A collection of unreleased recordings from the early days of Gravenhurst; unexpected treasures found in the Gravenhurst archives whilst researching material for the tenth anniversary reissues of `Flashlight Seasons' and `Black Holes In The Sand'. Comprised of two early demos that differ from album versions in intriguing ways and eight previously unheard songs, the result is a carefully selected and coherent collection. `The Citizen' contrasts a lyric of urban alienation with an early demonstration of Nick Talbot aka Gravenhurst's mastery of acoustic minimalism, while the strong narrative arc of the title track `Offerings' contains the earliest incarnation of a recurring Gravenhurst theme: the indifference of nature and the folly of the human urge to seek spiritual communion with its destructive power. One of four diverse instrumental tracks, `Who Put Bella In The Wych Elm?' provides a hypnotic soundtrack to one of England's most unnerving unsolved crimes. Unable to recall recording some of these tracks, Nick describes the collection as a musical Mary Celeste; a vessel found captain-less and crew-less, with its cargo fully preserved after many years adrift.A1 The Citizen 4:08 A2 Entertainment (Demo) 3:37 A3 The Diver (Demo) 7:26 A4 Who Put Bella In The Wych Elm? 3:30 A5 Gas Mask Days 5:53 B1 Romance 5:02 B2 For Erin 2:37 B3 Abilene / Still Water Outro 7:51 B4 Offerings 6:06 B5 Return To Stapleton Road 4:03
