History Teacher

Infobox Album
Name = History Teacher
Type = compilation
Artist = Matthew Good


Released = 1997
Recorded = 1991-1994
Genre = Folk / Alternative Rock
Length = 158:21
Label = Independent
Producer =
Last album = Raygun (EP)
1996
This album = History Teacher (Compilation)
1997
Next album = Underdogs
1997

"History Teacher" is a compilation of demos by Matthew Good that was released illegally by a former friend in an attempt to capitalize on the newfound success of the Matthew Good Band following the release of Last of the Ghetto Astronauts and Raygun. These early demos were originally sold on cassette tape at gigs, and later compiled, without Matt's permission, onto a 2-disc set. The set represents Matt's complete early work (with the exception of songs from his first group The Rodchester Kings, of which only 2 were included due to space limitations).

Though never officially released, this compilation is well-known among Good's fans as it remains the only source for his early demos apart from the original cassettes which, in their limited quantity, can fetch upwards of $100.00 USD on eBay. Good himself has left this compilation (as well as the releases from which it is derived) off of his website's official discography and has labelled many of these early ventures "naive in their approach". Nevertheless, in 2003 he gave his seal of approval to "MG Fan Club" members trading copies of History Teacher in exchange for donations to Amnesty International, an organization long supported by Good.

Track listing

Disc one

# "The Bombmaker" - 4:58
# "Last of The Ghetto Astronauts" - 6:10
# "The Ocean" - 6:31
# "Endsong" - 5:04
# "Brand New Tune" - 4:25
# "Bluebird" - 6:16
# "Parable" - 4:58
# "Second Sun" - 4:50
# "Euphony" - 4:39
# "Push" - 3:12
# "Heather's Like Sunday" - 4:32
# "Dancing Invisible" - 7:31
# "Mercy Misses You" - 4:17
# "Joe's In Trouble" - 1:56
# "Worthy" - 4:17
# "Message To God" - 4:38

Disc two

# "Whispering in the Dark" - 5:54
# "Entresol" - 3:45
# "If Birds Don't Fly Straight" - 5:07
# "Coming Out In Purple" - 3:17
# "The Last Poem's Poet" - 4:34
# "Saturday The 12th" - 1:07
# "You Are Here" - 4:22
# "Folk Singer" - 4:23
# "Umbrellaless" - 3:18
# "Requiem For Rosemary" - 4:57
# "Close" - 4:42
# "South Of Summer" - 3:00
# "End Song" - 3:14
# "Break In The Rhythm" - 4:16
# "Casual Walks" - 1:21
# "Waiting For The Great Destruction" - 3:18
# "Go Fly Blind" - 2:57
# "As Long As You're Mine" - 3:07
# "A Better Pain" - 2:57
# "Before You Go" - 3:06
# "Coming Out In Purple (Distortion Mix)" - 3:18
# "Break In The Rhythm (Piano & News Mix)" - 3:59

Notes

* Tracks 1-8 on Disc 1 originally appeared on the 1994 Matthew Good Band demo 15 Hours on a September Thursday.
* Tracks 9-14 on Disc 1 originally appeared on the 1994 demo Euphony.
* Track 15 on Disc 1 was co-written and performed by Daniel French and appears on the compilation "Grrrls With Guitars: Vol 1".
* Tracks 1-14 on Disc 2 originally appeared on the 1992 demo Broken.
* Tracks 15-19 originally appeared on the 1993 demo Left of Normal.
* Track 16 on Disc 1 and Track 20 on Disc 2 are taken from a demo by The Rodchester Kings (Good's former band) entitled ...And In Closing.
* Tracks 21-22 on Disc 2 are remixes by Steve Codling and are exclusively found on this compilation. The original tracks originally appered on the 1992 demo Broken