THE SOUNDMIND DISCOGRAPHY

THE REMASTERED VERSION April 2004

by Peter Sjöblom

INTRODUCTION

I compiled my first Walkabouts discography to go with an interview conducted with Chris Eckman and Carla Torgerson one summer's day at the Hultsfred festival in Sweden 1996. The interview was originally published in a fanzine called Soundmind. The fanzine was intended to feature in-depth interviews with artists I particularly admired but was shortlived to say the least: Soundmind went down after only one issue. My appreciation of the Walkabouts on the other hand has proven continuous. I think I'm safe saying I have developed a lifelong relation to the band through their music. Anyway, the actual fanzine may be bygones but the name has lingered on through the many discography updates published here on thewalkabouts.com.

Although my opinions expressed in past versions haven't changed to any noteworthy degree, many of my previous comments have become outdated. Especially since the Walkabouts are still going strong with an increasing amount of albums added to their and off-shoot project Chris & Carla's back catalogue. Furthermore, my early heavy-handed writing style sometimes makes want to slap my forehead in utter horror. Therefore I see it fit not only to update the discography, but rework it fundamentally. This new and expanded version features completely rewritten reviews and I have also attempted to give it structure easier to overview.

The discography is organised thus:

1. THE WALKABOUTS

1.1 Albums

1.2 Live albums (including "official bootlegs")

1.3 Compilations

1.4 Singles & EP's  

1.5 Important V/A compilations

1.6 VHS

2. CHRIS & CARLA

2.1 Albums

2.2 Live albums (including "official bootlegs")

2.3 Soundtracks

2.4 Important V/A compilations

3. CHRIS ECKMAN

3.1 Albums

3.2 Important V/A compilations

4. CARLA TORGERSON

4.1 Original score

5. OTHER PROJECTS

5.1 Joe Leonard

5.2 Höst

5.3 i

5.4 André Heller

5.5 Sigmatropic

Each album has been given a specific number for cross references denoted in the text thus: [0.0.0].

Most of the categorisations shouldn't confront the reader with too many problems, but a few things may be commented upon.

With the appearance of the CD format, the line between singles and full length albums began to blur. When does an EP become a mini album and when would a mini album pass for a regular album? My vague notion tells me that 33 rpm discs and CDS with all exclusive songs and regardless of length belong in the "Albums" section. That's why you'll find "Rag + Bone" and the more recent "Slow Days with Nina" included among albums, whereas the five track "Dead Man Rise", culling the title track from the "Scavenger" LP, is listed with the singles and EP's. "22 Disasters" is a 45 rpm release, and is therefore included with the singles as well.

Songs that remain exclusive to a certain single/EP have been specified.

As to appearances on "various artists" albums: There are myriads of compilations featuring Walkabouts or Chris & Carla tracks, but only a few of them are unavailable elsewhere. Only albums with still exclusive tracks are listed in this category. Not only would this discography soon get completely out of hand listing them, but they are basically irrelevant from a listener's point of view. (Collectors are an altogether different breed...) This also goes for tracks now available on the rarities compilations "Death Valley Days" and "Drunken Soundtracks", no matter if the songs in question were rare or exclusive prior to the release of these two albums.

Neither will you find promo releases included herein unless they feature exclusive material. For an extensive runthrough of promos, as well as compilation tracks ignored herein, please see Jørgen Rasmussen's "Rare tracks and promo-only releases" disposition elsewhere on this site.

As far as I know, no genuine bootlegs by the Walkabouts exist. The band's official policy of allowing free trading of unreleased material among fans may have taken the air out of such a market on beforehand. However, the same policy have encouraged an active traders scene. Some of these fan circulated CD-R's are lavishly packaged items but they are nevertheless of such an elusive nature that I see no point in including them here.

Many people have patiently, even enthusiastically, helped me with this ongoing project over the years, and they deserve most kind and loving thanks: Gustaf Bengtsson, Bengt Brunzell, Christer Bäckhage, Andrew Chin, Tom Crow, Gerhard Frese, Håkan Johansson, Clive Jones, Franz-Josef Lortz, Rembert Stiewe and Peter Weber. A very special thanks to Chris Eckman to whom no question have been too small to answer. But the biggest thanks of all goes, of course, to all Walkabouts members, past and present - without their music life would have a lot more holes.

