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#37109 10/23/09 11:20 AM
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I’m one of the poor souls who missed out on the original version of this album, so it's almost like a brand new release to me. I say ‘almost’, because I’m already familiar with most of the tracks here. Still, it’s first time listens for Crash , Forgotten Years and Everyone.

No one could accuse John & Louis of over producing any of their albums, but even by their standards this album feels raw and basic. It also feels like a debut album; like they are establishing their style.

I first heard The Noise on Modern Art , and it was one of the main reasons that I got into John’s more recent works. Great to finally hear it in its intended context. One of my favourites on this album.

So strange hearing Crash. A ‘new’ track 12 years late. Very early 90’s techno feel, this one reminds me of John’s Nation 12 work. Great stuff.

Everyone - very haunting and a good contrast to some of the other more manic tracks
Forgotten Years - not a track that has much appeal to me

Shadow Man - I first heard this track on MySpace (I think it was a version done for the Australian tour). I think the tour version was actually better, but this is still a great track - such a relentless feel to it.

Through My Sleeping is a beautiful song, and I’m not surprised that John chose this one to appear on Glimmer. Perhaps the albums biggest highlight.

Some of the tracks have more have more of a psychedelic\blues feel to them. Can this album be most closely compared to Sideways ?

So I finally got Shifting City. A bit like buying your first car: managed okay without one, but now I’ve got it I would never want to be without again laugh

#37110 10/23/09 11:54 AM
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Great post. This album was like a second debut for John. I'm yet to hear the new version, but when I first got it back in 2001, my immediate impression was that it did (by then) sound a bit dated - but I guess the 90s dance/techno influence on Louis shines right through on the album and it firmly planted John back in the electro scene.

I've never been keen on the bluesy elements like "Forgotten Years" but "Everyone" is quite a haunting, Portishead-esque track.

For me, the best two tracks on the album are "An Ocean We Can Breathe" and "Through My Sleeping". The Beatles influence clearly comes across on these songs, especially "Through My Sleeping". This is basically John's version of "Tomorrow Never Knows" - a song which I've only just discovered myself.

I'm glad "Thgough My Sleeping" found a home on this album. It started life as th nation12 track "Leaving", then became "Through My Sleeping" with Blitz. But I guess neither version was finished or to John's satisfaction.

The Omnidelic version of the track is good, but for me, the album version will never be beaten.

I like "Crash" and "Shadow Man". Almost an updated "Burning Car" kind of track, with a repetitive beat and minimal lyrics. There's a real driving energy to it.

I'm getting quite excited just by thinking about it. I reckon one SC remaster will be purchased at some point in the not too distant future!

#37111 10/23/09 01:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by MikeG:
So I finally got Shifting City. A bit like buying your first car: managed okay without one, but now I’ve got it I would never want to be without again laugh
I've not yet made any move to get SC09 myself, but I have to agree with AlexS, that's a great post there MikeG and a good start to the (hopefully more) reviews to follow in this thread.

#37112 10/24/09 04:26 PM
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Came back from a holiday week today and found all 3 new CD's in my post. smile

The remastered version of Shifting City sounds great - there are a lot of noises and sound elements which gone lost on the original recording. This CD is one of my favourites of John & Louis stuff and it is wonderful to have it in this great quality now!

The Demo version of Shadow Man is interesting - to me this version would better fit in on The Pleasures of Electricity. It sounds so different to the original but it's nice ; though I prefer the Original.

Great job on this CD. Thanks a lot to all who were involved!!!!

wink Shadowmandreas

#37113 10/25/09 08:23 AM
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I had this one for years in my collection.
Bought it when it came out in the 90's.
It was an unexpected but glorious retrurn of JF, man I was happy!
With this remaster the sound of the album is proper, at last.
One of my favourite JF albums it was,
and after this remaster this surely will continue to be!
smile
Great additional tracks too. Especially the 'Just For A Moment' live track. It made me shiver ...

#37114 10/25/09 03:06 PM
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Great to hear this one again on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Shadow Man sounds quite significantly remixed in places, especially towards the end, and Through My Sleeping has also been remixed a bit I think. Both sound really good though (as ever) and the early version of Shadow Man is great too.

