Warning: This post is for Big Ray anoraks only. No-one else will give a shit….I promise you!

Mefloquine Dreams was always going to be a weird one to record, but I had no idea just how much of a pain it would be to mix. Roop and I tried to nail it on about 10 different occasions during the immensely drawn out process that was The Making of Business Class and in the end we had so completely lost the will to live that I think we probably just went with the one that was closest to hand when it came to compiling the final running order. Definitely one of those occasions when you appreciate the skill of the professional mix genius.

Anyway, I recently came across 3 of the alternative mixes and thought that I might finally exhaust even Andy Sandall’s gratifyingly intense interest in all things related to Business Class if I posted them along with the original for your delectation. If you’re only going to download one then I would strongly suggest Trippy Mix #1 as it’s the most different. Both it and Trippy Mix #2 are more spacey than the one that ended up on the album and have none of Michael Hampton’s nasty guitar-work, but they do showcase his keyboard skills instead; so for him it’s a win/win My only problem with the 2 trippy mixes is that a lot of Dave Derby’s backing vocals are gone which is a shame. They’re back in full effect on Another Bloody Mix though…as are Michael’s electric guitars.

• Original version (4.0MB)
• Trippy Mix #1 (6.5MB)
• Trippy Mix #2 (6.5MB)
• Another bloody mix (6.5MB)

The photo above was taken at Bark studio in North London at some point during one of the Business Class sessions. Not exactly glamorous looking is it? If you didn’t know already let me assure you that the majority activity involved in making an album is standing around getting bored.