No-Man - Speak (c) 1999 Materiali Sonori (Italy)
Artist....: No-Man
Album.....: Speak
Type......: Album
Source....: CDDA
Tracks....: 12
Genre.....: Avantgarde
Label.....: Materiali Sonori (Italy)
Catalogue#: MASO CD 90111
Encoder...: LAME 3.97
Quality...: VBR kbps / 44.1KHz / Joint-Stereo
URL.......: http://www.no-man.co.uk/music.html
Tracklist:
----------
01 Speak 01:27
02 Pink Moon 03:04
03 Iris Murdoch Cut Me Down 04:33
04 Curtain Dream 03:02
05 Heaven's Break 03:10
06 French Tree Terror Suspect 02:58
07 River Song 02:03
08 Riverrun 04:45
09 Ballet Beast 01:29
10 Night Sky, Sweet Earth 06:40
11 Life With Picasso 03:30
12 Death And Dodgson's Dreamchild 02:19
Total:45,5 MB / 39:00 min
Release Notes:
--------------
In an interesting artistic choice, the next full No-Man album to appear
after Wild Opera was, in ways, the band's first. Originally surfacing
as a self-released cassette in the late '80s, Speak was reissued in the
late '90s in slightly different form. Rather than a straight
re-release, Bowness re-recorded all his vocals for the songs, though
the music, with only two exceptions -- "Curtain Dream" and "Night Sky,
Sweet Earth" -- stayed the same as when Wilson and founder member Ben
Coleman recorded it. The result is an intriguing and sometimes
revelatory revisit to the band's earliest days, with Bowness able to
address what he felt were some of his vocal limitations or excesses at
the time. Wilson's own musical work at this point is generally much
more spare and low key than the full-bodied drama and dance which would
soon emerge, but he's already clearly demonstrating his ear for both
performance and production. Two noteworthy covers appear -- the first,
"Pink Moon," is the Nick Drake song of note, confirming Bowness'
long-held love for the singer years before his end-of-century
popularity. Bowness' delivery is a winner, Wilson's soft guitar
plucking and reversed playing textures a fine counterpart. The other
remake is a Donovan cover -- not "Colours," which would later become a
key early single, but "River Song," given a sweetly haunting
performance on chiming guitar and backing keyboards, Bowness' singing
sure and supple. Familiar cuts from later releases surface as well.
Early B-side "Iris Murdoch Cut Me Down" is already there in structure
if not in total form, while the dramatic conclusion to Loveblows and
Lovecries, "Heaven's Break," appears here practically the same as the
final take, sheer epic loveliness incarnate, with Richard Felix's guest
harmonica adding an extra touch not found on the future version.
-allmusic