#37115 10/31/09 08:53 AM
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There is a mention of a 3rd musician, Jackie Leven, for Concrete,Bulletproof, Invisible. There is a mention in the credits of him too. I read a bit on the Net about him and know he is a long time musician since the end of the seventies. But how much had he to do with this track of John & Louis? Was he the inspiration for the track or wrote he some music... Would be nice to know something about it...

wink Andreas

#37116 10/31/09 10:52 AM
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"C...B...I..." is the name of a band formed by Jackie Leven with Glen Matlock of the Pistols some years ago. I don't hink it has anything to do with John or Louis, but I guess he is credited accordingly as he will no doubt own the IP rights to the name.

Leven was founder of Doll by Doll too, a punk band who supported Ultravox several times at gigs during 1978, so there is a relationship of sorts there too.

Hope this helps.

And well worth checking out some of his solo material...


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#37117 10/31/09 11:00 AM
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Sure does. laugh


Thank you Martin.


wink Andreas

#37118 10/31/09 09:06 PM
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What IS that dialogue on Forgotten Years???

This album is simply stunning. I don't remember it sounding so confident and accomplished before, but with the benefit of knowing what came next its easier to understand.
It sounds like the pivotal moment that it physically represents - a definition of the 'retro-future' concept in every way.

And you really appreciate the track sequence now - the title track is PERFECTLY placed after the ethereal, romantic, smooth melancholy of the previous two tracks, it booms out and grabs you by the throat.
Lumbering? Clumsy? Threatening? Confused? Abrasive? Blurred? Far out?

Of course - one of me still wants to be a machine laugh

Sets you up for the assault that is CBI. Crank it LOUD!!! And then "Ocean" closes the set, to rubber stamp the design concept and contextualize the whole thing.
I thought it was all fixed, but now I know its really liquid. Genius.
Still one of my favourite Foxx albums of them all.

There's a lot of Smoke and Ray1/Ray2 in it too, which I hadn't noticed before, so after this play through I'm going to get back into Crash and Burn


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#37119 11/13/09 03:38 PM
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The all singing, all dancing, gi-gantic, trans-at-lantic BOOM! of Shifting City 2009. Blimey! What a clean-up operation – I’ve not seen something this bright, shiny and bombastic since the Gherkin went up. I have to confess The Pleasures of Electricity and In The Glow have been unfairly neglected since.

Here We Go is one of my all-time favourite Foxx tracks. I remember where I was the first time I heard it and even though the thrill of hearing The Noise and Crash had yet to pass, it wasn’t until I heard Here We Go that I truly though “He’s back! He’s back!”. The chilled-out Kraftwerk motorik rhythm, the swirling sequencer patterns, gorgeous pads and a massive question delivered warmly and thoughtfully -

Ever wonder just which way to go?
Slow horizons turning round below

I never, ever found the way back home
Goes to show I didn't want to know

So here we go
Here we go


After this and as controversial as this next comment will be – I always found Shadowman a bit of a let-down. Don’t get me wrong – live, it absolutely rocks, but for me, it was just a foggy mess that hummed along – I knew what it wanted to be, and now it finally is what it wanted to be; an all pumped up, door kicking, bass bin destroying energy. Now it works – it’s utterly mesmerising and when it goes all Metroplex after the break, it just destroys anything in its path. Love it. So now I don’t skip Shadowman anymore to get to another Foxx classic Through My Sleeping.

When the original PR for Shifting City came out we were told it was;

“….pure Urban Electronica. Analog synths, 909, 808, Stripped down, minimal and relentless - and interbred with psychedelic gene code.”

It’s on Through My Sleeping that such a manifesto really applies the “psychedelic gene code” (codename: Revolver) – not being a fan of John, Paul, George and Ringo, I’d not noticed their influence on his work before, but after hearing Through My Sleeping and later flicking back through the catalogue (Sitting At The Edge of the World, When You Walk Through Me etc) you’re left thinking – “How come I never noticed that before?”. A beautiful song, massive, massive drums, Foxx’s backing vocal ‘aaaaaaaaaah’ phased, sounding almost mellotron-ic.

Forgotten Years and Everyone I sadly admit, I used to skip through also – for similar reasons for skipping past Shadowman. They sounded muddy and lacklustre – again I knew what he was doing, I just wasn’t sure it worked. Maybe it’s the re-masters, maybe it’s the years and they’ve grown on me, but I can’t imagine skipping them now – not with the depth and clarity they’ve been given here. They really shine. Those really tense, ‘Hitchcock’-strings on Everyone, and as Martin points out above - “what IS that dialogue on Forgotten Years???”

