lowFLOWs: The Columbia Anthology ('91–'93) is a compilation album by the American alternative rock group Firehose released in 2012 to coincide with the band's reunion gigs of the same year.
The anthology collects all the band's releases on Columbia Records: Flyin' the Flannel, Mr. Machinery Operator, and Live Totem Pole. Also included are a handful of previously unreleased live tracks and instrumental versions. The anthology is the first time material from the long out-of-print Live Totem Pole has been made available.
Bassist Mike Watt said it was the work of the record label and not the band itself.
Track listing Disk One
Down with the Bass Up Finnegan's Ladder Can't Believe Walking the Cow (Daniel Johnston cover) Flyin' the Flannel Epoxy, For Example O'er the Town of Pedro Too Long The First Cuss Anti-Misogyny Maneuver Toolin' Song for Dave Alvin Tien an Man Dream Again Lost Colors Towin' the Line Losers, Boozers and Heroes Max and Wells (re-done by Mike Watt with Mark Lanegan on Ball-Hog or Tugboat?) Down with the Bass (Instrumental) The Red and the Black (Blue Öyster Cult cover - Live) Sophisticated Bitch (Public Enemy) cover - Live) Revolution, Pt. 2 (Butthole Surfers cover - Live) Slack Motherfucker (Superchunk cover - Live) What Gets Heard (cover - Live) Mannequin (Wire cover - Live) Makin' the Freeway (Live)
Disk Two
Formal Introduction Blaze Herded Into Pools Witness Number Seven Powerful Hankerin' Rocket Sled / Fuel Tank Quicksand Disciples Of The 3-Way More Famous Quotes Sincerely Hell-Hole 4.29.92 The Cliffs Thrown Down Blaze (Instrumental) Witness (Mersh Again Edit) 4.29.92 (Live) Powerful Hankerin' (Live) Tien An Man Dream Again (Live) Formal Introduction (Live)
Reception PopMatters gave it seven out of ten stars and called it "a great rock 'n roll story." Spectrum Culture gave it three and a half out of five stars saying "Though lowFLOWs doesn’t quite live up to the expectation of rewriting the history of a beloved if somewhat obscured underground band that went big, it does at least do justice to its source material, giving it a nice but unobtrusive touch-up." Pitchfork gave it 7.9 out of 10 and called it "a pleasure to revisit a group that served so necessary a function for all involved, driven on by heart, their blue-collar work ethic, and stubborn perseverance."
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