THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS

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Release date and tracklist

1991
IT CS Old Europa Cafe

Side A

1. Love Puppets
2. Curious Guy
3. Jewel In The Crown
4. Premonition 16
5. Echo Police
6. I’m The Way, The Truth, The Light

Side B

1. Poppy Day
2. The Dairy
3. Flowers For The Silverman
4. The Jungle
5. The Hill
6. The Heretic

Credits

• Edward Ka-Spel – vocals
• Phil Harmonix – synthesizers
• Patrick Wright – violin
• Stret Majest Alarme – guitar
• Jason Salmon – bass guitar
• Hanz Myre – mix electronic

Notes

Recorded 15.2.1987 in Torino, Italy.  This release was first released as a bootleg, but later sanctioned by the LPDs.

THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS

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Release date and tracklist

1992
BE/US LP/CS Play It Again Sam BIAS225

BE/US CD Play It Again Sam BIAS225

2001
US CD Cacciocavallo CAD22
US CD Soleilmoon 04258
***
2006
PL CD Big Blue  SPVL-0052

1. Zero Zero
2. Guilty Man
3. Ghosts Of Unborn Children – [MP3]
4. City Of Needles
5. Stitching Time
6. Twilight Hour
7. The Key To Heaven
8. Laughing Guest
9. Prague Spring – [MP3]
10. Leper Colony – [MP3]

29 May 2012
NL Remastered MP3 self-released on Bandcamp

1. Zero Zero
2. Guilty Man / Ghosts Of Unborn Children – [MP3]*
3. City Of Needles
4. Stitching Time / Twilight Hour*
5. The Key To Heaven
6. Laughing Guest
7. Prague Spring – [MP3]
8. Leper Colony – [MP3]

* tracks are combined to preserve cross-fades

***

22 June 2018

US CD/LP Metropolis Records

CD

1. Zero Zero
2. Guilty Man – Ghosts Of Unborn Children
3. City Of Needles
4. Stitching Time – Twilight Hour
5. The Key To Heaven
6. Laughing Guest
7. Prague Spring
8. Leper Colony
9. Stitching Time First Version

LP

DISC 1

1. Zero Zero
2. Guilty Man – Ghosts Of Unborn Children
3. City Of Needles
4. Stitching Time – Twilight Hour

DISC 2

1. The Key To Heaven
2. Laughing Guest
3. Prague Spring
4. Leper Colony
5. Stitching Time First Version (Instrumental)
6. A Dead Sea Scroll

Credits

• Edward Ka-Spel– voice, keyboards
• The Silverman– Keyboards, devices, effects, percussion
• Niels van Hoornblower- Saxophone, flute, electric wind instruments
• Martijn de Kleer- Guitars, drums
• Ryan Moore- Bass, drums, percussion
• Vincent Hoedt- Engineer
• Raymond Steeg (X-Ray Alley)- Engineer
• Patrick Q-Wright- guest violin and viola

Notes

from Bandcamp:
Shadow Weaver Parts 1 & 2 were recorded over the space of a year with a vault full of extra material in the can and sessions with special guests Steven Stapleton (Nurse With Wound) and former Dot Patrick Q.Paganini. There was even one impromptu session with Charles Hayward who delivered a brilliant solo show in The Dots’ home town.

This remaster was made in May 2012.

Press Release

Sometimes the SHADOW WEAVER even doubts his own existence.THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS’ twelfth album, SHADOW WEAVER, is part one of a two-part series which explores the psychic inner world of the album’s central character – any resemblance to Camus’ “Nausea” is purely unintentional. EDWARD KA-SPEL’S singular capacity to trace the mystical journey of the SHADOW WEAVER is, as always, matched perfectly by the DOTS’ mastery of psychedelic sound designs.  For over a decade the DOTS have continued to quietly evolve and reinvent themselves.

Ten years ago, they relocated from London’s East End to the liberal confines of Amsterdam where the lineup continually changes depending on each record’s particular focus. On SHADOW WEAVER the DOTS are a five piece: THE SILVERMAN plays keyboards, NIELS VAN HOORNBLOWER blows horns, MARTIJN DE KLEER plays guitar, RYAN MOORE handles the bass duties and the DOTS’ heart and spirit EDWARD KA-SPEL (The Prophet Qa-Sepel) sings and plays keyboards. Over time the DOTS have moved further away from their electronic-based origin as organic instruments knit rich yet fragile tapestry that furthers KA-SPEL’S vision of THE TERMINAL KALEIDOSCOPE and comes at a time when the band’s primary influences — Can, Faust, Neu and Meddle-era Pink Floyd — are finding a new audience of both musicians and fans.

Metropolis Records- 2018:
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS’ classic Shadow Weaver is now presented in a 2018 Remasted & Expanded version. Reflecting the DOTS moving away from their electronic-based origin, organic instruments knit rich yet fragile tapestry throughout. Still as vital & relevant as band’s primary influences — Can, Faust, Neu & Meddle-era Pink Floyd, Shadow Weaver shows the bands mastery of psychedelic sound designs.