Well, if the influence of the ‘Four lads who shook the world’ was understated previously, on Shifting City it’s “like having your brain smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick" (© Douglas Adams). Mellotron-ic, metallic, psychedelic, fluid, moving - f*** me – what a track. If these two lads who shook my world ever play again I demand a European referendum that ensures this is always the closer at every gig – in fact; if they want to walk off stage, leave the equipment running so we can all sing along while they totter off to bed, I’ll still be by the stage singing until the cleaners arrive and kick me out in the morning. Ridiculously beautiful – shouldn’t be allowed.

I once said of the live versions of Shadowman and Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible – “they do the job they were brought in to do; kicking in the doors of subtlety with big drums, thunderous bass and vocoders – and how we love vocoders, big drums and thunderous bass”. And even on my old, now slightly dusty original copy of Shifting City (I refuse to sell/trade my original copy on eBay/Amazon for crack/original Mattel's Bee Gees Rhythm Machine…oh, alright – will swap for Mattel's Bee Gees Rhythm Machine…), Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible was always able to do that, despite the mud, the fog, the bandwidth; Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible will kill anything in its wake. And Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible V2.0 – well…it’s all ED-209 now – I wouldn’t mess with it if I was you – Run! Run for cover! Save the women and children This 303 squeals and this rhythm kills!

I know nothing about music, at all. I openly despise and deride most musicians for their scholarly approach and, by and large - their complete lack of creativity. So when The Stranglers very own fanzine in the mid-70s said “Here’s Three Chords, Now Form a band (Sniffin’ Glue ripped it history buffs) – it was heart-warming to read Throbbing Gristle’s riposte of “Three Chords? Why so many?”. So, I couldn’t swear to it but – for the most part - An Ocean We Can Breathe sounds like one long Moog tone. And in my world that’s a ‘Wow’-factor the size of a small, industrialised South-American nation. It’s Foxx, vocally almost riffing a melody over a tone – until it all breaks loose later – he’s never, ever been as sparse, as minimal, as up-tight (as in the ‘everything’s alright’ sense of ‘up –tight’) as this before – and I don’t think he has since. What a way to end an album - it’s many years on since and every time I hear this album, I always think Shifting City should have been the closer – but every time I hear An Ocean We Can Breathe I can’t imagine the album ending any other way.

At the end of this re-master, I feel like a five year old shouting “Again! Again” on a swing, and I can’t give it any higher praise than that.

Ahhhhhh – so, I’m sat there basking in the glory of the Shifting City, so that’s it – the end…but hang about – there’s a tap on the shoulder, well it’s more of a thump – like the surprise of an ex-KGB henchman trying to bundle you into a bulletproof, blacked-out car when only seconds ago you were sashaying along a busy street without a care in the world.

We’ll call this situation: Shadowman (Mono Mix) …sneaks up on you – you won’t see it coming. I think he’s angry with me for skipping him all these years – and he’s not short in replying either. F*** me – this is a mono mix? If all his tracks were this good in Mono, I want all the albums re-mastered, by Phil Spector from his prison cell NOW!

Gazza

#37120 11/13/09 05:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by RadioBeach:
The all singing, all dancing, gi-gantic, trans-at-lantic [b]BOOM! of Shifting City 2009. Blimey! What a clean-up operation – I’ve not seen something this bright, shiny and bombastic since the Gherkin went up. I have to confess The Pleasures of Electricity and In The Glow have been unfairly neglected since.

Here We Go is one of my all-time favourite Foxx tracks. I remember where I was the first time I heard it and even though the thrill of hearing The Noise and Crash had yet to pass, it wasn’t until I heard Here We Go that I truly though “He’s back! He’s back!”. The chilled-out Kraftwerk motorik rhythm, the swirling sequencer patterns, gorgeous pads and a massive question delivered warmly and thoughtfully -

Ever wonder just which way to go?
Slow horizons turning round below

I never, ever found the way back home
Goes to show I didn't want to know

So here we go
Here we go


After this and as controversial as this next comment will be – I always found Shadowman a bit of a let-down. Don’t get me wrong – live, it absolutely rocks, but for me, it was just a foggy mess that hummed along – I knew what it wanted to be, and now it finally is what it wanted to be; an all pumped up, door kicking, bass bin destroying energy. Now it works – it’s utterly mesmerising and when it goes all Metroplex after the break, it just destroys anything in its path. Love it. So now I don’t skip Shadowman anymore to get to another Foxx classic Through My Sleeping.

