Metamatic Forums John Foxx John Foxx My Lost City

Hang on a minute, a few posts ago you said...

And now you say that there isn't a bad track on the CD?

There's a full version of Barbican Brakhage online at http://www.myspace.com/foxxmetamatic now

I am currently enjoying the 'first play', and as I haven't got the album its a rather lovely experience.

"Pater Noster" meets "Cinema"

I can see I'm going to have to revisit my Latin mass.

Super stuff

The album would certainly sound grand in your church

It most certainly will. Thanks for the reminder

Once I get my copy through I have a treat in store

Nights are (slowly) warming up too, so I won't have to freeze for the duration. It will be the perfect accompaniment to an evening replacing some of the floor tiles...

I was thinking that too, Alex.

That would be because I never said there was a bad track on it!

Initially, it just hasn't grabbed me in the way I was expecting it would. But that doesn't mean to say it's not good - far from it; it's beautiful. Just not what I was hoping for.

Townsend appear to have got all the UK orders to arrive on the same day, as my copy was also waiting for me when I got home last night. I’m looking forward to hearing it, though it’ll have to wait a few days, but all the posts here enthusiastically discussing its merits have certainly got me fired up, and hopefully I’ll be out walking around the town when I experience it.

Have to agree that the booklet is lovely and the text is a very interesting read, from John's personal descriptions, and his inspirational connections: “Victorian psychic experiments that eventually arrived at electricity…”

One thing for me though, the story behind the work just does not conjure up that city image on the CD front. John’s musical vision of the ghosts and the past existences that live all around us in cities makes me think more of his Garden photographs, or his cover illustrations for novels, with the dissolving figures from the past, and the fragments of ancient and modern detritus all floating together to the surface. Its this kind of atmosphere rather than that interesting, but wholly futuristic looking city on the cover that I think of when reading about the background to the My Lost City music,

but perhaps I’ll change my mind after listening to it!

or maybe not!

I often used to go past it. a great landmark and a classic 60’s building, built by the council and designed by the great Emo Goldfinger, google wikipedia and see what you’d have to pay to live there now, (oh and can John call one of his next instrumentals ‘Anniesland Court’, a similar looking 60’s building I know quite well from my home town! )

interesting review Alex S.

Thank you everyone for your comments about My Lost City. The music is magnificent. Imperfect Hymn an ideal opener and it's nice to hear the full version. Holywell Lane just flows along at a nice pace and takes me along with it. Scene 27 intro... Just finishes off this album nicely. Although it's been suggested this could be CO4 I find this album deeper,raw and moodier with a lot more purpose and emotion.

I'm surprised it has taken John so long to decide to release these tracks but I'm glad he has. Some tracks John performed live back in 1988 at the Shrewsbury CO concert. Barbican Blakhage, Hawkmoor Orbital, Umbra Sumus. Scene 27 It's nice to be able to hear these in their original form (without the coughing on the boot) composed in a studio. I've alway loved the CO live bootleg warts 'n' all because when I hear it I get a certain sense of fulfillment from John's performance as he must put a lot of time and effort into that one performance and for me it reflected it.

I wonder what John had in his mind when he first recorded these. The thought that crosses my mind when I play MLC, is the images in "The Church" booklet that came with the The Garden. I can't feel cities in the music but I sense wide open spaces.

If I was to see the Artwork in a shop not knowing the music of John Foxx it would conjure up a total different vision of what I'd expected musically inside. So the Art work doesn't work in my opinion.

I enjoyed John's notes. Very easy to read and to the point, unlike the notes in Glimmer.

If anyone is in any doubt about purchasing this CD, then musically I thoroughly recommend it.

Now the age old question, what other little gems does John have hidden away? CO live bootleg had more tracks.

Martin, If John performed this in your church I'd be down to Southampton straight away.

Peter

The track is John's version of Tantum Ergo from Benediction. You can read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benediction_of_the_Blessed_Sacrament

It looks like the long lost gems from the Shrewsbury Cathedral concert (in their original studio recordings) are finally in the hands of John's most faithful.

My Lost City seems more like a twilight zone...twilight's last gleaming perhaps...

Chris

Hope to receive it today but like Alex I'm going to struggle to link the imagery of the city with the music :rolleyes: . Although I'm very intrigued and enthusiastic as ever.

Perhaps John's referring to my lost tape (he could find more of these ). The CO pieces here could have been the CO album he was working on back in 1981 at the time of The Garden.

Was the concert at St Chad's Cathedral, Shrewsbury (Thursday the 17th of March 1988 at 8:00pm) the showing of the original CO?

The first CO was published and released in 1995 and 1997 respectively. Somehow through the years it appears that John decided to record new tracks so that they would flow to match the moving graphics that would appear on the first DVD.

Looking back at what I wrote at the time of listening to the CDR of the Shrewsbury concert. The first instrumental 6 tracks I don't recognize and are probably new but interesting tracks. The second half of the concert he performs 3 tracks from Cathedral Oceans I/II and 3 from Latin Mass.

...
7) A Quiet Splendour
8) Ad Infinitum
9) Sunset Rising
10)Sanctus Sanctus
11)Tantum Ergo
12)?


It appears that from the concert three tracks are from the official Cathedral Oceans albums ie Sunset Rising and early versions of Ad Infinitum and Quiet Splendour.

Track 11) is Barbican Brackhage, I'm pretty sure that tracks 10) and 12) are also on My Lost City. Now for the six instrumentals, I will soon find out.

Why didn't John give these tracks "Cathedral Oceans" type titles? Why has he disguised them with Urban titles? :rolleyes:

Anyhow, thanks for releasing them!!!

Chris