David Sylvian - First 4 solo albums Vinyl reissues & Rain Tree Crow! - Feb/March 2019

I too only had Alchemy on cassette (and still do somewhere around here). However, my BT/GTE/SotB were casualties of my conversion to CD back in the day. Probably only parted with about 25% of my collection but what a 25% it was. At any rate, I have only since replaced Brilliant trees on vinyl and am pleased to see these reissues. On the other hand, the revisionist artwork puzzles me. I felt like doing so with Dead Bees had some semblance of purpose, particularly given the RSD David/Ingrid version. The new artwork won't stop me from buying these but at the same time, I'd likely steer clear if I already had outstanding condition copies in my collection.

 

Still, the liner notes say "Sleeve by 23 Envelope" (not to mention layout, etc. by Vaughan Oliver), and Ben seemed to be suggesting it wasn't 23 Envelope.

 

That explains everything.

 

I haven't owned a physical copy for absolutely ages, so I'd forgotten that. I feel silly.

 

I remember being slightly surprised when I discovered that it was done by 23 Envelope, despite it looking like something by 23 Envelope, because I stupidly didn't realize they were also doing cover art for non-4AD acts.

But it's fun to spot album covers done by 23 Envelope for non-4AD albums/artists.

 

As a fan since 1989, who has all the various CD remasters but especially the original vinyls from thence still in splendid shape, I’m passing on this BIIIG time - just on account of the horrid artwork change.

Look at that Alchemy, man - as if Dead Bees wasn’t an art murder (a Nathan Adler case for sure) enough, here comes this Napa Wines Quarterly main article spread. And that Lewis cover for Gone To Earth, and that clothing brand label just dropped on the Secrets Grierson print. And don’t start me on the typography, worthy of a retired designer who doesn’t give a * anymore and just reaches into the ‘quick job personal templates’ drawer. Jesus wept. I continue to watch in bemusement what Sylvian & Bigg have been doing - it was Sylvian himself who suggested the artwork change to Universal - to DS’ album cover legacy over the last year or so.

 

I think the new Alchemy sleeve would have been appropriate for Gone To Earth. I like it - it's very dark with Sylvian looking away from the camera. I think it fits the music much better than this:

 

David Sylvian
Explanation for the artwork changes

 

Just checked and I have three (!?!) original copies of the first three albums plus Words with the Shamen. I bought all of these around 5 or 6 years ago when they could be picked up for very little. My copy of Words with the Shamen does not contain preparations for a journey or steel cathedrals. So I guess I could be interested in that. The rest would be massive overkill.

On the subject of the artwork I just read Sylvian's explanation. Fair enough. I do disagree with regard GTE. I think the original artwork was beyond stunning. Probably my favourite of all of his albums. Him getting out of a sports car as the replacement, not so much. Each to their own I guess.

 

Good news though that he wants Universal to rerelease Samadhisound stuff on vinyl...have always wanted Blemish on LP, but it's way outside my budget on Discogs etc...

 

Kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Given how lousy the scans for the recent Japan vinyl reissues look, I guess you're stuck with either having a similarly crappy scan (likely done by an intern with no artistic skills) for GTE's cover art, or doing something entirely new with no budget.

I was personally never wowed by GTE's cover art, but it does suit the album's overall vibe. A picture of a handsome, young David Sylvian getting out of a car doesn't suit that vibe so much for me, but maybe at the end of the day most folks won't mind.

I still feel like it has to be possible to do a high-resolution scan of an original LP cover and find a designer who knows how to use Photoshop to tweak anything that needs tweaking so that it matches. But maybe even that simply costs too much?

 

It's sounds incredible . I dropped $100 on it and have no buyers remorse.

 

"We poured time and energy into creating something that’s a limited run for a minority audience. I do hope some of you get to enjoy it"

Welcome to the internet David

 

i find it kind of hard to believe russell mills didn't have copies of the original artwork for this that he could have put together; ditto Vaughn likely would have redone the typography for Secrets if asked. At any rate: my copies of these all sound pretty good (Brilliant Trees is a bit noisy) so I won't need these aside from Alchemy, and I'm mostly excited about RTC. Sounds like the artwork on that will be mostly retained.

 

Very envious...

 

Why not post a comment on David's Facebook post and tell him?

 

Remember buying Words with the Shaman / Alchemy on cassette when it first came out. Pretty sure it was only available in that format.

 

Yes, I think you're right - lots of tape hiss on Steel Cathedrals iirc...

 

Yes the blemish record does sound great but always wish he released a 5.1 mix like we got with Manafon. For that matter any Sylvian release.

 

Well let's hope they do better than Dead Bees On A Cake and don't master it from a CD.

 

Is there any more info on the mastering? I like the look of the new 'Secrets of the Beehive', but my original copy is still in excellent condition....

 

I'm not sure if that is really the case but I can say that it really does not sound any better than the cd. In fact I think I prefer the cd. Sad really.

 

Me too! Gosh, that was so long ago. God only knows what happened to my copy of that tape.

 

Weatherbox was the way to go.
Russell Mills design + it was the first place you could get Alchemy on CD. (And for many in the states - the first time to get the double disc edition of Gone To Earth).

 

Actually that was exactly the case. Can I prove it, no, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.