The Durutti Column – Vini Reilly (35th Anniversary Edition) (2024)

Review:
. Less of an intentionally confusing title than might be thought, Reilly for all intents and purposes is Durutti no matter the changes through the years — Vini Reilly does signal another new phase of the band’s work, moving into a full embrace of technological possibilities via an Akai sampler. With Reilly and Mitchell joined by a slew of guests — Swing Out Sister keyboardist Andy Connell; singers Pol, Rob Gray, and Liu Sola; and even former member John Metcalfe on the epic surge “Finding the Sea” — Durutti this time around pursued the organic/machine combination to even more successful conclusions than on The Guitar. Reilly’s singing has often come in for criticism (unwarranted, really, considering how his soft approach effortlessly suits the general atmosphere of Durutti’s work), so the slew of sampled and borrowed snippets from other vocalists and musicians that pepper the album makes for an intriguing change. “Love No More,” the album opener, shows how the approach can work, with acoustic guitar to the fore and echoed, truly haunting snippets of what sound like soul and opera singers wafting through the mix. Another full-on highlight is “Otis,” with Pol’s live singing and Connell’s keyboards combining with a brisk synth loop, building Mitchell drums, an astonishing, uplifting Reilly guitar line, and the legendary singer Mr. Redding himself in a combination that needs to be heard. Mitchell’s overall work on percussion is less prominent than before but still present, while Reilly’s guitar efforts are again simply wonderful, further testing new approaches on both acoustic and electric that call to mind everyone from John Fahey to Bootsy Collins. If that last comparison seems strange, give the loud and funky “People’s Pleasure Park” a listen, then marvel at how Sola’s lovely singing and Reilly’s further guitar runs transform it yet again. — AMG

Remastered and heavily expanded 4 Disc version. Disc 5 is an exclusive DVD, Live from Porto 30/04/1988

Disc 1. Vini Reilly album + 3 Bonus tracks [16 tracks]
Disc 2. The Sporadic Recordings [28 tracks] , a limited edition CD from 1989 [SPORE 1]
Disc 3. Womad Live EP plus bonus live tracks and demos [16 tracks]
Disc 4. Bonus 1 track 3-inch mini CD I Know Very Well How I Got My Note Wrong a replica of the bonus addition from the original CD pressing

Track List:

Disc 1:
01 - Love No More
02 - Pol in G
03 - Act I Opera
04 - People's Pleasure Park
05 - Red Square
06 - Finding the Sea
07 - Otis
08 - William B
09 - They Work Every Day
10 - Act II Opera
11 - Homage to Catelonea
12 - Requiem Again
13 - My Country
14 - Otis (No Samples)
15 - Dry
16 - My Country (Monarchy Mix)

Disc 2:
01 - Buddhist Prayer
02 - Pathway
03 - Nile Opera
04 - Shirt No. 7
05 - Kind of Love
06 - Rob Grey's Elegy
07 - Misere
08 - For Steven Patrick
09 - We Stumble
10 - Sketch for a Manchester Summer 1989
11 - Arpeggiator II
12 - Diazepam 5 mgs
13 - But Was I...
14 - Pol in A-flat
15 - Real Drums - Real Drummer
16 - Another Mirror - Another Wall
17 - 30 Oldham Street
18 - 4.10 AM
19 - For Lydia
20 - Detail for Heidi & Jodie
21 - Zinni's Dance
22 - ppp Version
23 - For Lucy H.
24 - 4.30 AM
25 - It's a Bright Guilty World - Part I
26 - It's a Bright Guilty World - Part II
27 - Nile Reprise
28 - Diazepam 10 mgs

Disc 3:
01 - Otis (Womad Live)
02 - English Landscape Tradition (Womad Live)
03 - Finding the Sea (Womad Live)
04 - Bordeaux (Womad Live)
05 - Day Is Over (Live)
06 - Red Shoes (Live)
07 - Opera II
08 - Finding The Sea I
09 - ppp (Demo)
10 - Juan Montero (Sketch 1)
11 - Sample Tune
12 - Finding The Sea (2)
13 - Juan Montero (Sketch 2)
14 - William B (Demo)
15 - Sketches on Stratocaster
16 - Zinni and Vini Tune

Disc 4:
01. I Know Very Well How I Got My Note Wrong


Media Report:
Genre: ambient, post-rock
Origin: UK
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)


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