* * *

1. THE WALKABOUTS

1.1 ALBUMS

1.1.1  WEIGHTS AND RIVERS

[MC] Necessity C-005, US 1987 [demo only]

Place He Falls - Drunk (On A Civilized Rule) - In Your Museum - Temple Square - Cyclone - Bunker Hill - Mai Tai Time - Cool King - Death Valley Days - Gather Round

It seems like a law of nature that every great band should have an unreleased album locked away in the vaults (or in some cases aborted already at the planning stage): The Beatles, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young, the Beach Boys... But maybe Robyn Hitchcock - himself responsible of a musical miscarriage - wasn't completely off mark when suggesting that such albums become legendary only because they were too bad to put out in the first place. The Walkabouts got done with their "legendary lost album" already early on in their career. And they'd be the first to subscribe to Hitchcock's theory - ask Chris and Carla about "Weights & Rivers" and they get a slightly embarassed look on their faces.

In 1987, after a false career start with the dreadful "22 Disasters" [1.4.2], they went into the studio to record an album's worth of material. The results were passed around as a demo tape and even landed the band a deal with the L.A. based Wrestler label. But before long, Wrestler went bankrupt and the band gave up on the idea of releasing "Weights & Rivers". It was stripped down to a 7" released on their own Necessity imprint, coupling the most successful track "Bunker Hill" (now retitled "Linda Evans") with "Cyclone" [1.4.2]. Then, the Walkabouts began working on what was to become their LP debut, "See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens" [1.1.2] in 1988.

But the tale of the ill-fated album doesn't end there. For the CD reissue of "Rattlesnake Gardens", the "Linda Evans" single was installed as bonus tracks along with two more songs from the original sessions ("Mai Tai Time" and "Gather Round"). Many years later, one further "Weights & Rivers" track was resurrected to open the rarities compilation "Death Valley Days" [1.3.1]. This effectively means that half of "Weights & Rivers" has actually been released. Five tracks remain on the original demo, unheard by most.

So what are these virtually unreleased tracks like?

Well, compared to "22 Disasters" they're not that bad. The vocals are less hysterical and although the songs sometimes are a tad overwrought, a track like "Place He Falls" is well worthy of an official release, sounding like an precedent cross of "Jumping Off" and "Feast or Famine" off "Rattlesnake Gardens".

"Cool King" may be a underdeveloped melodically but has some stirring bass playing to redeem it. "In Your Museum" had a place in the band's early set lists and sports some guitar work reminiscent of Cure song "Boys Don't Cry". The pesudo-Oriental solo may be charming rather than skilled, but nevertheless adds nicely to the song. However, "Temple Square" and "Death Valley Days" (note the title!) are at best average.

Other than "Place He Falls", the best songs from these early sessions are officially available. But hearing "Weights & Rivers the way it was originally intended, it isn't such a bad album after all, far from untalented or as annoying as "22 Disasters". However, chances are small that it will ever be released in its original form. A pity to some, a relief to others but still it remains an interesting document of the Walkabouts embryonic days.

1.1.2  SEE BEAUTIFUL RATTLESNAKE GARDENS

[LP] PopLlama PL 4129, US 1988 [w/insert]

[LP] StillSane SANE 5, GER 1988

[CD] PopLlama PLCD 4129, US 1988?

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 355, GER 1995

Jumping Off - Breakneck Speed - The Wellspring - John Reilly - Robert McFarlane Blues - This Rotten Tree - Laughingstock - Glass Palace - Feast Or Famine - Ballad Of Moss Head - Who-Knows-What - Rattlesnake Theme - Linda Evans* - Mai Tai Time* - Cyclone* - Gather Round* - Certain Gift*

[*] CD only

The band's proper debut is a hotchpotch of styles ranging from the cheerful country romp of "This Rotten Tree" over the dronish "Robert McFarlane Blues" to the more reflective and comfortably executed "Feast or Famine". The latter and the limping waltz "Who-Knows-What" mark the high points of this set. But although "See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens" bears witness to a restless search for an identity, it's hard not to be touched by the youthful charm and energy pouring out of it.

The CD reissue expands the original album with five bonus tracks, and some worthwhile moments are to be found among them. As explained above, "Linda Evans" was chosen from the "Weights & Rivers" [1.1.1] to become the band's first 7" [1.4.3] and stands out as one of the very best tracks from this early era. Their take on Arthur Lee's "Gather Round" succesfully strips it down to the essence. Another overlooked gem is "Certain Gift", originally included on the rare cassette-only release "Sounds of Young Seattle, Vol. II". "It remains one of my favorite things that we ever recorded," Chris says of the track. "We finally succeeded in being the Rain Parade!"

1.1.3  CATARACT

[LP] SubPop SP31, US 1989 [w/insert?]

