Search - Various Artists, Durutti Column, William S. Burroughs :: Fruit of the Original Sin

A collection of after hours preoccupations...

yipyipcoyote | 05/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An early compilation originally released in 1981 by the mysterious Les Disques Du Crepuscule label in Belgium. Everything about this compilation spells "A-R-T" : from the booklet design to the list of artists to the concept itself, with a vague reference to a famous "ball" given in Venice a long time ago. A rundown of some notable tracks follows :The French Impressionists "Boo Boo's Gone Mambo/My Guardian Angel" - A medley of some sort, strange guitar/piano discordant noodling merges into a melodious song, sung by one Paul Quinn. Aztec Camera helped out. Recorded in mono, but that only adds to its quirkiness.Cecile Bruynoghe "Claire de lune" - Yes, Debussy. The rendition cannot compare to Kocsis or whoever, but the intention is great.The Durutti Column "Party" & "Weakness and Fever" - Typically melancholic tunes from Vini which can only be described as "beautiful", despite his vocal inadequacies.Richard Jobson "The Happiness of Lonely" - Homage to Marguerite Duras. Zany poetry reading backed by Virginia Astley on piano. And Then...Marguerite Duras Interview - Ten-minute interview, again with Astley's atmospheric piano in the background.The Names "Music For Someone" - No, they are not mere Joy Division copyists! Listen out for the sound clip of some old movie at the end.Winston Tong "The Next Best Thing To Death" - Insightful spoken word by Tuxedomooner, delivered in a sleepy but strangely affecting voice.Arthur Russell "Sketch For 'Face of Helen'" - Cello droning over a hiss that's almost louder than the music. Is it supposed to be a waterfall?WS Burroughs "Twilight's Last Gleaming" - Famous reading. No introduction necessary I guess.Orange Juice "Three Cheers For Our Side" - Untidy early recording of a track later re-recorded for their first LP. The talent is already apparent.Now, if only the label would pick itself up the floor and re-issue "From Brussels With Love"..."

That's great, but WHERE IS THE REST OF IT??!!

squarehawk2 | usa | 10/09/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Speaking from a prespective of someone who owns the vinyl version of this compilation, this release doesn't include all the tracks (it would take a 2 disc set to do it). Where are the Marine cuts? The Thick Pigeon song was great on the original, but you won't find it here.



Crepuscule (the label) should have just recompiled and released the tracks on their newer retrospective compilations instead if they are facing trouble with copyrights. What's funny is that they printed the jacket exactly the same as the L.P. so you can see the original track listing (but not hear it!).



Never the less, there are worthly remaining songs left;



"Boo Boo's Gone Mambo/My Guardian Angel" by the French Impressionists (feat. Roddy Frame who is Aztec Camera)



"Flesh" by the Swamp Children (possibly their best track ever).



"Weakness And Fever" by the Durutti Column (this song was later covered by Martin

Gore (of Depeche Mode) in the first EP of the Counterfeit series).



"3 Cheers For Our Side" by Orange Juice (a sort of live version).



and so on...



The DNA montage of 3 songs is included here, but it's just been re-released as 3 separate tracks on the collection called "DNA On DNA".



Well, if you're a new to this compilation then you might want to give it a shot. But if not, then look on other releases as well if you want to track down all the songs."

Best

carolschodera | Aurora, Illinois United States | 05/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this is perhaps the best compilation of arty atmospheric tunes ever to come out of the early 80s renaissance. it is a true masterpiece. i own the double LP and wonder if they left some songs out on the cd. hope not. let me check. back in a few."