For the most part, each of the b-sides featured on the collection is in short form. The exceptions are that 'That's My Impression' and 'The Sound Of The Atom Splitting' are given here in their extended forms.
Originally, the band wanted the title as 'Besides', but it was changed at the last minute as another band had recently used this concept on their own compilation.
Releases and Versions[]
Alternative was released worldwide on a variety of formats.
Some early promos included Girls & Boys (Live in Rio) as the last track, but this was later omitted.
Design and Packaging[]
The boys are wearing fencing masks in the cover photographs, taken by Richard Burbridge. Other photographs used in the booklet were shot by Eric Watson.
Continuing their tradition for complicated packaging, the band and their designers opted to create a lenticular motif for the special edition front covers, The photograph, depending on which angle you looked at it from, was either Chris or Neil. The idea for this concept was Mark Farrow's and it was executed by his design team. This concept was added to the 2CD box set and 3LP editions of the release. These releases also contained multi-page booklets in which Chris Heath interviews the band about each of the b-side songs.