I somehow missed this band back-in-the-day. What's lost is now found. Next.
From Fact Mag:
Essentially a ‘best of’, Early is considered the definitive ACR compilation, featuring classic songs like ‘Shack Up’ and ‘Knife Slits Water’ alongside more obscure fare. The 2xCD version features 11 bonus tracks, including various Peel sessions and single mixes.
A Certain Ratio – originally Simon Topping (vocals), Martin Moscrop (guitar/trumpet), Peter Terrell (tape loops) and Jeremy Kerr (bass) [...] introduced dance music into the Manchester mix long before New Order or The Happy Mondays. Their dub-infused punk-funk recordings have proved massively influential over the past thirty years, and Andy Weatherall has called them his favourite ever band (a prestigious accolade in our estimation). They debuted in 1979 with the ‘All Night Party’ 7″, but it was the release of ‘Shack Up’ in 1980 that really set the ball rolling. The record became an underground dance anthem in New York, leading the band to play gigs at venues like Dancetaria and The Roxy; they were famously supported by a young Madonna for one such show.
The band bolstered their reputation with the chilly, Martin Hannett-produced To Each LP, before falling in love with Nu Yorican percussion and cutting the magnificent, more flamboyant Sextet (1982). After 1985 the band’s line-up changed and there was an ill-judged late bid for mainsteam acceptance; Early wisely focusses on the period ’78-’85, when there seemed no limit to ACR’s energy and innovation.
Technical Information:
Artist: A Certain Ratio
Album: Early (Disc 1)
Year: 1979-85/2002
Audio Codec(s): FLAC
Encoding: Lossless
Rip: split tracks
Avg. bitrate:
Disc 1- 903 kb/s
Disc 2- 929 kb/s
Sample rate: 44100 Hz
Bits per sample: 16
Channels: 2
File size:
Disc 1- 374 MB
Disc 2- 225 MB
Length:
Disc 1- 0:58:00
Disc 2- 0:33:58
Tracklisting:
Disc 1:
01. Do the Du (2:51)
02. Flight (6:05)
03. Waterline (4:09)
04. Shack Up (3:16)
05. The Fox (3:06)
06. Blown Away (3:13)
07. Gum (3:05)
08. Life's a Scream (6:36)
09. Skipscada (2:10)
10. Knife Slits Water (7:36)
11. Sounds like Something Dirty (6:58)
12. Touch (5:06)
13. Saturn (3:49)
Disc 2:
01. All Night Party (7" single) (3:15)
02. Faceless (Graveyard & Ballroom) (2:21)
03. Do the Du (Peel Session, 1979) (2:44)
04. All Night Party (Peel Sessions, 1979) (3:49)
05. Flight (Peel Sessions, 1979) (3:16)
06. Choir (Peel Sessions, 1979) (3:07)
07. Skipscada (Peel Sessions, 1981) (2:06)
08. Felch (Original NYC Mix) (3:48)
09. Abracadubra (12" version) (3:35)
10. Tumba Rhumba (7" single b-side) (2:36)
11. Si Fermir O Grido (Touch Cassette) (3:23)
Early Megaupload Links:
Disc 1
Disc 2