From: 560paez@gw.wmich.edu
Newsgroups: rec.music.misc
Subject: Re: Review: Recoil - Bloodline
Date: 16 Apr 92 16:21:13 EST
Followup-To: rec.music.misc
Distribution: world
Organization: Western Michigan University

 In article <23700@scorn.sco.COM>, awrc@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Al Crawford) writes:
> 
> 
> Recoil			Bloodline			Mute CD STUMM 94
> 
> 	Total Running Time: 50 min 42 sec
> 
> 	1.	Faith Healer			5:59
> 	2.	Electro Blues For Bukka White	8:58
> 	3.	The Defector			8:01
> 	4.	Edge To Life			6:08
> 	5.	Curse				7:04
> 	6.	Bloodline			6:48
> 	7.	Freeze				7:28
> 
> Production/Instruments: Alan Wilder.
> Vocals on "Faith Healer" by Douglas McCarthy.
> Vocals on "Edge To Life" and "Bloodline" by Toni Halliday.
> Vocals on "Curse" by Moby.
> Vocals on "Electro Blues For Bukka White" taken from the track "Shake 'Em
> On Down" by Bukka White.
> 
> Hmmm. Not sure quite what to make of this. The minimalist artwork (with
> "5+6" plastered everywhere - I presume that "Hydrology" must have been
> "3+4") and seven long tracks suggest that this album is in a similar vein
> to previous Recoil releases. It isn't though - all the previous Recoil
> releases have been instrumental, whilst the majority of the tracks here
> have vocals.
> 
> First up is the single "Faith Healer" with vocals by Nitzer Ebb's Doug
> McCarthy. I discussed this single in some detail in my review of it a few
> weeks back so I won't repeat them here. The second track is, erm, odd. It
> takes a Bukka White vocal (who he? Someone care to enlighten me?) and
> places it on top of a very Depeche Mode-like instrumental track. The end
> result is rather interesting and probably sounds nothing whatsoever like
> the track the vocal was originally taken from. Musically it's probably the
> most Mode-ish track on the album too.
> 
> Next is "The Defector" which is probably my favourite track on the album.
> Instrumental (well, apart from some Vocoder work) it wobbles interestingly
> between a techno/house sound (bleepy bits), something rather Kraftwerkish
> (hints of Trans-Europe Express) and light dance industrial (machine-gun
> drum patterns). There's eight minutes of it too - goody :-)
> 
> "Edge To Life" features vocals by Curve's Toni Halliday. The vocals are
> pleasant enough but I've never really been particularly grabbed by
> Halliday's voice which just doesn't work for me, ethereal-vocals-wise. The
> track itself is rather dancy, with more hints of Kraftwerk and imitators
> than DM.
> 
> "Curse". What an apt name. Starts out interestingly but turns into a
> (shudder) rap track with rap by the extremely prolific Moby (although isn't
> he better known for his production and techno stuff than as a rapper?) I'm
> not going to attempt to evaluate this track in any detail since I don't
> like much rap and thus can't really say how good this is as rap tracks go.
> 
> "Bloodline" features more Toni Halliday vocals. While the music itself is
> rather more interesting than "Edge To Life", the Halliday vocals once more
> fail to work for me. Still, not a bad track.
> 
> The album is rounded off by "Freeze" which is probably closest in spirit to
> the material on the first "Recoil" album, albeit rather more polished.
> Probably my second favourite track on the album. Anyone beginning to notice
> a pattern emerging?
> 
> One odd thing - the sleeve notes thank Diamanda Galas and state "Diamanda
> Galas appears courtesy of Mute Records." Apart from the oddness of the
> courtesy credit (considering this album is on Mute anyway) I can't hear her
> anywhere. Unless it's her voice they stuck through the Vocoder on "The
> Defector" :-)
> 
> To summarise - I'm a little disappointed. Long tracks work well for
> instrumentals, but seven minute vocal tracks tend to drag on a little bit
> too long unless they're exceptionally good (which none of these are). I'd
> have rather seen the vocal tracks shortened to five minutes or so and
> another instrumental slotted in. Come to think of it, make that two
> instrumentals - there's plenty of room left on the CD :-) Admittedly my
> opinion of the vocal tracks isn't helped by my apathy towards rap and my
> disappointment with Toni Halliday's voice (this is the first time I've
> really heard her and after the attention she'd been getting in the music
> press I can't help but wonder what all the fuss was about) but I still feel
> that even taking these factors into account, I'd probably rate _Hydrology_
> rather better than this one.
> 
> Erland Rating: +1
> 
> --
> 		      Al Crawford - awrc@dcs.ed.ac.uk
>        "Breakdown. Splinter. A thousand fragments disperse and die."
Newsgroups: rec.music.misc