B1 "Alarms" is in fact credited as "Masterplan" later on Purpose Maker Compilation. "Alarms" that appears on Steampit EP was on some test pressings of this release before it was released officially.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (A side run-out, etched / NSC is circled): PM 002-A (RE I) NSC
Matrix / Runout (B side run-out, etched / NSC is circled): PM 002-B (RE I) NSC
When looking back at "The Bells", I think it's worth adding some context. The Bells was officially released in 1997, however, Mills had been playing the track in his sets since 1995, this is evident on the Liquid Rooms mix (1995) and the Moving Beats Volume 2 mix (1996). I remember Mills playing The Bells at a number of events during that period and on each occasion the crowd would go wild. I can't say for sure if at that time anyone actually knew the track title, I certainly didn't. I think that due to the crowd's reaction to the track it finally got released. A number of his test pressing from that time didn't get released. So, for me the popularity of the track was decided by the crowd long before it was an official release. I also think that if he was really trying to capitalise from the track, wouldn't he have released it as The Bells EP, with a hype sticker "As featured on...". It's also worth pointing out that Mills created the Purpose Maker label to release more dance floor focused tracks instead of Axis which was for his more experimental material.
This will probably upset a lot of people but I used to really like The Bells until it was played to death, when I hear it in a mix now I always fast forward. Probably the most over played and over rated track in techno!!!
Quite a lot of reviews and comments on this one, and deservedly so! This record seems to please and unite electronic music fans from all the different subgenres! Bangin' hard for the lovers of hardcore and hardstyle, subconsciously trippy for the fans of trance and sufficiently hypnotic for the techno fans!
Picked this up for a £1 the other day, well happy, the bells is a quality bit of techno but the other tracks are awesome aswell, at a time when you didnt even have to listen to a jeff mills track to know it was going to be awesome!
The Bells ... awesome. Can't believe I had this for so many years and never even appreciated it. Would prefer playing stupid Happy Hardcore records instead when this gem was in the collection, untouched the whole time.