18 June 2015

A Song Wrapped in an Enigma Wrapped in a Variation, too



In September 2008 I posted up Enigma record label sampler The Enigma Variations from 1985. At one time I had both 1 & 2 but Variations 2 had somehow fallen down the rabbit hole.

I finally came across a pristine unsullied unopened virginal copy just the other day. A friend of NSS by the name of Christopher reminded me a few years back that both our searches had gone unfulfilled, so this one's for him. I told him I'd post it up this weekend, but after so long, I couldn't wait.

Enigma began in 1982 & Variations 1 came out in '85. This one is from '87, so their stable of artists had grown & changed. On these two slabs you get everything from Mojo Nixon to Don Dixon. Dead Milkmen to Agent Orange. Even Peter Hamill givin' it the Scott Walker lite.

In my opinion, side three is the strongest, partially because most of the material was previously unreleased (except for a hard-to-find version of "Drill" by Wire). The strongest track is from that side, Agent Orange's "Bite the Hand That Feeds (Part II) remix" (= or > the original).

Ripped from fresh 28-yr old vinyl at 48000 / 320Kbps on my newly tuned-up turntable with new cartridge.

Various – The Enigma Variations 2 gatefold 2xLP, Enigma Records SQBB73247, 1987.

Side One –

Burn Down the Malls – Mojo Nixon / Skid Roper - from Get Out of My Way
Colors – T.S.O.L. - from Revenge
The Thing That Only Eats Hippies – The Dead Milkmen - from Eat Your Paisley
Fire in the Rain – Agent Orange - from This is the Voice
Man Bites Dog – Plan 9 - from Sea Hunt
Ahead – Wire - from The Ideal Copy

Side Two –

Praying Mantis – Don Dixon - from Most of the Girls Like to Dance but Only Some of the Boys Like To
Why – Wednesday Week - from What We Had
Erica’s Word – Game Theory - from Big Shot Chronicles
Rainy Taxi – Jon St. James - from Fast Impressions
Too Many of My Yesterdays – Peter Hammill - from As Close as This

Side Three –

Ship of Fools – Plan 9 - previously unreleased
Stupid Maryann – The Dead Milkmen - previously unreleased
Amsterdam Dog Shit Blues – Mojo Nixon / Skid Roper - previously unreleased
Best Friends – T.S.O.L. - previously unreleased
Bite the Hand That Feeds (Part II) remix - previously unreleased version
Drill – Wire - from Snakedrill 12" mini-LP

Side Four –

That Train – Wednesday Week - previously unreleased
Shark Pretty – Game Theory - from Distortion 12" EP
Why (Wednesday Week cover) – Don Dixon - B-side of Praying Mantis 7" single
Pleasure Dog – SSQ - previously unreleased
Painting by Numbers – Peter Hammill - from Skin

Enjoy,

14 comments:

  1. Yes, in so many ways especially the nice rip. I played the crap out of both enigma variations, as well as the restless variations.

    I tried to find enigma 1 is it still up?

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  2. Thank you so much for this. Made my weekend, week, and probably month as well.

    -Xtm

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  3. is it ok to share other enigma releases and related releases, all out of print here? I have a few.

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    1. Most definitely anything you choose to share will be appreciated. If you have a better copy of Enigma 1, let me know. The skips & chatter you mentioned are from my 30yr old beat-ass vinyl copy, so for me that's as good as it gets. Just send me the links, post them in a comment, or if you want your own post here, we can work it out.

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  4. Lazy Cowgirls -1985- ST

    http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/HzuAjHGo/file.html

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  5. so I have about 90% of the albums listed on both comps, if you want any of them I would be happy to upload, they are not my rips and they are various quality. I figure most people have the more common ones like the Dead Milkmen and Agent Orange

    here is

    SSQ - Playback

    http://www97.zippyshare.com/v/R9hVu8cg/file.html

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  6. TSOL -1984- Change Today?

    http://www97.zippyshare.com/v/anKZ9f52/file.html

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  7. Tex & the Horseheads -1984- ST & live 86

    http://www24.zippyshare.com/v/z59EVjXJ/file.html

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  8. Greg Sage (wipers) - 1985- Straight Ahead

    http://www38.zippyshare.com/v/DF0bsCQB/file.html

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    Replies
    1. I put up these sweet offering & we'll see what transpires. If anyone wants ant of the particular albums from any of the band, they can request here & then it'll be over to you. Thanks so much. What about the Reckless Variations?

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  9. I'm kinda obsessive compulsive going back to the day. This might be too common, but what do I know I think captain beefheart is mainstream.

    again not my rip, but to my tone deaf ears, seems to be a nice job, cheers to whoever did it. just reliving the vinyl I can hear. Blood and Roses & Wall of Sleep rise above

    Smithereens -1986- Especially for You

    http://www26.zippyshare.com/v/c6WWP9h3/file.html

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  10. Jet Black Berries -1984- Sundown On Venus

    http://www74.zippyshare.com/v/aBzce1Qt/file.html

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  11. Thanks again NØ, and bonus thanks to DD

    -Xtm

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  12. Thanks so much for this! Interestingly, I had a cassette version that had two songs by a band called Plasticland instead of the tracks by Peter Hammill. Anyone else have a version like this?

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