''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 Warre ...

, released by

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

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 ''Stars on E.S.P.'' is an album by His Name Is Alive, released by 4AD in 1996. History ''Stars on E.S.P.'' had the longest gestation period of any His Name Is Alive album, a project that band leader Warren Defever spent three years crafting befor ...

''—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. Nearly all of the songs are from 1990's '' Livonia'', 1991's ''

Home Is in Your Head ''Home Is in Your Head'' is the second studio album by His Name Is Alive, originally released via 4AD in the UK on September 9, 1991, and on Rykodisc in the United States in 1992. History Like their 4AD debut, ''Livonia'', His Name Is Alive's ' ...

'', 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 ''Ft. Lake'' ("Fort Lake") is an album by His Name Is Alive, released by 4AD in 1998. History Work on ''Ft. Lake'' ("Fort Lake") began shortly after completion of the Nice Day EP, with the same newly stable lineup of leader Warren Defever on g ...

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

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 States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

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 '' Livonia'' (CAD 0008, June 1990) * Tracks 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, and 16 taken from ''

'' (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 ''

'' (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