The Sound - Classic/Dud/Search/Destroy

*ahem* http://rocketsciencerecords.blogspot.com/2009/01/sound-all-fall-down-1982.html

The third comment is the winner.

Does anyone else have the BBC Sessions album?

Oh yes, it is glorious.

Does anyone else have the BBC Sessions album?

Like I said upthread:

Revive!

I got the dual disc BBC Recordings disc and, well, holy fucking shit. Multiply all previous "they shoulda been huge" comments by a factor of 100.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, August 18, 2004 4:12 PM (5 years ago)

I remember reading an interview with Interpol not long after their first album came out, and I was shocked and dismayed that they insisted they had never even heard of, let alone heard The Sound, Comsat Angels, and possibly even the Chameleons. I wondered if they were lying, as I swear I could hear bits that could have been directly lifted from those albums.

It was a happy, happy day when I got all those Renascent promos in the mail.

http://www.fastnbulbous.com/sound.htm

I was shocked and dismayed that they insisted they had never even heard of, let alone heard The Sound, Comsat Angels, and possibly even the Chameleons

Hahaha. What a poor bunch of liars.

Hahaha. What a poor bunch of liars musicians.

Fixed.

interpol drummer is quite good

The worst thing about them is their lyrics. Other than that, I like 'em fine, though I was really surprised when they topped P4k's 2002 Poll. I still think that's crazy. It just kills me to see so many rabid Interpol fans completely unaware of the awesomeness that is The Sound (and Comsats n Chameleons).

Are there rabid Interpol fans anymore?

They sure acted rabid when I made fun of their hilarious lyrics!

They just seem to have gone the Girls Against Boys route -- they signed to a major label and then apparently disappeared with a suddenness that rivals the Witness Protection Program.

That one heartthrob singer dude put out a solo album a year or two ago under some funky pseudoname, didn't he?

Did anyone actually buy it?

Last year. Friend of mine worked on it, says he was a nice guy.

Sometimes nice people do not make nice music for ears (see: tons of indie-pop bands).

dude was never a heartthrob!

Haven't listened tp Thunder Up in a long time - tremendously great for an album that even Sound fans forget about.

I just listened to that today and thought the same thing. Every one of their albums feels like the best thing they've ever done, including the live one. I'm not sure I can even rank them. God, the conviction of Adrian's lyrics, the brilliant guitar work, the mood-setting (and unsettling) synths... I can't put into words how much this music has meant to me.

Just listened to Propaganda the other day after a long period away from The Sound. Great record - funny how lots of it was discarded before Jepoardy. I like the stripped down sound better without the keyboard wash in retrospect.

Ranking: Propaganda>Jeopardy>All Fall Down>Lion's Mouth>BBC>Hothouse live>Thunder Up>>>>>Heads and Heart>>>>Shock Of Daylight.

I must get out my vinyl of Jeopardy/AFD/Lion/Hothouse some day soon!

Sadface at the general lack of enthusiasm for Shock of Daylight, I still love that thing. 'Golden Soldiers' and 'Longest Days' are awesome songs!

Hey, there's been lots of great stuff uploaded to YouTube since I last looked...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cDRLBWQ7ks

...dries eyes, clears throat...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdczCmH9oGg

Wow!

Yeah, the guitar break on that is savage!

Propaganda>Jeopardy>All Fall Down>Lion's Mouth>BBC>Hothouse live>Thunder Up>>>>>Heads and Heart>>>>Shock Of Daylight.

Ok, so you clearly prefer the punkier stuff, which I agree is fantastic. But "Heads And Hearts" and "Shock Of Daylight" are INSANELY great as well. "Counting The Days" is a love song to end all love songs, "One Thousand Reasons" has this ambiance and texture unlike anything else, "Winter" will leave you as cold as the title, "World As It Is" has this crazy rhythm section - and of course Adrian's lyrics were in top form at this point:
"Too much daylight leads to a nightlife and the fear of another day / That's going to last four or five years"
"Always kept caution close at hand / Never threw it to the wind"
"Opposites attracting / With the magnets in their eyes"
"I've arrived at the point somewhere in between / The person that I wanted to be and the person I've been"

His music just connects someplace deep within me, always has and I expect it always will, despite life's changing circumstances, The Sound helped me take small comfort in knowing someone else felt the same - and their undercurrent of hope has always buoyed my spirits.

xpost - damn, that vid... Adrian's face, he's clearly singing words that are deeply personal and still applicable to himself. "Comfort and complacency, they hurt me!" Yeah, I know how that feels.

xpost Yes, I do. They were always great, but I felt they mellowed a bit too much for me later on. I prefer the later stuff in live form really. I have an Outsiders album that is as stunning as Propaganda. If ONLY someone would release the full Outsiders work!

