The Comsat Angels- It's History - 4 cd box
Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2004 6:39 amFor anyone who has not grabbed this yet, get it while you can.
It's limited to 2000 copies only.
THE COMSAT ANGELS
It's History
(Nano)
Comsat Angels were one of those bands that I only had knowledge of via mixtapes and word of mouth, introduced to me by elders as I fell in deep love with artists like Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, and the Cure at an early age. I was quick to file them under my favorite category - "death rock" - artists like Bauhaus and Christian Death that were conventionally, yet undeservingly branded into the "goth" department. At least in my perspective of genres, I guess. To me it was simply dark, Eno/Bowie-inspired rock, melded with the playful yet daring spirit of punk rock. Just because most of them donned that pallid white stuff doesn't quite sanction them into ankh/wikka/Projekt Records territory.
Well, as my musical palette diversified (and the older I got) the Comsat Angels' legend and relevance in the musical gamut became more apparent to me, transcending my own linear and self-appropriated 'death rock' tag into post-punk and new wave while still not seemingly fitting with any categorical particular. One thing for certain is that Comsat Angels eclipsed and outshone many artists of their era. Unfortunately, bouts with dismissive and unsupportive labels, falsified glories involving mainstream success, legal battles, and inter-band tensions prevented them from receiving the praise and recognition they've long deserved. In addition, having received virtually no distribution in the States inevitably left the band to dissolve into obscurity outside of the diminutive circle of devoted and in-the-know fans when in actuality their legacy should have stood parallel to Joy Division and Gang of Four.
Finally, some sort of homage has surfaced- "It's History" features their first three releases: "Waiting For A Miracle" (1980), "Sleep No More" (1981), and "Fiction" (1982), and a special disc with bonus tracks. This box harbors the most dramatic and melancholy works of the early '80s. This is emotive doom and despair, passionately interpreted with perfect pop sensibility, floating somewhere between Joy Division's existential torment and the Smiths' over-indulgent musings: the ideal brooding rainy-day rock band. Haunting atmospherics are interwoven with synth, arpeggiated guitar and plodding bass, laced with Stephen Fellows' soulful crooning and moody lyrics, stylistically precluding (early) U2 and Curve and nestling comfortably with artists like the Sound, the Cure, and the Names while easily finding niche with fans of contemporary rockers like Interpol. This record represents a passionate and personal sentimentality and like any other self-warranted music geek I feel the incredible urge to share these masterpieces with others. Extraordinary, magical, heart-breaking, essential.
Disc 1- Waiting For A Miracle (2003)
1. Missing in Action
2. Baby
3. Independence Day
4. Waiting for a Miracle
5. Total War
6. On the Beach
7. Monkey Pilot
8. Real Story
9. Map of the World)
10. Postcard
11. Home Is the Range [*]
12. We Were [*]
13. Ju Ju Money [*]
DISC 2 - Sleep No More (2003)
1. Eye Dance
2. Sleep No More
3. Be Brave
4. Gone
5. Dark Parade
6. Diagram
7. Restless
8. Goat of the West
9. Light Years
10. Our Secret
11. Eye of the Lens [*]
12. Another World [*]
13. At Sea [*]
14. (Do the) Empty House [*]
15. Red Planet Revisited [*]
DISC 3 - Fiction (2003)
1. After the Rain
2. Zinger
3. Now I Know
4. Not a Word
5. Ju Ju Money
6. More
7. Pictures
8. Birdman
9. Don't Look Now
10. What Else?
11. It's History [*]
12. After the Rain [*]
13. Private Party [*]
14. Mass [*]
DISC 4 - Demos (Bonus Disc)
1. Work (unreleased-PRE WFAM)
2. Ju Ju Money (Demo Alt Lyrics)
3. Time To Burn (unreleased PRE WFAM)
4. Dark Parade (Demo)
5. For Your Information (unreleased-Fiction)
6. I Know That Feeling (Demo)
7. Island Heart (Demo)
8. Carried Away (Demo)
9. Lost Continent (Demo)
It's limited to 2000 copies only.
