Methinks you're right, most of my mates who like, you know, what their basically told to like by mtv2 and other sources react with a kind of, "yeah i know his stuff, well i ve heard of him but who is he like?" face, i cant say im a fan at all though. he's a good business man though, fair play like he knows how to get a few bob. thats what really matters

This release comes as no great surprise. He has already re-released his album with a few extras to squeeze an extra few sheckles out of his fan base. There's no doubt that it's good business but no one ever became a musical legend by releasing and re-releasing the same old songs. He has been around for years now and he is still only represented by his original body of work. I have to admit that I do like his music, but this whole money making buzz he seems to be on is pretty disgracefull in my opinion

Ach ! Same manager as David Gray, same short term capitalising on a almost non existant back catalog. Gray released his 'lost songs' lp just before 'A New Day At Midnight' crashed and burned. That album should have propelled him upwards like 'Rush of Blood' did for Coldplay, instead it refused to budge from the shelves, in my neck of the woods anyway. If you ask me Rice Cakes has been taking financial advantage of his fanbase for quite some time now. Nothing new. I always feel a musician who is too good at the business end isn't that great as a musician.

The more I learn about this guy the more of a w*nker he appears to be. This is the same Damien Rice who, in interview after interview, pisses and moans about how awful the music business is, all he wants to do is play music and why won't the evil capitalist overlords let him be, sometimes he just wants to work in the garden and only play his music to a few friends 'cause the industry is so SOULLESS, MAN, ad nauseum. And now this latest wa*kery. Actually, I've changed my mind, he's not just a wa*ker, he's a c**t. And you can take that to the bank. Not that we should be surprised. After all, this is the same guy who, when he was lead singer in Juniper, used to insist that people called him "Dodi Ma." Actually I've just been inspired. I think I'll start my very own website - www.damienriceisac*nt.net

DODI F'N MA? OK hard drugs are the only way I'll not think he's a spoonman for that. But seriously, thats not true is it? I know nothing about the man's personality right, just never liked the tunes, too self absorbed ("cant take my eyes off of you..." sweet lord i was reduced to a snivelling wreck!). Lovely music, just not my personal thing. I like whatever's cool this month according to a mixture of Q, MTV2, The Amp, NME and,...auh, cluas.com...

I don't condone Damien Rice for what he's done but at the same time it must be said that whoever buys this b-side album deserves everything they get. I mean the list of tracks will be on the back so if you pay top money for it tough sh*t. I've never felt sorry for anyone who gets ripped off by the music industry and I'm not going to start now. If you don't like something or it's not worth its price there's a simple answer...DON'T BUY IT!!

Good Point Brain of G, Caveat Emptor or something like that. However without meaning to sound patronising, I think a lot of Damien Rices' fans will be relatively young. Now don't get me wrong, todays teenagers are smarter than ever, but its at that age that its more likely that your musical attention will be devoted to a select few bands. Its these fans who are most likely to be the most dedicated, uncritical and uncynical of their favourite artist. Whether you're a fan of his music or like me really don't care for it very much, there is no doubting the sheer enthusiasm of his fans. I think Mr. Rice knows this and is cynically taking advantege of it. I mean compare it with a similar record, The Frames live album "Setlist". OK this does draw on old material too, but it was a full length release with mainly previously unreleased recordings, obviously had care put into its conception, recording, sequencing and complilation, had a much broader back catalogue to draw on and was even relatively good value for newer fans who might not have owned any albums older then "For the Birds". In short, a quality product (if I may be so crass as to use that term) that showed respect for fans of the band. Of course Damien Rice is not alone in ripping off fans, but this just seems more cynical than most.

I bought the album because I'm a big fan of his debut 'O' and hadn't ever heard him live or any of his b-sides. I got the album for €9.99 which I thought was a fair price but saw it in Virigin for €16.99 which is a bit much. Have to admit that I like the album but for someone who hasn't released anything in so long, I think there should've been a few more b-sides thrown in. There were some very good points made. I do think that Rice is milking his fans, but alot of artists do that. Not that I'm saying its ok. Personally, I like his music but think he's a bit of a knob from the interviews I've read/saw with him. Isn't it about time he released a follow-up album? But I don't think you can compare his b-sides album with 'Setlist' by The Frames. The Frames have been knocking about for a number of years now, thus earning respect on the Irish scene (Damien Rice still has alot to prove). 'Setlist' is a live album, not a b-sides so simply the argument falls short there. But yes Rice's b-sides is out to milk his audience. I think that he will be once and for all judged on his next album.....

Gar, you might be missing my point regarding "Setlist". I wasn't criticising the Frames, I was actually praising them for a well thought out quality release and contrasting it with Damien Rices shoddy effort. Yes I know "Setlist" is a live album and B-Sides is obviously a B-Sides collection, however I think comparisons can be drawn quite easily. First off, neither contains any "new" songs, both are essentially compilations of existing material. Both are designed to appeal to fans who already have all of each artists "proper" albums. You rarely make new fans with such records, however in the Frames case, it clevery appeals to those recently introduced to the band by acting as a kind of "Best of". I realise you picked up B-Sides cheap and I expect to see it clogging up the bargain section of my local record store soon, however in many places, such as CDWOW it is retailing at full price or at least is very pricey for what is essentially just an EP.

Fair points made. I agree with ya.

i heard someone in the biz refer to him as simply "bread-head", referring to his fortright manner when it comes to the business side of things. this aint necessarily a bad thing - making a living out of original songwriting certainly aint the most lucrative practice, especially here in ireland where so many people view the decision between paying €10 into a gig or getting their 8th vodka & red bull as a major dilemma. if you dont respect yourself and position yourself accordingly, nobody else will either. but all this just doesnt sit well with the whole "shaman" persona that comes across in interviews etc. and he is prone to making some ludicrous statements (the one about how he loves spain because nobody knows him there and he can walk the streets in peace blah blah was a classic!). however, he is good although to my mind listening to "O" straight through is a bit like getting caught up in quicksand, but there are great moments in there. not enough for me to want to hear the b-sides however.

For anyone who is truly pissed off by the release of Damien Rice's 'B-sides' album and want to express their opinion. Why not go along to the Management Seminar in the Arthouse, Temple Bar as part of the HWCH mini festival. Bernadette Barrett (Manager of Damien Rice) will be speaking at it.

I didn't mean for a gang of angry punters marching up to harass her. I just meant that they could ask her what was the reason behind releasing the b-sides, thus would end this debate/thread. Wasn't trying to single her out or anything. Sorry about the confusion. There are many ways to look at it but the fact remains that the cd is out there and people are buying it. As I said before, I think he will be judged on what comes next.

Oh dear, what have I started "No Officer, I don't know anything about that large unruly mob outside..."

Of course, if enough of his fans got really annoyed they could take the same course of action as a group of CREED fans took in the USA. In the words of the late, great Warren Zevon, 'Send lawyers, guns and money / The sh*t has hit the fan'.

I wonder what the unruly mob will chant. How about this: "What do we want?" "No more b-side albums from Damien Rice until he releases a new album!" "When do we want it?" "Now!" It's not very catchy is it?

At least a comical take can be seen on this. I didn't mean to start a mob or anything. I'm actually writing a review of the b-sides album and will send it along to Eoghan so you can all read it on the site maybe next week.