When the original PR for Shifting City came out we were told it was;

“….pure Urban Electronica. Analog synths, 909, 808, Stripped down, minimal and relentless - and interbred with psychedelic gene code.”

It’s on Through My Sleeping that such a manifesto really applies the “psychedelic gene code” (codename: Revolver) – not being a fan of John, Paul, George and Ringo, I’d not noticed their influence on his work before, but after hearing Through My Sleeping and later flicking back through the catalogue (Sitting At The Edge of the World, When You Walk Through Me etc) you’re left thinking – “How come I never noticed that before?”. A beautiful song, massive, massive drums, Foxx’s backing vocal ‘aaaaaaaaaah’ phased, sounding almost mellotron-ic.

Forgotten Years and Everyone I sadly admit, I used to skip through also – for similar reasons for skipping past Shadowman. They sounded muddy and lacklustre – again I knew what he was doing, I just wasn’t sure it worked. Maybe it’s the re-masters, maybe it’s the years and they’ve grown on me, but I can’t imagine skipping them now – not with the depth and clarity they’ve been given here. They really shine. Those really tense, ‘Hitchcock’-strings on Everyone, and as Martin points out above - “what IS that dialogue on Forgotten Years???”

Well, if the influence of the ‘Four lads who shook the world’ was understated previously, on Shifting City it’s “like having your brain smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick" (© Douglas Adams). Mellotron-ic, metallic, psychedelic, fluid, moving - f*** me – what a track. If these two lads who shook my world ever play again I demand a European referendum that ensures this is always the closer at every gig – in fact; if they want to walk off stage, leave the equipment running so we can all sing along while they totter off to bed, I’ll still be by the stage singing until the cleaners arrive and kick me out in the morning. Ridiculously beautiful – shouldn’t be allowed.

I once said of the live versions of Shadowman and Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible – “they do the job they were brought in to do; kicking in the doors of subtlety with big drums, thunderous bass and vocoders – and how we love vocoders, big drums and thunderous bass”. And even on my old, now slightly dusty original copy of Shifting City (I refuse to sell/trade my original copy on eBay/Amazon for crack/original Mattel's Bee Gees Rhythm Machine…oh, alright – will swap for Mattel's Bee Gees Rhythm Machine…), Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible was always able to do that, despite the mud, the fog, the bandwidth; Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible will kill anything in its wake. And Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible V2.0 – well…it’s all ED-209 now – I wouldn’t mess with it if I was you – Run! Run for cover! Save the women and children This 303 squeals and this rhythm kills!

I know nothing about music, at all. I openly despise and deride most musicians for their scholarly approach and, by and large - their complete lack of creativity. So when The Stranglers very own fanzine in the mid-70s said “Here’s Three Chords, Now Form a band (Sniffin’ Glue ripped it history buffs) – it was heart-warming to read Throbbing Gristle’s riposte of “Three Chords? Why so many?”. So, I couldn’t swear to it but – for the most part - An Ocean We Can Breathe sounds like one long Moog tone. And in my world that’s a ‘Wow’-factor the size of a small, industrialised South-American nation. It’s Foxx, vocally almost riffing a melody over a tone – until it all breaks loose later – he’s never, ever been as sparse, as minimal, as up-tight (as in the ‘everything’s alright’ sense of ‘up –tight’) as this before – and I don’t think he has since. What a way to end an album - it’s many years on since and every time I hear this album, I always think Shifting City should have been the closer – but every time I hear An Ocean We Can Breathe I can’t imagine the album ending any other way.

At the end of this re-master, I feel like a five year old shouting “Again! Again” on a swing, and I can’t give it any higher praise than that.

Ahhhhhh – so, I’m sat there basking in the glory of the Shifting City, so that’s it – the end…but hang about – there’s a tap on the shoulder, well it’s more of a thump – like the surprise of an ex-KGB henchman trying to bundle you into a bulletproof, blacked-out car when only seconds ago you were sashaying along a busy street without a care in the world.

