| Author | Message | ||
     jerry hann Member Username: Jerry_h Post Number: 159 Registered: 07-2005 |
Just read some reviews of this great rerelease, has anybody got it,how does it sound.Amazon have it down as June 12th as release date. Love this LP as well as Calenture.Are we all Triffid fans as well. | ||
| B. Rider Member Username: Boundary_rider Post Number: 29 Registered: 05-2005 |
I got hold of a promo copy and it sounds cleaner, clearer, like your stereo got a whole lot better. The b-sides and demos are interesting; Bad Seeds-esque in places, while Born Sandy itself and Convent Walls are very strong. A truly staggering album in my view; McComb was up there among the best lyricists and this and Calenture were his masterpieces in my view. Only album of theirs I don't care for too much is In the Pines; very charming but insubstantial. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 370 Registered: 04-2005 |
Gotta ask you Triffids experts: what does Born Sandy Devotional sound like, production- and arrangement-wise? I've heard Calenture and was bitterly disappointed by the crappy, cliched '80s overproduction that (for me) drowned what were obviously good songs. Does BSD sound more organic? There must be a happy medium between Calenture (overproduced) and In the Pines (not produced). | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 316 Registered: 08-2004 |
Yeah it's very good. I'm a newcomer to the Triffids having read good things of them here for years, it's a real pleasure to find out it's all true. | ||
| B. Rider Member Username: Boundary_rider Post Number: 30 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've got no problem with the production of Calenture, and i love the strings and the ambition of it all, but I think you'd find BSD more to your tastes Kurt. It was recorded for much less money (paid for by the band with money they saved from touring Oz), using only one producer (Calenture had Lenny Kaye and Craig Leon on board initially, and that didn't work, before Gil Norton rescued it) and while it still has that wonderful epic sweep in places, it is much more 'organic'. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 436 Registered: 03-2005 |
Kurt, I totally understand your issues with Calenture which I also think suffers from dated 80s major label over-production. Because it was the first album of theirs that I heard, pretty much when it was new, "Calenture" put me off this group for many years. It's hearing BSD--thanks to the recommendations of various folks on this board--that has enabled me to go back and enjoy the merits of "Calenture." BSD is a vastly better album because it totally misses those faults. Strings do show up here and there but only in ways that feel appropriate and NEVER overbearingly. There are no rock-God guitar moments. You never feel like somebody's trying to borrow a little bit of 80s new-wave synth pop. BSD is a very Australian-sounding record. The songs and their arrangements either sweep across the landscape like "Wide Open Road," "Estuary Bed," "Lonely Stretch" and the magnificent "Stolen Property" or they spotlight almost David Lynchesque moments like "Chicken Killer" and "Tarrilup Bridge." The album is a magnificent timeless classic. Have I raved enough? I am eagerly awaiting its release here in the States. I'm on Amazon's wait list for this as apparently the release date in the U.S. is in early July. And Kurt, for an earlier less-produced and very fascinating showcase of McComb's writing versatility, try "Treeless Plain." | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 485 Registered: 05-2005 |
"BSD is a very Australian-sounding record. The songs and their arrangements either sweep across the landscape........" Even more astonishing when you consider the album was recorded in London Randy. You are right to call it a magnificent timeless classic. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anybody. What do you think Hardin you old dawg?, I hope you are not "lurking" out there in cyberspace, come back and join us. I have a vague recollection of a Triffids song from either Calenture or Black Swan being used to soundtrack Jason and Kylies wedding on Neighbours. Any soap addicts able to confirm? Was it Bury Me Deep in Love from Calenture? | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 142 Registered: 05-2005 |
Born Sandy Devotional is the sound of Australia in all of its swinted eyed glare, and that's from a local. Can't wait to get the remaster. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 487 Registered: 05-2005 |
This post prompted me to dig out Calenture as well. Jeez, its a lot better than I remembered, in fact its almost up there with BSD. Certainly the quality of songwriting is on a par -Jerdacuddup Man in particular still sounds great. Strangely enough, David McCombs vocal phrasing reminds me very much of Robert Forster on this album. The reason I didnt think this at the time the album was released back in the 80s is because Davids vocals are similar to the deeper tones that Robert employed on Go-Bs version 2, rather than Go-Bs version 1. Just need to dig out Black Swan now | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 465 Registered: 05-2005 |
