Search - Nurse With Wound :: Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella

Historical first album from 1979

Dave Lang | Coburg, VIC Australia | 11/30/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With the vinyl being rarer than hen's teeth, it's a good thing this classic has finally been put on CD for all those to get a glimpse into the early magic of Stapleton and NWW. At this point NWW was a trio: Stapleton and two friends, whom having never played any instruments in their life, scammed some free time at a local studio, brought some "instruments" in for the afternoon and proceeded to make a thoroughly unprofessional yet inspired racket. No rehearsals, no plans. This is it, and it still sounds good. A mixture of musique concret, faux-Krautrock, industrial noise and Euro-style improv, it's a heady mix that shows what a few chums with their heads screwed on tight and a large record collection can spew out in an afternoon. For true greatness, however, I recommend beginners start with NWW's "Spiral Insana" from 1986, or even "An Awkward Pause" from '99, coz those are where the real goods are. As an endnote, "Chance Meeting..." also features the infamous "NWW List" in its liner notes, a ridiculously huge and wildly esoteric list of "inspiration" the band was drawing from, and you gotta give 'em credit where it's due... I mean, how many teenagers back in 1979 were even aware of Amon Duul, John Cage, Third Ear Band, Sonny Sharrock, Cromagnon, Evan Parker, Plastic People of the Universe or Debris, let alone willing to advertise the fact?"

I found it quite likable...

Robert P. Beveridge | Cleveland, OH | 03/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Nurse with Wound, Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella (United Dairies, 1979)My first two experiences with Nurse with Wound from this era were The Ladies' Home Tickler and The 150 Murderous Passions. I think you will excuse me for expecting this, their debut release, to have been somewhat surprised by this, their first disc.Instead of ear-bleeding powerelectronics one finds on the two releases mentioned above. Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table... is very much in the avant-garde/cut-up sound popular at the time in the sonic underground (it was also the genesis of noise behemoth Merzbow). The stuff here is nothing too out of the ordinary, but then that probably shouldn't be surprising, given that the twenty-fifth anniversary of the album's original release is this year (note the reissue has a fourth track on it; that's the version I was listening to while mulling this review over). It's certainly intriguing enough, and I seem to have liked it a whole lot more than most of its reviewers. It really is what its title expresses; there are so many types of different musical styles linked up in here that a listener unfamiliar with cut-up is likely to be turned off immediately. (If you're trying to convince your friends to like NWW, for god's sake, start them off with Second Pirate Session, not this!) Blues mixes with classical mixes with film scoring mixes with musique concret.I get the feeling this is one of those albums that needs to grow on you over a long period of time. I prefer the other discs I know from the early years of NWW, but then I like powerelectronics. Your mileage will most probably vary. ****"

Surrealistic experimental noise...yummy

fnordboy | New Jersey | 11/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I still remember the day i first got this cd. I was around the age of 13 and at a record fair for a local radio station. I was looking for obscure experimental noise to furthur pollute my mind. And yes did i find it. I picked up this album and a Nocturnal Emissions cd as well...Over a decade later i am still enjoying this cd and discovering new aspects of it with every listening.If you are looking for something different, you should definitely check this cd out. Worth the import price.ps- this must be a reissue of the cd i have...seems to be the same though, no changes."