John Foxx:
Metadelic:
Edsel:
Out Now:
8/10
There's an 'e' in the month - this can only mean one thing: another John Foxx compilation has been released. Continuing on from the 2010 multi-disc collection Metatronic, Edsel have turned to the singer's more pastoral and psychedelic output for this next assemblage. Cunningly entitled Metadelic (see what he did there?), you get two CDs and one DVD that covers pretty much most of his career, albeit the less-synthesized portion.
The first disc begins with the instrumental Swimmer 2, a track that initially appeared on the Dancing Like a Gun single (also included), before leaping into the Paisley-shirted wardrobe containing under-rated single Miles Away, his elegiac hit Europe After The Rain and a whole clutch of tracks from most-consistent album The Golden Section and its attendant single releases. Rarities include a stripped back version of album-track Sitting at the Edge of the World and tracks recorded as collaborations with Louis Gordon and Maths-mate Benge.
It's disc two where the real treasures can be found - previously unreleased tracks from various BBC radio sessions, a chunk of 12" mixes that haven't appeared on CD before and an unreleased mix of Endlessly makes for quite a trove of trinkets. Hiroshima Mon Amour forms part of the Sessions cluster, while the superb 8 minute extended mix of Like a Miracle should satisfy those who yearned for 12" singles to be longer than the norm (me, then). Completing the package is a DVD of five promo videos for later singles (quite rare, even on You Tube) and his Top of the Pops appearance of Europe After the Rain.
So what's the fuss? Well, the uninitiated might fancy reading something more than the typically prosaic essay contained in the booklet. Where do the tracks come from? The story behind them? Is it too much to ask? Although this atrocious lack of detail causes me no end of despair, Metadelic is still excellent value for money - 30 mostly- pin-sharp tracks (some of which have been out before, mind) and 6 films and all for around a dozen notes, it's a package so lengthy you could literally lose all sense of time listening to it. See what I ... oh you have
Metadelic:
Edsel:
Out Now:
8/10
The first disc begins with the instrumental Swimmer 2, a track that initially appeared on the Dancing Like a Gun single (also included), before leaping into the Paisley-shirted wardrobe containing under-rated single Miles Away, his elegiac hit Europe After The Rain and a whole clutch of tracks from most-consistent album The Golden Section and its attendant single releases. Rarities include a stripped back version of album-track Sitting at the Edge of the World and tracks recorded as collaborations with Louis Gordon and Maths-mate Benge.
It's disc two where the real treasures can be found - previously unreleased tracks from various BBC radio sessions, a chunk of 12" mixes that haven't appeared on CD before and an unreleased mix of Endlessly makes for quite a trove of trinkets. Hiroshima Mon Amour forms part of the Sessions cluster, while the superb 8 minute extended mix of Like a Miracle should satisfy those who yearned for 12" singles to be longer than the norm (me, then). Completing the package is a DVD of five promo videos for later singles (quite rare, even on You Tube) and his Top of the Pops appearance of Europe After the Rain.
So what's the fuss? Well, the uninitiated might fancy reading something more than the typically prosaic essay contained in the booklet. Where do the tracks come from? The story behind them? Is it too much to ask? Although this atrocious lack of detail causes me no end of despair, Metadelic is still excellent value for money - 30 mostly- pin-sharp tracks (some of which have been out before, mind) and 6 films and all for around a dozen notes, it's a package so lengthy you could literally lose all sense of time listening to it. See what I ... oh you have
