IQ -The Lost Attic

It has been a busy couple of years for IQ. First off, they gave us ‘Subterranea’, followed by a double CD containing a totally rerecorded version of their first album ‘Seven Stories Into Eight’ and here they are back again with another CD subtitled ‘A Collection of Rarities (1983-1999). Not content with just providing rarities, they have also included unreleased numbers as well as going back into the studio to re-record their rarest single  “Hollow Afternoon” which was originally given away free at gigs and only 500 were ever pressed. Two songs appear which originally appeared on SI compilations and have been unavailable since that company went bust: “N.T.O.C. (Resistance)” originally featured on the ‘SI Compilation Too’ album and saw the recording debut of ex-Ark bassist John Jowitt, while “Apathetic, And Here, I..” was taken from the Geoff Mann tribute album ‘Mannerisms’. The first of these is probably my favourite song on the album, and one that I have been playing regularly over the last six years. Not only was it a great song, but it meant that after a period of uncertainty IQ were back and appeared to be even stronger than before. As with ‘Seven Stories Into 98’ there is a wonderful booklet containing history, lyrics and comments about each recording by the band, now all we must do is wait for the next one. How about “Flak”, “Lost Horizon”, “Robo 2”, “Funk Is In My Brain”, “Stomach of Animal”, and “Beef In Box” lads?