We’ll call this situation: Shadowman (Mono Mix) …sneaks up on you – you won’t see it coming. I think he’s angry with me for skipping him all these years – and he’s not short in replying either. F*** me – this is a mono mix? If all his tracks were this good in Mono, I want all the albums re-mastered, by Phil Spector from his prison cell NOW!

Gazza [/b]
That is such a brilliant review. A real pleasure to read. smile

#37121 11/13/09 07:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Mr.Ilektrik:
That is such a brilliant review. A real pleasure to read. smile
Hear! Hear!

Absolutely superb.

So good in fact, that I've ripped mine up... :p


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#37122 11/13/09 10:39 PM
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Thats it.

I will have to buy it now!

#37123 11/14/09 07:16 AM
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Ha!Ha!Ha! laugh

Great review Gazza! smile

But what about he actual close of the CD: 'Just For A Moment'?

I knew this song so well (I thought so anyway), but this version really send shivers down my spine. cool

And what about this statement: SHIFTING CITY BRINGS EVERYTHING JF TOGETHER

Amen. wink

#37124 11/16/09 01:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by RadioBeach:
...kicking in the doors of subtlety with big drums, thunderous bass and vocoders…
At the end of this re-master, I feel like a five year old shouting “Again! Again” on a swing, and I can’t give it any higher praise than that
That is one Thunderchunk!!! of a great review there Radiobeach.

There’s suddenly been lots of great stuff to read on the forum since the end of last week, from links to Mirrorball conspiracy theories via an MP3 discussion group, to a critical analysis of Kraftwerks Catalogue, and big shout outs for favourite albums of 2009, its been just like all of those albums from John, you wait 20 years for one or two to appear and then a dozen all turn up at once, where do you start, I need a holiday to read it all, but its all a good read.

Shifting City 09 is most definitely on my mind now, and I’m quite willing to believe that the old ‘re-mastering’ thingy that’s been going on may just have polished up what I’ve always considered to be quite a lame album, no, please nobody shout out at me, did you say “lame!”. I can be very lukewarm about things, but when I realise that I actually do like something then I get right behind it with heart and soul, so here’s to seeing how big a U-turn I may be doing about John & Louis debut album. It’s gone on my Christmas wish list, and I’m gonna order it up today.

Quote:
Originally posted by Birdsong:
So good in fact, that I've ripped mine up... :p
NO, don’t do that, a big part of the fun here on Metamatic is reading (and writing) the Honest reviews/comments written by the fans on here, rather than just having to read only those written by music critics elsewhere.

#37125 11/16/09 02:08 PM
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Thanks all! smile glad my ranting scribblogics (It's too soon to call it Writing) are appreciated - I'm currently on a 12-step programme of like-minded souls trying to rehabilitate after seeing Duran Duran do Showroom Dummies and my Dr. says this is good therapy.

And Breathe

And Martin - never, ever stop writing - EVER! there's room for all!

#37126 11/24/09 12:05 AM
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Garry, can you write all the sleeve notes for John's albums in future, please? That's exactly the kind of passion, humour and all-round brilliance we need to sum up Foxxian genius. laugh

Thanks to everyone who's posted comments in the reissues threads, by the way...great stuff, keep 'em coming. I'm now saving up more assiduously than ever!

#37127 11/24/09 03:03 PM
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I've finally heard this - a lot of previously quiet background sounds have been significantly brought out, making it a much fuller sounding album.

Any "new" elements on this album, unlike with TPOE, are much more subtle. Barely noticeable on first inspection. All adds to the overall improvement though. This album is finally living up to its potential.

What I will say is that the mono version of Shadow Man is absolutely fantastic! In fact I think it's miles better than the final version!!

#37128 11/24/09 03:33 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Gem:
Garry, can you write all the sleeve notes for John's albums in future, please? That's exactly the kind of passion, humour and all-round brilliance we need to sum up Foxxian genius. laugh

Thanks to everyone who's posted comments in the reissues threads, by the way...great stuff, keep 'em coming. I'm now saving up more assiduously than ever!
Cheers Gem! laugh

Talking of sleevennotes, I miss all the humourous sleeve notes that appeared on things like Sideways - 'Recorded by passing traffic via remote shout method' etc etc - I liked that subtle, humourous surrealism that crept in at that time (and sadly disappeared)

#37129 11/24/09 03:33 PM
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They were rather hilarious.