Review

Led by the mind and voice of Edward Ka-Spel (who released a solo record on Third Mind/Emergo earlier this year), the Dots never stagnate with one idea or one sound, and even on their 12th record, the band evolves like a tributary flowing into a river that contributes to the sea. The first half of a two-pad series, Shadow Weaver is the most traditionally instrumentated record the Dots have made, with horns, bass, guitar, etc. as the driving force pushing the music down a road of synthesizer atmospheres. There is slow but constant movement, the album drifting to ponder the pretty things as well as the horrid. Forever esoteric, the Dots deal with many misconceptions; many people classify the band as new wave or new age, but the Dots are not so easily definable. This record captures every part of psychedelia: the primitive cult power of Psychic TV, the sex of Funkadelic, the rockadelic of Can and King Crimson, and the atmospheric of Pink Floyd. Then they add the ethnic touches from the Renaissance and Middle East, softly weaving it together with an inconceivable strangeness, making for a bewitching record. – Christina Zafiris, CMJ

Lyrics

Zero Zero

We checked out all the prophecies. We studied fat philosophies. We made a graph… We chanted ooooommmmm “ommni Padhni Disney Iceman Acme leary Marx Illuminatus Christus Clarke…” We’d watch for saucers in the dark. We’d hunt lost arks; tried splitting quarks – when all we wanted was a Mark. Just a something proving something’s out there. Are you listening? No chance.

There never is a way without a why. Do we return after we die? Is life a circle? Are we hurtled headfirst into space? Will we wind up as the bunch of grapes that makes the wine… that Christ exchanged for water. Are we blood? Are we lime? Do you live? We need a sign – is anybody there? Are you listening?

And still the statues cry, the queen bee flies… we try our damndest to explain the reasons why and how and when and where… we’re getting nowhere. No doors deep inside this corridor of space and time… if space and time exist. Oh we’ll persist, if we exist. Are you listening?

Guilty man

All wired up with no-one to kick but myself in a cell and an ape with a stick who’s bigger than me and complains that he’s sick of my story. They spy on me. They spike my tea… Deny my pleas for a shower, a shave. I’m a shambles, a slave. They’re digging my grave. There’s no name on… the blame’s on. I’m guilty. Guilty man’s got loaded dice. Guilty man can’t pay the price. Guilty man, he’s got no friends. Guilty man, it never ever ends. But the voice in the wall says it’s in my head yet there’s bars on the windows. I’m tied to the bed. When the clock hammers 12 on All Sufferer’s Night, hungry deathbirds from Hell have a feast on my eyes. I roll boulders up mountains. I hang on a cross – the original sinner, I’m counting the cost. Come on, bill me! I’m guilty.

Ghosts of Unborn Children

Did you hear me crying in the night that lasts forever? Did you see me reaching out from Never Never Land? The kingdom of the blind, the damned; a bitter man; an also-ran. The ghosts of unborn children stretch their hands and clutch at nothing… Preconceived. Part of the plan that makes no sense and casts no shadow, no reflection in your mirror. Hiding right beneath your eyes… but so difficult to find, you gave up long before you started. What I’d give to be alive for just one second…

City of Needles (transcribed by Alan Ezust)

[I made my best guess for some of them – it’s open to revision]

resplendant on my bed of nails with laser light, my peep show i can see the serpent lady peeping through my perforations

cold as knives, revolving on five icepicks clockwise sliced hey, sailor, come on by and sit in my cocoon sixteen minutes on rotorblades a simulation swim-in pool bloody cracks your invention, their pursuasion, my perversion

take a light speed spin down headless hole and feel the deprivation ???? red-hot pokers in the eyes yet we guarantee you’ll all survive

you’ll meet your fear, and see it’s bigger, so much bigger than you feared you’ll need your fear, and see it’s bigger, so much bigger than you feared you’ll feed your fear, and see it’s bigger, so much bigger than you feared

Stitching Time

I shaved off my hair cos I found it amusing, I faked my despair in the beautiful ruins. I wailed at the wall, tossed a coin in the fountain – now dry as the sand on a dead man’s bones. High dive from a cloud, take a roll down a mountain. I rise in a shroud and I sleep when I’m counting. I shed my disguise when there’s nobody looking. The whites of your eyes are all mine alone. And I’m written in stone. I’m the dust on your carpet. A guest in your home because that’s where the heart is. Try and fly on the wind, though you’ll find I’m the fastest. I’m always let in, but I dine alone. Rest assured I’ll survive though I’ll thrive on your danger. I’ll arrive as your friend but I’ll leave as the stranger. I’m open for bribes, in the end I will wager you’ve nothing to buy but some time alone. The rules of the game are all mine for the making. You’ll cheat all the same but you’re mine for the taking. There’s no special favours and no-one forsaken. I live for you all, but I’ll die alone.

Twilight Hour

Slave-chained, half-naked, along for the ride. Catching flies with my eyes shut, my mouth’s open wide. But I curse as the bugs bite, I spit with the tide – like to fly to the next world – it’s just out of sight. I’m sick of the same scene, I’m tired of this road. Howling oaths at the cruel sea that creeps ’round my toes and I’m thinking of you, my regret overflows; but sleep softly my dear one cos you’ll never know. I swear by the rings round the admiral’s eyes this albatross stings like a sword in my side. And this boat’s going to sink and we’re all gonna die… But sleep softly my dear one, I’ll keep it inside.

The Key To Heaven

They recycled all the cripples; resurrected all the dead. In a technicolour sundown, they had ’em standing on their heads. Now they’re propping up our front line, but behind them is a plague. Maybe the whole shit finished months ago, but they just forgot to say… And I’m proud to say I made it – sweet 16 and I’d like to share a glass, but this rot wine turns my inside out and I can’t drink it through this mask… You remember how it started – all the liberation stuff; how the man would tip his beret – he was really one of us. My milk turned to Mecca, my face fell to the floor. I think I’ve found the key to Heaven, but I cannot find the door.

Laughing Guest

I’m out of space; I can’t see for the people. Squashed in a case where we’re all created equal. Somewhere they’re laughing, they’re planning the sequel… They come from the stars, then they all went home.

