There are scores of Eels bootlegs floating around the internet, but very little studio material that hasn’t been officially released. So Eels fans went rightfully nuts when in June of 2005 License To Eel appeared on eBay. Touted as “completely legit”, with “SUPERB” audio quality, the 13-track promotional disc eventually sold for $336.69.

License To Eel‘s paper label indicates that the CD’s contents were published on July 21, 2003. This doesn’t mean that the songs were all intended to be released, though of course some had been already (“Eyes Down”, “Mighty Fine Blues”) and some would be (“To Lick Your Boots”, “Estranged Friends” and the renamed “Everyone’s Going Fetal” and “The Brighter Side”). A disc of this nature is often intended to demonstrate for copyright purposes the nature of an artist’s material and serve to satisfy publishing obligations or as demos to pitch to other recording artists. The precise nature of License To Eel isn’t entirely known.

As a disc unintended for formal release, License To Eel is characteristically uneven. “To Lick Your Boots” and “The Bright(er) Side” come through in practically the same shape as they would be in 2005, while “Everyone’s Going Fetal”, with a few dubs, a dash of Tom Waits and a trimmed title, clocks in much the same. “Eyes Down” and “Mighty Fine Blues” are seemingly lifted directly from their appearances on the Holes soundtrack. “Estranged Friends” is here the same as it would later be on Useless Trinkets.

The remainder of the tracks, then, are a curious mix. “Grandfather Clock Strikes Twelve” is funky, in a Prince-like vein, while “Swimming Lessons” and “If I Ran The Circus” are more sedate, folky or comatose in nature. “Virginia, Virginia” has a slinky, secretive sound, whereas “Happy Hour (We’re Gonna Rock)” pops at the seams.

“Devil’s Dog” is a surprisingly menacing song, dripping with voodoo imagery and veiled threats. The oddest track would definitely be “Jazz Hands, Part I”, an MC Honky outtake. Catchy, but odd and slightly empty. All come together to form an uneven mix, but then they most likely weren’t intended to create an album of their own anyway. It’s interesting to speculate the recording dates for these tracks–which albums they were bumped from, which ones they were set aside for. Speculation is the national sport of the Eels community.

Track Listing

To Lick Your Boots Everyone’s Going Fetal Eyes Down Swimming Lessons Estranged Friends Jazz Hands, Part I Happy Hour (We’re Gonna Rock) Mighty Fine Blues The Brighter Side (with Peter Buck) Devil’s Dog If I Ran The Circus Grandfather Clock Strikes Twelve Virginia, Virginia