The Durutti Column - Lips That Would Kiss / Madeleine (1991)

I have a hard time writing about this sort of music. It's just so contrarily to anything else that's ever been created. Its no doubt that Reilly is a true artist as The Durutti Column have released a profusion of material over the years and its all been gorgeous and moving. His more recent material experiments with different styles (including hip hop and an ode to New Order among many others and inclusion of instruments and electronics not seen in his early stuff) which have been hit or miss with fans, but I find all of his recent work to be quite good, albeit not as transcendental as his earlier pieces. Lips That Would Kiss / Madeleine is a collection of mostly early released and unreleased material from the archives of Factory Benelux, Les Disques du Crépuscule and Sordide Sentimental. If there was ever any question to the correlation between beauty and sadness, Vini Reilly answers magnificently with this collection. This album is subtle and shimmering, with such a grave (and sometimes light and flickering) tone; perfect fireplace music on a night alone writing poetry and drinking wine. Reilly's guitar playing is nothing less than astounding and completely converse to his peers' style as always. The Durutti Column is truly in a league of its own and its this unlikeness that gathered Reilly such a fan base across the world. This is definitely a collection worth having unless you feel the obsessive desire to hunt down all the EPs, singles, and compilations that these songs originated from, but then again you'd be missing out on some of his unreleased material that is on par with his best songs. Again, this is beauty and sadness in an audio format, and is a very introspective collection - snag it and jam it when you're feeling inward looking and maybe a little lost. Vini will purge you of all your subconscious feelings better than any therapist could.

Rating: 9/10

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