Leper Colony

Does my eye offend you? Should I roll it down the hill… Should I wear an iron mask or warn you with a bell? In quarantine, I stay unseen – I still know how to feel. And though you never touch me, I am sure nothing ever touches you. You’ve no need to defend your actions I can understand. My mirror wept “surrender”, so I threw in both my hands, before I just conceded I can’t figure in your plans. Though I’ll never touch you, you’ll be sure nothing ever touches me. I shrivel when the sun comes out, I cry beneath the moon. You’ll find me in a long lost alley, hiding in my “room”. But don’t you dare come near me cos I don’t know what I’ll do… If someone ever touched me, maybe I could just consider touching you…

THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS

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Release date and tracklist

1993
BE/US LP/CS Play It Again Sam BIAS236

side a

1. Joey The Canary – [MP3]
2. Kingdom Of The Flies – [MP3]
3. Encore Une Fois – [MP3]
4. Wildlife Estate – [MP3]

side b

1. Pavane – [MP3]
2. On The Boards – [MP3]
3. We Bring The Day – [MP3a] – [MP3b]

***

1993
BE/US CD Play It Again Sam BIAS236

2002
US CD Cacciocavallo CAD23
PL CD Big Blue L-0122 (different cover)

1. Joey The Canary – [MP3]
2. Kingdom Of The Flies – [MP3]
3. Encore Une Fois – [MP3]
4. Wildlife Estate – [MP3]
5. Pavane – [MP3]
6. Window On The World – [MP3]
7. On The Boards – [MP3]
8. We Bring The Day – [MP3a] – [MP3b]
9. Paris 4AM – [MP3]

03 June 2012
NL Remastered MP3 self-released on Bandcamp

1. Joey The Canary – [MP3]
2. Kingdom Of The Flies – [MP3]
3. Encore Une Fois – [MP3] / Wildlife Estate – [MP3]*
4. Pavane – [MP3]
5. Window On The World – [MP3]
6. On The Boards – [MP3]
7. We Bring The Day – [MP3a] – [MP3b]
8. Paris 4AM – [MP3]

*A single file because these two tracks cross-fade.

 Credits

• The Prophet Qa’Sepel – vox inhumana, keyboards
• Ryan Moore – bass guitar, acoustic guitar
• Martijn de Kleer- guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, drums
• Niels van Hoornblower – saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute
• The Silverman – keyboards, exotic devices
• Patrick Q-Wright – violin, viola
• Steven Stapleton – more exotic devices

produced by Steven Stapleton and The Pink Dots
engineered by Vincent Hoedt, X-ray Alley and The Pink Dots
cover by Babs Santini

Notes

Catalog number is given as “BIAS 236 CD” on the spine, “BIAS 236-2” on the back, and “BLAS 236 CD” on the disc. Marketed and distributed by Caroline Records, Inc.

The Big Blue release booklet contains lyrics in English and Polish. Cover artwork by Zdzisław Beksiński.

From Bandcamp:
“Malachai” is the second half of the “Shadow Weaver” project, recorded simultaneously over the course of a year with the aforementioned album. Special guest for this one was Steve Stapleton who also designed the wonderful cover. A perennial Dots’ favourite though not for the faint-hearted.

Review

Throughout its prolific and mythic career, the Legendary Pink Dots have created some of the most imaginative and twisted sounds ever recorded. While other sonic sculptors such as Spacemen 3 and Loop (both defunct) have produced some compelling work, this band’s basic sound is derived from a simpler three chord progression. LPD works within a self-styled structure-a structure whose bounds are dictated only by the group. Malachai (Shadow Weaver Part 2) finds the band further pushing the outer limits of the galaxy, one filled with delicate soundscapes, which are shockingly interrupted by jagged sax wails and keyboard analog waves, as on “Window On The World.” The poetic trip is still this band’s specialty, though, and the band has truly outdone itself on the beautifully lush epic “We Bring The Day.” Employing everything from full string arrangements to carnival wurlitzers, the song’s kaleidoscopic effect makes acid redundant. Head shaman, the Prophet Qa’Sepel (a k a Edward Ka-Spel), provides the narrative throughout the journey, offering enlightenment and guidance to a world on the edge. Sink to Beta with: “Kingdom Of The Flies” and “Encore Une Fois.” – Jeff Dandurand, CMJ

Lyrics

Joey the Canary

Tossed and scrambled in a cage some sixteen miles below. I attempted sending codes, but only ghosts reply, and it’s cramped in here. Though the freezer’s packed with a hundred crates of beer, it won’t wash away my tears, my fear. Considered writing novels. I thought hard about this career, solved a dozen famous mysteries, but still I can’t be clear if there is anybody up there, perhaps it’s been a year. Is there still anybody up there? No fear. Is there anybody up there, was you ever there at all?(x4)

Kingdom of the Flies

Who will pull the trigger, send the whole thing up in flames? Who is juggling figures, plans the last move of the game? Now we’re coughing blood, the desert winds erupt, the power’s cut, our dream has been corrupted. Maybe we never dreamed enough. Count to five and shut your eyes, you’ll find that everything’s still there, a little slower, less alive, and I’ve got lizards in my hair. Still I chew my daily bread, I cannot let go of my thread, you still scream inside my head. All the things I should have said, never said, never say. And the cat ripped out my tongue, the vulture swooped and stole my eyes. I’m scavengin crumbs in the Kingdom of the Flies. Fly me.(x5)

