How does a group follow up an auspicious and unique debut recording? A recording that is so completely out of step with everything that is currently in fashion in popular and even in experimental music that nearly 35 years later, it still is able to surprise people hearing it for the first time. How? Well, if you were Univers Zero, you did it by moving even more to the extremes of your music. While the influences from 20th Century classical music (Stravinsky, Bartok, Huybrechts) mixed with aspects of progressive rock (the angularity of King Crimson added to the unique Zeuhl sound of Magma) remain, they are stripped down and presented in the starkest and darkest way possible. Guitarist Roger Trigaux still plays some amazing licks, but for much of the album, he is hunched over the harmonium (a 19th century pump organ), which gives the music an eerie, gothic sound - a gothic sound matched by the other front line instruments of violin/viola and oboe/bassoon. Meanwhile the rhythm section is completely electric, with heavy Magma-influenced bass and with Daniel Denis' fantastic drumming propelling everything forward.
Originally released in 1979, Heresie has long been considered a high-water mark of new music composition, performance, and dark, sinister intensity for over 30 years and has never been out of print. This reissue transforms and updates Univers Zero’s most infamous work with a new cover that uses bits of the original packaging, as well as many new elements. It also has a striking and clear new remix from the 1979 multi-track tapes that defines and clarifies all the instruments in a way that is much more focused than previous editions. Never have Daniel's cymbals so clearly sizzled with such menace or has Guy's bass gone so low into the underworld. The reissue is accompanied by a 16-page booklet containing a history of the band’s years during the Heresie period and illustrated with archival photos. Lastly, there is a 12 minute, revelatory bonus track from very early in the group's life added; a track that later was cannibalized by its composer, into bits that would eventually find their way into "Ersatz" on Le Poison Qui Rend Fou and "The Limping Little Girl" and "Ceux D'En Bas (Suite)" on N°6 by Roger's post UZ group, Present. One of the most significant avant-progressive rock albums of the very late 1970s just got even more significant!
Due out for September.
Original Track Listing:
1. "La Faulx" (Daniel Denis)
2. "Jack the Ripper" (Daniel Denis, Roger Trigaux)
3. "Vous le saurez en temps voulu" (Roger Trigaux)
Musicians:
Roger Trigaux: guitar, piano, organ, harmonium
Guy Segers: bass, voice
Michel Berckmans: oboe, bassoon
Patrick Hanappier: violin, viola
Daniel Denis: drums, percussion
As a follow up to THIS POST, here are the details for the bonus tracks on the forthcoming King Crimson reissues for In the Wake of Poseidon and Islands.
(On a side note, Islands happens to be one of my 2 King Crimson albums ever, so I am very stoked for it!)
In The Wake of Poseidon:
CD
11. Groon
12. Peace: An End - Alternate mix
13. Cadence & Cascade (Greg Lake guide vocal version)
DVD
1. Cat Food (single version)
2. Groon (single b-side)
3. Cadence & Cascade (unedited master)
4. Cadence & Cascade (Greg Lake guide vocal version)
5. Cadence & Cascade (instrumental take from Wessex Studios)
6. Groon - Take 1
7. Groon - Take 5
8. Groon - Take 15
9. The Devil's Triangle (rehearsal version from Wessex Studios)
10. Peace: An End (alternative mix)
Islands :
CD
7. Islands (studio run through with oboe prominent)
8. Formentera Lady (original recording sessions - take 2)
9. Sailor's Tale (original recording sessions - alternate mix/edit)
10. A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls (previously unreleased)
11. The Letters (rehearsal/outtake)
12. Ladies of the Road (Robert Fripp & David Singleton remix)
DVD
Islands: Alternative album:
1. Formentera Lady - Original recording sessions - take 2
2. Sailor's Tale - Original recording sessions - alternate mix/edit
3. The Letters - Rehearsal/outtake
4. Ladies of the Road - Rough mix
5. A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls - Previously unreleased
6. Islands - Studio run through with oboe prominent
1-3 & 5 mxed by Steven Wilson from the original session reels.
Routes to Islands:
1. Pictures of a City - Early rehearsal by Islands lineup
2. Sailor's Tale - Early rehearsal by Islands lineup
3. Islands (fragment) - Robert Fripp reference cassette - mellotron on vibes setting
4. Formentera Lady - Rough mix from album recording sessions
5. Sailor's Tale - Rough mix from album recording sessions
6. Drop In - Early rehearsal by Islands lineup
7. The Letters - Live at Plymouth, mastered by David Singleton
8. Sailor's Tale - Live at the Zoom Club, mastered by David Singleton
Islands: Additional tracks: Assorted Ladies:
1. Ladies of the Road - Robert Fripp & David Singleton remix
2. Ladies of the Road - Original recording sessions - take 5
3. Formentera Lady - Original recording sessions - take 1
4. Formentera Lady - Original recording sessions - take 3
5. Formentera Lady - Original recording sessions - take 4
2 - 5 mixed by Steven Wilson from the original session reels.
