4AD 1995

Listen to 4AD 1995 on Spotify.

I think perhaps it makes sense to regard 1995 as the end of the iconic, classic version of 4AD. 4AD’s ends their association with The Wolfgang Press here, and that’s a group of people that had been with them (in various permutations) since 1980: The very first “proper” 4AD release was by Rema-Rema, which is half the people in The Wolfgang Press or something.

And there are none of the 80s “big hitters” in 1995. Cocteau Twins had left a few years earlier, of course, and This Mortal Coil had wound down, and Dead Can Dance released nothing this year. This leaves Throwing Muses as the only other band from the 80s to release something on 4AD this year. And it’s a wonderful album: University is up there with the very best of what they’ve done, and what they’ve done is very good indeed.

But as for the rest… oy vey.

This is the worst year in 4AD’s history.

SO FAR!

OK, the album by Red House Painters isn’t bad, but it’s not as good as any of their previous work. And newcomers Tarnation are excellent: I didn’t know I liked that kind of music until I heard that album, so it was a gateway drug of sorts. Thanks! And the Liquorice album is really good.

But… Mojave 3? Scheer? The Amps? Kendra Smith? The Lisa Gerrard solo album?

Of the 18 things 4AD released this year, three or four are essential.

4AD was by now not anything resembling cohesive, and had turned into just another indie label: Some good, some bad, and it no longer made any sense to buy everything they released because you knew that you’d love it all.

There’s still some good music to come over the next few years, though.

1995

 CAD4016
The Wolfgang Press — Funky Little Demons

Going South, 11 Years, Blood Satisfaction, Chains, Christianity, Derek The Confessor, So Long Dead, Executioner, She’s So Soft, New Glass, Fallen Not Broken, People Say

 BAD5001
The Wolfgang Press — Going South

Going South (7″ version), Going South (Country style), Going South (@440 mix), Chains (Wobble mix), 11 Years (Sabres Main Mix 2)

 CAD5002
Throwing Muses — University

Bright Yellow Gun, Start, Hazing, Shimmer, Calm Down, Calm Down, Crabtown, No Way In Hell, Surf Cowboy, That’s All You Wanted, Teller, University, Snakeface, Flood, Fever Few

 BAD5003
Belly — Now They’ll Sleep

Now They’ll Sleep, Thief, Baby’s Arm, John Dark

 CAD5004
Belly — King

Puberty, Seal My Fate, Red, Silverfish, Super-Connected, The Bees, King, Now They’ll Sleep, Untitled and Unsung, L’il Ennio, Judas My Heart

 DAD D5005
Red House Painters — Ocean Beach

Cabezon, Summer Dress, San Geronimo, Shadows, Over My Head, Red Carpet, Brockwell Park, Moments, Drop, Brockwell Part pt. 2*, Long Distance Runaround*

 BAD CD K5003
Belly — Super-Connected

Super-Connected, Spaceman, Diamond Rib Cage, Think About Your Troubles

 CAD5006
Kendra Smith — Five Ways of Disappearing

Aurelia, Bohemian Zebulon, Temporarily Lucy, In Your Head, Space Unadorned, Maggots, Drunken Boat, interlude, Dirigible, Valley of the Morning Sun, Judge Not, Get There, interlude, Saturn, Bold Marauder

 AD5007
Belly — Seal My Fate

Seal My Fate (US radio mix), Broken, Judas My Heart (live)*

 BAD CD5007
Belly — Seal My Fate

Seal My Fate, Spaceman, Diamond Rib Cage, Think About Your Troubles

 BAD D CD5007
Belly — Seal My Fate

Seal My Fate (live), White Belly (live), Untitled and Unsung (live), The Bees (live)

 12″BELLY 2
Belly — Seal My Fate

Seal My Fate (US Radio Mix), Judas Mon Coeur (rerecorded)

 CAD5008
Liquorice — Listening Cap

Trump Suit, Team Player, Keeping the Weekend Free, Drive Around, Cheap Cuts, Trump Suit Edit, Jill of All Trades, No Excuses, Breaking the Ice, Blew It

 CAD 5009 CD
Lisa Gerrard — The Mirror Pool

Violina (The Last Embrace, La Bas (Song of the Damned), Persian Love Song (The Silver Gun)|=Persian Love Song, Sanvean (I am your Shadow), The Rite, Ajhon, Glorafin, Majhnavea’s Music Box, Largo, Werd, Laurelei, Celon, Venteles, Swans, Nilleshna, Gloradin

 CAD5010
Tarnation — Gentle Creatures

Game of Broken Hearts, Halfaway to Madness, The Well, Big O Motel, Tell Me It’s Not So, Two Wrongs Won’t Make Things Right, Lonely Lights, Gentle Creatures, Listen To The Wind, The Hand, Do You Fancy Me, Yellow Birds, Burn Again, Stranger in the Mirror, It’s Not Easy

 CAD5011
Air Miami — Me. Me. Me.