THE COMSAT ANGELS
It's History
(Nano)
Comsat Angels were one of those bands that I only had knowledge of via mixtapes and word of mouth, introduced to me by elders as I fell in deep love with artists like Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, and the Cure at an early age. I was quick to file them under my favorite category - "death rock" - artists like Bauhaus and Christian Death that were conventionally, yet undeservingly branded into the "goth" department. At least in my perspective of genres, I guess. To me it was simply dark, Eno/Bowie-inspired rock, melded with the playful yet daring spirit of punk rock. Just because most of them donned that pallid white stuff doesn't quite sanction them into ankh/wikka/Projekt Records territory.
Well, as my musical palette diversified (and the older I got) the Comsat Angels' legend and relevance in the musical gamut became more apparent to me, transcending my own linear and self-appropriated 'death rock' tag into post-punk and new wave while still not seemingly fitting with any categorical particular. One thing for certain is that Comsat Angels eclipsed and outshone many artists of their era. Unfortunately, bouts with dismissive and unsupportive labels, falsified glories involving mainstream success, legal battles, and inter-band tensions prevented them from receiving the praise and recognition they've long deserved. In addition, having received virtually no distribution in the States inevitably left the band to dissolve into obscurity outside of the diminutive circle of devoted and in-the-know fans when in actuality their legacy should have stood parallel to Joy Division and Gang of Four.
Finally, some sort of homage has surfaced- "It's History" features their first three releases: "Waiting For A Miracle" (1980), "Sleep No More" (1981), and "Fiction" (1982), and a special disc with bonus tracks. This box harbors the most dramatic and melancholy works of the early '80s. This is emotive doom and despair, passionately interpreted with perfect pop sensibility, floating somewhere between Joy Division's existential torment and the Smiths' over-indulgent musings: the ideal brooding rainy-day rock band. Haunting atmospherics are interwoven with synth, arpeggiated guitar and plodding bass, laced with Stephen Fellows' soulful crooning and moody lyrics, stylistically precluding (early) U2 and Curve and nestling comfortably with artists like the Sound, the Cure, and the Names while easily finding niche with fans of contemporary rockers like Interpol. This record represents a passionate and personal sentimentality and like any other self-warranted music geek I feel the incredible urge to share these masterpieces with others. Extraordinary, magical, heart-breaking, essential.
Disc 1- Waiting For A Miracle (2003)
1. Missing in Action
2. Baby
3. Independence Day
4. Waiting for a Miracle
5. Total War
6. On the Beach
7. Monkey Pilot
8. Real Story
9. Map of the World)
10. Postcard
11. Home Is the Range [*]
12. We Were [*]
13. Ju Ju Money [*]
DISC 2 - Sleep No More (2003)
1. Eye Dance
2. Sleep No More
3. Be Brave
4. Gone
5. Dark Parade
6. Diagram
7. Restless
8. Goat of the West
9. Light Years
10. Our Secret
11. Eye of the Lens [*]
12. Another World [*]
13. At Sea [*]
14. (Do the) Empty House [*]
15. Red Planet Revisited [*]
DISC 3 - Fiction (2003)
1. After the Rain
2. Zinger
3. Now I Know
4. Not a Word
5. Ju Ju Money
6. More
7. Pictures
8. Birdman
9. Don't Look Now
10. What Else?
11. It's History [*]
12. After the Rain [*]
13. Private Party [*]
14. Mass [*]
DISC 4 - Demos (Bonus Disc)
1. Work (unreleased-PRE WFAM)
2. Ju Ju Money (Demo Alt Lyrics)
3. Time To Burn (unreleased PRE WFAM)
4. Dark Parade (Demo)
5. For Your Information (unreleased-Fiction)
6. I Know That Feeling (Demo)
7. Island Heart (Demo)
8. Carried Away (Demo)
9. Lost Continent (Demo)