So Wish I Had an Angel is Nightwish’s second single to promote their latest full length and is also the track that their US label Roadrunner Records hopes to break them into the mainstream with its inclusion on the upcoming soundtrack to the most likely crapper of a movie Alone in the Dark. It’s not hard to see why their label is pushing this particular song, its simplicity is easy to latch onto and it is almost pop like in its structure giving it a very accessible vibe. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume that most of you that are contemplating on getting this have already purchased Once, so I won’t comment on the title track. If you haven’t heard Wish I Had an Angel yet then check out Aleksie’s review of the album. For collectors the real meat on this package are the b-sides and they are definitely worth your money.

The first unreleased song is the “Instrumental” version of the mega epic, Ghost Love Score. While not really a full instrumental what this is is the orchestral arrangements of the song only. When I listen to this I fully realize Tuomas’ compositional skill. This is killer music and ranks up there with great classical composers of the past. A cover of the European pop star Anki Bagger’s Where Were You Last Night follows and this is a treat to hear! Nightwish goes hard rock and the result is one of their catchiest songs ever. Listening to this reminds me of Europe, especially in the keyboards with their heavy 80’s laden tone. Much better than the other b-sides on the two Nemo singles, Where Were You Last Night, in my opinion, would have had a much better place on the album itself rather than being relegated to b-side status where only the diehard collectors will enjoy its excellence. A rough demo version of Wish I Had an Angel rounds out this lengthy package and is almost charming in its infantile stage. Much more industrial sounding than the final version that also has slightly altered lyrics (check out the second verse) this really isn’t a cop out like I figured it would be. Obviously the version on Once is the better, more polished song but I keep coming back to this one more and more simply because of the spontaneous feeling that it has.

I wholeheartedly recommend the Wish I Had an Angel single to all Nightwish fans out there. The extra bonuses are well worth the measly ten dollars that I spent on this and really, you need to hear the orchestral version of Ghost Love Score and Where Were You Last Night, your collection isn’t complete without them.