“I have Reissues of QL and GTP and agree QL is nothing special sound wise. I had Hansa first pressings of both of these back in the day”
As a little experiment, I did a bake-off between my Hansa release of Quiet Life and a late, cheapy re-release I bought on CD to play in the car 30-odd years later. The sources were a pretty well-spec’d LP12 and a CDX2. I could barely tell the difference, even though the LP12 cost nearly 3 x the CD player. The finest Hansa release I have is “Assemblage” which does seem to be well-recorded, certainly a lot better than Japan’s first 2 albums and includes the excellent cover of “I second that emotion”.
Pay attention to the aesthetic of the art, not the self
Value integrity
Live in the present moment
Stay humble
These are life lessons David Sylvian espouses (summarised from his website). I think they are remarkable and go a long way to revealing the man and his artistic achievements. I am struck by the transition made from ‘Don’t Rain on my Parade’ (a single from their first album, Adolescent Sex) to 'Ghosts’ recorded barely 3 years later, but they are light years apart artistically. There is some wonderful Top of the Pops footage of David Sylvian performing Ghosts that can be found on YouTube.
It must be the most antithetical TOTP performance ever recorded.
Smiling at that Jonners - I have the same 2 sources. Having recently just returned to vinyl, I am wondering just how much I need to care about different pressings or which digital version is ‘best’.
I could drive myself crazy thinking too much about all this and maybe the wiser approach is not to.
I know what you mean 1GiantLeap, it’s too easy and tempting to get stuck down the rabbit hole in search of the “perfect” recording or format! As a general rule of thumb with records, I avoid the heavyweight re-releases because they sound “flat” and are static-prone. I do make an exception for the previously-mentioned Abbey Road remasters though. I don’t subscribe to the “records v digital” debate, I’m happy buying and owning both formats but with records, I will always pop them through my RCM before I play them whether old or new copies.
Hi Simon
Love your record store day purchase of Dead Bees on a Cake.
Which is prompting a few questions - forgive my ignorance. How do you buy RSD purchases? Do you have to be in the actual shop to buy or can you pre-order on line? Did you know about this beforehand, and if so, how?
The rsd lists are published in advance.
Either go in person on the day and expect to queue early.
Or try to find online when the shops are allowed to sell by mail order 1 week later.
Pre orders are not possible.
I bought dead bees on a cake online 7 days after record store day. But you have to be quick. The shops are now potentially selling globally.
As outlined, you have to do your homework on the lists prior to the Day and drop.
Either get there early in person, or prior to physical attendance, call ahead to make sure the store actually got your desired item in their allocation, as it’s sometimes not certain.
Then run in, card/cash in hand to get the release. And then take your cherished purchase home to play - just like being in your teens again!
Great marketing for the Record Stores - create the demand with limited volumes (which they have to given the availability of Pressing plants) and then ramp into a fevered buying frenzy with a FOMO angle (have to buy on the day). Which we all lap up, and run around like the crazy people the rest of the world sees us as.
I remember David Torn’s effects pedal going out of control and him having trouble turning it off - almost created a spiralling vortex that could have engulfed the whole of the Hammersmith Odeon.
For some reason in the early days of emailing I got in contact with Ian Maidman (now Jennifer) who played bass for DS and told him what a great show it was. He asked and I sent him a copy of the CD of concert.
What have I been doing faffing about in HiFi Corner all this time when it’s all going off in the Music Room!!??
Lapping up some of the posts on here and The Blue Nile and Nick Cave threads. Like wandering into the kitchen and discovering where all the dudes hang out.
Great to hear there are DS fans out there who also enjoy similar related artists, Fell in love with Japan after buying Assemblage the first time round ob vinyl My other half saw them live and we both agree thee DS vocal on Second That Emotion is one of the best. Got into DS through my Naim dealer who played Brilliant Trees during an Isobarik demonstration. Had to save for the briks but bought the album sounded amazing and still does now on CD not vinyl. The beauty of Dead Bees and Secrets of the Beehive weave a path between poetry and a hypnotic soundscape enjoyed with a good glass of red and a system in full flow.
Hi @Isobarik
Lovely post.
Brilliant Trees is almost 40 years old - which I’m trying not to look at. What a great album though. It’s perfect to sit back to late at night with a glass of something.
It’s just over thirty years since first released. I lived in Canada at the time and had my in-laws bring me a vinyl copy over and I was so disappointed when it arrived and warped as hell. I settled on the cd version and it’s a great album.
