band's long history, leader Wa ...

, released by

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...

on February 23, 1999.

History

''Always Stay Sweet'' is one of the rare 4AD albums that was released in the USA only, and not the label's native UK. It is a compilation of tracks from His Name Is Alive's first five records for the label, all of which—except for '' Stars on ESP''—were out of print in America at the time. This is presumably part of the reason why 4AD chose the album for American release only—it was a way for American audiences to acquire some of the band's early work in lieu of re-issuing the entire back catalog. The album relies heavily on the early albums when HNIA were often described as a gothic folk band inspired by 4AD supergroup

This Mortal Coil This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotat ...

. Nearly all of the songs are from 1990's ''

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

'', 1991's '' Home Is in Your Head'', and 1993's '' Mouth by Mouth''. Only two songs from ''Stars on ESP'' are included, and nearly all of the songs from '' The Dirt Eaters EP'' are featured (although two of the tracks from this EP are alternate versions that appeared on the LPs). No tracks from 1998's '' Ft. Lake'' are included at all, although the front cover was based on the inside sleeve of that album. The song “Underwater” was previously unreleased, having been recorded during the sessions for ''Mouth by Mouth''. “The Dirt Eaters” is the version that appeared on the USA release of ''Mouth by Mouth'', without the

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

sample. A version of the CD released by Mexican label Opción Sónica included two more songs from ''Stars on ESP'' and a rare track from the 1994 4AD compilation ''All Virgos Are Mad''. As this CD came out after 4AD's USA distribution deal with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

had ended, 4AD was back in the position of having to find distribution for each USA release. While the label has mostly used the

Alternative Distribution Alliance Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is a music distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, which represents the rights to various independent record labels. ADA provides "independent artist and label partners with access to the resource ...

, which distributes many

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

labels in America, ''Always Stay Sweet'' was actually distributed by major label Polygram Records.

Track listings

Notes

;4AD release * Tracks 3, 4, 5, and 7 taken from ''

'' (CAD 0008, June 1990) * Tracks 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, and 16 taken from '' Home Is in Your Head'' (CAD 1013, September 1991) * Tracks 14 and 21 taken from '' The Dirt Eaters EP'' (BAD 2005, April 1992) * Tracks 10, 11, 18, 19, and 20 taken from '' Mouth by Mouth'' (CAD 3006, April 1993) * Tracks 15 and 17 taken from '' Stars on ESP'' (CAD 6010, June 1996) * Track 13 is previously unreleased ;Opción Sónica release * “Bad Luck Girl” and “Universal Frequencies” taken from ''Stars on ESP'' * “Library Girl” taken from the 4AD compilation ''All Virgos Are Mad'' (AVAM, September 1994)

References

{{Authority control His Name Is Alive albums 1999 compilation albums 4AD compilation albums