#37130 11/25/09 02:18 PM
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My copy finally made it's way through my, er, mailbox* and after reading all the rave reviews I dying to give it a spin.

And it's no disappointment either, like listening to a whole new album in fact. The Noise gets things off to a good start with it's new noise, and Crash is a completely new track to me as I must have skipped that one on the original those few times I played it. (I had tocheck if it was on the original, it's that bad). Excellent 'side one'!
That said, the wanderings into sleazy croon-dom that are Forgotten Years and Everyone still don't really do it for me (may need more time) and C,B,I is still a bit too monotonous for my liking but the cleaned up versions of Ocean, Sleeping and Here We Go more than make up for it. The title track is also much improved although is still not a patch on the 'live' versions we are so used to now both on CD and in the flesh. Apart from finishing far too early the double tracked vocals are still too low for me, as the lyrics are real poetry and need to brought out a bit more..or perhaps it's just my 40-something-a-piece cloth ears.
But it really is with electro-psychedelia
as per Ocean, Sleeping etc. where Foxx really does shine. More please.

And yes Shadow-mono-man is excellent both in it's positioning and as a stand alone track.

The Omnidelic stuff we're already familiar with, but is an excellent compliment to to the main album.

9 out of 10!

(*thanks to all those who shoved it through)

#37131 11/25/09 02:32 PM
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I still maintain that "Through My Sleeping" is one of the very best songs John has ever written.

#37132 11/25/09 03:30 PM
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Reading all these reviews made me order mine last week. Reading this makes it even worse.I cant wait!

#37133 11/25/09 03:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Furniture:
Reading all these reviews made me order mine last week. Reading this makes it even worse.I cant wait!
just rest assurEd that it'll be well worth it my friend wink

#37134 11/26/09 01:16 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Alex S:
I still maintain that "Through My Sleeping" is one of the very best songs John has ever written.
I've gotten quite fond of Never Let Me Go in his recent work. Camera is another standout for me. But, of course, neither of these are on Shifting City. Concrete, Bulletproof and Invisible and An Ocean We Can Breathe are, however, and I like them the most from that album.

#37135 11/26/09 10:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Alex S:
I still maintain that "Through My Sleeping" is one of the very best songs John has ever written.
I agree it's got one of the best verses John's ever written. But how much greater would it have been if the song had had a chorus as well?

#37136 11/26/09 10:43 AM
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Naaah! it's perfect as it is .. you don't need a chorus mate ... (see: Beatles, The - Tomorrow Never Knows) wink

#37137 12/21/09 05:03 PM
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I didnt hear any great differences with the new SC.
Bit dissapointed really. confused
I brought Impossible and I have been much happier with it. smile

#37138 03/01/10 07:56 PM
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Okay, what’s happened to Shifting City? I was expecting to either be unconvinced at best, or at worse if I’d had any high hopes at all (to my shame, I didn’t) to be not unsurprisingly a little bit disappointed by this re-release, but from the start, The Noise came crashing through powerfully into my mind, all beefed up, funky and boppy (and in fleeting moments almost Bill Nelsonesque in style), a great opening, but could it all last.

So track two, Crash, well track one in itself 'crashed' through favourably, so what hope has this track got, “round and round we go…” in an almost kraftwerkian refrain, building up very quickly in a techno ascent of musical peaks. The synth repeat throughout the lyrics definitely sounds sharper, and only two tracks into SC and I’m in no doubt that ‘definition of sound’ rules now on this remastered album. Great stuff, I can’t quite believe that I’m feeling this, but, I’m actually excited by it all, as the music starts to dictate my typing, fingers dancing to the tune, and then, it all stops… its Here We Go up next. Shame, I was really getting into the march with the first two tracks, and much as I love HWG which was one of the few tracks I was ever completely bothered about on the original release of the SC album, I’m feeling a bit let down now that its interrupted the upward progress and flow of the album.

HWG is one of John’s best songs, okay, I know its maybe a bit too subtle for some fans tastes, but for me it would fit beautifully sitting between Travel and Quiet City, so at 5 plus minutes into it now and heading for its climax I’ve forgiven it for pulling me (ever so gently) down from the highs of The Noise and Crash. Perhaps John should have reconsidered the position of the tracks when he had the opportunity during the remastering of this album? Am I alone in thinking this…

Shadow Man eases us back up into the techno, it’s a light enough touch musically after the ambience of HWG, but it still leaves me even more uncertain about HWG’s position as the third track in. Shadow Man in itself is as funky as ever in a: ‘I’m lying down on the settee tapping my toes together, randomly pointing and waving one finger up in the air', kind of way, ”as the sun goes down, I wouldn’t forget…”, yes, great stuff.

