[markl]

No, Davey, I was responding to some of the breathless reviews I've read in the press. It really is a great album, no doubt, but when the bar is set so high by the artist's past work, one comes in with big expectations, that's all I'm saying...

 

[Davey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl No, Davey, I was responding to some of the breathless reviews I've read in the press. It really is a great album, no doubt, but when the bar is set so high by the artist's past work, one comes in with big expectations, that's all I'm saying...

Yeah, so many reviewers tend to come off a bit like shills for the record label, every work is monumental and the best thing they've ever done. But it's really hard for me to be objective when looking at a person's whole career, especially when it is so long. None of us are in the same place musically we were 15 or 20 years ago, but that's still a big part of how we view music. Someone relatively new to Sylvian (or who wasn't around in the Japan days) may listen to this latest one and think it's the best thing he's ever done, when in actuality it's more like you say, another in a long line of excellent works. I do think there are songs on it that wouldn't be shamed by his best work, but overall it's quite a grower, and probably works more for me as a complete picture rather than a set of songs. It's got a real mood and feel to it, even though I think a couple of the best songs on it stand out a bit much from that feel, seeming a little out of place at first. But that feel mostly went away for me with more listens.

 

[en480c4]

So, I finally managed to track down Snow Borne Sorrow and I have to admit, I'm very impressed. I really enjoyed it, right from the start. I will say this... I think my favorite track was "Wonderful World." I really liked his voice paired with Stina Nordenstam, and wish she appeared more on the album. But that's just a minor shortcoming IMO.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone for their input on this disc. It's definitely a strong effort. It's my first exposure to his work outside Tweaker and I'll definitely be exploring more.

 

[Davey]

Almost 2 1/2 years down the road, and still a pretty nice listen. Good sound quality too, nice and lush, though a bit louder than it really should be for best effect. Anyone else been keeping this one in the regular rotation?

 

[Solan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Great vocals traded between David and Swedish vocalist Stina Nordenstam. Think I might have to check out one of her albums too.

I don't think you'll regret that decision.

 

[Sordel]

How disappointing that the "new" David Sylvian is an old thread. Still, Snow Borne Sorrow is a really good album: I'd say his best since Dead Bees On A Cake (1999) and his most consistent since Secrets Of The Beehive (1987). I'd recommend Sylvian newbies to try Gone To Earth for a nice mix of songs and ambient pieces.

 

[BillC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Almost 2 1/2 years down the road, and still a pretty nice listen. Good sound quality too, nice and lush, though a bit louder than it really should be for best effect. Anyone else been keeping this one in the regular rotation?

Both "Snow Born Sorrow" and "Money for All" have been in my regular rotation. There's almost always something from Sylvian in my short list but the Nine Horses work has been getting played more than the older stuff the last couple years.

Anyone listened to the new Steve Jansen album, "Slope"?

 

[Sordel]

For added contemporary relevance, this just in from Downtown Music Gallery:


DAVID SYLVIAN With CHRISTIAN FENNESZ/ARVE
HENRIKSEN/AKIRA RABELAIS/CLIVE BELL - When loud
weather buffeted Naoshima (Samadhi-Sound 011;
USA) A beautiful composition from David that was
commissioned as an installation piece by the
Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum Foundation on the
island of Naoshima, Japan as part of the NAOSHIMA
STANDARD 2 exhibition which ran from Oct 2006 to
April 2007. The recording was performed by an
ensemble of musicians: Clive Bell, Christian
Fennesz, Arve Henriksen, Akira Rabelais, and
David Sylvian. David composed, recorded, and
produced the work at samadhisound studio 2006. A
final mix of the material for this edition was
completed in Jan 07.
'When loud weather buffeted Naoshima' was
commissioned by the Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum
Foundation on the island of Naoshima, Japan as
part of the NAOSHIMA STANDARD 2 exhibition which
ran from Oct 2006 to April 2007. The composition
is site specific. In fact Sylvian has said that
the work isn't really complete until the sounds
of the town Honmura are incorporated into the
listening experience. For the samadhisound
release of 'when loud weather,' Sylvian has
incorporated some of the sounds of the island
into the final mix. Whilst this obviously doesn't
compare to the experience of listening to the
work in situ it goes someway towards creating an
echo of it. In the process Sylvian's created a
piece that might find new and interesting
interpretations in a variety of unanticipated
contexts.
This release is only available in a limited
edition format (a DVD digipak beautifully
designed by our own Chris Bigg with cover art by
Sachiyo Tsurumi) for a limited time after which
it will be deleted from the catalogue. As the
Foundation has decided to make the audio a part
of the permanent collection on the island it will
be there that the work will remain accessible
once the samadhisound edition is ended.
CD $16

 

[TimJo]

Well I finally picked up the two "Nine Horses" releases, and they are both excellent. I'm not sure how I had missed these for so long being such a big David Sylivan fan. I remember buying my first Japan album in '81 and being blown away - 'it's like Roxy Music - but better!' I became a bit fanatical back then (which I am now happy about since I have over a dozen 12" singles from the '80s). One of my prize finds though was a copy of the the 'Weatherbox' which was almost impossible to find in the States. I finally found one in a small record shop in Italy, but they didn't take credit cards, and we didn't have enough lira to buy it. Then I remembered that I had a $100 bill hidden in my dizionario in case of an emergency. Well, this qualified as an emergency and I walked out of that shop with a huge smile on my face.