I Hate Milk, World Cup Fever, Seabird, Special Angel, Afternoon Train, Dolphin Expressway, Sweet As A Candy Bar, You Sweet Little Heartbreaker, Neely, Bubble Shield, The Event Horizon, Definitely Beachy, Reprise

 BAD5012
Scheer — Schism

Sometimes, You Said, Baby Size (version), Take You Anywhere, Unlisted track

 CAD5013
Mojave 3 — Ask Me Tomorrow

Love Songs On The Radio, Sarah, Tomorrow’S Taken, Candle Song 3, You’Re Beautiful, Where Is The Love, After All, Pictures, Mercy

 BAD CD5014
Air Miami — Fuck You, Tiger

I Hate Milk (fyt), Warm Miami May, Afternoon Train (Remix #3), See-Through Plastic

 BAD5015
The Amps — Tipp City

Tipp City, Just Like A Briar, Empty Glasses (Kim’s Basement 4-track Version)

 FTWW1
Various — Facing The Wrong Way

Scheer / Take You Anywhere, Throwing Muses / Snakeface, Red House Painters / Summer Dress, Tarnation / The Well, Air Miami / You Sweet Little Heartbreaker, Mojave 3 / Love Songs on the Radio, Belly / Super-Connected, The Wolfgang Press / Christianity (Wicked Man Remix), Heidi Berry / Miracle (new version), Sanvean (I am your Shadow), Liquorice / Cheap Cuts, Kendra Smith / Valley of the Morning Sun, The Amps / Empty Glasses (Kim’s Basement 4 track version)

 CAD5016
The Amps — Pacer

Pacer, Tipp City, I Am Decided, Mom’s Drunk, Bragging Party, Hoverin’ (rerecorded), First Revival, Full on Idle, Breaking the Split Screen Barrier, Empty Glasses, She’s a Girl, Dedicated

 TAD CD5017
Kristin Hersh — The Holy Single

Jesus Christ, Amazing Grace (rerecorded), Sinkhole (rerecorded), Can The Circle Be Unbroken

This post is part of the chronological look at all 4AD releases, year by year.

*) Missing from Spotify.

July 1949: Too Late For Tears












Based on the title I thought this was gonna be a Douglas Sirk weepie. But instead it’s a very noir film noir!

This movie started off simply fabulous. Ly. Great random set-up and perfect noir performances. But things get more involved and the actors start chewing the scenery and instead of ever-increasing tension, we just get ever-increasing “er… uhm…” But the plot does have some wonderful twists.

The bluray has that over-restored look: In a quest to make the shadows #000000, they’ve dropped all the details down to black. It’s like they’ve just turned the contrast button up to 300%. It kinda suits the movie, but it’s too much.

Too Late For Tears. Byron Haskin. 1949.

Popular movies in July 1949 according to IMDB:

PosterVotesRatingMovie
123907.4She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
20917.3Too Late for Tears
8467.3Come to the Stable
26327.2In the Good Old Summertime
32347.1The Big Steal
75157.1The Fountainhead
35057.0Mighty Joe Young
5146.7The Great Gatsby
9736.6Follow Me Quietly
6556.6Scene of the Crime

This blog post is part of the Decade series.

June 1949: Kind Hearts and Coronets














Huh. Is this the first Ealing comedy I’ve watched in this blog series? I believe it is… Oh! They didn’t start until 1947, so that explains it. This is only their fifth movie, apparently.

This isn’t quite what I expected: It’s slow and witty, but it’s about a serial killer murdering his way into a title (i.e., killing all his relatives before him).

And many of them are played by Alec Guinness, which is fun.

He’s a psychopath, of course, but we root for him somehow. Some of the people he bump off are rather insufferable, but some are nice…

The sleepy performances by basically all the actors doesn’t make for an exciting movie. I mean, it’s a deliberate choice, but I don’t think it really works.

I don’t get it:

Kind Hearts and Coronets was released on 13 June 1949 in the United Kingdom, and was well received by the critics. It has continued to receive favourable reviews over the years, and in 1999 it was number six in the British Film Institute’s rating of the Top 100 British films.

I was mostly bored by this movie, I’m afraid to say.

Kind Hearts and Coronets. Robert Hamer. 1949.

Popular movies in June 1949 according to IMDB:

PosterVotesRatingMovie
286618.1Kind Hearts and Coronets
19407.4House of Strangers
17707.2Colorado Territory
7567.2King of the Rocket Men
3107.1Lost Boundaries
13307.0It Happens Every Spring
4487.0Sorrowful Jones
7576.9Lust for Gold
4586.8Any Number Can Play
7396.7The Great Sinner

This blog post is part of the Decade series.

May 1949: Africa Screams















Hey! Abbot and Costello. I haven’t seen too many of thse…

This is uncomplicated fun: A mix of physical humour, weak bon mots and general silliness. I’m smiling a lot while watching this, but I’m not actually laughing. But I can totally see an eleven-year-old me finding this to be the height of hilarity.

The bit with the cannibals has, perhaps, not aged as well.

Africa Screams. Charles Barton. 1949.

Popular movies in May 1949 according to IMDB:

PosterVotesRatingMovie
24187.4The Window
4597.2Home of the Brave
21197.1The Barkleys of Broadway
3806.8Streets of Laredo
2716.7Roughshod
6406.7Alice in Wonderland
3886.7The Lady Gambles
2406.7Manhandled
29086.5Africa Screams
2296.5Johnny Allegro

This blog post is part of the Decade series.

April 1949: The Secret Garden





















Dean Stockwell!? But he can’t possibly…

Oh, he plays the ten year old boy.

And I was thinking of Harry Dean Stanton.

ANYWAY.

This is a fascinating movie. It’s not that often you see a movie that doesn’t fit neatly into a genre category or where you have no idea where the plot is going. This is one of those rare movies.

It’s so weird.

The idea of a secret garden is a very powerful one. It’s like a Jung Bodyan archetype.

Margaret O’Brien is perfect as the snotty, entitled ex-colonial plunked into the British countryside.

The Secret Garden. Fred M. Wilcox. 1949.

Popular movies in April 1949 according to IMDB:

PosterVotesRatingMovie
26507.5Champion
19397.5The Secret Garden
9417.4The Queen of Spades
30607.2Passport to Pimlico
20147.1The Stratton Story
2377.1The Sky Dragon
4257.0Mr. Belvedere Goes to College
16747.0Flamingo Road
9306.9Ma and Pa Kettle
6306.8The Crooked Way

This blog post is part of the Decade series.