did a'body see McCombs on Jools Later show a few years back...he was awesome, I'd love to get that stuff on dvd... | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 144 Registered: 05-2005 |
Nice to have you back Spence. | ||
| Keith Weston Member Username: Lumper5 Post Number: 3 Registered: 06-2006 |
I remember loving this record when it came out. It was in heavy rotation when I Dj'ed at http://wxyc.org all those years ago. I remember being taken with Tender Is the Night (The Long Fidelity)... Would be great to hear again and to add to http://www.deeperintomusic.net | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 110 Registered: 01-2005 |
I can't wait to get the BSD reissue. I think I'll splurge and finally get Seance by The Church as well. Isn't Seance considered one of the great jangle albums of all time? | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Nemo Post Number: 51 Registered: 07-2005 |
Michael, it is a good album but not in the same league as 'Of Skins and Heart' and 'The Blurred Crusade' as far as I am concerned. I was disappointed the first time I listened to it ( 1983 ) and although it has grown on me over the years, I still have a problem with the sound/production ( which I believe was by the band and John Bee.) 'Of Skins and Heart' and 'The Blurred Crusade' were produced by Chris Gilbey and Bob Clearmountain and the sound quality on both is superb. I believe the band and John Bee went on to produce the Persia and Remote Luxury ep's which eventually made up the group's fourth album Remote Luxury. The production on these ep's/album was an improvement on Seance and 'Constant In Opal' and 'Shadow Cabinet' are great songs if you enjoy chiming/jangling guitars. The album also contains 'Maybe These Boys' which might just qualify as the least Church sounding song the band recorded in their early days. I had the good fortune to see The Triffids perform live in Glasgow in the mid 1980's and they were simply awesome on the night. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 146 Registered: 05-2005 |
Of Skins and Heart, IMHO, is nowhere near as good as the 3 that followed! Seance takes a while to get but when you do, you won't stop playing it. Just came from the Steve Kilbey Blogg (The Time Being)by the way and apparently the Church played last song side one of Seance, Travel by thought,as an encore on their recent tour of Europe. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Nemo Post Number: 52 Registered: 07-2005 |
Geoff, don't get me wrong, I really like the songs on Seance but even after all these years I still struggle with it due to the sound quality. I have often wondered what Gilbey and Clearmountain would have made of it. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 148 Registered: 05-2005 |
It's that damn trendy (then) 80's drum sound isn't it Hugh? It's a problem, I agree, but I think they were trying to sound like "more than a guitar band" which was a very popular aim in those days. Nick Launay (?) was the producer and had just made Midnight Oil sound like more than a pub band. The film clip for "It's no reason" had very similar visuals to Hunter's and Collectors "talking to a stranger" - they were there and part of their times. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Nemo Post Number: 53 Registered: 07-2005 |
Geoff, The drum sound is certainly one of the problems I have with the record. As I understand it, the album was produced by the band and co-produced and engineered by John Bee while Nick Launay was responsible for engineering and producing the mix. I am not sure if this means Launay was responsible for the overall sound or if it was the case that he could only work with what was given to him by the band/John Bee. In the early days at least, ‘The Church’ appeared to be very much Kilbey’s band. He was the songwriter and his vocals and bass were always right at the front of the mix along with the guitars while the drums always seemed to me to be pushed further back. I listened to both albums this afternoon and while I think ‘Of Skins and Heart’ has a better drum sound than ‘Séance’ I don’t think there is a million miles between the two. What does it for me is that ‘Of Skins and Heart’ is a much more up tempo album than ‘Seance.’ The balance between the vocals/bass/guitars/drums is excellent and the overall sound is extremely powerful. It also contains a very strong batch of songs. I find ‘Seance’ to be a more laid back album and, in my opinion, the sound is nowhere near as powerful as ‘Of Skins and Heart.’ It also features strings which I don’t particularly like and a slow opening song which I believe was a mistake. I like ‘Fly’ but would never have used it as an opening song on the album. I think the band were at their best when they opened their albums with up tempo songs ( For A Moment We’re Strangers; Almost With You; Constant In Opal; Myrrh.) I do like ‘Seance’, I just believe it could and should have been so much better. | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 59 Registered: 04-2006 |
