Metamatic Forums John Foxx John Foxx 'In Mysterious Ways' information request

Would anyone have reasonably high resolution scans (at least 850 x 850 pixels) of the original UK record label and front cover image of the album that they could provide me with (unfortunately, I never did get a copy of the original LP )

I've been (re-)listening to the album repeatedly since receiving The Virgin Years 1980-1985 box set and I've always had some questions about some of the tracks:

* Why was Stairway titled as such when Hiding In Plain Sight is an obvious title based upon the lyrics?
e.g. Did John initially prefer the Stairway title or was it an information/printing error at the time?

* Why was This Side Of Paradise recorded with different musicians from the rest of the album tracks?
e.g. Was it recorded before or after the other In Mysterious Ways sessions?

* Is there a longer (than 2':14") version of Enter The Angel II at all (admittedly, a stretch as far as an answerable question goes) ... because it's just so bloody good and seems to end all too soon!

* Why have the two remastered CD editions had the playing sequence of the tracks resorted?
e.g. Was this John's personal choice and, if so, was an explanation provided as to why it was changed for each of the two releases (just out of curiosity)?


Thanks for any help ...

Regards,

Rod.

Hi Rodney.

Interesting to hear your thoughts and questions on this album.It's an album that disappointed me at the time of it's release and still does. There are some excellent songs on there but it lacks cohesion as a whole. There are too many different styles. It sounds like John was pulling in so many different directions at the time,not sure which way to go next. It also sounds like an album recorded over a long period of time with gaps in between. And perhaps it was.

I've always been perplexed by the Stairway/Hiding In Plain Sight titling. The later title makes sense with regard the lyrics but I do like the original title and as it's been around so long why change it now? For me the same goes with the album sequence and the swapping of tracks.

I too love Enter The Angel II. I would have liked this track to have gone on longer.I guess if there had been a longer version of this it would have been included in the 2 disc remastered edition of the album.

For me This Side Of Paradise sounds so different from the rest of the album. As you've said,because of the use of different musicians. I think Stairway/Hiding In Plain Sight may have been recorded by the same line up,as it has a similar feel.I don't know if you're aware but this is the same line up used on John's live tour of '83. In late '84 John was interviewed in a music magazine. If my memory is correct John said that he retained the live line up from the tour because he wanted to record some tracks with a more band sound and in a more spontaneous way. Perhaps This Side Of Paradise and Stairway/Hiding In Plain Sight are products of these sessions. I think these tracks sound very much like Sparkle In The Rain era Simple Minds.A band that John has professed to liking.

Sorry I can't help with the cover scans. I don't have a vinyl copy of the album anymore.

Andy

Hi Rod. I'd be happy to scan the cover and label for you. Would you like to PM me your email address?

By reading back through older threads and postings, I've discovered a couple of comments by Martin 'Birdsong' and young Rob:


Are you able to elaborate on this at all, Martin? Presumably, you have information obtained from somewhere to suggest that Enter The Angel II was actually composed/recorded first (... interesting!)?


I guess that pretty much confirms that it was a review by John himself; to change the title (the original title, perhaps?) rather than a misinformation or printing error.


Thanks very much for your post, Andy. Yes, I guess it would make sense that This Side Of Paradise was recorded earlier than the other album material and utilised the musicians from The Golden Section tour, and possibly Hiding In Plain Sight/Stairway as well, given the similarities in its sound.

I actually really like This Side Of Paradise and I always thought it made an interesting deviation from the other album tracks. While certainly Spin Away is more consistent with what is widely regarded as the In Mysterious Ways style or sound, the harder band/rock sound of This Side Of Paradise and Hiding In Plain Sight/Stairway are certainly indicators of where John may have been heading initially with his intentions for this album.


Thanks very much to 'luskentyre' for your very generous assistance with the album artwork scans ... very much appreciated.


Oh, and just a late edit to my initial posting, above ... there are, of course, three different tracklistings for the album since the original release now that The Virgin Years 1980-1985 box set release of the album also includes an altered tracklisting. I just think it'd be interesting to better understand the rationale behind this ... trying to improve the flow of the material, perhaps, given the inclusion of Spin Away and removal of This Side Of Paradise?


Cheers,

Rod.

Rodney, there's another old thread from about the time of the IMW reissue that covers some of the points you raise. Although the thread is about a lost song from the IMW era, Birdsong and YourShadow's posts on page 2 of the thread explain how "This Side Of Paradise" came to be on an album it didn't really fit in with. Link below;

http://www.metamatic.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/30638/2

Thank you very much for the link 'Herbert' ... unfortunately, pre-searching with the best intentions of not asking questions long-since answered doesn't always work out as planned, so I really do appreciate finding answers to these types of questions.

So, Hiding In Plain Sight/Stairway is indeed one of those earlier recordings with the different band line-up (as suspected ... as well as And The Sky and the 'alternative versions' subsequently released on the 2CD and box set formats). Tremendous ... I really enjoy reading this historically detailed information. It all adds to the 'Foxxepedia' data library.

Many thanks ...

Your Shadow - I always thought that "Stairway" was a very successful attempt by John of trying the Simple Minds sound out. Since I spent all of 1984 listening repeatedly to "Sparkle In The Rain," this was immediate to me. I thought it was better than anything Simple Minds did for a good decade or more afterward. It helped that in Robin Simon, he had an even better guitarist at his disposal. As for "This Side Of Paradise," I also found it to be a good break in the Van Morrison vibe of the album. At the time, I told a friend that it should have been the third single but...

During the course of my ongoing conversations with Paul and Rob Simon, it becomes apparent that many of the 'rockier' tracks from the IMW period were recorded with a full band live in the studio.
This includes Hiding In Plain Sight, This Side Of Paradise, And The Sky.

Typically Foxx then recorded one or two songs on his own (which I suspect included the reprise of Enter the Angel) and started to move in a more 'melodic' direction, leaving the earlier recordings behind.

Bearing in mind also that he struggled to find significant periods of recording time in the Garden Studio for his own material and that he was not convinced of exactly what he wanted from IMW in the first place, it is not surprising that there are a mash-up of styles going on.

I will look back through my interviews to find out more about Enter The Angel II

There is likely to have been some input from Steve Malins in respect of the CD running order because he is very good at that kind of thing in particular. If Foxx wanted to revisit that, Steve's advice would (probably) have been sought and considered.