Anyway, thanks for the heads up about these discs.

 

[Davey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimJo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I finally picked up the two "Nine Horses" releases, and they are both excellent. I'm not sure how I had missed these for so long being such a big David Sylivan fan. I remember buying my first Japan album in '81 and being blown away - 'it's like Roxy Music - but better!' I became a bit fanatical back then (which I am now happy about since I have over a dozen 12" singles from the '80s). One of my prize finds though was a copy of the the 'Weatherbox' which was almost impossible to find in the States. I finally found one in a small record shop in Italy, but they didn't take credit cards, and we didn't have enough lira to buy it. Then I remembered that I had a $100 bill hidden in my dizionario in case of an emergency. Well, this qualified as an emergency and I walked out of that shop with a huge smile on my face. Anyway, thanks for the heads up about these discs.

Nice story TimJo. The life of us music geeks was a lot more adventurous back in the days before the internet, huh? Sometimes the payoff was much more satisfying as well

Do you have "The Art of Parties" single? Life Without Buildings is a pretty cool modern band, albeit a short-lived one, and as many modern bands do, they took their name from one of their favorite bands of the past, in this case from that early 80s Japan single, "Life Without Buildings" being the b-side. Anyway, LWB was a very cool band that probably owed more to the Feelies and Talking Heads, and maybe a bit of the Fall with Sue's sputtering stream of consciousness type of delivery, than the glammy side of Japan. But in any case, just one record, their great debut a few years ago called "Any Other City", and then they gave up. But there was a very good live set recorded in Sydney at the Annandale Hotel that somehow got released with wide distribution last year, and really captures them doing what they did so well. Recorded and mastered pretty well too.

 

[Sordel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimJo /img/forum/go_quote.gif One of my prize finds though was a copy of the the 'Weatherbox' which was almost impossible to find in the States.

I must have been about nineteen when I bought this: I had to swear to my mother that I wouldn't buy another CD for a month afterwards, because it was pretty expensive at the time, but I've never regretted it.

Another curious artifact of that period was Sakamoto's Playing The Orchestra album, which came as two CDs (one full length, one a single) in an elaborate box with gravel in it. I bought the only copy of that that I've ever seen.

Among the boxed sets that I missed, the most painful is LaMonte Young's The Well Tuned Piano.

 

[TimJo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice story TimJo. The life of us music geeks was a lot more adventurous back in the days before the internet, huh? Sometimes the payoff was much more satisfying as well Do you have "The Art of Parties" single?

Yeah. Just for fun I grabbed my stack of singles and EP's, and I have:

Japan

12"
Life In Tokyo (Remix)/ Life In Tokyo (Theme)
I Second That Emotion/Halloween
All Tomorrow's Parties (Remix)/Deviation & Obscure Alternatives (Live)
The Art Of Parties - Width Of A Room/Life Without Buildings - The Experience Of Swimming
Nightporter/Methods Of Dance
Ghosts/The Art Of Parties (Version)
Visions Of China/Swing

7"
Gentlemen Take Polariods/The Experience Of Swimming
The Width Of A Room/Burning Bridges
Canton/Visions Of China (Live)

David Sylvian

12"
Bamboo Houses/Bamboo Music
The Ink In The Well/Weathered Wall (instrumental)
Pulling Punches/Backwaters
Red Guitar/Forbidden Colours (Version)
Taking The Veil/Answered Prayers - A Bird Of Prey Vanishes Into A Bright Blue Cloudless Sky

7"
Pulling Punches/Backwaters (Remix) - with 3 postcards included
Forbidden Colours/The Seed And The Sower

Related

Words With The Shaman EP
Plight And Premonition EP
Mick Karn & Midge Ure - After A Fashion EP

I told you I was a bit fanatical!!! One thing I can say is that after looking at these again, I do miss the beauty of well produced artwork that went into 12" singles back then. That is one of the things that CD's kind of destroyed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Life Without Buildings is a pretty cool modern band, albeit a short-lived one.

I'll have to keep my eyes out for those releases. Thanks for the tip!