slowdive: classic or dud?

One thing I've found about Slowdive is that the time of day that you listen to their albums can strongly affect your perception of them. Here are the times you should listen to them:

"Just for a Day" - Listen to around dawn
"Souvlaki" - listen to at 1:00am
"Pygmalion" listen to during a hot, windless afternoon in a desert

If you listen at different times, they simply do not work, and can even sound horrible.

-- res, Thursday, August 14, 2008 9:14 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Link

As much as I want to disagree with this, especially the not work and even sound horrible part, I would be lying if the best time I heard Just for a Day wasn't on a brisk spring morning at 6:30 AM, and Souvlaki at 1:30 AM in a dark basement, and, well I was in an actual desert on a hot, windless afternoon about 2 months ago, but I didn't think to bring Pygmalion.

Slowdive's albums are like ripening bananas. JFaD is the album equivalent of a banana with a slight greenish hue: firm, flavour's a bit bland and off, but otherwise solid and eatable. Good, but should have waited a day or two. Souvlaki is just perfection: perfect colour, texture, feel, taste - definitively ripe. Pygmalion tastes just fine despite what anyone says about the admittedly present brown spots (but they're not really that noticeable anyways), the heightened texture and softness of it aren't necessarily worse, but not as good as it was in it's prime. It's also excellent for baking.

Well we have a "worst metaphor of the day" by 11:30 am now!

I'll support him, but only because he didn't shoot me down. :)

As for mojave 3, Not entirely familiar with their whole body of work, but I think it's probably closer to mangos. (even worse by 11:39)

As much as I want to disagree with this, especially the not work and even sound horrible part,

That's sort of an exaggeration, but really, if you listen to "Souvlaki" when it's bright and sunny outside, it does not compute at all. It just works so much better in the dark.

Out of the blue at work Friday I got this urge to dig up their first couple of (non-album) 12" singles. I guess in the U.S. these were compiled nicely on Blue Day later, but I only had them on vinyl. So I'm having fun with this stuff now. I'd love it if anyone would say something about this band because I was thinking about them pretty intensely on Friday.

Also a really interesting fact I learned was that the tracks on their first 12" were only part of their early demos. I guess this wouldn't be too extraordinary except that I had that blue flexi disc of a couple other tracks from that and they were extremely boring. "Beach Song" or whatever it was? I wonder if that flexi is worth anything now. I'll sell it if anyone wants it...

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hh3smhvp8L0/S5DPI7TFeyI/AAAAAAAAADo/2Sx7pm2rl9s/s1600-h/slowdive2_Page_2.jpg

The Shining Breeze: The Slowdive Anthology (2 CD set) will be released on May 4, 2010 on Cherry Red Records.

Here’s the tracklist:

DISC ONE

Slowdive (Slowdive EP) Nov-90
Avalyn I (Slowdive EP) Nov-90
Morningrise (Morningrise EP) Feb-90
She Calls (Morningrise EP) Feb-90
Catch The Breeze (Holding Our Breath EP) Jun-91
Golden Hair (Holding Our Breath EP) Jun-91
Shine (Holding Our Breath EP) Jun-91
Spanish Air (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Erik's Song (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Waves (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Primal (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Alison (Outside Your Room EP) May-93
So Tired (Outside Your Room EP) May-93
Moussaka Chaos (Outside Your Room EP) May-93

DISC TWO

Souvlaki Space Station (Souvlaki) May-93
Machine Gun (Souvlaki) May-93
Sing (Souvlaki) May-93
Here She Comes (Souvlaki) May-93
Altogether (Souvlaki) May-93
Dagger (Souvlaki) May-93
Some Velvet Morning (Souvlakibonus disc) May-93
In Mind (5 EP) Nov-93
Good Day Sunshine (5 EP) Nov-93
Country Rain (5 EP) Nov-93
Rutti (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Miranda (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Trellisaze (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Cello (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Visions of La (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Blue Skied an' Clear (Pygmalion) Feb-95
All of Us (Pygmalion) Feb-95

lets try the cover again:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hh3smhvp8L0/S5DPI7TFeyI/AAAAAAAAADo/2Sx7pm2rl9s/s400/slowdive2_Page_2.jpg

:D

What, there was something wrong with the Catch the Breeze anthology?

fair q

this one has a few more tracks and has removed a couple of others.. i hope it hasn't been "remastered"

SONGS EXCLUSIVE TO THE SHINING BREEZE:

• She Calls
• Erik's Song
• Waves
• Primal
• Moussaka Chaos
• Altogether
• Some Velvet Morning
• In Mind
• Good Day Sunshine
• Miranda
• Trellisaze
• Cello

• Albatross
• When the Sun Hits
• 40 Days
• Melon Yellow
• Blue Skied an' Clear
• Crazy for You
• J's Heaven
• Vision of La

Their 3 albums aren't all that hard to find, seems like it would have been better to complile non LP stuff onto a cd instead?