Encore Une Fois

The sun beats down, the world spins ’round, and repeat myself again. There’s a loop inside my brain. I never learn, I never gain, I only turn, I stay the same, repeat myself again, repeat myself again. It’s so absurd, it’s quite insane, nothing grows, nothing’s changed, nothing grows, nothing’s changed, nothing grows, nothing’s changed, repeat myself again, repeat myself again. There’s a loop inside my brain. I never learn, I never gain, I only turn, I stay the same, repeat myself again, repeat myself again, repeat myself again, repeat myself again, repeat myself again, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again, repeat myself again, repeat myself again. ………….. There’s a loop inside my brain. I never learn, I never gain, I only turn, I stay the same. It’s so absurd, it’s quite insane, repeat myself again. Nothing grows, nothing’s changed, nothing grows, nothing’s changed, I only turn, I stay the same, I never learn, I never gain. Repeat myself again, repeat myself again, repeat myself again. The sun beats down, I only turn, I stay the same, it’s quite insane, it’s so absurd, the loop inside my … brain, my brain, my brain, myself again, myself my brain, myself again, myself again, my brain myself, myself again, repeat, repeat, repeat myself again……..{etc.}

Wildlife Estate

Holed up in the underground with nothing but the soundtrack of our shouting neighbors tossing favors, screaming in the name of love that’s bleeding, that’s gone baaad. Paint is peeling, baby’s squealing, Rover’s leaving sweet surprises in the places that we never clean, it’s sad. And the phone, it’s always ringing, when we’re eating, when we’re sleeping. Oh, but what the hell? The central heating leaks. Man the lifeboats, ring the bell. It’s spring time time. They cleared the shelf. Shit’s falling down the chute. We’re sitting here, we’re sniping scavengers that swarm around the loot. The seven forty kamikaze kitties swooping past our window. Look at that caveman go go go.(x6)

Pavane (Instrumental)

Window on the World

(Behold a human brain. What wonders lie within?) Cable kings got satin swings, got radiation, save-us thing, got fingers, news at ten, those faces fear temptation, over rainbows, mambo, Tower of Babel, running lead, exploding heads, oh, the naked and the dead, and sometimes both, soft focus, Asterisking, you see cables pumping sperm for all the family, one horizontal sucking on their full frontal lobes. The psycho shot o’er the cuckoo’s nest, electric eyes in blue-light haloes, burst effects, your window on the world, shot down chain rocks, smoke alarm, yeah dial a six pack, sink back, fold your arms, meet Jesus, suffer little children, peace on earth, we’re watching Scuds and blood rain down, wiseguy rabbits breeding, bleeding, dies for us a hundred times a day. Exclusive here on CNN, the resurrection in slow motion, I can feel those holes, they got the anti-Christ got the horsemen, saturating (stiff?) monopolize, the whole world dies before your eyes, take that. Zap!

On the Boards

Thursday was a good day. He’d be turning up at nine, he’d be turning down the lights, he’d be breaking out the wine. Made it whoopee on the settee, shared a candle, split a line. Made it happy in the chandeliers. Mind-mind-mind-link. I think we really could get on together. Mind-mind-mind-link. My planetary choo-choo girl, you got me in a superwhirl. I’d climb out to the Milky Way. Mind-mind-mind-link Take it away brothers.

We Bring the Day

We bring the day, so cease your lonely mourning. The shadows shrink away and leave without a warning, gone in the blink of an eye, gone with the wind that subsides. We bring life. We fill the deathly silence. One thousand butterflies are dancing on the pylons. Seek and you’ll find. We guard you from the borders. When all your hope runs dry, we’ll sprinkle holy water. Pulling the strings from above and all because we love you. We love you. We love you. We love you (despite you).

Paris 4AM (Instrumental)

Voices
Snoring

THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS

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Release date and tracklist

1994
AT VHS LPD-834

1. Siren

Credits

• The Silver Man – keyboards & devices
• Ryan Moore – electric bass, fretless bass, acoustic bass, drums
• Martijn de Kleer – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, tympani
• Prophet Qa’Sepel – vox, keyboards, destroyed lyre
• Niels van Hoornblower – saxophones, clarinet, flute
• Raymond Steeg – production

Notes

This very limited release (99 VHS copies) documents the Pink Dots’ only serious attempt at a video clip with the song “Siren”. On a budget of nothing, LPDs’ long term friend Klaus pulled together a professional team to shoot the clip in the space of a few hours, and the result is a little bizarre but not without charm. However, with a dose of full frontal nudity and the band dressed as monks, MTV passed on it.
Some copies came with a handmade insert.
Probably this clip will appear as part of a DVD release in the future.

THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS / BIG CITY ORCHESTRA

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Release date and tracklist

1994
US cassette Ubuibi

Side A- Bedgeceityookastraw

1. Introduction
2. Kaosyxs
3. Seven
4. Distraction
5. Focus
6. Withdrawal
7. Release

Side B- Legendary Pink Dots

1. The Politics of Excess

Credits

Side A-

• Voice – Alan Herrick, Ch.Mowimy, Eric Hausmann, Frans de Waard, Miss Bobby, Peter Duimelinks, Robin James
• Performer – Das, Robo, Your Host Bobby
• Featuring [Background Music] – Cliff Neighbors, Rob Wortman

Side B-

• Performers – Edward Ka-Spel, Phil Knight

Layout, Design – Das
Text By [Booklet] – A Beltane, Anon., Barbara, Das, Drew Dobbs, Jeanette, Laurence Kopel, Mike Dringenberg, Molly, Ogdakini, Ogdemon, Ophir (3), Rob Wortman, T-Bone Juju, Tryst Stuffing Team

Notes

60 minute split cassette with Big City Orchestra, limited to 200 copies.
This track (which was not titled by the Dots) is actually a mix of old LPD material into something very different.
Both LPD and BCO produced two different mixes of their material for this release, and versions were then mixed, meaning there are 4 different editions of this release
Packaged with a magazine, toys, stickers, etc. (booklet pdf)

From the booklet :
“The Legendary Pink Dots side of the cassette is entitled “The Politics Of Excess”. It contains Edward’s 8-track cut-up of many, many old Dot songs, along with Phil’s manipulated samples from the eight track. This was mixed live 11/92 in their attic in Gendt. Having had so much fun on the first mix, a second attempt was made. These were both so lovely and quite different (though it uses the same material), that I could not choose which to use for Tryst, so we do the most confusing option and use both. Half of the Tryst will have Mix One and half will be Mix Two / (…) Since the Pink Dots got to do two mixes, so have BCO”.

THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS

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Release date and tracklist

1994
BE CD Play It Again Sam BIAS280
US CD Soleilmoon SOL30 (different cover)

23 June 2012
NL Remastered MP3 self-released on Bandcamp

1. Madame Guillotine – [MP3]
2. On Another Shore – [MP3]
3. Softly Softly – [MP3]
4. Crumbs On The Carpet – [MP3]
5. Hotel Z – [MP3]
6. Oasis Malade – [MP3]
7. A Crack In Melancholy Time – [MP3]
8. Siren – [MP3]
9. The Angel Trail – [MP3]
10. Nine Shades To The Circle – [MP3]
11. A Terra Firma Welcome – [MP3]
    Find a Bin to Put it In

***
2003
CA LPx2 Flesh Eating Ants FEA05

side a

1. Madame Guillotine – [MP3]
2. On Another Shore – [MP3]
3. Softly Softly – [MP3]
4. Crumbs On The Carpet – [MP3]

side b

1. Hotel Z – [MP3]
2. Oasis Malade – [MP3]
3. A Crack In Melancholy Time – [MP3]
4. Siren – [MP3]
5. The Angel Trail – [MP3]

side c

1. Nine Shades To The Circle – [MP3]
2. A Terra Firma Welcome – [MP3]
3. Find a Bin to Put it In (extended)

side d

1. The Uncanny 18th Shade

Credits

• The Silver Man – keyboards & devices
• Ryan Moore – electric bass, fretless bass, acoustic bass, drums
• Martijn de Kleer – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, tympani
• Prophet Qa’Sepel – vox, keyboards, destroyed lyre
• Niels van Hoornblower – saxophones, clarinet, flute
• Cevin Key – drums
• Raymond Steeg – production

Notes

CD:
At the end of “A Terra Firma Welcome” is a brief period of silence (0:42), followed by an unlisted track called “Find A Bin To Put It In”. This unlisted track appears in extended form (still unlisted) on 9 Lives To Wonder (Flesh Eating Ants, 2003). Tracks 11.1 and 11.2 below appear as a single track on the CD, with a combined length of 5:17.

NITITUPOTNIBADNIF

LP:
15 deluxe test pressings of the LP version exist. Given away as gifts to close friends of Flesh Eating Ants Records, they each feature two unique alternate covers based on the original image.
The test pressings are pressed on 220 gram black vinyl.

Bandcamp:
With spiritual brother Cevin Key onboard, this album features the same line-up as Tear Garden’s “To be an Angel Blind”. A landmark, as dreamy as it gets.  1994 and The Dots’ last album for PIAS.
Of all the Dots’ remasters, this may be the best, due in no small part to Raymond’s masterful mixing.
Cevin captured the session on film and a DVD will be made available in the Autumn (2012).
Elke P. designed the cover…

Reviews

Good mid-’90’s Legendary Pink Dots release. More mellow and laid back than their more recent titles, but still very decent. Best described as neo-psychedelic. Seen them play small clubs twice now. You can never tell what ‘deep album tracks’ they just might play on any given U.S. tour. Tracks here I was somewhat impressed the most with were “Madame Guillotine”, the hypnotic “Oasis Malade”, the ten-minute “Nine Shades To The Circle” and “Terra Firma Welcome”. Always good to check out one of many, {many} LPD discs that you haven’t heard yet. -Mike Reed

***

This album is a particularily good “summary work” of the legendary pink dots’ style before they moved onto their present style. Soft, melodic, and very spacy, this would be a great disc to get introduced the dots, especially if you’re into the earlier works of pink floyd. If you’re familiar with the Dots’ other stuff, this is along similar lines as The Maria Dimension and The Shadow Weaver part one.

***

Despite being almost totally unknown in America, the Legendary Pink Dots have been able to sustain an unbelieveably prolific career from their base in the Netherlands. Since Chemical Playschool in 1981, the group have released albums on a regular (almost annual) basis — and this in addition to various EPs, solo projects, and collaborations with cEvin Key (ex-Skinny Puppy) as The Tear Garden (whose Last Man To Fly album is discussed on the Tentative Reviews web site).

While their early works were strongly rooted in Euro-pop stylings, the Pink Dots eventually developed their sound into a unique form of modern psychedelia — combining Floyd-esque sonics (including more than a few blatant PF references) with some truly disturbed childlike/apocalyptic lyrics, frequently dwelling on space-related themes. Interestingly, these themes are frequently delivered in a somewhat detached manner (which might, come to think of it, account for the group’s staying power). Perhaps any country which is fairly lenient towards casual drug use is bound to produce casual psychedelia. It’s difficult to say. But whatever their origins, the LPD have managed to come up with some truly intriguing music within the space of their careers.

Some would argue that the LPD hit their “peak” with Asylum in 1985. Perhaps. But even a random purchase of any material released since that time is bound to yield a decent return. And, while it’s arguable that some Pink Dots releases have been “formulaic” in recent years, the boys are usually able to come up with enough new twists to keep things interesting.