Scheduled for release on October 1st
In the Wake of Poseidon notes:
Featuring new stereo and 5.1 surround mixes (by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp), Sid Smith sleeve notes and extra tracks (including Greg Lake's guide vocal rendition of Cadence And Cascade), this is a definitive edition of a classic album.
This edition presents a near complete new stereo mix by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp. As tape for one track, The Devil's Triangle, could not be located, the original stereo is included to maintain the original running order.
The CD also includes a new mix of Groon (Cat Food's b-side) a newly mixed alternate take of Peace: An Ending and the first CD appearance of Greg Lake's guide vocal take of the beautiful ballad Cadence and Cascade.
The DVD-A features a 5.1 mix by Steven Wilson, with Devil's Triangle up-mixed to 5.1 by Simon Heyworth, hi-res stereo versions of the 30th anniversary stereo master, the 2010 album mixes and ten hi-res bonus tracks including the original single a & b side Cat Food/Groon, the bonus tracks from the CD and a number of other session takes, rehearsals and mixes.
Islands notes:
Featuring new stereo and 5.1 surround mixes (by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp), Sid Smith sleeve notes and copious extra tracks and alternate versions, this is a definitive edition of a frequently beautiful and sometimes unfairly overlooked part of King Crimson's always intriguing back catalogue.
The CD/DVD-A package assembled as the fifth in the series of 40th anniversary releases provides that much bigger picture. The CD presents a complete stereo remix by Steven Wilson & Robert Fripp alongside a group of additional tracks representing a near complete alternate album of studio takes, run-throughs and mixes.
The DVD-A presents a complete 5.1 surround sound mix by Steven Wilson, a hi-res stereo version of the 2010 mix, a hi-res stereo version of the original album mix taken from the 30th anniversary master source and almost 90 minutes of additional material, the vast majority of it previously unreleased, including many studio takes mixed from the original recording sessions specifically for this release. The material covers everything from early rehearsals of Pictures of a City (one of the final new songs performed by the 1969 lineup) to the previously unheard A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls (showcasing early ideas & elements that would appear in fully realised form on later KC albums), a fragment of Fripp playing the tune of Islands on a mellotron, a blistering live Sailor's Tale from the Zoom Club & much more, making this an essential release for King Crimson fans
More details:
http://dgmlive.com/news.htm?entry=3073
Pre-order:
http://www.burningshed.com/store/kingcrimson/
https://www.dgmlive.com/shop/
(Thanks to Luis T. on PMS for bringing this to my attention)As posted to Steven Wilson's webpage on 17 March:
"King Crimson's label DGM have announced that they will start to release Steven's 5.1 surround sound mixes of the King Crimson back catalogue in June, with "Lizard" and "Red", followed by a special 40th anniversary edition of "In the Court of the Crimson King" in October. Where appropriate new stereo mixes and out-takes / alternates have also been mixed, although we don't know yet if DGM will approve these for release as part of the new editions."
Steven did the surround mixes for the albums at his studios over the past not sure I remember how many months. Robert Fripp has had a good bit to say about this project in his diaries on DGM Live.
Certainly something interesting to look forward to.
Thirty years later, TWO FOR THE SHOW: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION will arrive in stores July 1st on Kirshner/Epic/Legacy, a division of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. The double-CD package will be housed in a beautifully designed, environmentally friendly, plastic-free soft pack, containing a 24-page full-color booklet with many unseen photographs, and a new liner notes essay written by Jeb Wright.
"Looking back," Wright reflects, "it is hard to believe that these six long-haired, rough and tumble Midwesterners took only a few years to go from playing local bars to selling out Madison Square Garden...but that is exactly what happened." Wright, a native of Topeka, Kansas - the band's hometown - is the owner/editor of Classic Rock Revisited online music magazine, which can be found at www.classicrockrevisited.com.
Wright also points out the story behind the album cover graphic - the familiar rendering of the two cleaning ladies seated in the empty red velvet orchestra seats after a show, their mops in view, perusing the Kansas playbill. It was based on a Norman Rockwell painting titled "The Charwomen" that originally appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post of April 6, 1946. The 1978 version went on to win an award from the Norman Rockwell Foundation. Today it serves as the homepage of the band's website, with the red curtained stage serving as the backdrop for the site views.
After five RIAA gold, platinum and multi-platinum LPs, the original release of Two For the Show was welcomed in November 1978 by fans of Kansas, a band whose career has always been based on their reputation as live performers. The double-album chronicled their mammoth tours of 1977-78, which built on the breakthrough success of their consecutive Top 5 LPs Leftoverture (1976, with "Carry On Wayward Son") and Point Of Know Return (1977, with "Point Of Know Return" and "Dust In the Wind").
