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Topic: Islands Deluxe, An Ultimate Edition< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
dazzler Offline




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Posted: June 23 2009, 17:18

ISLANDS is one of my favourite late 80s albums.
I wondered how an ultimate rerelease of that album would look like.

Which bonus tracks should be on it?
Should we include lyrics, liner notes and some nice photographs?

TRACKLIST

The Wind Chimes (part one)
The Wind Chimes (part two)
Islands
Flying Start
North Point
Magic Touch
The Time Has Come

Islands (extended)
When the Night's on Fire
Shine (single mix)
The Time Has Come (original)

I'm trying not to include too many second versions
of the album tracks and left out the extended Flying Start
or Shine and the alternate vocal version of Magic Touch.

The German release of Magic Touch included an instrumental
called Music from the Video Wall, but I don't think it would fit in.
I would seperate both parts of The Wind Chimes again.
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Dirk Star Offline




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Posted: June 24 2009, 04:30

Quote (dazzler @ June 23 2009, 22:18)

Quote
ISLANDS is one of my favourite late 80. albums.


:D It`s better than the other one yeah!
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ex member 419 Offline




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Posted: June 24 2009, 04:36

Islands is one album i would love to see remastered! heres hoping! deb
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dazzler Offline




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Posted: June 24 2009, 06:30

You got me there ...  :p

I had Earth Moving and Heaven's Open in Mind.
Amarok is outstanding, but Islands has its moments.
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Dirk Star Offline




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Posted: June 24 2009, 06:52

I like The Wind Chimes dazzler.At the time of it`s release I thought it was one of Mike`s greatest achievments,right up there with Ommadawn & Incantations for me.I`d certainly be interested in hearing a "new mix" of it if Mike was up for that!?

As for the songs,I`m ok with them up to and including The Discovery album.But then I just can`t get past the whole "style of the times" thing really.You know and you`re talking to a guy who once bought a Go West album,so it`s not as if I did`nt try.
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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: June 24 2009, 08:59

Hmmm.I listened to this the other day for the first time in a long time.The Wind Chimes is good,Flying Start i like a lot,Northpoint's ok too.But i really don't like the title track.Dunno why.Never have liked it since it's release on single.
 Must admit it is better than Earth Moving and Heavens Open.Amarok was 1990 btw.


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dazzler Offline




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Posted: June 24 2009, 09:12

I love Northpoint a lot. Very atmospheric.
Very good lyrics too ...

I don't like Magic Touch or The Time Has Come.
Islands is rather good I think, Flying Start is okay too.

I agree with Dirk about the post Discovery songs.
Main reason is the absence of a decent drummer on the vocal tracks.
Simon Philips was outstanding, but from Islands on
Mike did a lot of drum programming himself.

That said: The Wind Chimes and Music form the Balcony
are great instrumentals ... including Simon Philips again.
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larstangmark Offline




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Posted: July 01 2009, 14:09

Music From the Videowall would definately fit. It's an original piece of music for god's sake! I don't care much for the extended maxi-single stuff. Islands won't be any better backwards, forwards or upside down. Or wait....perhaps an instrumental version? Hahahaha...

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"There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste"
Mark E Smith
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Tubularman Offline




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Posted: July 01 2009, 19:07

Quote (larstangmark @ July 01 2009, 20:09)
Music From the Videowall would definately fit. It's an original piece of music for god's sake! I don't care much for the extended maxi-single stuff. Islands won't be any better backwards, forwards or upside down. Or wait....perhaps an instrumental version? Hahahaha...

i think there was a video for this one too. Im sure it was.. would be great to see!

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dazzler Offline




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Posted: July 02 2009, 02:48

Music from the Balcony sounds like a cocktail
of bits and pieces Mike wrote for movie scores.

There's a soft hint of Killing Fields in it for instance.
It's like Mike glued some restovers together.

Are bits used in the Wind Chimes video or other projects?
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larstangmark Offline




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Posted: July 02 2009, 04:52

Quote (dazzler @ July 02 2009, 02:48)
Music from the Balcony sounds like a cocktail
of bits and pieces Mike wrote for movie scores.