Which isn’t to say that every song is a perfect gem. Some of the tracks on Nine Lives To Wonder (1995) are clearly less inspired than others, and there are times (here and elsewhere) where the eclecticism seems a tad forced. But even the lower points on the album aren’t all that low. While NLtW may not be the highest water mark in the LPD catalogue, it’s still a very good album, and a worthwhile purchase for progressive fans with a psychedelic bent.

The album commences, not surprisingly, with heavy apocalyptic overtones, as the saga of “Madame Guillotine” is brought forward — to judge from the lyrics, this figure seems to be power of cosmic destruction, forever trying to to remove the blood from her soiled hands (Kali meets Lady MacBeth?). The music is both strongly electronic and profoundly spacious, with older-sounding synthesizers matching with saxophones towards the end to a interesting (and very musical) effect. The shift in lyrics from personal to global occurs at about mid-song, with Ka’spel’s invocation of the famous “when they rounded up the […]” passage from holocaust times. This isn’t a particularly new direction for the Pink Dots, but it starts the album off on a strong enough note.

“On Another Shore” is an extremely background-sounding number, with all of the instruments (and, to a certain extent, the voice) mixed rather low — this eventually leads to a somewhat trancelike effect by song’s end. The bass and drum-brushes set the restrained tone of the song from the beginning; interestingly, the only instrument which breaks through this mix is the flute. The lyrics are a paean to a mysterious lost companion, who has apparently left the protagonist in isolation — the flutes might suggest an allusion to ancient Greece, but this could just as easily involve themes of alien visitation — lines like “The good ship sails away forever” might suggest the latter rather than the former. Not quite as well-crafted as the first track, this is still extremely good.

The album undergoes a sudden shift with “Softly Softly”, an odd blend of late-1960s Brit-pop (in the music) and vague psychedelic hints (in the lyrics). The mix is much crisper than before (which is doubly odd given the presence of a Skinny Puppy member on drums), and the flute once again receives a strong role. Short, articulate and non-essential, this may be the perfect case study of a “minor album track”.

“Crumbs On The Carpet” sees the Pink Dots revising one of their previous jokes, and telling the story of a troupe of pathologically deranged diners unable to satiate their all-consuming appetites (the “monkey brains” section is taken directly from an earlier EP track). The electronic effects (sounding suspiciously like a video game sample) come to the foreground again, thus leading to a truly odd beats’n’horns segment about halfway through. This isn’t the strongest number the Pink Dots have ever come up with, although the weirdness does have a certain charm of its own.

Continuing the theme of sudden mood shifts, “Hotel Z” is a detailed depiction of a decadent, regal figure literally fading away in his isolation (the most obvious implication of the title would be to suggest that this theme refers to a famous musician overdosing in isolation, but the specific interpretation is left somewhat open). Sung from the perspective of the tragic hero (with a dark, acoustic backing which shifts from guitar to piano), this decline is extremely well-presented. Of note is a keyboard “solo” which harkens directly back to early Pink Floyd without quite constituting a “rip-off” per se.

“Oasis Malade” is another unusual number, with Ka’Spel narrating an encounter with an long-lost beloved, who explains that she left him to explore the pyramids in Belgium (eventually returning when she discovered that there were none). After offering him a drink of tea from a plastic cup, she leaves again. It isn’t entirely clear if this is meant to be humourous or tragic — the confessional recounting of the encounter seems to reveal the character limitations of the protagonist as much as the absurdity of the tale. The music, of course, is dark and ambient throughout.

The group returns to electronic music again with “A Crack In Melancholy Time” (amusingly, the drum beat seems to be acoustic). This song features an appearance of environmentalist-based lyrics, which have never been Ka’Spel’s strongest point (see alsoThe Crushed Velvet Apocalypse for further examples) — the unironic nature of such themes doesn’t really suit him terribly well, though it must be admitted that his shift from the general to the personal in mid-song improves the general nature of the song. While a good number, this simply doesn’t rate with the best material on the album. An extended, pulsating instrumental concludes the track.

“Siren” begins with something of a classical flavour (admittedly not terribly complex, though), and quickly develops into a detailed/repetitive depiction of a group of sailors approaching the forbidden beauty of the titular creatures. In terms of both lyrics and music, some form of destruction always seems to lurk around the corner, never quite emerging — the thin line of beauty is put forward instead (including a “sail to me” chant, which lasts for a fair degree of time). A rather background- ish keyboard lead emerges as the track reaches its end.

And this leads to the brief “The Angel Trail”, a curious number featuring a “wavy”, almost Hawaiian-sounding guitar line merging with naive cloudland lyrics in an obvious parody of peacenik love songs. A bit on the short side (as one might expect from the theme), this is still a fairly clever venture.

The masterpiece of the album is “Nine Shades To The Circle”, a truly twisted number involving more sonic manipulation than any other track here, and a Burroughs-esque description of a morning departure for an urgent journey by train (featuring several different outcomes, all of which have the same general musical background). After an electro- acoustic introduction of sorts (presumably capturing the atmosphere of the station at dawn), the first variation on the lyrical theme emerges: an obsessed figure’s thoughts grow gradually more disturbed as he enters the station (a line about “Evil Santa punish[ing] the bad boys” comes out of nowhere), and eventually enters state of advanced paranoia in the middle of the station (allowing Ka’Spel to incorporate one of his more interesting vocal effects into the work, while the music enters a rather chaotic state). In subsequent lyrical themes, the story concludes with (i) a junkie stabbing the protagonist before the story really begins, (ii) a figure musing on a lost love while a radio explodes in the background, and (iii) a matter-of-fact description of the journey to the train, with no suggestion of what happens thereafter. Between each tale, the song structure breaks down in some chaotic manner. This is LPD insanity at its most refined, and perhaps its most rewarding as well.

