4 x CD, Compilation, Remastered
Box Set, Limited Edition
Country:
UK
Released:
21 Nov 2005
Genre:
Rock
Style:
Ethereal
Credits:
Artwork By [Art Direction, Design] -
Vaughan Oliver
Artwork By [Assistant] -
Chris Bigg
Artwork By [Images] -
Roger Newbrook
Engineer -
John Fryer
(tracks: 1-1 to 1-6)
,
John Madden
(tracks: 1-11 to 1-13)
,
Jon Turner*
(tracks: 1-1 to 1-3, 1-11, 1-13)
,
Ken Thomas
(tracks: 1-14 to 1-17)
Engineer [Additional] -
Des Ward
(tracks: 4-5 to 4-9)
,
Lincoln Fong
(tracks: 3-1 to 3-9, 4-5 to 4-9)
,
Mitsuo Tate
(tracks: 4-5 to 4-14)
Mastered By -
Robin Guthrie
,
Walter Coelho
Performer -
Elizabeth Fraser
,
Robin Guthrie
,
Simon Raymonde
(tracks: 1-11 to 4-14)
,
Will Heggie
(tracks: 1-1 to 1-6)
Producer -
Alan Rankine
(tracks: 1-4 to 1-6)
,
Cocteau Twins
(tracks: 1-7 to 4-14)
,
Ivo Watts-Russell
(tracks: 1-1 to 1-3)
Technician [Analog Tape Transfers] -
John Dent
Written-By -
Fraser*
(tracks: 1-1 to 3-3, 3-6 to 4-14)
,
Guthrie*
(tracks: 1-1 to 3-3, 3-6 to 4-14)
,
Raymonde*
(tracks: 1-11 to 3-3, 3-6 to 4-14)
,
Heggie*
(tracks: 1-1 to 1-6)
Notes:
Packaged in 10-panel card sleeve with booklet in translucent slipcase. Limited Edition of 10,000 copies.
LullabiesReleased October 1982 Recorded at Palladium Studios, Edinburgh. Mixed at Blackwing Studios.
Peppermint PigReleased March 1983 Recorded at Blackwing Studios, London.
Sunburst And SnowblindReleased September 1983 Recorded and mixed at Palladium Studios, Edinburgh.
The Spangle MakerReleased April 1984 11, 13 Recorded at Palladium Studios, Edinburgh and mixed at Rooster, London.
12 Recorded and engineered at Rooster, London.
Aikea-GuineaReleased March 1985 Recorded at Jacobs Studios, Farnham.
Tiny DynamineReleased October 1985 Echoes In A Shallow BayReleased October 1985 Recorded at Guerilla, London. Mixed at Aosis, London.
Love's Easy TearsReleased November 1986 Recorded and mixed at Good Earth, London.
Iceblink LuckReleased August 1990 EvangelineReleased September 1993 SnowReleased December 1993 BluebeardReleased February 1994 Recorded and mixed at September Sound, London.
TwinlightsReleased September 1995 Recorded and mixed at September Sound, London. Additional recordings at Wessex, London.
OthernessReleased October 1995 Mixed at September Sound and Polyfusion, London.
TishbiteReleased March 1996 ViolaineReleased October 1996 Recorded at September Sound, London.
djproject, Apr 28, 2006
Every artist signed to a label at some point gets reminiscent and start retreading the past, whether they are long dead or they still keep on treading (and sometimes "basking in the shadow of yesterday's triumph"). There are different ways of reclaiming the past. You can release a best-of compliation, which can either be dictated by single releases or even by the group itself. You can re-release the albums, remaster them and even throw in some treats for both hard-core fans and the upcoming ones. Then you can really go hard-core and release your entire back catalogue. There are some modifications but that's a good general way of looking at it.
In the Cocteau Twins case, nearly a decade after they called it quits, they seem to do all the above. After their personally selected retrospective compliation, Stars and Topsoil, and re-releasing the 4AD albums remastered by Robin Guthrie, the next step to revisit the singles and EPs... not just the 10 from 4AD but the other 6 from Fontana/Mercury/Capitol. The end result is Lullabies to Violaine.
As an upcoming fan of the Cocteau Twins, this release is an excellent crash course in the history of the Cocteau Twins in terms of hearing the evolution of their sound and how they released it commercially. Spending nearly four hours, you do get to hear significant chunks of the Cocteau Twins history. You can hear their beginnings where they are finding their place in the realm of UK independent music, paved by similar contemporaries Siouxise and the Banshees. You can hear their "oddball" EP "Peppermint Pig", produced by Alan Rankine where the Cocteau Twins gets their groove on (not normally done, certainly afterward). Then you can hear how they took their distinct atmospheric and richly-layered sound further starting with "Sunburst and Snowblind" and onto the second disc with "Love's Easy Tears." Then it was a matter of truly perfecting it with "Iceblink Luck."
The next two covers their final years when they were no longer with 4AD and they were accused of rehashing familiar sounds. Of course this also when they ventured into different realms: covering snow tunes ("Snow"), stripping down their sound to bare essentials ("Twinlights") and diluting the density but maintaining the dreamy vibe ("Otherness"). At this point, you hear the engine slowing down but it is still willing to take you places for one last time. For many people, these last two discs are optional extra.
Overall, this is the best way to know what the Cocteau Twins were about and you can hear their story, more or less, from beginning to end. Plus this limited edition is absolutely gorgeous in terms of packaging and not only in terms of its look. All in all, it's a four-hour sleep with dreams and the ability to stay awake. And if nothing else, it's absolutely worth it for "Pink Orange Red" alone.
4.9/5 (