Been thinking about things that make me upset with music . . .

Why the fuck didn't someone (not on ILM, I know you guys have sense but I just joined) but y'know a good friend, a watchful parent, SOMEBODY!, why did no one ever have the common decency to alert me to The Sound before all their LP's became so horribly impossible to get at a reasonable price?

Yes, a guardian musical angel would be a nice thing to have. But even if you're late to the game, in this modern world there are folks who can hook you up if the system fails you.

I hadn't listened to In The Hothouse in a long time (usually go to the furious BBC Sessions) and had forgotten what a tremendous unstoppably powerful slow burn it is. "Sense Of Purpose -> Missiles" 1-2 TKO

Somebody MUST reissue the whole of the Outsiders work. Renescent? Dan Selzer?

YES. And soon.

Massively, massively amazing band. I discovered them about ten years ago and still play them regularly. I was recently fortunate enough to stumble upon beautiful-condition original pressings of From the Lion's Mouth, All Fall Down, and Heads and Hearts, all at the same place.

Somebody MUST reissue the whole of the Outsiders work. Renescent?

Renascent is no longer active, is it?

Yeah, according to their site, House Of Love and Woodentops were the last reissues they did in 2007. Bummer.

There's also this:

http://www.occultation.co.uk

I know them because they're doing the Distractions CD that was one of the first reissues I tried to do. They have Wild Swans, so maybe they're somehow related to Renescent

I currently have my hands full with 6 LP/Digital releases, starting with Disco Zombies and Happy Refugees.

Oh look, the first two albums are finally getting another reissue.

I wonder if there's any sound improvement over the Renascent reissues?

Did you think there was anything wrong with the Renascent remasters?

oh that's excellent news, for some reason i missed the renascent ones

xp Not really, though word is they were remastered from vinyl and if the original masters were found it might be an improvement.

Dr. C's wish has been fulfilled - the two Outsiders albums have been reissued on CD by Cherry Red!

They included the One to Infinity EP, too, thank god!

Classic, of course! One can't help but listen to a song like, for example, 'Skeletons' and marvel at the fact that this band didn't become huge.

these guys are great. totally killed jeopardy and lion's mouth in college, think it's been enough time to rediscover

There's nothing more for me to say than what I've already posted in this thread. Adrian's body of work needs an anthology, covering all his main avenues and side streets, which just might reintroduce him to the world.

I hadn't realised that 'Thunder Up' was on eMusic until I saw the mention up thread last night, hearing it for the first time now.

"Total Recall" is incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctIaWNezydg

^ Love this take of Winning, they were on fire here.

That from Utrecht, 1982, No Nukes festival, one of the 5 live albums released by Renascent. Fantastic stuff.

Aw man, that's a great rendition. Just seen what the original poster wrote about it here:

I suspect I'd probably think Winning was a lot nicer if the 'I'm gonna make it after all!' sentiment wasn't offet by the 'Hang on a minute, this guy jumped in front of a train three years ago!' realisation

― Ferg (Ferg), Tuesday, March 18, 2003 8:08 PM (9 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

and I totally agree. Knowing that Borland would commit suicide in the most horrific way turns the way I feel about this song completely on its head. On its surface, it's a song about getting on top of a battle with depression and bad circumstances, but after knowing that Adrian killed himself and HOW he killed himself, the song feels so much more desperate. Like he wants to be "winning", rather than he is "winning". The song doesn't console me and make me feel like I can overcome obstacles in life; on the contrary, it makes me feel incredibly sad. The guy who wanted to win, more than anything in the fucking universe, sadly didn't. It's upsetting.

That's one perspective, agreed. And every April I shed a tear for the poor bastard whose music will live with me forever.

BUT... For a time, he WAS winning his personal battles, and in some places he was winning the hearts and minds of fans.

The fact that his end was so dark doesn't diminish the power of the song, and it still inspires me.