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Post by Jules on Jan 16, 2022 14:48:49 GMT
I'm going to try this in the run-up for the new album... I've got enough material to almost fill the time, and I'll include some solo and side projects too.
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Post by Jules on Jan 16, 2022 15:45:15 GMT
- The Hurting
- The Hurting - B-Sides & Remixes
- The Hurting - Live & Radio sessions
- Live at the BBC 1983 (radio broadcast)
- In My Mind's Eye
- Songs from the Big Chair
- Edited Songs from the Big Chair
- Remixed Songs from the Big Chair
- Unreleased Songs from the Big Chair
- Songs from the Big Chair - Steven Wilson Remix
- King Biscuit Flower Hour (Live at Massey Hall)
- The Seeds of Love
- The Seeds of Love - edits & b-sides
- The Seeds of Love - mixes & outtakes
- The Seeds of Love - demos & outtakes
- The Seeds of Love - Steven Wilson Remix
- Going to California
- Oleta Adams: Circle of One
- Elemental
- Elemental extras & b-sides (mostly from Saturnine, Martial & Lunatic)
- Curt Smith: Soul on Board
- Raoul and the Kings of Spain (with bonus tracks)
- Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire 1996 (radio broadcast)
- Curt Smith: Mayfield
- Emiliana Torrini: Love in the Time of Science
- Roland Orzabal: Tomcats Screaming Outside
- Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
- Secret World - Live in Paris
- Curt Smith: Halfway, Pleased
- Curt Smith: Deceptively Heavy
- (various odds 'n' ends - up to "I Love You But I'm Lost")
- The Tipping Point
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Post by Jules on Jan 17, 2022 22:04:18 GMT
Day One: The Hurting
Went by quite quickly. I don't think I really gave it due attention. But on the other hand, it's nice to listen to it in a good mood, lol!
One thing stuck out - it's a very consistent album, pretty much one sonic world from beginning to end.
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Post by Jules on Jan 19, 2022 16:13:27 GMT
Day Two: The Hurting Disc 2 - B-Sides & Remixes
I forgot to post about this. Not sure what to say. Some of the songs get a bit repetitive. Also, I'm still miffed about 1) the absence of "Saxophones as Opiates" (yes, it's an oddly dissonant track, but a part of this era) and 2) the fact that both "Ideas as Opiates" and "We are Broken" are the wrong versions. But great to have "Wino" on CD, plus all those other rare versions.
Day Three: The Hurting Disc 3 - Live Sessions
I've always found this a fascinating listen. Something I haven't really paid much attention to until now is that the drumming on those BBC sessions seems to be entirely programmed - which explains why the songs don't have the same oomph as on the album. You just can't get the dynamics from a drum machine. Since I assume that they wouldn't have programmed those parts solely for a radio session, I guess they actually come from an early stage of the album recording, and give us a glimpse into how The Hurting would've sounded if Mike Howlett had produced the album. After all, he wanted to use the LinnDrum on everything, as you can hear by his production of "Pale Shelter" (which is absent from this disc) and "The Prisoner" (which is here twice).
This also means that the arrangement of "Start of the Breakdown" was changed with Chris Hughes at the helm, but the band apparently liked the more energetic early version so much that they kept performing it like that (see the end of the CD) instead of the less rhythmic album version. In a similar vein, "The Hurting" was performed live in 1983 as you can hear it on the BBC sessions. (The 1985 live version, on the other hand, starts more like the album version.)
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Post by Jules on Jan 20, 2022 15:08:55 GMT
Day Four: 1983 BBC Hammersmith Palais concert
I'm not so happy with the sound of the broadcast I burned onto CD (with bits spliced in from the original transcription LP)... it's too compressed and mid/bass-heavy. While both Roland and Curt had a couple of vocal issues (it was the last gig of their first real tour, which went for five weeks), the concert is overall arresting - and it gives us a rare chance to hear "The Way You Are" (with its early lyrics) and "Watch Me Bleed".
Of course there is also the Rockpalast video with the same setlist and a slightly better performance.
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Post by Jules on Jan 21, 2022 15:40:05 GMT
Day Five: In My Mind's Eye
This sound much better than the earlier live recording, not surprisingly since I ripped it directly from the DVD in the Hurting box set. However, it really comes to life with the EQ setting "Heavy" and volume turned up a bit more than usual.
All in all, a great performance. I'd say it encapsulates the early TFF sound very well.
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