[LP] Glitterhouse GR 0073, GER 1989 [w/insert]

Whiskey XXX - Hell's Soup Kitchen - Whereabouts Unknown - End-In-Tow - Bones Of Contention - Home As Found - Smokestack - The Wicked Skipper - Drille Terriers - Specimen Days - Long Black Veil - Goodbye (To All That)

Although a bit more focused in the songwriting department than "Rattlesnake Gardens" [1.1.2], this is still a rather disparate collection, ranging from the energetic to the collected without not yet making the extremes gel to a unity. The throatgrab on "Drille Terriers" (a traditional falsely credited to Chris Eckman on the LP insert) is fun, but it's the brooding side of the album that takes the cake. "Whereabouts Unknown" is a more-than-appealing slice of acoustic, troubled folk rock while "Long Black Veil" definitely points out the direction the band would go in the following years. The trademark guitar sound of Chris Eckman begins here. Surprising as it may have seemed at the time, it was perfectly logical that "Long Black Veil" reappeared - if only briefly - in the band's 1999 live set.

"Cataract" is available on CD as "Rag + Bone" fleshing out the mini album of that name [1.1.5].

1.1.4  RAG + BONE

[MLP] SubPop SP56/b, US 1990

The Anvil Song - Ahead Of The Storm - Medicine Hat - Wreck Of The Old #9 - Mr. Clancy - Last Ditch

First album to feature longterm member Glenn Slater on keyboards and originally intended to be called "Great Schoolhouse Fire" to reflect the cover picture (which makes for one of the greatest Walkabouts sleeves to this date), this title was nixed by SubPop who thought it sounded "too folksy". A rather curious argument considering that the Walkabouts were deeply rooted in the folk (and folk rock) tradition, as proven partially by this six track mini album.

Except for the downright terrible "Anvil Song" - a rocker that mind-boggingly enough cropped up time and time again in the live sets during the early 90's - "Rag + Bone" utilizes the best aspects of "Cataract". The traditional "Wreck of the Old #9" was a long standing live favourite, even before it was recorded, while "Mr. Clancy" is, judging by the mood and lyrics, a rather intimidating fellow. But in this concise set of songs, there's one particular track that stands out as an exclamation mark.

Rarely mentioned and rarely played, I consider "Medicine Hat" the band's best song up to that point. Carla matches the folksy, foreboding mood perfectly with one of her best vocal performances that far. "Medicine Hat" is a watershed, the moment when the Walkabouts as a band suddenly found themselves grown up.

1.1.5  RAG + BONE [incl. CATARACT]

[CD] SubPop Germany SP 56b, GER 1990

[CD] Glitterhouse GR 0085, GER 1990

The Anvil Song - Ahead Of The Storm - Medicine Hat - Wreck Of The Old #9 - Mr. Clancy - Last Ditch - Whiskey XXX - Hell's Soup Kitchen - Whereabouts Unknown - End-In-Tow - Bones Of Contention - Home as Found - Smokestack - The Wicked Skipper - Drille Terriers - Specimen Days - Long Black Veil - Goodbye (To All That)

See [1.1.3] and [1.1.4] for reviews.

1.1.6  SCAVENGER

[LP] SubPop SP 124, GER 1991

[CD] SubPop SP 124b, US 1991

Dead Man Rise - Stir The Ashes - The Night Watch - Hangman - Where The Deep Water Goes - Blown Away - Nothing Is A Stranger - Let's Burn Down The Cornfield - River Blood - Train To Mercy

Getting Brian Eno to play on "Train to Mercy" and name producer Gary Smith to work on the sound probably warranted the band a little more press coverage than before. But what's really important here is that "Scavenger" is the first Walkabouts album with a cohesive feel. Gary Smith's console wizardry probably helped it, but I think the main reason is that Chris' songwriting really began to flourish around this time. A fact acknowledged by the band to this day - "Train to Mercy" still adds to their encores if the mood is right, and "Dead Man Rise" had a brush-up for the European tour in 2003. Other tracks again have an unnerving feel to them, such as "The Night Watch", a goth noir in black & white, and the equally monochrome gospel Western "Hangman". The sinister atmosphere continues with the drunken ravings of "Nothing Is a Stranger" - another song that wouldn't be out of place in a contemporary set list.

Amidst this creative burgeoning season, first ever Walkabouts drummer and Eckman brother Grant decides to leave the band. Tired of the uncertain life and hard work of a struggling band, he quits in favour of a family oriented life.

