26 September 2014

Holy Grail





It’s been quite a while that I’ve gone without anything from musical genius Bill Nelson. The posts for his music are the most visited & most enjoyed of all my posts.

For a long time, Northern Dream was the Holy Grail I was questing for from Señor Nelson. Released the year before he helmed the mighty Be Bop Deluxe, ND is quintessential Bill Nelson. 1971…this is still rock, you understand, but I’m in no way apologizing for its excellent quality. This ranks with Syd Barrett & Marc Bolan. In 2012 Cocteau Discs reissued this treasure on 180 gram vinyl. I was lucky enough to get one of the 250 limited edition records with a repro/original Smile Records cover, a 12" booklet, lyric sheet, & signed postcard. If you want this, you can find it.



The other day I was wasting some ill-gotten gain feeding my vinyl addiction & came across a copy of the Butt UK 1980 release in near-mint for less than an arm & a leg. I am going to feature one track from that mono-only release, "House of Sand" as a taste/teaser.




Fast forward ten years. Bebop had been replaced by Red noise & now red Noise was silent. Bill was on his own again. Here is another of his earliest solo ventures that I have let slip but will quickly rectify.  Quit Dreaming & Get on the Beam was released in 1981. This one is not so easy to come by here in the States. It was re-issued in Europe & the U.K. on Mercury in 2005 with seven additional bonus tracks, so if you want more than the original, search it out.

Bill Nelson – Quit Dreaming & Get on the Beam, Mercury 6359 055, 1981.
decryption codes in comments

Side 1 –
Banal
Living in My Limousine
Vertical Games
Disposable
False Alarms
Decline & Fall

Side 2 –
Life Runs Out like Sand
A Kind of Loving
Do You Dream in Colour
U.H.F.
Youth of Nation on Fire
Quit Dreaming & Get on the Beam

bonus track –
White Sounds (from the Living in My Limousine (remix) / White Sounds 12” EP – included as a bonus track on the 1986 Cocteau Records CD re-issue (as “White Sound”).

But the earliest Bill Nelson I have is on 1970s A►Austr – Musics from Holy Ground. Try that out, completists.

The photograph shows Cass Yard & the archway leading out to the main street, Kirkgate. It was taken by Mike's brother, Kevin, one Saturday in 1970. The final cover of Musics used a black screen print on a bronze card, only showing the four women in the photo above: Yvonne Carrodus, her sister Gail, Gail's friend Denise, & Shirley Levon, Mike's partner. The picture also featured Mike (on the left) & Chris Coombs (right). Bill Nelson turned up on spec. He can be seen at the rear brandishing his Gibson guitar.

 Bill playing with a couple A►Austr dudes.



A►Austr – Musics from Holy Ground, Acme 010101LP re-issue, 1995.

Side 1 –
Bird
Judy
Mini
Prelude to Change for Arthur
Thumbquake & Earthscrew
Change for Arthur
Between the Road
Hawaiian War Chant
It’s Alright

Side 2 –
Continuum
Essex Queen
D Minor Minuet
A Curse on You
What Did You Go?
Grail Search

Aw, the Grail search. Circles within circles. On the wall through the archway behind Bill entering Cass Yard is a mysteriously appearing Grail image. You decide…

Yield to the Full Nelson,

5 comments:

  1. QD&GotB
    0pwlcElHjxnqdG236Ti0E3lVjxVudfUElrpsAxKAX30
    Austr
    vsKoMR6UDkWJC6usKZEJGOkUmni9L-hwbgW8vIMsp9w

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello, thank you for your massive collection of Bill Nelson's music. But for some reason, I cannot use the decryption code that you provided. Thanks!

      Delete
    2. If you are referring to this post, I checked & the download is working fine.

      For example, if you want Quit dreaming, just copy the decryption code from the above comment:
      0pwlcElHjxnqdG236Ti0E3lVjxVudfUElrpsAxKAX30
      Then select the file from beneath the cover art, go to MEGA & enter the code you copied when prompted.

      If you are having problems with other files, you'll have to let me know as each one has a unique decryption code.

      If you are just having trouble with MEGA overall, check out MEGA MESS post April 2, 2015 for hints & hacks. Be sure to read all the comments with visitor's ideas.

      Delete
  2. Congratulations on reaching the Holy Ground. My first Bill Nelson record was Quit Dreaming, which I bought on cassette (after a friend put "Revolt into Style" on a mixtape). The tape came with a bonus album of instrumentals entitled Sounding the Ritual Echo. "Do You Dream in Colour" often pops up in the jukebox of my mind. Discogs.com lists 132 albums by Bill Nelson (five more than one of your other faves, the Legendary Pink Dots!) Quite a challenge for completists!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Although never claiming to be any kind of completist myself, I am always up for a good challenge.I have over 60 titles. I have posted 13 or 14 here. I am always on the look-out for ones I don't have. If anyone is interested in anything in particular, I am kinda open to suggestions. Let me know.

      Delete