It is difficult to know why The Hold Steady would want to leave possibly the three best songs recorded for their 'Stay Positive' album to be bonus tracks but that does seem to be what they have done.
The 'Stay Positive' cd comes with 3 bonus tracks ('Ask Her For Adderall', 'Cheyanne Sunrise' and 'Two Handed Handshake'), whilst the vinyl only has '...Adderall'. This is clearly the wrong way round. The 3 tracks on the cd are actually merged into one eleven minute 'track', either to deter people from sharing the files or to make clear the separation between the album and the bonus tracks. Fair enough...the bonus tracks are better.
In many ways the three songs make a perfect EP. 'Ask Her For Adderall' is like 'Stay Positive' or 'Constructive Summer' but with better lyrics (i.e, no mentions here of "being down with it" or "we couldn't have done it if it wasn't for you"), Holly, Gideon and Charlemagne are all mentioned and it is a neat, catchy rock song that could have graced 'Separation Sunday' or 'Boys and Girls in America'. 'Cheyanne Sunrise' is a stunning bar-room ballad about the perils of getting older ("some things get much harder...some other things stay soft") done with style and humour. Finally 'Two Handed Handshake' is a joyful, pop-rock song with Finn dishing out some advice to 'the kids'. It is all done with a lighter touch than most songs on 'Stay Positive' and is far more enjoyable and less overbearing for it. Why they left these three songs off the album is anyone's guess.
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