soundslike1981
Well-known member
Holy hell--finally got around to picking up the recent twofer reissue of Nico's 'Marble Index' and 'Desertshore,' entitled 'The Frozen Borderline 1968-1970'. These albums have been near and dear to my heart/ears for a long time, having deeply perverted my sense of what vocal pop music could/should be when I first heard them at around age 20. I was slow in picking the reissue up because, well, who doesn't hate repurchasing albums, especially where the sound has seemed satisfactory?
Well, if you've been holding off--DON'T. The sound is indeed quite good. But what is absolutely thrilling, possibly revelatory, is the "bonus material" (a label that in this case seems insulting). There are several unadulterated demos of tracks from 'Desertshore' that are quite impressive, in that they further reveal the strength of the songwriting, and the harmonium/vocal performances sans all (excellent) production tricks. But the mindblower is the inclusion of utterly bizarre, fantastic tracks that were cut from the original record (four total, two not included on the 90s reissue); and alternate versions of nearly ever track from the original record. The thing is--these aren't just slightly different mixes, or demos. These are (often) completely different approaches to the tracks, IMHO completely the equals of the album versions, in a few instances possibly even more moving.
And in the off chance a Dissensian hasn't heard 'Marble Index' or 'Desertshore'--get thee down to a shop today and grab this reissue. If you've been jonesing for an ear-changing record, these are two--which honestly haven't aged a day in over thirty-seven years.
Well, if you've been holding off--DON'T. The sound is indeed quite good. But what is absolutely thrilling, possibly revelatory, is the "bonus material" (a label that in this case seems insulting). There are several unadulterated demos of tracks from 'Desertshore' that are quite impressive, in that they further reveal the strength of the songwriting, and the harmonium/vocal performances sans all (excellent) production tricks. But the mindblower is the inclusion of utterly bizarre, fantastic tracks that were cut from the original record (four total, two not included on the 90s reissue); and alternate versions of nearly ever track from the original record. The thing is--these aren't just slightly different mixes, or demos. These are (often) completely different approaches to the tracks, IMHO completely the equals of the album versions, in a few instances possibly even more moving.
And in the off chance a Dissensian hasn't heard 'Marble Index' or 'Desertshore'--get thee down to a shop today and grab this reissue. If you've been jonesing for an ear-changing record, these are two--which honestly haven't aged a day in over thirty-seven years.
