lorch@JHUNIX.BITNET (lorch) (01/18/90)
IED writes: > Here is an important bit of news for anyone interested in Bill >Nelson: He has just released a completely new four-CD box set called >_Demonstrations_of_Affection_. The box contains _Nudity_, _Details_, >_Chimes_and_Rings_ and _Heartbreakland_. And get this: all four are >_vocal_ albums. Oh, my, my heart just about stopped beating. *FOUR* new Bill Nelson cds? I've been trying (to no avail) to find Simplex, but this is much better. > In the brief liner notes Nelson explains that the four collections >of tracks (the box contains no fewer than 68 new, full-fledged songs in >total--plus a t-shirt) were all recorded in 1989, in direct reaction >to an unexpected emotional crisis (unspecified, but judging from the >lyrics, obviously a stormy romance, probably abortive). There was an article in Musician magazine almost a year ago, I believe it was May of '89, on Bill Nelson. It mentioned that he was having problems in his marriage to Jan (of "Portrait of Jan" fame), and I believe it said he was having a blockage because of it. I guess he got over it. I agree with you that his best work is "Getting the Holy Ghost Across", along with the "Living for the Spangled Moment" ep. A reasonable facsimile of this masterpiece can be obtained domestically by purchasing "On a Blue Wing". Not all the music, but it's close. Only on vinyl, though. Four of his instrumental albums were released originally as a boxed set, the name of which unfortunately escapes me. They were "Chamber of Dreams", "A Catalogue of Obsessions", "Pavillions of the Heart and Soul", and "The Summer of God's Piano". Wonderful albums all. >And there is also an Enigma CD >called _Simplex_, which IED assumes is an altered, abridged version >of _Duplex_, though he has not found a copy so he can't say for sure. I think that "Simplex" is a new album, as there is a cut from it on "the Strangest Things" sampler, (which I looked at in a store but did not buy). Thanks for making my day, Andrew! -- John Lorch UUCP: mimsy!aplcen!jhunix!lorch Johns Hopkins University ARPA: lorch@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu Homewood Computing Facilities BITNET: lorch@jhunix.BITNET
Love-Hounds-request@GAFFA.MIT.EDU (07/28/90)
Really-From: jice%echo.esd@sgi.com (John Eisenman) I've heard a great deal about Bill Nelson -- so when I saw a bunch of his cds in the Noteworthy catalogue, I ordered one called Iconography. I don't like it much. I may want to try another, but I don't know which one. Some folks told me that his guitar playing is reminiscent of Roxy Music -- that sound good. I have also seen an ep of his that included Mick Karn on bass -- a good sign. Can anyone tell me what this ep is called, and which cd it would be on. Or, can somebody recommand another cd and describe it a bit. My description of Iconography would be, "lots of sampled speech over a repetative beat." Maybe this was unique at the time the album came out, but it does not seem to hold up.