Following this, “A Terra Firma Welcome” seems almost a necessary coda to prevent the album from concluding with total chaos. The music on this particular work is much more … well … “normal” than any other track here, and the lyrics are profoundly puzzling (involving a figure joining the space police, the sending of a “guest” into space with all of his body parts cut up and sterilized, and an alien race “returning for their boy”). It’s not entirely clear what any of this signifies, though perhaps any album of this sort has to end with some sort of mystery.

Nine Lives To Wonder is an interesting experience, featuring several tracks which rate well on their own terms. This isn’t necessarily the best introduction to the Pink Dots, but it should be able to convince most fans of eclectic music of their essential worth. –The Christopher Currie (review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 19 May 1998)

Lyrics

MADAME GUILLOTINE

She washed her hands 300 times
But still they’re dripping red.
We caught her in the pauper’s pit,
She stole the prince’s head…
Cursing ‘blasphemy’…
O mercy me…
He staggered like a chicken.

They lynched him;
They left him flinching.
Running scared…
Took their seats…they kept on knitting.

God bless the noble savage
As he swaggers
As he sweats
He’s making bets on who is next-
He don’t care about the colour…

So many here to choose from…

(First they rounded up the reds
But I’m not red so…

Then they rounded up the blacks
But I’m not black so…

Then they rounded up the gypsies
And the junkies and donkeys.

Now I’m scared to whistle ‘swanee’
‘Cause they’ll ask me for my spit…)

It’s the garden that we walk in
And it’s dying…so we cut it down.
We’re drowning now.
There’s no way out.
We all fall down.
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
All fall down…
All fall down…
All fall down…

It’s the garden that we walk in
And it’s dying…so we cut it down.
We’re drowning now.
There’s no way out.
We all fall down.
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
All fall down…
All fall down…
All fall down…

It’s the garden that we walk in
And it’s dying…so we cut it down.
We’re drowning now.
There’s no way out.
We all fall down.
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
All fall down…
All fall down…
All fall down…

ON ANOTHER SHORE

All these years I waited
‘Cause I knew that you’d return.
No stranger’s hand has touched this temple.
One candle slowly burned…
For you.

(Were you waiting too?)

For you…just for you.

I swear I heard you crying
On the cruel uncanny breeze.
I saw you crawling down there
On your bleeding hands and knees.

Now crawl right up to me,
My captain.
The good ship sails away forever..
Leave us be.
The good ship sails away forever.
The way it’s meant to be.

The good ship sails away forever..
Leave us be.
The good ship sails away forever.
The way it’s meant to be.

These were the gentle words she said,
I could not find her in my head.
I searched for little clues
But all the lights were glowing red.

And in the end I smiled politely,
Snatched my coat and fled.

From you.

Just from you.
Just from you.

But still I hear her crying
On the cruel uncanny breeze.
I see her crawling down there
On her bleeding hands and knees.

Come to me!

Come to me!

The good ship sails away forever.
Was never meant to be.

The good ship sails away forever.
Never meant to be.

Never meant to be…

SOFTLY SOFTLY

Sink in the quicksand.
Linked to the branch of a tree…
Can’t see.
‘Cause it’s darker than death
And you guys up and left me out here to freeze.

And this forest plays its tricks
So I treat it with respect.
Threw my garbage in a skip,
I buttoned up my anorak.
Shuffled soft shoe.
I washed…
You can look me in the teeth

Comb your hair.
Comb your hair.

Choked by the quicksand,
Kicked from the branch of this tree

I’m free!

CRUMBS ON THE CARPET (Transcribed by cowell@cs.utk.edu)

Dinner whispers, “Come and get it”
Poses on the plate
We shot it twice with anesthetic,
Still it bites the waiters
Till they’re bleeding in the loo
So goddamn hot it burns their shoes
We lick them clean, we eat ’em too

Still there’s room enough for more masala,
Enchilada, monkey brains and donkey doos
More masala, enchilada, monkey brains and donkey doos
More masala, enchilada, monkey brains, donkey doos
More masala, enchilada, monkey brains, donkey doos
More masala, enchilada, monkey brains, donkey doos

We’d eat the wall if it could walk
And we could sink our forks in

We are what we eat
We are many-sided
Just you name it, sure we’ve tried it

We are what we eat
We are many-sided
Just you name it, sure we’ve tried it

We are what we eat
We are many-sided
Just you name it, sure we’ve tried it

Why hide it?

More masala, enchilada, monkey brains, donkey doos…

HOTEL Z

Overdose…
Comatosed…
I feel you close,
But you’re so very far away.

Surrogate…
There’s no escape.

I found a gate,
But it’s locked…
So I’m here to stay…

Every wish I have is granted.
Every hand is mine to hold
All the trees that I have planted
Touch the sky, turn gold.

Could buy the planet if I wanted.
Make it mine…
Yes, I’d unfold a tapestry that I’d recline in,
Somewhere we could both grow old together.

Our dream…

Dying eyes…
You sympathize.

I clutch my prize;
But it so slowly fades away…

Dying eyes…
You sympathize.

I clutch my prize;
But it so slowly fades away…

Dying eyes.
You sympathize.

I clutch my prize;
But it so slowly fades away…

Dying eyes.
You sympathize.

I clutch my prize;
But it so slowly fades away…

OASIS MALADE (Transcribed by cowell@cs.utk.edu)

Tanith dropped by today.
Like, I hadn’t seen her in years,
But there she was at my front door
In her colonial helmet.

Custom made Burmese fan
Poised in one hand…
Ready to swipe at any passing disease-ridden mosquito.

She’d been in Belgium, she told me…
Studying the pyramids.
It took her years to find out
That there were no pyramids in Belgium.

I asked her why she left me so suddenly…
Why she’d been silent for so long.

