- Slowdive – Slowdive (2017) 320 KBPS (107 MB) FLAC (291 MB).
- 2.01 Slowdive 5:16 2.02 Avalyn 1 4:51 2.03 Avalyn 2 8:09 2.04 Morningrise 4:20 2.05 She Calls 5:37 2.06 Losing Today 5:00 2.07 Golden Hair 4:03 Lyrics By — James Joyce Music By — Syd Barrett 2.08 Shine 5:23 2.09 Albatross 5:17 Peel Session 21/4/91. Recorded At Maida Vale 4.
Dirt party slowdive picks right back up where they left off, crafting an album full of haunting atmosphere, blissful melodies, and gorgeous vocals, all wrapped up in an unearthly shimmer.
Sanctuary reissues all three studio albums from the influential UK shoegazers.
Swooning, washed-out rock from over a decade ago: Why should these reissues matter? The obvious answer: because this band still sounds incredible. Listening back, it feels like Slowdive were both the first and last word on this particular form of guitar-pop dreaming. It's the same sense you can get from Galaxie 500, Mazzy Star, My Bloody Valentine, or the Cocteau Twins, four bands with whom Slowdive have plenty in common. The 1980s were full of earthy rock from punk's tail end, full of glittery pop and bouncy indie and spandexed anthems-- these people all pitched in to the reverse process of guitar music going slow, slurry, and stylish, going silent-cool, and staring off into space.
Loads of acts still work along these woozy, languorous lines, and loads of acts traced the lines out before these turn-of-the-90s groups came along. But each of those artists staked out a patch of territory that feels definitive, a sound complete enough that there's no point following down its path. (Who in the world would think he could squeeze more out of Mazzy Star's tricks than Mazzy Star already did?) No, revisiting these bands is a little like trading in some modern guitar-pop for a Beatles record: The first shot doesn't sound dated, or less sophisticated, and it doesn't necessarily seem 'better,' or more original, either. It's just a workable, fully-formed thing on its own, which might be why most of the acts that feel like Slowdive today-- say, Ladytron, Lali Puna, Broadcast, or M83-- are coming at that mood and atmosphere from very different directions.
A year ago, we were saying roughly the same thing about Catch the Breeze, a Slowdive compilation that was more Portable Summary than Best Of. Two discs, packed with long stretches from the band's three albums and most of the highlights from their singles and EPs-- this was a big enough chunk of their five-year career to make it easy to take a pass on the rest. Now comes the complete follow-through: remastered reissues of all three LPs, in full. The first two, Just for a Day and Souvlaki, come in the now-standard two-disc format, packaged with a lot of the same extras that already wound up on the compilation; the last, 1995's long out-of-print Pygmalion, comes back to life in its original form, which is probably the best and biggest news here. Yeah, yeah: Reissues, duplication, hard-earned money, blah blah blah. But in the long term, all those kids you see picking their noses everywhere will have two solid options for investigating this band-- the short way or the long one.
The gist of it: Frontman Neil Halstead has remained the same kind of songwriter throughout his career, from Slowdive's shoegazing to Mojave 3's dreamy 'country' (someone did try to beat Mazzy Star!) to his solo folk; his songs are warm, uncomplicated, full of some strange weepy longing, and slowed down to a narcotic drawl. What's surprising is how many different ways he's found to present them. The best starting point is 1993's Souvlaki, already a bit of an Essential Slowdive in itself. Across this record, the band kicks up a swirl that matches Halstead's sleepwalking pop perfectly: Guitars stretch and swirl in slow-motion layers, and the vocals seem to be calling desperately out of them, even when they're just lazy chants. This stuff manages to be both pillowy-soft and passionately deep-- shades of the way My Bloody Valentine could blur heaviness into an out-of-focus lull, or the way Galaxie 500's drowsy strum could come out with a fist in the air.
A significant chunk of Souvlaki wound up on Catch the Breeze, but anyone hoping the remainder was forgettable is out of luck: Even as collaborator Brian Eno led this album off into a few dub-deep explorations, Halstead's pop songwriting hit a peak, and the album's tracks wound up good-as-'Alison' almost straight across. (Same goes for the cover of 'Some Velvet Morning' on the bonus disc-- just Slowdive putting the swirl on someone else's dreamy, narcotic country songwriting.) It's a slightly different scenario for the band's first album, 1991's Just for a Day, which the anthology ignored in favor of the early singles and radio sessions that now stock its bonus disc. Not so surprising: It's a straight line from those singles and EPs to the sound of Souvlaki, whereas Just for a Day is more of a sweet-dream detour. It was in 1991 that the NME said Slowdive could 'make Cocteau Twins resemble Mudhoney,' and the fluffy sprawl of this record seems to be trying to prove them right. There's a lot less weight to it, and if anything in Slowdive's catalogue will seem dated, it's the overgroomed production on these songs. Still, there's something terrifically oceanic about it-- tracks start out softly floating and then whip themselves up into gorgeous, overbearing squalls.