1.1.7  NEW WEST MOTEL

[2LP] SubPop SP 81/252, GER 1993 [original copies w/sticker on front]

[CD] SubPop Germany CD 81/252, GER 1993

[CD] Creativeman CMD028CD, US 1993

Jack Candy - Sundowner - Grand Theft Auto - Break It Down Gently - Your Hope Shines - Murdering Stone - Sweet Revenge - Glad Nation's Death Song - Long Time Here - Wondertown (Part One) - Drag This River - Snake Mountain Blues - Findlay's Motel - Unholy Dreams - Yesterday Is Here* - Like A Hurricane* - Prisoner Of Texas*

[*] LP only

It didn't take too long before the Walkabouts found a new drummer to replace Grant Eckman. Terri Moeller was already a friend of the band, and upon hearing "New West Motel", it is clear that she didn't need a very long time to adapt to the task. Small effort to great results significates her beat, and helps turning "New West Motel" into the first major Walkabouts album.

"Glad Nation's Death Song" could have benefitted from a more vigorous performance (as during the European 2003 tour), and "Unholy Dreams" might seem a bit redundant postscripting "Findlay's Motel". But these are lesser remarks considering the album as a whole.

The almost-a-hit-single "Jack Candy" kicks it off and it immediately becomes clear that Chris Eckman has struck narrator's gold this time. The lyrics on "New West Motel" are more cinematic than ever before and reaches a creative climax with the decidedly film noirish "Findlay's Motel". It's dark, it's probably raining and somewhere on the outskirts of town a woman fatally shoots the motel owner of the song title.

"Findlay's Motel" is among Chris' most precisely constructed and sophisticated lyrics, archetypal in its philosophy of circumstances that permeates his writings. This philosophy isn't necessarily intentional (i.e. the lyrics don't reflect a clearly and deliberately defined intellectual attitude per se) but the choice of subject and the shaping of the characters' minds reveal a certain view of what affects people's lives. Not that the lyrics are existentialist manifestos (certainly not in a Sartre fashion) but they indeed deal with the conflicts between the concepts of chance/circumstance and free will. The characters may be down for the count, but they usually rise from the dust or at least adjust to the circumstances. Changes occur, be it regardless of our own powers or as a direct result of our actions, but it's up to us what to make of the experience. There are often lessons to be learnt, but Chris Eckman trusts the listeners to decide upon the moral for themselves. That suggests a keen sense of humanity in his writings.

Although God may seem implicitly present in Chris' lyrical world through words like "devil" or "pray"/"prayer", these words can rather be seen as representations of states of mind or situations. "The devil" may represent chance or circumstance while variations on the word "pray" rather seem to refer to hope and/or relief than a religiously inspired act. "Jesus" is used very sparingly, and more often as a description of conceit, as in

                       And when you're down

                       You can buy the Jesus pose

from "Grand Theft Auto". God is conspicuously absent in the world the lyrics create. God is mentioned only once, on 1997's "Nighttown" [1.1.11], where "God's drunks" appear in "Tremble (Goes the Night)", but that looks more like a tribute to Richard Thompson's song "God Loves a Drunk" than a direct reference to God as a religious force or even a secular representation. Whereas one person is inclined to interpret sets of circumstances as connotations to God, Chris never submit to it. Which leads us back to the subject of humanity and the belief in the human mind and being. At a superficial glance it may be inviting sometimes to write off the song characters as losers obeying any one instinct most tempting to surrender to at any given moment (on "New West Motel", many of the lyrics' inhabitants are people with a gambler's mind). But there's always a compassion for them just underneath the surface that underlines the sense of humanity. And that sense may be one of the reasons why the lyrics can be so elevating and consoling even though they are set in a sombre world.

These are lyrical traits evident already on earlier albums and they will reoccur on later records as well, but they first appear at their most striking on "New West Motel".

To take everything down to a more basic level, let me say a few things about the sound of "New West Motel" and the different formats it is/was available in. The double vinyl is the winner here. The German CD doesn't do the gravelly rock'n'roll howl justice. It sounds tinny and is marred by a thin, high pitched noise running through the entire disc whereas the vinyl is suitably dense and punchy. With the vinyl long out of print, this album demands an urgent remastering. Although the relentless power of "Jack Candy", "Drag This River" or the screaming cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Snake Mountain Blues" is hard to obscure, this is an album that simply deserves a better aural representation than offered by the German CD. (Having not heard the Creativeman equivalent, I can't comment upon that.)

I should say also that the vinyl adds three tracks, all cover versions recorded especially to make up the fourth side. These songs were also released as bonus tracks on the "Jack Candy" CD single [1.4.7].

