David Sylvian-Brilliant Trees

manofon is the only one I have a hard time getting into, hoping to like dyed more. the nine horses album is sublime. lots of people disliked 'dead bees' but it was one of the most anticipated albums in my memory; those were the days before things leaked online months ahead of time. I checked back with the record store weekly until they got an import in. I think that anticipation shaded the actual record and led to some disappointment. it's overly long and there are definitely some kind of weak jazzy adult alternative moments on it. but over the years I've warmed to it, it's better than it's reputation.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Everything and Nothing's dog w/eyebrows cover still freaks me out

"It looks like his eyebrows are following me!"

There he goes..
http://www.leninimports.com/david_sylvian_everything_2_trk_cd_p.jpg

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

hey wow

Wow...didn't see that one coming...but great choice nevertheless...

y'all,

https://vimeo.com/575291448/1874bdcf17

oh now this is some good shit

JON HASSELL

!!!!!!

This is a real treat.

Interesting to see the use that Holger Czukay made of the Dictaphone, I was never certain about what sounds on the record came from that.

Just came across this on YouTube. Wow. And yes, seeing Holger doing Dictaphone stuff is so fabulous.

One thing that’s interesting: how David explicitly nudges Holger toward more melodic and emotional things and less towards “effects” (I think this also goes for Hassell’s contributions, which are much more melodic on this and the Words With the Shaman material than his own). Which also might explain why Plight & Premonition—a full on collaboration between equals where Holger is presumably doing what he wants—is such a different beast.

It might also be a case of Sylvian acquiescing to Holger's more open-ended concept, instead of steering songs in a specified direction. The genesis of that record was mostly Sylvian improvising aimlessly on a bunch of instruments in the studio.

NTI, you expressed something I had been trying to figure out - why I absolutely adore Hassell's work with Sylvian but struggle with his solo work outside of his collaboration with Eno (and also why I love the first Sylvian/Czukay album much, much more than P&P).

I think Hassell's collaboration / guest work is similarly enhanced by his partners focus on melody (e.g. Talking Heads).

Yeah, it's something I've thought a lot about over the years. My CD of Brilliant Trees has Words With the Shaman stapled onto the end of it -- I like it much better there than with the Alchemy material which is a bit more clinical. As a post-script to Brilliant Trees you get a very steady, but digestible dose of Hassell. I think it comes down to Sylvian, while a bit of an oddball, having some very romantic tendencies that I think he teases out of his collaborators in this era. Flux & Mutability is nowhere near as abstract as Plight & Premonition, but one side is chock full of Czukay's wonderfully emotive varispeeded guitar soloing.

There are times, BTW, where I feel like I could listen to Czukay do Dictaphone stuff for days. I suspect Sylvian was just as big a fan of "Boat Woman Song" as I am.

Good album.

i would go as far as to say 'great album'

definitely one that gets better with age.

bought 'blemish' today on the back of knowing fennesz was involved. lovely stuff. his voice is surrendering.

is that the right word? arresting? ya know.