Most important, though, is the reissue of Pygmalion, which should knock down the album's eBay asking price by a good fifty bucks. This is a detour of the best sort, and a Slowdive album in name only: With this record, Halstead pushed the rest of the band to the sidelines, dropped the notion of a 'band' altogether, and recorded at least two tracks that I can't imagine being rivaled-- ambient pop dreams that have more in common with post-rock like Disco Inferno than shoegazers like Ride. Some of it is all woozy layers: spare touches of guitar, vocal phrases looping and phasing around one another, slow-rolling sampled drums. Some of it takes on the warmth and empty-room minimalism of the 'folk' Halstead would go on to make. More than just 'some' of it appears on Catch the Breeze-- five tracks out of nine, from an album that's not exactly consistent. But the sound here is so singular that's much better appreciated in album form, failures and all, and there's good no reason an album this fascinating shouldn't be in print.
The fluffy-sweet turn-of-the-90s record: That one is fans-only. The pop-rock record with the influential swoon: Anyone whose rock tastes run to the 'dreamy' needs it, or at least needs 'Alison' popping up on the mp3-player shuffle. The post-rock obscurity that's worth $12 just for 'Blue Skied an' Clear': You won't find anything else quite like it. Swooning, washed-out rock from the 90s-- why should these reissues matter? I keep listening for reasons they wouldn't sound as good as they did a decade ago, and on at least two of these records, I'm not finding any at all.
Back to homeSouvlaki | ||||
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Released | 17 May 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1992 | |||
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Length | 40:40 | |||
Label | Creation | |||
Producer | Slowdive | |||
Slowdive chronology | ||||
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Singles from Souvlaki | ||||
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Souvlaki is the second studio album by English rock band Slowdive. Recorded in 1992, it was released in the United Kingdom on 17 May 1993 by record label Creation, then on 8 February 1994 in the United States by SBK.
The album peaked at number 51 on the UK Albums Chart, and, despite an initial mixed reception from critics, has since received acclaim and been hailed as a classic of the shoegazing genre.
Background and recording[edit]
Prior to writing the album, band members Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead had ended their relationship and Halstead began to spend more time writing songs alone, a process that had been completed by the full band in the past.[4]
The album's title was taken from a skit by The Jerky Boys, where one of the duo prank called a hotel manager asking him to perform sexual acts on their wife. Upon learning the manager was Greek, the caller says 'My wife loves that Greek shit.. She'll suck your cock like souvlaki.'[5]
Early demos for the album were influenced by Joy Division and Low by David Bowie. These demos were initially rejected by Creation Records boss Alan McGee, but he later decided to give the band full creative control over the album. Slowdive asked Brian Eno to produce the album and he declined. However, he agreed to do a couple of days of recording with Halstead, and out of these sessions came the tracks 'Sing' and 'Here She Comes'. Following these sessions Halstead began to take greater influence from ambient music and has cited Aphex Twin, dub music, and early drum and bass as influences for the track 'Souvlaki Space Station'.[4]
The album was mixed by Ed Buller, who had previously worked with Suede and Spiritualized.[4]
Release[edit]
Souvlaki was released on 17 May 1993 and peaked at 51 on the UK Albums Chart dated 12 June 1993, nineteen places lower than their debut album Just for a Day, and only remained in the chart for one week.[6]
Slowdive Souvlaki Remastered Rare Earth
The album's US release was delayed for nearly a year and includes the previously unreleased cover of 'Some Velvet Morning' (written by Lee Hazlewood and originally recorded by Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra in 1967) and three tracks from the band's 1993 5 EP, comprising the four US release bonus tracks. A two-disc remastered re-issue of the album was released in 2005 by Castle Music, a subsidiary label of Sanctuary Records.