Love-Hounds-request@GAFFA.MIT.EDU (07/30/90)
Really-From: Larry Spence <csccat!larry@texbell.sbc.com> In article <11055@odin.corp.sgi.com> jice%echo.esd@sgi.com (John Eisenman) writes: > >I've heard a great deal about Bill Nelson -- so when I saw a bunch of >his cds in the Noteworthy catalogue, I ordered one called Iconography. >I don't like it much. I may want to try another, but I don't know which >one. Some folks told me that his guitar playing is reminiscent of Roxy >Music -- that sound good. Try these out for size: Bill Nelson's Red Noise - Sound on Sound (1979?) Bill Nelson - Quit Dreaming and Get On The Beam (1981?) The former is more similar to the later Be Bop Deluxe (e.g. "Drastic Plastic"), while the latter is a little less cacophonous. Both have loads of excellent guitar and synths; more guitar on SoS, more keyboards on QD. Both are very definitely song-oriented, as opposed to the mutant instrumental style that you didn't like. Both are out in the US on Enigma CDs. The SoS CD _adds_ a single track and two live tracks that were previously only available on a UK EP. The QD CD inexplicably _replaces_ two good tracks from the original album with two other tracks. BN newcomers might try either of these two albums, along with the "Strangest Things" sampler, which gives a slightly uneven overview of various BN from 1979-1989, including some of the more recent (mid and late 80s) "ambient" and "found vocals" stuff. A lot of people like _some_ BN a lot, but hate other releases. UK persons (or those willing to shell out for imports from the UK) might want to get "Duplex," a two-CD compilation of solo (post Be Bop Deluxe) BN. However, it is rather difficult to find in the US, so you might have to order it ($$). One disc is instrumental-only, the other has vocals. >I have also seen an ep of his that included >Mick Karn on bass -- a good sign. Can anyone tell me what this ep is >called, and which cd it would be on. That's the "Chimera" EP, which is outstanding, too; it's among my favorite BN. Unfortunately, it's only available on UK import CD (along with the "Savage Gestures" EP). In the US, the "Gestures" EP is on CD all by itself, for unknown reasons. Another good BN release is "On A Blue Wing" (in the UK, "Getting the Holy Ghost Across," with slightly different tracks and order), which came out on vinyl in '86 ('85?). I guess I'd say that my favorite BN in chronological order would be Sound on Sound Quit Dreaming Chimera Blue Wing There's a recent (late '89) four-CD boxed set (individual CDs now available) called "Demonstrations of Affection," which consists entirely of well-produced demos. It's the first BN "song" album since "Blue Wing," but should probably be approached by newcomers with caution. There is about one and a half CDs of superb material, and maybe two and a half of OK-but-not-the-best stuff. If you buy one disc out of the set, I would recommend the last one. I can never get the four titles right, but it's the one with "Letting It All Pass You By" as the last track. These CDs are only out on Cocteau (UK import). >My description of Iconography would be, "lots >of sampled speech over a repetative beat." Maybe this was unique at the >time the album came out, but it does not seem to hold up. It has its moments, but on the whole I would have to agree. -- Larry Spence larry@csccat ...{texbell,texsun}!csccat!larry Internet: larry@csccat.lonestar.org --- Larry Spence larry@csccat ...{texbell,texsun}!csccat!larry Internet: larry@csccat.lonestar.org
Love-Hounds-request@GAFFA.MIT.EDU (07/30/90)
Really-From: rick@CSTR.EDINBURGH.AC.UK Some folks told me that his guitar playing is reminiscent of Roxy Music -- that sound good. Nelson's guitar work has gone through many styles, from a Blues/Rock based sounds in his early days, through the guitar pyrotechnics of BeBop Deluxe and experimentation with early guitar synths to being one of the masters of the E-bow. In my opinion he's never played a bad note in his life, but I lost touch with his output after the EP you're talking about....which is in my record collection and I can't remember it's name! I have also seen an ep of his that included Mick Karn on bass -- a good sign. Can anyone tell me what this ep is called, and which cd it would be on. Karn only plays on one track on this ep, "Glowworld". Yukihiro Takahashi also plays and programs drums on various tracks. Or, can somebody recommand another cd and describe it a bit. Well, both the EP you're talking about and the LP that preceded it (The Love That Whirls) are substantially synth and drum-machine based, though unlike most artists of the periob (1983-84 ish) Nelson plays the synth riffs himself rather than using a sequencer. Your comment about Karn suggests you're into Japan, in which case you might like these. Ambient music fans might also be interested in "Sounding The Ritual Echo", an album of short instrumentals, and "La Belle Et La Bete" and "Das Kabinet", which were done to accompany the Yorkshire Actors Company's productions of "Beauty and The Beast" and "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari". And since I'm posting this on Her birthday, a reminder....she is....but we all knew that anyway. --Rick. "I am the October Man....I dream of many things...." (Bill Nelson)