Durutti Column:
Amigos Em Portugal:
Live at the Venue 1982:
Durutti / Cargo:
LP (w/CD):
Out Now, here
Even though the prospect of new Durutti Column material seems a long way off (fulcrum Vini Reilly is still recovering from his stroke), it's always welcome to experience any product bearing the Durutti moniker, even if it is reissued material. Thus Kooky Records' Phil Cleaver and the band themselves have launched the new Durutti imprint with a view to raising money for the artists directly by way of releasing a series of vinyl reissues of hard-to-find catalogue gems.
Complete with new packaging designed by Trevor Johnson and a spot of remastering, the first two revisits are at opposite ends of the DC spectrum in terms of public demand and recording quality. One sounds even more pin-sharp, the other is, as they say, a fan-only release.
Amigos em Portugal is comprised of instrumental and vocal tracks being primed for future release perhaps as an EP or a single. Typically, Reilly had quickly composed enough material for an album and the original Portugese label Fundacao Atlantica saw to it that 40 minutes worth of recordings gained a release.
Many of the instrumental compositions appeared later on the Without Mercy album as densely-layered orchestral affairs - here they sound rawer yet elegiac and fresh with just a piano, guitar and drums involved. The likes of Estoril a Noite and Favourite Descending Intervals are the pick of the crop, while the opening title-track is the equal of anything Reilly has put his name to since 1983 (Amigos' original year of release). The beautiful lament Saudade turned up as a backing track to an Anne Clark poem (All Night Party, as I recall) while To End With is part Debussy, part Satie and criminally short.
With the exception of the few songs (bar Lies of Mercy), Amigos em Portugal leaves a lasting impression as a transitional bridge between Another Setting and Without Mercy, an essential document that sounds as timeless as you'd expect.
In contrast, Live at the Venue is a mixed bag. A somewhat lifeless mix never helped the original album release 33 years ago and even after a bit of sprucing up, it still sounds somewhat detached from itself. The vinyl is warm and resonant admittedly but the CD is all treble and full of bootleg-standard drop-outs. Yet whatever the scant aural specifications might throw up (and I don't have a high-end system at all), there are still a few perfectly listenable nuggets here. Sketch For Summer is sprightly, The Missing Boy powerful and in Sigh Becomes a Stream, you get a never-heard-again five minutes of intensity and unrelenting power with drummer Bruce Mitchell in overdrive and Reilly shredding his guitar for all its worth. One for the devotees, sure, but a worthy release and housed in a new sleeve to boot.
Note to other labels. Quit this download code nonsense and follow Durutti's example by sticking to CDs as bonuses. Easy.
Live at the Venue - ★★★★★★½☆☆☆☆
Amigos em Portugal - ★★★★★★★★½☆☆
Amigos Em Portugal:
Live at the Venue 1982:
Durutti / Cargo:
LP (w/CD):
Out Now, here
Even though the prospect of new Durutti Column material seems a long way off (fulcrum Vini Reilly is still recovering from his stroke), it's always welcome to experience any product bearing the Durutti moniker, even if it is reissued material. Thus Kooky Records' Phil Cleaver and the band themselves have launched the new Durutti imprint with a view to raising money for the artists directly by way of releasing a series of vinyl reissues of hard-to-find catalogue gems.
Complete with new packaging designed by Trevor Johnson and a spot of remastering, the first two revisits are at opposite ends of the DC spectrum in terms of public demand and recording quality. One sounds even more pin-sharp, the other is, as they say, a fan-only release.
Many of the instrumental compositions appeared later on the Without Mercy album as densely-layered orchestral affairs - here they sound rawer yet elegiac and fresh with just a piano, guitar and drums involved. The likes of Estoril a Noite and Favourite Descending Intervals are the pick of the crop, while the opening title-track is the equal of anything Reilly has put his name to since 1983 (Amigos' original year of release). The beautiful lament Saudade turned up as a backing track to an Anne Clark poem (All Night Party, as I recall) while To End With is part Debussy, part Satie and criminally short.
With the exception of the few songs (bar Lies of Mercy), Amigos em Portugal leaves a lasting impression as a transitional bridge between Another Setting and Without Mercy, an essential document that sounds as timeless as you'd expect.
Note to other labels. Quit this download code nonsense and follow Durutti's example by sticking to CDs as bonuses. Easy.
Live at the Venue - ★★★★★★½☆☆☆☆
Amigos em Portugal - ★★★★★★★★½☆☆