Although Julian Cope was largely a social hermit during the mid-'80s, his darkest years personally, he remained a friend and favorite of BBC DJs Janice Long and John Peel, who regularly coaxed him from his Tamworth home into their studios for sessions. (In keeping with his craving for solitude, the majority of the mid-'80s recordings feature Cope strumming away at a guitar with only a cheap and clattery drum machine for accompaniment.) The results are startling for those familiar with the more polished studio recordings; stripped of its relatively lush orchestration, "Reynard the Fox" sounds like Roky Erickson at his most paranoid. The full-band sessions recorded just before and during the recording of 1991's Peggy Suicide find Cope utterly revitalized, off drugs, happily married, and, happily, even weirder than before. The throbbing "Soul Medley" jams together Funkadelic's "Free Your Mind & Your Ass Will Follow," the Mothers of Invention's "Are You Hung Up," and Cope's own Krautrock-inspired meltdown, "Hanging out and Hung up on the Line," for a mind-melter that no mere drug could provide. Although it's no substitute for the albums Julian Cope was recording in these years, The Best of the BBC Sessions: Floored Genius, Vol. 2 is essential for fans.

TRACKLIST

CD1

01. The Greatness And Perfection Of Love (Peel Session 05/02/1983)
02. Head Hang Low (Peel Session 05/02/1983)
03. High Class Butcher (Peel Session 05/02/1983)
04. Sunspots (29/05/1984 John Peel)
05. Me Singing (Peel Session 29/05/1984)
06. Hobby (Peel Session 29/05/1984)
07. 24a Velocity Crescent (Dave Jensen Session 05/01/1984)
08. Laughing Boy (Dave Jensen Session 05/01/1984)
09. O King Of Chaos (Dave Jensen Session 05/01/1984)
10. Reynard The Fox (Dave Jensen Session 05/01/1984)
11. Pulsar (Janice Long 12/12/1984)
12. Crazy Farm Animal (Janice Long12/12/1984)
13. Christmas Morning (Janice Long 12/12/1984)
14. Planet Ride: Transmitting (Janice Long 12/12/84)
15. Soul Medley (John Peel 11/4/1991)
16. You Think It's Love (Peel Session 11/04/1991)
17. Double Vegetation (Richard Skinner 17/06/1989)

CD2

01. Lunatic And Fire-Pistol (Peel Session 05/02/1983)
02. Disaster (Janice Long 12/12/1984)
03. Shot Down (Janice Long 6/8/1986)
04. World Shut Your Mouth (Janice Long 6/8/1986)
05. Saint Julian (BBC Session 1987)
06. Trampolene (BBC Session 1987)
07. Ballad of King Plank (BBC Sessions 1987)
08. Robert Mitchum (Richard Skinner 17/06/1989)
09. The Mystery Trend (Peel Session 11/04/1991)
10. Hanging Out And Hung Up On The Line (Richard Skinner 17/06/1989)
11. Double Vegetation (In Concert Derby Assembly 15/06/1991)
12. East Easy Rider (In Concert Derby Assembly 15/06/1991)
13. Passionate Friend (In Concert Derby Assembly 15/06/1991)