This Mortal Coil

IT'LL END IN TEARS is without question one of my favorite albums of all time, not least for Liz Fraser's cover of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren."

The first two are very good, I never got the third, which leads me to ask: does anyone know if the CDs are the same editions as when they first came out, or have they been remastered? I prefer to play vinyl LPs, but these came out when I first had a CD player and didn't know any better. Their mid-80's digital mastering is like nails on a blackboard, and wonder if they sound any better now. I'd actually consider buying "It'll End in Tears" again; I'm not a big fan of the "4AD sound", but it's a fine album.

Blood was quite good as well, and -- while I'm not sure I'd agree -- gets the AMG's pick as their most notable record. Caroline Crawley was particularly good on that one, and, Deal / Donnelly drop in to represent 4AD's American rock contingent.

Speaking of This Mortal Coil, anyone have thoughts on the Hope Blister, Ivo's new This Mortal Coil-type project? Or -- since I always associate the two -- Violet Indiana, Robin Guthrie's new Cocteau Twins-type project? The men of 4AD soldier on despite growing indifference . . . good or bad?

The This Mortal Coil's interpretation of Pieter Nooten & Michael Brooks' "Several Times" has a place in my top 10 favorite songs ever. So fucking gorgeous. The part where, whichever Rutkowski sister it is, has her voice fall and break, and then the overdub comes in. . . Jesus. Jesus.

Wow, I'd forgotten about that one. Good call.

Whereas TMC's cover of "Drugs" is utter, utter shit.

So bad in fact that it put me off listening to them for 10 years.

That original versions compilation is simply amazing.

and it makes you realise how lame TMC usually were (with only a couple of exceptions)

Ahem.

Ahem indeed! Their version of "Come here my love" is awesome for starters.

Yeah that cover is probably my favorite. ANyway, I wasn't comparing the originals with the covers, just thrilled at how well that compilation plays out.

with only a couple of exceptions

yeah, like the whole first album!

I've been listening to Laura Nyro's "New York Tendaberry" lately and something about the piano in that reminded me of a track off This Mortal Coil's "Filigree & Shadow" - specifically "Ivy & Neet". Filigree & Shadow is like the younger brother/sister though to "It'll End In Tears" and I admit I don't pull it out very often. Now that I have, though, it's hard to find a whole lot of fault with it. I pull out "Blood" even less frequently i.e. never.

Anyway I could have sworn I tried to download that original versions comp some years back but I don't know what happened.

If and when I ever revisit This Mortal Coil, "Filigree and Shadow" is inevitably my first choice. Great record to put on when everyone's smashed and you want them to stfu and crash out.

hahahah!

This is weird cause this CD seems like it's been on forever and yet I know every song in and out and can't seem to turn it off. It's too long though isn't it? That was the one thing I was going to say and didn't.

There's a fair bit of padding in there but the high points (such as "I want to live") are stunning.

yes they bloody well are

Unfolding the CD sleeve for the first time in eons! Good old fashioned 4AD design baby!

You don't get that shit with mp3's, people. We've lost something here.

According to http://loki23.blogspot.com/2010/05/this-mortal-coil-dreampop-supergroup-4.html :

New This Mortal Coil album on the way from 4AD, tracklist and artists as follows:

1) See Emily Play (Pink Floyd) Vocals by Scott Walker and Matt Berninger, music by Serena-Maneesh featuring Efterklang
2) The Dreamer Is Still Asleep - accappella mix (Coil) Vocals by Justin Vernon and Ariel Pink
3) Tattoo (Siouxsie and The Banshees) - Vocals by Bradford Cox, music by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffitti featuring Noah Lennox
4) L'hôtel particulier (Serge Gainsbourg) - Vocals by Annie Clark, music by Gang Gang Dance and Efterklang
5) Kansas (Wolfgang Press) - Vocals by Ariel Pink, music by Haunted Graffitti featuring TV On The Radio
6) I Feel Love (Donna Summer) - Vocals by Anni Rossi and Annie Clark, music by Serena-Maneesh featuring Efterklang
7) Thief (Can) - Vocals by Elvira Nikolaisen, music by The Big Pink featuring Gang Gang Dance
8) God Only Knows (The Beach Boys) - Vocals by Matt Berninger, Annie Clark, Anni Rossi, Ariel Pink, Scott Walker and Elvira Nikolaisen, music by This Mortal Coil.

Hmm, not sure about this. Always loved the haunting vocals on the TMC albums and without Dominic Appleton, Louise & Deirdre Rutowski and Caroline Crawley this might fall flat. Scott Walker or no.

Does it share any artists at all with the original TMC albums?

None of the names above are on them AFAIK.

I was mainly thinking of Ivo Watts-Russell and John Fryer, without whom it seems somewhat silly to even call it This Mortal Coil.

This is very confusing. So, basically, we get one track from This Mortal Coil and seven other tracks with...other people. I guess there's the vague connective tissue that all of these artists are on 4AD, but mid-80s/early-90s 4AD and current 4AD are completely different beasts. Not that I'm not intrigued at the Berninger/Walker track.

I'm not really sure I believe this.

A friend of mine knows Ivo.

Ivo says it's a spoof, though he did ask Scott Walker to sing on a track back in the day.

You know Bono and he knows Eno and he knows Ivo's phone goes thus?

More or less. Actually quite less, but for arguments sake we'll say more.

Note to self: stop believing everything.

I hope this doesn't mean the Disco Inferno 5 EPs release is a hoax too.

would love to see this happening

In theory, this could be a really neat collaborative project... just doesn't make sense under the TMC name.

...really sorry... the post was supposed to be a kind of thought experiment.... This Mortal Coil could exist like this though couldn't it? I don't see why a new TMC couldn't emerge... even one with no members of the original... if Ivo was putting it together, orchestrating it...

I dunno, I think the time has passed. A covers album by 4AD artists might be good, but it wouldn't be This Mortal Coil.

Only is they got the Stars of the Lid people to provide interstitial material a la Blood.

New, very tempting box set out now with remastered versions of all three albums and adds a bonus disc with the tracks off of the singles and, er, one new song.

http://www.4ad.com/releases/20970

Blood is still my favourite of the three.

Posting here to say that Caroline Crawley of Shelleyan Orphan, who guested on later TMC tracks (and often very powerfully) has sadly passed on.

https://youtu.be/AwCp6RuQsZc

Aw, man. Her vocal on "Mr. Somewhere" helped to make that one of my first favorite songs.

What happened to her?

The albums seem to have been re-pressed on CD & vinyl.

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2012/07/05/this-mortal-coil-blu-ray-tears-dropbox/

Bluray of all the albums out in, er, 2010.

did Dust & Guitars, the compilation (and meant to be included above), ever surface? it has a discogs entry with lots of artwork, but it only mentions 'files' and not any physical formats.

https://www.discogs.com/This-Mortal-Coil-Dust-Guitars/release/3734328

oh, found a copy of dust and guitars for sale on a little, obscure place called Amazon.

that's curious. did i blank this from my mind because i had a lot of it anyway? anyway, available lossless from boomkat so...

(also just found out that google have stopped selling digital music file and google play music is now youtube music streaming. which is a pity because they had a knack for mispricing things.)

Yeah, it was part of the box but never meant to be a stand alone, I think.

4AD sold a few copies of Dust and Guitars by itself around the time the box set was released, I think only directly from 4AD.com

THIS MORTAL COIL
Dust & Guitars
Cat No: EAD3X23A
Release date: 11 August 2020

ok, so not going completely mad then - it's only been avilable digitally 3 months.