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Lost Tracks

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Thursday April 8, 2010

When I was locating the tapes for This Mortal Coil’s re-issue there was one odd anomaly. It had two tracks on it and also included all the line-up tones – a feature normally associated with studio masters that are used for producing records. The second track was marked as Thais (Bird Of Paradise) – presumably a variation of the track on the second album (1987). Though there was no date on the tape the other track, a cover of Neil Young’s ‘We Never Danced’, was an unreleased out-take from the third album (1991) that Ivo remembered as being unfinished.
So why were these two songs on a tape that looked like a single master? The answer was on this insert…

Originally intended for the Rough Trade Singles club in 1992, it was mixed and scheduled but never released. Which means that the tracks fit perfectly into the concept of the box set bonus disc that gathers together all the singles (and is entitled Dust & Guitars).
Regarding the re-issues, Vaughan Oliver and Ivo have done a graceful job of re-working the art for the Japanese paper sleeves using material from Nigel Grierson’s original photo sessions and the sonic re-mastering is superb, especially in HD audio.
A fitting tribute for 4AD’s 30th anniversary.

Posted by Back Cat

Comment

  1. That’s great news!
    So, um… When can we expect this beauty?

    — SaintRik · Thursday April 8, 2010 · #

  2. Yeaaaaaah! Now I’m excited!!! By “HD Audio” are you suggesting these are coming out in a format superior to CD? Blu Ray audio or DVD-Audio perhaps?

    — Matt Buckmaster · Friday April 9, 2010 · #

  3. @ Matt Buckmaster

    have a look at this january news posting: http://archive.beggars.com/articles/79

    Blu-Ray audio mentioned there… :)

    — IRONFLAME.de · Friday April 9, 2010 · #

  4. Can’t wait to pop that in to my car blu-ray player… oh. damn. :)

    — Matt Buckmaster · Saturday April 10, 2010 · #

  5. I remember this announcement. I have got 26 singles of the Rough Trade Singles Club. I was disappointed that after single #27 still the This Mortal Coil one wasn’t released. But now after all these years…….
    Any idea when the boxset will be realeased?

    — Ed Straetmans · Saturday April 10, 2010 · #

  6. Hey, I bought the first This Mortal Coil box set for $100 on Ebay. I am really HOPING there will be a way for me to purchase the “Dust and Guitars” situation without having to purchase another TMC box set. Any chance of this possibility?
    Best,
    Gavin

    — GAVIN · Monday April 12, 2010 · #

  7. No release date has been set and it’ll be a few months. yes, Dust & Guitars won’t have a regular release but some will be available direct from this site.
    I’ll do a post on Audio Blu-ray soon. With that memory we can not only include 24bit/96khz files but also CD files to burn for the car and Mp3 files for the ipod. And video (even though it’s audio). There are technical problems to iron out and I just pray the music industry doesn’t screw the HD format launch up this time. Best to set sail quietly…

    — Back Cat · Monday April 12, 2010 · #

  8. What is the chance that the disc of covered originals would be in the new box set. I didn’t buy the original box set (as I already had all of the CDs & money was tight), and have always wished that I had…

    — Timothy King · Tuesday April 13, 2010 · #

  9. FYI, that disc didn’t even include all the original versions. Kind of disappointing, as you can imagine. It was still really cool, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that 4AD appeals to the obsessive/compulsive.

    — GAVIN · Tuesday April 13, 2010 · #

  10. This is GREAT news, a TMC boxset will be well worth waiting for! Some advice though… do it right with the sleeves. The Bauhaus and Cult ones suffered from poor print quailty, cheap and nasty inner sleeves and bad alignment – things the Japanese pride themselves on getting right in making these mini-LP sleeves. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth getting it right and people will pay for quality – I certainly will.

    — csp · Tuesday April 27, 2010 · #

  11. You will get the quality on the sleeves but equally you’ll have to pay for it as production costs in Japan are much, much higher than in China. While the Cult 4CD set sold for £15 this is likely to be four times as much. Always a delicate balance between price and quality – the higher the price, the less we will sell = a higher price to manufacture a smaller quantity – the proverbial vicious circle. My priority for expense is on the actual sonics and re-mastering which probably isn’t appreciated (especially by mp3 users!). However, Ivo is directly involved so you’ll get top quality Japanese packaging as well.

    — Back Cat · Thursday May 20, 2010 · #

  12. C’mon now, you guys said May… Not me!

    THIS MORTAL COIL
    Slowly, very slowly, the TMC re-masters project is approaching completion. There will be a CD box set, with the albums packaged in Japanese gatefold sleeves, a vinyl re-issue through the ORG label, and a Blu-ray disc (BD) entitled “Tears In The Drop Box”, which will have all the recordings in real HD audio on the one disc. Did anyone mention May?

    At least an update!!!

    — humangerm · Wednesday May 4, 2011 · #

  13. Hey stupid, open your eyes…
    Okay okay, there was an update, eye just didn’t see it before I posted my stupid comment.
    So September it is! I can hardly wait!!

    — humangerm · Wednesday May 11, 2011 · #