Pause for a moment, four tracks in and I’m enjoying this album, and quite impressed by the magic that remastering has achieved, gone is my previous attitude about this album: ”your voice moves, but I can’t hear what you say…” was my reaction towards its ’98 former self. I was hesitant about purchasing this 2009 edition, and its been sitting gathering dust at home since I got it last December, the wrapper was only removed this morning, and just before my listen through I flicked through the booklet, and really nice it is too. Love the way the lyrics are set out like story text, it’s a technique that really works well for some of Johns songs. There’s a great centre spread photograph of the man with the briefcase, walking under a flyover and away from us. In the past, with the first release of SC back in ’98 and when I unexpectedly found that album, I would have unconsciously translated that image as a sad farewell, youthful memories of John’s past solo career, the long lost John Foxx walking away into the white void to disappear forever. But fast forward 12 years and now today I see that image more positively, it’s saying instead, here’s John Foxx, he’s still around and we can still follow him into the light ahead, on with his journey, musical, artistic, whatever takes his fancy.

Through My Sleeping, this is one song I really want to like 100%, I love the music (again, tiny shades of 80’s Bill Nelson that I never noticed before seem to be at play), but for some reason I feel that its maybe too over worded, perhaps that’s not the right way to express what I’m getting at (though I’m bracing myself for the lyrical repeat that’s yet to come in track eight: Shifting City!), but I’m just too aware of John’s voice in the first part, and the end instrumental would have benefited from some more musical variety in it.

Forgotten Years, nope, I’ve now come to the conclusion that it’s a terrible track, not even worthy of a B-side, one to skip, a real downer and a total anticlimax in the middle of the album. John, how could you keep it on this remastered edition! Its like the Quiet Man went out in his smart suit and tie but forgot to wash and iron his dirty and crumpled shirt! - Forgotten Years, yes, best thing for it…

Everyone, on the other hand, does have a mysterious quality, it’s a Japan: Ghosts kind of mood, which really works as a style for John, yep, its much improved, cleaner, more interesting, hmm, if only Forgotten Years could have been completely reworked into a similar vein as this track.

The whistle blows, the steam blasts out, the wheels slowly turn, the great iron beast heaves itself into juddering motion, and pushing hard against friction it lumbers forwards on the tracks, yes, …its Shifting City!!!
Like a nightmare on steel wheels it wheezes steadily away into the night, or, maybe not, hang on, I’m hearing lots of ‘new’ sounds on Shifting City, okay, that’s got to be imagination, but I’m actually enjoying this journey. Crikey, that was quick, its all over, silly me, but I think I’ve been remembering the OmnidelicallyDeliciouslyPsychopathic nearly-live version or something, the one that used to go on and on, forever and an ever. Yikes, looks like I’ve possibly been completely wrong and unjustifiably unfair in the past, and mixing up my memory of album versions, this SC ‘09 is really… neat, um, I’d actually have enjoyed a bit more of it, blimey, there’s no pleasing some folk.

Just when I though I was listening to a musical break in the highly interesting Shifting City, suddenly Concrete Bulletproof Invisible starts up. Actually, I’ve always had a soft spot for this gently inane sounding little number, and CBI, picks up where Shadow Man left off. It’s got the charm to get your lazy arse up and off from the settee, finger thrust high and proudly into the air, and doing randomly embarrassing jerky upper torso movements. Its all like a scene from Peep Show on TV, and you start pretending to be Jeremy, pretending to be in a cool techno band with Super Hans, you can’t resist it, you are Jeremy, babbling away: ” Super Hans got a bass loop for our track that is so good that when he tried turning it off, he physically couldn't do it.”

An Ocean We Can Breath, a sublime track, and again just like Here we Go it comes in amidst all the techno of SC, shockingly dropping the pace right down again after CBI, making me think that the track listing is all screwed up. John, why squander such beauty, was it a moment of artistic miscalculation, like a confused Botticelli throwing your musical version of The Birth Of Venus into the dark sweaty confines of a rave full of tracksuited E heads, and all those intensely luv’d up faces shouting out: ”Hey Doll, wot u doin ere?”.

