FM and Nash the Slash

[olzen]

Well, I just won the auction for COTN (rated VG), and the AYTYWN (VG++) I bought was shipped a few days ago. Really looking forward to receiving them!

I'm paying £6.5 for AYTYWN while I got COTN for a measly £1.35 That's not including shipping, of course, but still two damn nice bargains!

[olzen]

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

Sorry for the double post, but guess what I found in a second hand store for about £1 today

[2066]

Btw, Terry, I think I taped that same FM show off CFNY as you did. Is that the one where Who's Gonna Win the War by Hawkwind gets played directly after the end of it?

I don't remember that, man. I recorded it on reel to reel. I'll have to dust it off one day and play it. I do remember Hawkins mentioning something about Peel Region police on it!!!

[Massed Gadgets]

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.

Did you ever confirm, Terry, is this guy Michael Waite? I do vaguely remember Nash mentioning the band Breathless when I interviewed him in '81. And Nash did play on the Michael Waite and Eyes album Cosmic Wave.

[olzen]

Well, it's official: eBay has become my favourite place to pick up FM and Nash-stuff. Mainly since I've just won this auction.

And I thought the price I paid for COTN was insane!

[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.

Did you ever confirm, Terry, is this guy Michael Waite? I do vaguely remember Nash mentioning the band Breathless when I interviewed him in '81. And Nash did play on the Michael Waite and Eyes album Cosmic Wave.

No, not yet. I have a bit of cash in my pocket now, so I think I'll trip over to Broadview and buy something (He's got lots of cool vinyl) and also ask him if he is one and the same.

[PublicImage]

I listened to Children of the Night a few days ago. The music is pretty interesting, but I don't find his vocals too compelling. I'll give it another try to see if it grows on me. Is there anything else I should try out as a newbie? I'm much more interested in electronic music like this than prog rock, so I'm more likely to prioritise something along these lines than a prog album.

Edit:
I'm streaming And You Thought You Were Normal on last.fm right now and I really like it. Dance After Curfew is awesome.

[olzen]

"And You Thought You Were Normal" is probably my own favourite album of his as well, though I'd recommend that you listen to it in the original running order, which can be found somewhere in this thread. I thought "Citizen" was an average song till I heard how it works when it opens the album. Now it's one of my favourite Nash songs - been thinking about doing a cover of it, even.

If you want to hear some stuff without vocals, go for "Blind Windows" and "Decomposing", both of which are instrumental. Great stuff. The latter remains unreleased on CD, but you should be able to find a vinyl rip online. His soundtrack for "Nosferatu" is brilliant too, but much more traditional.

However, if you want to give his vocals a second chance, listen to "American BandAges". While the notion of a cover album might put you off, he delivers some of his best singing on that one. More specifically, I really dig his versions of "Born to Be Wild" and "Psychotic Reaction". "1984" is pretty bland, though...

[Damn!t]

Seems I should check this band...judging by the fuss it coused in here.
Question is where to start...

[olzen]

Don't forget that the "fuss" is mainly caused by me at the moment

When it comes to FM, you'll want to start with "Black Noise", which is pretty much a masterpiece, in my opinion. If you like that, you can move on with their discography in chronological order. Be warned, though: while their second-to-last album ("Con-Test") is barely decent, their last album ("Tonight") is pretty awful. Not just in my opinion!

As for Nash the Slash, "And You Thought You Were Normal" is probably his best album. I'll just post the original track list here, for the convinience of you and Roger:

Citizen
Pretty Folks
RSVP
Vincent's Crows
Dance After Curfew
Normal
The Hypnotist
Remember When
Animal Jamboree
Stalker

The CD release has a different running order and has been extended with a few instrumentals, but the above version does indeed flow better. And if you like that, go for "Children of the Night".

[Damn!t]

Thanks.
I shall follow that pattern.

[Massed Gadgets]

Nash's original EP Bedside Companion and his first solo album Dreams and Nightmares (which now both come together on the CD release Blind Windows) are still probably my favourites. His soundtrack to Un Chien Andalou still sends shivers up my spine. But every single piece on Blind Windows holds some special meaning for me. The instrumental EP Decomposing is terrific too. Womble is one of my favourite cuts, and one of his most intense pieces. Children of the Night and And You Thought You Were Normal are both amazing albums. Like Olzen, I would say AYTYWN is his best of those two, and I also prefer the original running order of the vinyl LP to the running order of the CD. As far as covers albums go, I never really got that much into American Bandages, but I have really enjoyed his more recent In-A-Gadda-Da-Nash album. He really owns every track he covers, putting his own distinctive sound and creativity into it.

As far as FM goes, yep, Black Noise is the classic to get first. Headroom is also an awesome album, though less song oriented and probably their most 'out there' album. I love Surveillance as well, though it doesn't quite have the magic of those earlier albums. City of Fear is also a top notch album, but you could definitely hear the band starting to move away from their proggier tendencies towards a more commercial rock and pop direction. After that, however, I lost interest. Con-Test and Tonight, imo, were really just 80's radio-friendly commercial pop albums, of no real interest to me, personally.

[olzen]

The instrumental EP Decomposing is terrific too. Womble is one of my favourite cuts, and one of his most intense pieces.

Adding to that, "Decomposing" is also unique as the running order shows track times for 33.3 RPM, 45 RPM and 78 RPM, with no speed being the "real" one. In fact, I prefer "Womble" in 33.3 RPM. It's a monster!

[nosaj]

Wow, Nash the Slash fans!!!!! I remember talking to Terry about a lot of music over beer in years past. Nice guy. I know we talked briefly about Nash the Slash...anyway, one thing I never did was buy a Nash the Slash solo album. Strange, because he was cool when I was quite a young dude. They played videos of him on shows like the New Music, before there was a Much Music (the Canadian equivalent of MTV)...I have had Youtube blocked at work since before the creation of this thread, but I will watch the TVO videos on the first page...hmmm, Ben Mink. That is a name I have not heard in a decade.

[Massed Gadgets]

...hmmm, Ben Mink. That is a name I have not heard in a decade.

I have a solo album of his he did back in the early 80's, and it has the other members of FM playing on, but doesn't sound at all like FM...it's more instrumental ethnic jazz rock. Quite a good album. Mink is a phenomenal player.