That cover sucks, too.

AWESOME SLOWDIVE SONGS THAT AREN'T ON EITHER ONE, PLUS ISN'T THERE SUPPOSED TO BE A TON OF UNRELEASED SLOWDIVE STUFF OUT THERE, LIKE SOME UNRELEASED ALBUM CALLED I SAW THE SUN AND A SOUND TRACK TO I AM THE ELEPHANT U R THE MOUSE AND ALL THESE PYGMALION DEMOS AND WHATNOT:
*- Avalyn II
*- Celia's Dream
*- Ballad of Sister Sue

Those are some of their best songs. :(

Cherry Red is great! I have their Moose and Brilliant Corners (band) reissues and they're wonderful.

Given that I tracked down the discography a decade ago, I don't think I'll need this. But I'm deeply perplexed why any Slowdive anthology would omit "When the Sun Hits", which has been a favorite of mine, (as well as others here) for 17 years now...

When The Sun Hits is in my unwritten Top Songs Ever, yeah really.

don't they have a cover of "Sweet Child O'Mine too"?

don't see the point of this comp and teh cover makes it look like some cheapo Cleopatra collection.

Anyway, I already have all of this (thank you 'Blue Day') - what I really need is a cleaned up release of 'I Saw the Sun' (and a reunion tour)

they could have at least changed the name to something that wasn't so similar

couldn't they have just slapped all 3 of their albums + b-sides on 3 discs? sheesh

"the shining breeze" as a title is rather self-parodying

I find it hard to believe how quickly the 3 reissues of Slowdive's studio albums seem to have gone out of print. I bought them a year ago for £5 a piece now they're going for silly money.

couldn't they have just slapped all 3 of their albums + b-sides on 3 discs? sheesh

― hobbes, Tuesday, May 4, 2010 3:17 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Well they could of, but that would have been a good idea.

http://www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/news/4099469.Vacuum_cleaner_brings_cat_home/

when this gets revived I always hope to find an announcement of a reunion show...

xp - poor Rachel - seems her worst nightmare came true for a lil while:
http://www.souvlakispacestation.com/archives/131

"Slowdive are quite wonderful (better than MBV, no"

would have stopped right before the ", no" part

i'm always so impressed by how good my old u.s. version of souvlaki sounds. the 90's version with bonus tracks "not available on import". its loud and its the good kind of loud. i'm cranking it now. no need to remaster this album ever. just copy this copy.

this from 2008 is so not on the money:

"While the vocals are similar, the sounds from the instruments on SOUVLAKI are so much lighter (a la the Cocteau Twins). This really sounds like something you could sleep to, or you could have it gently wake you up in the morning."

you really need to hear it loud. it's definitely not light when loud. it's a powerful record.

"just for a day" is an example of a record that needs to be played loud. there's enormous atmosphere to the songs, but no density. play it loud and you can lose yourself in it, otherwise it plays through without you noticing a thing.

They always sounded near crushing live -- not Swans level say but it was that feeling of forced immersion, but you were happy to drown.

Whenever I see some massive stacks of clouds glowing above in sunset rays, Slowdive is my mental soundtrack.

AWESOME SLOWDIVE SONGS THAT AREN'T ON EITHER ONE, PLUS ISN'T THERE SUPPOSED TO BE A TON OF UNRELEASED SLOWDIVE STUFF OUT THERE, LIKE SOME UNRELEASED ALBUM CALLED I SAW THE SUN AND A SOUND TRACK TO I AM THE ELEPHANT U R THE MOUSE AND ALL THESE PYGMALION DEMOS AND WHATNOT:
*- Avalyn II
*- Celia's Dream
*- Ballad of Sister Sue

― Mr. Snrub, lunes 3 de mayo de 2010 22:12 (1 year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yessss avalyn ii. i only get into slowdive because araki stuck that in the opening credits to nowhere (and when the sun hits elsewhere, closing credits maybe?) never got into pygmalion. i played i saw the sun for a while but don't have it anymore.

when are these guys do the right thing and do a cash-in Souvlaki reunion tour?

i imagine that would depend quite a bit on rachel goswell's health issues

The abrupt switch from the chorus into the second verse in "Allison" is so cool. You don't even realize how many layers of guitars built up until the switch.. It's like waking up from a dream within a dream.

Please happen!!

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2012/08/slowdive_reunio.html

awwww yeah! make it happen!

Please don't.

Horrible idea.

always wanted to see them live, so i'm in favor even if it's a bad idea

Bad idea?

A terrible idea. I've been saying as much here and elsewhere just now.

Depends very much on Rachel's health I would have thought.

what's wrong with her?

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/img/metal/slowdive.jpg

also, i never noticed how attractive she was

She had a rare inner ear infection but that was a few years ago now, no idea how she is these days

also, I always did