”There’s a quiet splendour…” and with John there very often is, An Ocean We Can Breath is a great vision to end an album on, so much so that I’m not even going to bother playing the bonus tracks, well not yet anyway… smile

In the past I’ve down-played the merits of SC ’98 in my comments on here, but the SC 2009 suite is a fine album, and if anyone hasn’t ever owned the album, or is putting off replacing the original then I’d say its worth getting a copy. I can’t put my finger on quite what has improved it for me, sure it sounds crisper, and Its hard to believe that its not been ‘ever so slightly’ remixed or tweaked. It’s a great remastering job, and all credit to the people at Dallas, they’ve very nearly turned this old disbeliever into a convert as far as SC is concerned, I wouldn’t go as far as to say its John’s best work for me, but it now has a proud place amongst all of his albums with Louis.

#37139 03/01/10 08:29 PM
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Nuff said!!

Respect CM laugh

(I like SC too...)


For archive snippets, sparks of electroflesh and news about this website follow me on Twitter @foxxmetamatic
#37140 03/02/10 09:22 AM
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Great review Core! Cheers! smile

Liked the Peepshow analogy too - hahahahahaha!

Right...off to give Shifting City a blast

#37141 03/04/10 10:36 AM
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Shadow Man Mono Mix –

I’m hugely impressed by this, I love the pop and beat of the original, but this version, oh, its so sleek, as soon as I heard it, Wow!

In musical style it links together all of John’s up-front electro avenues, travelling from Metamatic and moving all the way through his albums with Louis.

John is distinctively ‘Foxx-like’ with his vocal delivery, this is the voice I want to hear, he’s moved from the background of the original version, and now closer to the mic’, the almost spoken lyrics, (which I never seemed to register much with the original) are now precise, confidently presented, and knowing:
”and the roses bloom, and the mirror dust, and the tidal drift...”,
its the man we know, top form, and it’s the best electro track of the moment for me.


The Quiet Men Subterranean Omnidelic Exotour Mix –

This does nothing for me at all, it just left me feeling… flat.
It lacked any point, listening to it too much is probably going to devalue your appreciation of the original.
(Edit - didn't mean to be quite so harsh there! smile )


Just For A Moment Subterranean Omnidelic Exotour Mix –

the original is a classic, but this version?

Beautiful.

Again, top form, thanks for putting it on the album John, and a great example of careful, thoughtful reworking, with touches of his more recent 'Quiet Man piano sounds', I wish it were all much longer, and the song has been shifted into yet another level of ambient wonder.

#37142 03/04/10 10:51 AM
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That mono mix of Shadow Man is just stunning. I prefer it to the final version, and it works as a nice bridge to TPOE too.

#37143 03/04/10 11:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Alex S:
That mono mix of Shadow Man is just stunning. I prefer it to the final version, and it works as a nice bridge to TPOE too.
Yes, its interesting, after hearing the Mono Mix I wondered if John had actually planned to redo some of the tracks on SC as he did with TPOE09 but abandoned the idea. Maybe there was a possibility that all of the reworked tracks would sound too much like they were cut from the same cloth, and he decided against any radical changes to SC in order to keep the two albums sounding different to each other.

#37144 05/07/10 03:20 PM
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I finally got this re-vamped re-issue today.

Certainly the remastering is welcome on the Shifting City album, it's gotta be about 6dB louder if nothing else!

I'm a bit confused by the two "subterranean omnidelic exotour" tracks on CD1:
"The Quiet Man" just seems to be a new mix with all the distortion and crunch taken off (most noticeable on the instrumental solo - it's totally clean and dry). Not really sure what the point of this was - the mix on the dual 'Golden Section Tour/Exotour' digipack CD of 2002 is the one with the distortion...
is the clean mix new for this 2009 release? or was it on the original 1998 CD?

Am still struggling to find the difference in the two Just For a Moments...


I love the demo of Shadow Man smile

#37145 06/24/10 10:05 AM
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Got mine yesterday off Townsend (had ordered with DNA).
Took me ages to get the plastic off and I noticed that, confusingly, both discs are labelled 'Shifting City'..
:rolleyes:

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