As far as David Sylvian is concerned, and bearing in mind that I'm completely new to his solo work & collaborations, I can honestly say I've never been so blown away by the quality and the breath & depth of anyone's output before. I'm still in shock, frankly, and I'm trying to buy the best versions I can of everything, as quickly as I can. So I guess expect more newbie questions!
Even the CD releases through to 2016? I guess if it ain't broke don't fix it... It certainly makes buying easier if I just have to choose the packaging I like best!
No need to be shy it is a draft inviting opinions. Formatting will be sorted - eventually - I haven't touched the thing in a while though I am updating all to reflect where we are in 2021. No plans to do a Sylvian one - I just haven't collected his albums to the same level as Japan (where I own all the variations possible). However with Sylvian there's not so much variation between editions in terms of mastering with the exception of Brilliant Trees perhaps. Where there would be some value is a document simply covering Sylvian's recordings (particularly collaborations) that are not on his albums. He's got a lot of little gems out there like "For The Love Of Life" from the Monster anime soundtrack. Mastering - huge controversial topic - hard to find something with volume and wide dynamic range. Ultimately though I made my decisions on SQ based on what sounds best to me overall. I did do some blind tests with people on Facebook and what is interesting is that my choices were in the main matched by others. In particular nobody preferred the 2001 24-bit versions of the first 3 albums and Assemblage.
Can anyone describe what Dark Water is like? I'm currently weighing up whether to take the plunge on the £15+ Jean the Birdman single. Thanks!
Had this double CD set originally but it was one of those that suffered from some sort of rot as it went sticky on the playing side and had spider-like tracks across its surface along with a few other CD singles I bought around that time. Threw the CDs out but kept the packaging they came in. Don't recall what Dark Water sounded like and never got the chance to rip it to the computer so I no longer have all the bonus tracks associated with that single. Shame. Good luck with your purchase though.
I have just checked my 2 CD set of this and the outer glassy non playing surface is displaying the smudgy cracking, though on inspection the inner playing surface looks ok. Must play them soon to check, any cure?
Well, i don't want to put you off buying it because it's a nice package but certainly check the condition of the discs with the seller before you commit to purchasing.
I have played mine and they both play ok. Don't think Dark Water is worth splashing out on. CD1 B sides Earthbound and Endgame are more interesting, both being vocal tracks. Its been years since I have played this and was pleasantly surprised.
A question about "Snow Borne Sorrow" - Does "Wonderful World" begin really awkwardly or do I have a defective copy? It sounds like the song starts abruptly, as if the first second or two was edited out.
Not PDO, I believe they're all EMI Swindon. Not disc rot so much as off-gassing from the digipak. The aluminum layer is okay, but the chemical reaction on the plastic surface wreacks havoc with the laser.
It does start like that. Kind of like “Pulling Punches” starts on Brilliant Trees, you’d think a beat was excised or something.
£15 for the “Part 2” single only, I assume? In any case, you get not just Fripp’s “Dark Water” track (which is gorgeous - it’s the dark-marshy Soundscapes sister track to the sun-splashed “Bringing Down the Light” which is on the album) but Sylvian’s ambient/spoken-word “Tallow Moon” track as well, which is different, but equally intriguing.
I had this issue too on the two CD singles. It wasn't disc rot, it was a reaction to the digipak packaging, as someone else suggested. All you needed to do was use a little soap and water and it would have cleaned right off. I used a Novus cleaning fluid, and the sticky crackling stuff came right off, and mine are fine now. I also had the same issue with another artist's CD, due to the digipak tray.
David usually doesn't care for any interaction from people on Twitter (can only post to his account if he follows you) or Instagram (he doesn't allow comments on his Instagram photos), but a number of weeks ago he was in a mood to interact with people on Twitter. I mentioned something about him possibly working with a certain person in the future, and he said "I've plenty of projects." What that actually means is anyone's guess. I doubt it means musical projects which will result in forthcoming albums. Most of his projects that I'm aware of now consist of him making cover art for a certain small classical label.
Someone also mentioned to him they'd like to see a box set of his Samadhisound works, and he stated he'd like to see them available to people so they didn't have to pay high second hand prices, and that "we'll get there", so maybe at some point in the future there will be a CD box set of his Samadhisound albums.
Has anyone actually tried doing this? Importing into Audacity seems to automatically upsample the WAV files to 48,000Hz, then resampling and inverting is simple enough, but the files are still in the wrong key. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong?
„Earthbound“ and „Endgame“ are great David Sylvian songs you will not find on any album or compilation. Grab them if you can.
Too bad the sessions from around 2012, which included Tom Verlaine of Television, seen here with Sylvian, Sakamoto, and Otomo Yoshihide, never resulted in an album.
