FM and Nash the Slash

[Massed Gadgets]

The release of Black Noise was kind screwed up...it was originally released, I believe, in 1977 by the CBC as a mail-order only record, and was not very well promoted. By the end of 1977, Nash had left the band and Ben Mink had joined. They recorded Direct to Disc and released it first early in 1978, I believe. Then Passport Records re-issued Black Noise later in 1978 as a normal release available in stores. This lead to the common misconception around the time, I remember, that Direct to Disc was their debut album and Black Noise was their second release. After that, I believe there were further re-issues of Black Noise which probably accounts for the different copyright dates on your versions. I hate that too when labels fail to put the original release date on their releases. I have bought albums thinking they were a new release when it turns out they were actually a re-issue.

[2066]

This guy that I met last week who knew Nash is a guy named Mike who played in a band with him called Breathless. Apparently they recorded but never released anything. He has a record store near me at Broadview and Danforth called Mike's Music. Extremely nice fellow! I could have talked to him for hours, but Mrs. 2066 was waiting for me and you guys know what happens when you're very late! I'm going to back to his store next week when I get my cheque from the government.

[olzen]

Would that be Mike as in Michael Waite? Cause apparently, he also plays bass on some FM songs as well. On the "Tonight" album, I think...

[Massed Gadgets]

That's a distinct possibility, as I know Nash did play in a band with Michael Waite, back when they were teenagers...though I don't know what the band was called, so it could have been Breathless...I think I mentioned before I have an album by Michael Waite (and Eyes) that Nash plays on. It came out back in the 80's, and it's sort of a collision between 60's psychedelia, 70's rock and 80's pop. I think Nash only played on a couple of tracks. It's a great album though, if you can find it. Far as I know it's another one of those that has never been re-released. Best song on it is a classic called Me and the Silver Surfer.

[my breakfast.]

Just been viewing a few videos of this guy/band etc... very interesting. The mandolin sounds nothing like a mandolin!

[olzen]

It never does. I bet he's the only guy who's ever covered Smoke On the Water with a mandolin.

[nosaj]

I have performed Smoke On the Water with a mandolin!!! I used to have an electric one.

EDIT: In fact, one of my versions of Set The Controls had a bit of mandolin in it.

[olzen]

Copycat

Listening to the demo version of "Black Noise" from Nash's "Lost In Space"-compilation. The three early FM tracks on that album are actually better than the later versions featuring Martin Deller, IMO. Just two amazing musicians, a drum machine and a lot of fantastic music...

[Massed Gadgets]

This from Nash's web site:

October 31, 1981

Monster Solo Halloween Show at the Concert Hall, Toronto.

This is the big solo return gig to Toronto. A crowd of 800 have come to see a spectacle and they get it.

On stage, Nash is flanked by two large abstract metal sculptures, with platforms holding a collection of 8 carved and lit pumpkins. The finale is Dopes on the Water, and at the start of the opening power chords, the top two pumpkins explode like a sonic boom. Pumpkin goosh is sent into the upper balcony. The front rows are underneath the trajectory, but the orangey flesh hits the sound board and the stunned crowd 50 feet away. The exploding pumpkins have never been done since, as it took two weeks to get all the crap out of the stage equipment. All the white stage cloth had to be thrown out.


This was one of the most memorable nights of my life. I was just 16 years old. This is the night me and my friends got to hang with Nash after the show, just him and my friends, and a woman who was in and out periodically. This is the show which I still have his bandages from (stained with fake blood and pumpkin goosh no less!). He told us all about the pumpkin disaster that night too, less than an hour after it had happened. He said it was one of the most horrifying moments for him ever when he went to consult his notes on synth settings for the first encore and they were completely covered with goo. He basically had to wing it. What a great show, and what an amazing night.

[olzen]

Sounds like one hell of a gig. Ironically, I was pretty much the same age as you when I originally discovered Nash's music. Maybe I was 15, I don't remember. But I do remember downloading the album "Thrash" from eMusic and liking it a lot. I still do, but these days, I'm more into "Blind Windows" and "And You Thought You Were Normal". And as a silent film fan, I have to say that his soundtrack for "Nosferatu" is awesome as well!

