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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Durutti Column - Jacqueline (Live 1988)

The Durutti Column - Another Setting (1983)

Depression and Ennui go hand in hand. You lose interest in things and then you sit around pondering what to do with your day, wishing you could float aloft into the sky, or if your depression is severe enough, lay down and just cease to be.

This is a very solemn, lonely, and reflective album, although shimmering with beauty. "Spent Time" is the perfect example of this - its such a gorgeous, captivating song with endless depth and wisdom. Beauty and sadness also go hand in hand sometimes. To quote Oscar Wilde from De Profundis, "Where there is Sorrow there is holy ground. Some day people will realize what that means. They will know nothing of life till they do." Beauty is interesting to me. It's always fleeting. Its sometimes exotic. It houses a certain vagueness. I'm sure countless people have discussed and debated what constitutes and embodies it, but I do think a key component is ambiguity.

The Durutti Column is essentially Vini Reilly. I could talk at great lengths about how I feel Mr. Reilly must be a great man based simply on listening to his lengthy and impressive discography over the past year or so. He is most assuredly a very, very talented guitar player. But beyond that, he has an emotional range that is rich and well explored, which he conveys well in his songs, some of which he refers to as "sketches." An apt term, as his music often paints hazy mental pictures for the keen listener to form subjective personal imagery. Both musically and lyrically this is an album of beauty, sadness, subtlety, vagueness, and all those qualities holding hands and dancing around those of us with the ability to appreciate them.

"I want your special smile. Your smile in this crowd"

Just beautiful.

Rating: 10/10

DOWNLOAD: http://rapidshare.com/files/407024316/_1983__another_setting.zip