There's a soft hint of Killing Fields in it for instance.
It's like Mike glued some restovers together.

Are bits used in the Wind Chimes video or other projects?

I think it was used to demonstrate the video system that Mike used a the time, so I guess it was played at conventions/fairs. It does sound a bit like leftovers, and it also sounds like a runthrough of the presets of the Fairlight computer. Mike used those sounds so much a lot for the Killing Fields soundtrack.

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"There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste"
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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: July 02 2009, 06:25

Watching the WInd Cimes now is funny.in 1986/87 it was really state of the art cutting edge stuff (wow look at that.....the postcard on the table just kind of floated off!!!)but now it really doesn't look that great.Nice period peice though.
:laugh:


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nightspore Offline




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Posted: July 02 2009, 20:00

Quote (larstangmark @ July 02 2009, 04:52)
It does sound a bit like leftovers,

If you listen to it carefully, it's actually quite structured and well-thought out (as distinct from TB, which isn't really structured at all - just one little melodic snippet following another). One of Mike's best pieces, IMO.
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pilotfish Offline




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Posted: Nov. 06 2013, 12:53

cd : album+b sides
dvd : 5.1 + videos from the era
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Platinumpty Offline




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Posted: Nov. 07 2013, 07:31

I haven't got a 5.1 set-up but hope to by the time Islands is re-released.  I think it would work wonderfully in that format - all that Balinese percussion would really sparkle with a bit of separation and 3D panning.  I've always had a soft spot for the album but probably because it was the first MO record I bought new on release (as a specky 17yo).

I've never liked Bonnie Tyler's voice - she always sounds like she's got a really sore throat and could do with a Strepsil.  Flying Start is dopey but fun.  Northfields is great - spooky with unusually good and cohesive lyrics ("there will a million stars at Northpoint/and from the silent tomb/they took it to the heart/and left for the moon" - a bit X-Files).  Magic Touch is an ambarrassment.  The Time Will Come - as an atheist it doesn't move me but the ending is rousing and it's well-produced.  When the Night's on Fire is like a dodgy medley of bits of the other songs, isn't it - seems to totally lack structure.  Never really saw the point of it.

Anyhow, those are my rambling thoughts.  Any B-sides / instrumental out-takes would be most welcome.
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First_Excursion Offline




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Posted: Nov. 07 2013, 18:26

I liked Islands when it came out. I listened to it again the other week for the first time in probably 20 years. I don't think I'll ever listen to it again.  :D
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larstangmark Offline




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Posted: Nov. 08 2013, 04:19

Quote (nightspore @ July 02 2009, 20:00)
Quote (larstangmark @ July 02 2009, 04:52)
It does sound a bit like leftovers,

If you listen to it carefully, it's actually quite structured and well-thought out (as distinct from TB, which isn't really structured at all - just one little melodic snippet following another). One of Mike's best pieces, IMO.

Firstly, I hope there's not some sort of confusion regarding Music from the Balcony / Music for the Video Wall? What I was refering to as "leftovers"-sounding" was "...Video Wall", nothing else. And I don't mean that it's incoherent or random, I mean that the sections don't sound like they were put together to acheive a certain effect. They sound more like they just "worked together" and sounded "ok".
Actually I think that some bits (and just *some*) of Wind Chimes and Amarok meander along in the same slightly uninspired fashion.


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Mark E Smith
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qjamesfloyd Offline




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Posted: May 09 2017, 11:43

Do we know if Mike is working on the deluxe Islands at the moment? aswell as TBIV?
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SJM Offline




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Posted: Sep. 24 2017, 22:11

Quote (qjamesfloyd @ May 09 2017, 16:43)
Do we know if Mike is working on the deluxe Islands at the moment? aswell as TBIV?

I wish we could have some information on the next remasters. Not knowing is driving me insane! :(
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Thea Cochrane Offline




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Posted: Oct. 10 2017, 18:41

I got the impression from an interview (I couldn't find it when I looked for it just now) that Mike wasn't that interested in re-visiting Islands, Earth Moving or Heaven's Open.
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