[2022-12-02] The Virgin Prunes "... If I Die, I Die (40th Anniversary Edition)" 2CD set (BMG)

Linda · **Posted:** Thu Sep 29, 2022 9:53 am

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFG4TXTL/?tag=imwan-20

Description
If I Die, I Die was released only weeks before the Heresie box set. The two albums show very different faces of the Virgin Prunes – one that explored mythical worlds and another that showed their surrealistic interest in the creative power of insanity. They also highlight the ways in which the band enjoyed experimenting with different genres, sound forms and recording techniques. As Friday has commented recently, ‘The Virgin Prunes contained four different bands at the same time.’ The album was recorded at the Windmill Studios in Dublin in the summer of 1982 and produced by Wire’s Colin Newman. Rather than adopt an A/B format, the sides of the 1982 vinyl and album cover, which was designed by Steve Averill, were given brown and blue colours, signalling earth and sky respectively. The art work on each side of the sleeve was also inverted so that either side could be read as the front cover. Ursula Steiger’s photography captured, on the brown side, the band running through a forest like a nomadic tribe. On the blue side we then find them in different costumes, performing with fire and mannequins within a derelict building. If I Die, I Die contains nine tracks. The brown side is evocative of distant mystical lands and brings to mind Iroquois culture. It features ‘Ulakanakulot’ (referring to ‘the imaginary land of the Kuli Bird from where the Beautifull People come’), ‘Decline and Fall’, ‘Sweethome Under White Clouds’ and ‘Bau-dachöng’ (meaning ‘secret inner wisdom’). The blue side showcases the slow and frenzied paces of their music, while highlighting the ways their highly visceral songs switch subjects and registers from the ancient and historical, to the social tensions and dysfunctions of a late twentieth-century present. It features ‘Baby Turns Blue’ (which was a very successful Indie single), ‘Ballad of the Man’, ‘Walls of Jericho’, ‘Caucasian Walk’ and ‘Theme for Thought’, which includes spoken passages of Oscar Wilde’s poem ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol.’

This 40th Anniversary Edition of the album sees a full remaster housed in a Limited Edition 28pp Mediabook across 2CDs. The second disc features 16 tracks, 8 of which are previously unreleased including Rough mixes, remixes and demos. This 2CD package also includes brand new sleeve notes by Dr. Jonathan Wood exploring the writing, recording and production of the record.

Tracklist
[CD1]
1. Ulakanakulot
2. Decline And Fall
3. Sweethome Under White Clouds
4. Bau-Dachöng
5. Baby Turns Blue
6. Ballad Of The Man
7. Walls Of Jericho
8. Caucasian Walk
9. Theme For Thought

[CD2]
1. Baby Turns Blue (Colin Newman Remix 2004)
2. Chance Of A Lifetime (UK 12")
3. Yeo (UK 12")
4. The Faculties Of A Broken Heart (What Should We Do If Baby Turns Blue)
5. The King Of Junk (Instrumental) (Rough Mix)*
6. Ballad Of The Man (Rough Mix)*
7. Fado (Rough Mix)*
8. Bau-Dachöng (Rough Mix)*
9. Theme For Thought (Rough Mix)*
10. Pagan Lovesong (Demo)*
11. Pagan Lovesong
12. Dave-Id Is Dead
13. Pagan Lovesong (Vibeakimbo)

* Previously Unreleased

Linda · **Posted:** Thu Sep 29, 2022 10:01 am

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Oct 03, 2022 1:16 pm

The release date has been pushed back to December 2nd.

[2022-12-02] The Virgin Prunes "... If I Die, I Die (40th Anniversary Edition)" 2CD set (BMG)

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