Didn’t I exist for her?
Didn’t we have something, well, special?

She asked me for tea in a plastic cup
With a well-fitting lid…

Then she left.

A CRACK IN MELANCHOLY TIME

I lean on the fence
And you squat in the middle
And we wait ’til the stream runs dry.
Though you don’t see the sense
And we can’t solve the riddle,
It’s amazing how time flies.

And we hear the children calling.
We agree that it’s appalling…
But it’s best to keep on stalling.

Count me out
Count me out
Count me out
Count me out…

Now there’s blood on my hands
And I’m wearing a muzzle
So I’ll look the other way.
Place my head in the sand
Let the rest solve the puzzle,
Think about just who’s to blame.

‘Cause I hear the children weeping…
And I see the virus creeping…
History is repeating.

Count me out
Count me out
Count me out
Count me out…

Now there’s chains ’round my neck
And my head’s in the oven
And the crowd kicks at my door.

And you’re leading the pack
Under wraps, undercover…
‘Cause you need to win this war.

You put up your flag and kissed it
With your black volcanic lipstick.

And I’m simply your statistic…

Count me out
Count me out
Count me out
Count me out…

Count me out
Count me out
Count me out
Count me out
Count me out
Count me out
Count me out…

SIREN

Sheba had nine lives that I could sleep in.
Sheba had the cutest little nose.
Sheba’s lips by Interflora.
Rollercoaster.
Lizard Lick.
She stings you like the 13th summer rose.

Sheba offers blind inviting alleys.
Sheba flutters two discerning eyes.
Twice unfocused.
Hocus pocus…

Witchy whispers on the wind…
“Come sail to me, it’s been so long.
Come sail to me, it’s been so long.
Come sail to me, it’s been so long.
Come sail to me its been so long…
So lonesome…so lonesome I could die.”

Like butterflies, we rode the breeze.
We read the stars and swam…
As Sheba coo-coo-cooed us from afar.

One single shining beacon on our limited horizon,
We asked no bitter questions
Lest she told us sugar lies.

And of course, we died there
On that stormy, stormy night…
As Sheba whimpered…
Whimpered…
Whimpered…
Whimpered…
Whimpered…
Whimpered…
Whimpered…

“Come sail to me, it’s been so long.
Come sail to me, it’s been so long.
Come sail to me, it’s been so long.
Come sail to me, it’s been so long.
Come sail to me, it’s been so long.
Come sail to me, it’s been so long.
Come sail to me, it’s been so long.
Come sail to me, it’s been so long.
Sail to me, it’s been so long.
Sail to me…been so long.
Sail to me…been so long.

I could die…”

THE ANGEL TRAIL

Close your eyes and count to nine.
Everything will turn out fine.
There’s nothing on this planet that can touch you.

This cloud belongs to you and me.
There’s nothing that we can’t achieve…
Hang on to my hand, I’ll protect you.
I never, never will neglect you.

Safe inside our tapestry…
The only place for you and me.
Hang on to my hand, I’ll protect you.

Close your eyes and count to nine.
Everything will turn out fine.
There’s nothing on this planet that can touch you.

This cloud belongs to you and me.
There’s nothing that we can’t achieve…
Hang on to my hand, I’ll protect you.

NINE SHADES TO THE CIRCLE

Like any other day,
I heard the bell and grabbed my coat.
Snatched a coffee and nearly choked
And semi-cartwheeled headfirst in the rain.

I knew I had to make that train.
My life depended on that train.

A laughing bag sang ‘Giant Panda’…
Evil Santa punishes the bad boys,
And once I told myself a lie.

I never quite figured out the reason why…
But everybody’s pointing at me.
Laughing at me.
Pointing and me and laughing at me…
Pushing…

Pushing…

They’re pushing…

Pushing…

Pushing…

Stop pushing!
Don’t push me!

Like any other day,
I heard the bell and grabbed my coat.
I snatched a coffee, nearly choked
And semi-cartwheeled…
Cartwheeled headfirst in the rain.

I knew I had to make the train.
My life depended on the train.

A junkie stopped me for some change.
Pulled a knife…

CUT!

Like any other day,
I heard the bell and grabbed my coat.
Snatched a coffee, nearly choked
And semi-cartwheeled headfirst in the rain.

I knew I had to make that train.
My life depended on that train.

And we met there on the platform…
So you took me to your room.
And though you reached out for me; I couldn’t touch you.

I watched you melt in tears.
50,000 tears.

The radio exploded…

I found your ear wrapped in a tissue.
Tried to lose you…
Lose you…

Like any other day,
I heard the bell and grabbed my coat.
I snatched a coffee, nearly choked
And semi-cartwheeled headfirst in the rain…

I knew I had to make that train.
My life depended on that train…

(Did you get it?)

A TERRA FIRMA WELCOME

E-minus on its ancestry.
It stuttered on the phone.
Tried extensive hypnotherapy
Sat there like a stone.

They checked its pockets,
They pumped the pentathol…
Stole marrow from its bones…
Left it naked in the guest room,
Quite alone.

Debated for a year.
The casebook, it stretched from here to here…
Quoted precedents and dissidents.
And Johnny joined the space police
And searched the stars for refugees-
His finger on the stunner
In the name of earthly peace.

And when it seemed that space was empty
And the moon was made of cheese,
They decided on a terra firma ‘welcome’.

But, guess…
Our guest was now deceased…
Rest in peace…

They cut it into pieces.
They sterilized them,
They placed them in a case and charged admission.

Now I’m watching television
I see laughter in his eyes.
I hear a rumble in the sky,
They’re coming…
Yes, they’re coming for their boy!

They’re coming…
Yes, they’re coming for their boy…