To the delight of Kansas completists around the world, TWO FOR THE SHOW will finally restore the live version of "Closet Chronicles" to the playlist (on disc two). This rarity was first heard on the Point Of Know Return album, and as the B-side of the "Point Of Know Return" single. When the first-generation CD of Two For the Show was issued in 1989, "Closet Chronicles" (which preceded "Magnum Opus" as the next-to-last track on the double-LP) was cut for length reasons.
The live version of "Closet Chronicles" anchors CD two on the new package, whose 10 other live tracks gathered from the 1977-78 tours are previously unreleased. Among them is the closing track, the cover of J.J. Cale's "Bring It Back," which Kansas picked up from Cale's debut LP of 1971, Naturally. The band recorded it (as "Bringing It Back") on their own self-titled debut album of 1974, Kansas, on the Kirshner label, distributed by Epic Associated Labels. It remained their only non-Kansas composition recorded during their entire first decade 1974-83, and their nine studio LPs on Kirshner (before moving to MCA in 1986, when they began to record 'outside' material).
The album, Wright concludes, "is a testament to a great band at the top of their game. A large majority of the track listing is still found in the band's set list today, proving their music remains both majestic and timeless.This album is a true testament to their abilities. So, the time has come for me to Welcome you to Kansas and invite you to sit back, crank up the volume, and enjoy TWO FOR THE SHOW."
TWO FOR THE SHOW: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION (Kirshner/Epic/ Legacy 88697 30836 2, originally issued November 1978, as Kirshner 35660)
Disc One - Selections:
1. Song For America (B)
2. Point Of Know Return (E)
3. Paradox (E)
4. Icarus - Borne On Wings Of Steel (C)
5. Portrait (He Knew) (E)
6. Carry On Wayward Son (D)
7. Journey From Mariabronn (A)
8. Dust In the Wind - acoustic guitar solo (E)
9. Lonely Wind - piano solo (A)
10. Mysteries And Mayhem (C)
11. Excerpt From Lamplight Symphony (B)
12. The Wall (D)
13. Magnum Opus (D).
Disc Two - Selections:
1. Hopelessly Human (E)
2. Child Of Innocence (C)
3. Belexes (A)
4. Cheyenne Anthem (D)
5. Lonely Street (B)
6. Miracles Out Of Nowhere (D)
7. The Spider - drum solo (E)
8. Closet Chronicles (E)
9. Down The Road (B)
10. Sparks Of The Tempest (E)
11. Bringing It Back (A).
(All live tracks previously unreleased except number 10.)
Song originally from studio album:
(A) - Kansas (1974)
(B) - Song For America (1974)
(C) - Masque (1975)
(D) - Leftoverture (1976)
(E) - Point Of Know Return (1977)
Never thought I'd get to use that as a subject line...heh:
Änglagård are discussing the possibilities of re releasing the old albums and Jonas, Anna and Johan have started to meet up once a week to play around with some new material. I have heard a quick ricochet and it sounds really promising. Who knows what the future brings…
Source: Mattias Olsson's website, http://www.roth-handle.nu/
(Mattias is the drummer for Änglagård)
from MusicTap:
You should watch for some interesting things coming down the pike from our friends at Caroline Records. They have upcoming 2CD reissues of some Marillion titles that include Fugazi (1984), Clutching at Straws (1987), Misplaced Childhood (1985), Script for a Jester's Tear (1983), as well as Season's End (1989). All of these previous Import titles will be domestically released on March 25.
And if those weren't enough, the label will also reissue 8 Van der Graaf Generator titles in the Japanese-styled mini-LP sleeves. The titles will include Godbluff (1975), H to He Who Am The Only One (1970), The Least We Can Do is Wave to Each Other (1969), Pawn Hearts (1971), The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome (1977), Still Life (1976), Vital - Live (1978), and World Record (1976). These, like their previous announcements, are scheduled for March 25.
My assumption is the Marillion reissues will be the same as the EMI issues from 1997-ish, and as such, no need to purchase, as I have the complete set of 1997 reissues, including the mostly superfluous Best of Both Worlds 2-CD comp...no clue on the VdGG issues, though if these are coming out at domestic prices, I might plump for the VdGG releases. I am only missing Godbluff and Vital/Live of the 'original' band, but I might not be able to resist the lure of a complete set of mini-LP esque issues.
Once they are in hand, I'll let you know how they compare to the EMI/Charisma releases.
Oh, and don't forget...Van der Graaf Generator's new album, Trisector (their first as a trio of Hammill/Evans/Banton), is due out on 17 March.
corrected for typo in dating on one album release, thanks to reader brucekg for pointing this out to me...this will teach me to check things I get from other sites...
