David Sylvian

Introduction

I came fairly late to David Sylvian but in the end he's become one of my favourites.  My family are amused when I put some of his music on as I spent a fair bit of my earlier years ridiculing my sister's Japan albums.  His solo works are so far from the weird pop of Japan that it's hard to believe.  He concentrates on music that is slow and almost ambient , deliberate and thoughtful, using beautiful orchestration and little touches of sounds.  He plays many instruments including keyboards and guitar, and of course sings.  His voice is certainly distinctive and I guess you either love it or hate it.

[ Album Cover ]

Camphor
by David Sylvian

Released 2002
Label: Virgin
Catalogue: CDVEX962

[ Reviewed October 2002 ]

This is Sylvian's last album for Virgin after many years of producing fine music on the label.  I'm not sure why he's ending the relationship as it has worked so well, and he has included a nice dedication to some of the Virgin people.  It also has a dedication to his 'beloved guru' Sri Sri Mata Amritanandamayi and you can tell that he has recently discovered a new way of life based on an Eastern philosophy.  His last studio album had heavy influences of Indian music which I'm afraid I'm not at all keen on.  Maybe this is the direction he is heading in, as there's some of it here as well.

Camphor is a compilation of mainly instrumental works from his solos and collaborations.  I usually steer well clear of compilations but the limited bonus disk of new versions of some Sylvian/Czukay tracks hooked me in straight away.  Another attraction is that some of the tracks are remixes or instrumental versions of songs.  From the track listing you can see that there is a wide range of material and I've tried to list the original albums where I know them.  The credits are not totally helpful as they only list which tracks are not from solo albums such as Rain Tree Crow and Sylvian/Czukay.  Part of the idea of compilations must be to help sales of the individual albums so I never understand why their details are not fully listed.  The cover art is a beautiful black-and-white photographic abstract and the inner booklet folds out to a scary almost life-size shot of Sylvian's head.

On the whole the music is pretty quiet so if you want something upbeat stop here.  On the other hand there is nothing as totally ambient as his Approaching Silence although the tracks with Czukay are fairly minimalist, see my separate reviews of these albums.  Sylvian has chosen some real gems to go on this album from the whole range of his earlier recordings.  I was impressed with the Rain Tree Crow tracks as it's an album I'd previously over-looked, assuming it would be more Japan stuff.  The instrumentals are pretty much like Sylvian's own but with Mick Karn's exquisite bass guitar.  The completely new tracks are a bit of a mixed bag but not a big percentage of the album.  The Song Which Gives The Key to Perfection is mainly Sylvian singing in Hindi (or something similar) with minimal keyboard accompaniment and I find it very hard work.  Camphor is a short insrumental with the typical gentle keyboards with some weird sounds played over the top, and is not at all bad.  The final A Brief Conversation Ending in Divorce is quite difficult listening as it is very discordant.  This could be another possible direction that Sylvian is thinking of taking.

The bonus disk is not as long as I would've liked, he could have filled it with completely new full-length versions of the tracks but I mustn't complain.  It is in fact almost 39 minutes long.  So, how do the versions differ?  For those of you who don't know, the tracks are from the two ambient albums he did with electronic experimental musician Holger Czukay in the late 80s.  All of the music sounds better and clearer than the originals which may be due to better audio equipment being used for these mixes.  Plight and Premonition are full-length versions with subtle differences from the originals.  They still maintain the same basic structures and themes but there are changes in the sounds that come and go.  If you did a blind test on me I'd probably be able to tell the original from the remix, but couldn't say how it differed.  The 5 minute extract of Mutability is frustratingly short as it's one of his most beautiful pieces ever.  This version still has the haunting keyboard chords with the addition of a lovely theme gently blown on an African flute.

What strikes me listening to this album is the sheer poetic quality of the music, and how one excellent track follows another.  You feel that each of the pieces have been lovingly crafted over many hours.  For example, painstaking attention has been paid to adding little sounds such as single piano notes just in the right places.  As mentioned I'm not a fan of compilations but find myself putting this album on a lot.  If you're a Sylvian completist it's a must-have, if not then get all of the original albums!  If you like his music but not his distinctive voice then this is one for you.

Tracks:
1.All of My Mother's Names
from Dead Bees on a Cake		6:06
2.Red Earth (as summertime ends)
from Rain Tree Crow		3:34
3.Answered Prayers
from Gone To Earth		2:45
4.The Song Which Gives The Key to Perfection5:52
5.New Moon at Red Deer Wallow
from Rain Tree Crow		5:14
6.Praise (Pratah Smarami)
from Dead Bees on a Cake		3:55
7.Wave (version)
from Gone To Earth		3:58
8.Mother and Child (instrumental remix)
from Secrets of the Beehive		4:03
9.Plight (the spiralling of winter ghosts) detail (remix)
from Plight & Premonition by Sylvian/Czukay		4:03
10.Upon This Earth (remix)
from Gone To Earth		4:14
11.Big Wheels in Shanly Town
from Rain Tree Crow		6:56
12.The Healing Place
from Gone To Earth		4:52
13.Camphor3:10
14.A Brief Conversation Ending in Divorce3:27
total time 60:36

Bonus CD
Tracks:
1.Plight (the spiralling of winter ghosts) (remix)
from Plight & Premonition by Sylvian/Czukay		16:35
2.Mutability (a new beginning is in the offing) detail (remix)
from Flux & Mutability by Sylvian/Czukay		5:31
3.Premonition (giant empty iron vessel) (remix)
from Plight & Premonition by Sylvian/Czukay		16:34
total time 38:40

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Copyright Steve Bachini