The Return of the Durutti Column (45th Anniversary Edition)

マンチェスターの孤高VINI REILLYによる80年歴史的名盤が45周年記念デラックス仕様2CD化!

JOY DIVISIONと並び初期FACTORY RECORDSを支えた孤高のギタリスト、VINI REILLY率いるTHE DURUTTI COLUMN。80年にリリースされたデビュー作が45周年を迎え、ついに完全リマスターで蘇ります。半音階の滲みと余韻を手なずける旋法感、テープ質感の温度、電子音のさりげない介入、時間の感覚をずらしていくような簡素な構成。MARTIN HANNETTプロデュースによる繊細なギターとアンビエントな音響空間は初期アンビエント/ポストロックの原型とも評価され、時を経てもなお色あせない唯一無二の美学を湛えています。

軽やかな疾走感と翳りが交錯する"SKETCH FOR SUMMER"、冬の空気を写し取る"SKETCH FOR WINTER"、甘美と寂寞をたたえる"LIPS THAT WOULD KISS"、流麗な運指の硬質なきらめきが美しい"MADELEINE"などなど、繊細なギターフレーズと空間的な音響美を軸に静謐と実験性が同居するオリジナル曲群の80年以来初となるオリジナル・テープからの最新リマスターに加え、

ポストパンク黎明期のマンチェスターの息吹を今に伝えるホーム/スタジオ・デモや未発表曲、初期ライヴ音源などを網羅したファン垂涎の2枚組全33曲構成。伝記本『A LIFE OF REILLY』の著者JAMES NICE、PRIMAL SCREAMのBOBBY GILLESPIE、MOJO誌IAN HARRISONによる3篇のライナーノーツを収録したハードカヴァーブック仕様で、資料的価値も非常に高い一作です。

48ページ・ブックレット付属デラックス・ハードカヴァー・ブック(147MM (W) X 196MM (H))仕様2CD限定盤。
85年のカセット・エディション・アートワークをリストアしたトールブック・スリーヴ。

More debut albums should be so amusingly perverse with its titles -- and there's the original vinyl sleeve, which consisted of sandpaper precisely so it would damage everything next to it in one's collection. Released in the glow of post-punk fervor in late-'70s Manchester, one would think Return would consist of loud, aggressive sheet-metal feedback, but that's not the way Vini Reilly works. With heavy involvement from producer Martin Hannett, who created all the synth pieces on the record as well as producing it, Reilly on Return made a quietly stunning debut, as influential down the road as his labelmates in Joy Division's effort with Unknown Pleasures. Eschewing formal "rock" composition and delivery -- the album was entirely instrumental, favoring delicacy and understated invention instead of singalong brashness -- Reilly made his mark as the most unique, distinct guitarist from Britain since Bert Jansch. Embracing electric guitar's possibilities rather than acoustic's, Reilly fused a variety of traditions effortlessly -- that one song was called "Jazz" could be called a giveaway, but the free-flowing shimmers and moods always revolve around central melodies. "Conduct," with its just apparent enough key hook surrounded by interwoven, competing lines, is a standout, turning halfway through into a downright anthemic full-band rise while never being overbearing. Hannett's production gave his compositions a just-mysterious-enough sheen, with Reilly's touches on everything from surfy reverb to soft chiming turned at once alien and still warm. Consider the relentless rhythm box pulse on "Requiem for a Father," upfront but not overbearing as Reilly's filigrees and softly spiraling arpeggios unfold in the mix -- but equally appealing is "Sketch for Winter," Reilly's guitar and nothing more, a softly haunting piece living up to its name. The 1996 reissue is the edition to search for, containing six excellent bonus tracks. Two are actually solo Hannett synth pieces from the sessions, but others include an initial tribute to Joy Division's Ian Curtis, "Lips That Would Kiss," and "Sleep Will Come," featuring the group's first vocal performance thanks to A Certain Ratio member Jeremy Kerr. ~ Ned Raggett