Reception[edit]
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Chicago Tribune | [7] |
NME | 6/10[8] |
Pitchfork | 9.3/10[9] |
Q | [10] |
Record Collector | [11] |
Select | 4/5[12] |
Souvlaki initially had a mixed reception from critics, with some reviews bordering on ridicule. Dave Simpson of Melody Maker wrote: '..'Sing' aside, I would rather drown choking in a bath full of porridge than ever listen to it again'.[5] In 2015, the band and Creation Records boss Alan McGee stated they felt that when the album was released dream pop and shoegazing had become unfashionable and the music press were more interested in Britpop bands like Oasis.[4]
Despite the initial criticism, the album has subsequently received widespread acclaim from contemporary critics. In his retrospective review, Nitsuh Abebe of Pitchfork called the album 'a bit of an Essential Slowdive in itself'.[9]Paste called the album 'the definitive shoegaze statement'.[13] Jack Rabid of AllMusic described the album as 'quiet, moving, and aggressive simultaneously, mixing trance-like beauty with the deepest delayed guitar sounds around, a sound at once relaxing, soothing, and exciting, and most of all harshly beautiful.'[3]
Pitchfork released a documentary about the album in 2015 as a part of the Pitchfork Classic series.[4] In 1999, critic Ned Raggett ranked the album at number 83 on his list of 'The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties' for Freaky Trigger.[14] In 2016, Pitchfork listed the album at number 2 on its list of ″The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time″.[1]
Track listing[edit]
Starcraft Remastered Rar Password
All tracks written by Neil Halstead, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | 'Alison' | 3:51 | |
2. | 'Machine Gun' | 4:28 | |
3. | '40 Days' | 3:16 | |
4. | 'Sing' |
| 4:51 |
5. | 'Here She Comes' | 2:19 | |
6. | 'Souvlaki Space Station' | Slowdive | 5:58 |
7. | 'When the Sun Hits' | 4:47 | |
8. | 'Altogether' | 3:42 | |
9. | 'Melon Yellow' | 3:55 | |
10. | 'Dagger' | 3:33 | |
Total length: | 40:40 |
US release bonus tracks | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
11. | 'Some Velvet Morning' | Lee Hazlewood | 3:23 |
12. | 'Good Day Sunshine' | 5:08 | |
13. | 'Missing You' | 4:15 | |
14. | 'Country Rain' | 3:33 | |
Total length: | 57:02 |
2005 reissue bonus disc | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
1. | 'Some Velvet Morning' | Hazlewood | 3:22 |
2. | 'So Tired' | 4:03 | |
3. | 'Moussaka Chaos' | Slowdive | 6:24 |
4. | 'In Mind' | 3:45 | |
5. | 'Good Day Sunshine' | 5:08 | |
6. | 'Missing You' | 4:15 | |
7. | 'Country Rain' |
| 3:34 |
8. | 'In Mind (Bandulu Mix)' | 8:06 | |
9. | 'In Mind (Reload Mix)' | 10:26 | |
Total length: | 49:03 |
Personnel[edit]
Slowdive
- Neil Halstead – vocals, guitar
- Rachel Goswell – vocals, guitar
- Christian Savill – guitar
- Nick Chaplin – bass guitar
- Simon Scott – drums
Additional personnel
Like one of the famous pricing games in The Price is Right, the contestant can hit a button to make the computer reveal how many correct answers they have until either they run out of time or they have found all six. Wipeout hd pc free download.
- Brian Eno – keyboards and treatments on 'Sing' and 'Here She Comes'
Charts[edit]
Chart (1993) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Albums (OCC)[15] | 51 |
References[edit]
- ^ ab'The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time'. Pitchfork. 24 October 2016. p. 5. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- ^Trunick, Austin (11 August 2014). 'Slowdive on Their Reunion, 'Souvlaki,' Creation Records, 'Pygmalion,' and Shoegazing'. Under the Radar. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ abcRabid, Jack. 'Souvlaki – Slowdive'. AllMusic. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ abcde'Watch the Pitchfork.tv Classic on Slowdive's 'Souvlaki''. Pitchfork. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ abWatson, Ian (2005). 'sleeve notes for slowdive album souvlaki'. Souvlaki (booklet). Slowdive. Castle Music. p. 4. CMEDD1245. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^'Slowdive'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^Caro, Mark (24 March 1994). 'Slowdive: Souvlaki (SBK)'. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^'Slowdive: Souvlaki'. NME: 31. 29 May 1993.
- ^ abAbebe, Nitsuh (28 November 2005). 'Slowdive: Just for a Day / Souvlaki / Pygmalion'. Pitchfork. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^'Slowdive: Souvlaki'. Q (83): 100. August 1993.
- ^'Slowdive: Souvlaki'. Record Collector: 86.
Souvlaki appeared as a fully-formed masterpiece..
- ^Collins, Andrew (July 1993). 'Slowdive: Souvlaki / Verve: A Storm in Heaven'. Select (37): 92.
- ^Schonfeld, Zach (31 January 2014). 'Five Reasons Slowdive's Souvlaki Trumps Loveless'. Paste. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^Raggett, Ned. 'The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties'. Freaky Trigger. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
- ^'Official Albums Chart Top 100'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
External links[edit]
- Souvlaki at Discogs (list of releases)
- Souvlaki at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
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