[2066]

I won tickets from a local radio station to go see "Nash" on Halloween night at Massey Hall, I think. It was so long ago. The location could be wrong. I certainly don't remember any exploding pumpkins! Very good show, though. Mostly material from Children Of The Night. Good Record.

[olzen]

I only got into "Children of the Night" recently, but I agree. It's quite brilliant. "Swing-Shift" impressed me the most. Just compare the insanely heavy beat to that of Nine Inch Nails' "Vessel" and remember that more than 20 years seperate the two. Goes to show that Nash was (and still is) well ahead of his time.

Actually, I've got a question for the older Nash fans here. I'm thinking it's only a matter of time before I start collecting stuff with Nash and FM. In the case of an album such as "And You Thought You Were Normal", would you go for the original vinyl release or the expanded CD? Might be a no-brainer - of course, one would go for the one with more music on it - but I'm also thinking about the flow and sound quality here.

What do you think? Are Nash's remastered CDs worth the extra cash and the absurdly long shipping time?

[Massed Gadgets]

With the CD's of course you get bonus tracks. In the case of Children of the Night, the bonus studio cuts were all from 45's, which you may be able to track down, I don't know. I'm not sure where the bonus live cuts came from. I was never much of a fan of CD re-issues having a bunch of assorted bonus tracks tacked onto the end. I often find myself running to turn the player off before the bonus tracks start. So as far as Children of the Night, I would prefer the vinyl (and pick up the bonus cuts on old 45's if you can). Plus, the vinyl had different artwork, which I preferred over the artwork he's got on the CD.

And You Thought You Were Normal is a bit of a different beast. Nash has not only re-arranged the running order of the original album, but he's sprinkled in the bonus tracks at various points on the album rather than at the end. Opinion seems to be divided on this. Nash himself obviously prefers it this way, as he did it, and some believe it improves the flow and elevates the album to a whole new level. Personally, I prefer the original vinyl. When I downloaded AYTYWN from emusic, the first thing I did was select all the original songs, copy them to another folder and re-arranged them in the original running order. The vinyl featured a side of 'vocal' songs and a side of instrumentals. The original track order was:

Side 1
Citizen
Pretty Folks
R.S.V.P.
Vincent's Crows
Dance After Curfew

Side 2
Normal
The Hypnotist
Remember When
Animal Jamboree
Stalker

The original vinyls of Bedside Companion and Dreams and Nightmares (now compiled as one on the Blind Windows CD) also had darker, haunting artwork that didn't make it to the CD.

So overall, if you like vinyl and have a turntable, and can get the original versions, I would go for them. Besides, if you want to complete your collection, you'll have to get the EP Decomposing, which has never been re-issued on CD...only the original vinyl.

One CD you should try to get, however (besides of course his more well known CD releases) is the first CD that was released on Cutthroat Records (in 1991), Nash's soundtrack to the Bruce McDonald film Highway 61. Only 333 copies were pressed, individually numbered and signed by Nash. A cool collector's item if you can find it!

[olzen]

Thanks for the advice. Because of it, I'm currently bidding on a vinyl copy of "Children of the Night" on eBay, which I will hopefully win! If I want the bonus tracks, I can always download legal (read: DRM-ridden) wma's of most of his music, thanks to my cable subscription anyway.

Looking forward to starting collecting these albums. I wonder how the sound quality will be. I haven't really been impressed with any of his reissues in that department. I understand his independent nature makes it impossible to do full-blown remasters, but a little noise reduction in Audacity - applied intelligently, of course - would clear up a lot of issues of his CDs!

EDIT: I also just ordered a VG++ vinyl copy of "And You Thought You Were Normal". I got greedy

[Massed Gadgets]

I'm sure you'll be pleased, as long as the vinyl's in good shape. Children of the Night was actually a major label release (Virgin Records) and was produced by Steve Hillage, no less!