now bsd is rotating on my record player. this thread brought me to pull out all my triffids records. i think i haven't listened to this album (and the other triffids albums) since nearly twenty years (!). bsd was my last one which i bought and i lost my sympathy to them. can't remember why. but i have a vague commemoration that i was more in love with the 'in the pines' - sound and the field of glass ep than with bsd. maybe that's the reason why i quit. but iam not sure. re-listening now -at this moment- i have mixed emotions. i still like lonely stretch. life of crime i still like. and surely wide open road. but the other songs didn't hit me to deep. i will listen to the other triffids albums/12''s (when i got the time to) and maybe - if it fits- i will write down what i think about them. | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 60 Registered: 04-2006 |
there is something wrong with my posting above. recognized that 'in the pines' was released after BSD. and i remember that i owned the bury me doen in love 12''. can't remember if i owned the calenture album too. now my record collection stops with 'in the pines. i think i sold them. to recall the past isn't sometimes so easy. things blur. what happened with the triffids after calenture? why died david mc comb ( a message which i read somewhere along the road. never enquired. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 149 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Triffids did one more album, "The Black Swan" after "Calenture". It flirted with a lot of ideas I didn't like. David McComb released a solo album called "Love of Will", much of what he played with the Black-eyed Susans. The title was supposedly for a very good friend of his who was on the periphery of the Triffids. David McComb died tragically of a long time heart condition in the late 90's - note the eerie coincidence to Grant! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 443 Registered: 03-2005 |
"Love of Will" is highly recommended but I had to pay $50 for a copy. I've yet to hear "Black Swan" because nobody ever says anything good about it. | ||
| David Matheson Member Username: David_matheson Post Number: 104 Registered: 12-2004 |
Review from today's Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/news/cd-reviews/born-sandy-devotional/2006/06/23/115084536 2376.html | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 124 Registered: 01-2005 |
My reissue of BSD shipped as did Seance. I'll post my impressions once I listen to them. I'll order 'The Blurred Crusade' next. | ||
| Eke Member Username: Ekewebb Post Number: 74 Registered: 05-2005 |
Well, Randy. I'll say something good about the Black Swan for you if you like... It's a fantastic melting pot of musical ideas with the Triffids being really adventurous in their willingness to experiment with different sounds and ideas. It's often criticised for a lack of cohesion or direction although I think that its experimentation is one of its main strengths. Apparently it was originally intended to be a double album and the forthcoming reissue will reinstate the missing songs. I usually say it's my favourite Triffids album although depending on my mood at the time I can easily go several different ways on that one. Stephen Street (admittedly after the band got him pissed) purportedly said he thought that it was better than the Smiths album he was working on at the same time - Strangeways IIRC. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 458 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thanks for that report Eke. If it's going to be reissued, I'll wait for that. From your report, I'm sure it will at least have something I can get into. I've tended to pick on "Calenture" for its aggressively commercial sound but the songs are great and I frequently use "Jerdacuttup Man" on samplers for other folks. My copy of the BSD reissue arrived. It is a welcome improvement on the White Hot CD issue I had. And I love the live clip of "Wide Open Road." McComb's introduction to the song is breathtakingly bitter. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 401 Registered: 05-2005 |
I played Born Sandy Devotional last night (original CD edition - though I'll probably end up getting the re-release too) after people were talking about it so much here lately. Man, what an album! I've always preferred Calenture - which I got on vinyl initially - but maybe I need to revise that opinion. I also played In The Pines the other day (on the iPod). It's been good to reaquaint myself with my love of The Triffids. That's something this board is great for; it makes you want to dig out old albums again. | ||
| Eke Member Username: Ekewebb Post Number: 79 Registered: 05-2005 |
A remixed version of In The Pines is due (in the UK at least) at the end of September. Not a dance remix but a new job done by the guy who mixed the original. Graham Lee posted the following recently on the Triffids forum:-
There will also be a remastered Calenture released at the same time. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 403 Registered: 05-2005 |
Thanks for the info Eke. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 538 Registered: 05-2005 |
So Domino are re-releasing Calenture and In The Pines? Fantastic |