1.1.8  SATISFIED MIND

[LP] SubPop SP116/294, GER 1993

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 116/294, GER 1993

[CD] Creativeman CMD0029CD, US 1993

Satisfied Mind - Loom Of The Land - The River People - Polly - Buffalo Ballet - Lover's Crime - Shelter For An Evening - Dear Darling - Poor Side Of Town - Free Money - The Storms Are On The Ocean - Feel Like Going Home - Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone

The Walkabouts have become celebrated interpreters of other people's songs, and much of that reputation is founded on this widely acclaimed, semi-acoustic collection of covers. "Satisfied Mind" draws heavily on American traditions and performers - only two Australians and one Welshman have managed to sneak into this otherwise all-American guild of songwriters.

Chris once half-jokingly confessed that he was surprised by the massive appreciation that continues to greet this album. With less imaginative takes on "Buffalo Ballet" and "Polly" (by John Cale and Gene Clark respectively) plus the yee-haw rendition of the Gary Heffern-penned "Shelter for an Evening", the album isn't flawless. But it has enough to recommend itself. The transfiguration of "Poor Side of Town" from a Johnny Rivers pop ditty to a reflective love plea with political overtones is simply brilliant. As is "The Storms Are on the Ocean". Originally an upbeat tune out of the Carter Family's voluminous song catalogue takes in the hands of the Walkabouts the shape of a thrilling lysergic country ballad. To further prove my point that the slower numbers work best in this collection, Patti Smith's rousing fantasy about sudden wealth, "Free Money", here transforms into an almost accusing imperative against poverty. And before I get too long-winded naming songs, let me just say that it was the Walkabouts who turned "Loom of the Land" into a classic, not Nick Cave.

A propos "Poor Side of Town" and "Free Money", it's interesting to note that money, or the lack of it, is a recurring theme on "Satisfied Mind". Apart from these two songs, the title track and "Buffalo Ballet" touch on the subject (although "The Man Who Couldn't Afford to Orgy" - also from John Cale's album "Fear" - would perhaps have been a more obvious choice!). If you stretch it a bit, you can say that "Shelter for an Evening" too is related to this - accidental? - theme.

1.1.9  SETTING THE WOODS ON FIRE

[2LP] SubPop SP128/319, GER 1994

[CD] SubPop Germany, SP128/319, GER 1994

[CD] Creativeman CMD0030CD, US 1994

Good Luck Morning - Firetrap - Bordertown - Feeling No Pain - Old Crow - Almost Wisdom - Sand & Gravel - Nightdrive - Hole in the Mountain - Pass Me On Over - Up In The Graveyard - Promised

Released not long after "Satisfied Mind" [1.1.8], "Setting the Woods on Fire" pays tribute to yet another American songwriter, Hank Williams, in so far as the title was chosen after a Williams song.

To kill two birds with one stone, the Walkabouts toured for both albums simultaneously in 1994. A tour that spawned live album "To Hell and Back" [1.2.1] as well as a video document of the same name [1.6.1]. The tour was billed as "An Evening with the Walkabouts" and each gig comprised two sets. The first set predominantly relied on the softer "Satisfied Mind" [1.1.8], while the closing set had the band slugging their way through raucous selections from "Setting the Woods on Fire" [1.1.9] with songs from "New West Motel" [1.1.7] thrown in for good measure. The tour probably helped shape the idea that the two albums - "Mind" and "Woods" - are related to each other. Regarded as complementary opposites I guess you can say they are, but "Setting the Woods on Fire" has a lot more in common "New West Motel". Both are volcanic rock music, and "Setting the Woods on Fire" remains the band's roughest, loudest, dirtiest, grittiest effort to date. Wrote Chris with wry humour: "I think we turned up the amps on 'Setting' because a few of the songs were not quite up to snuff. I guess we felt, that if we made a big noise, nobody would notice."

In the case of the both musically and lyrically embarassing "Old Crow" I agree with Chris, but as for the rest of the album, the songs are definitely up to snuff. Ass-kicker "Good Luck Morning" sets the grim tone of the album and sports one of the best guitar riffs of the band's career; "Up in the Graveyard" is a heartfelt rememberance of Chris' father; "Sand & Gravel" is psychedelia in black & white, while "Bordertown" still stands proud as the worthiest follow-up to Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer".

If the album continues along the sonic lines drawn by "New West Motel", it digresses from it lyrically. The props and stagings of "New West Motel" were usually set in small, Robert Altman-like mindscapes and landscapes. The overall scenery of "Setting the Woods on Fire" is much broader. It speaks of long journeys and restless departures, as in the aforementioned "Good Luck Morning":

                       Take my savings and my ring

                       and buy yourself somethin' to wear

                       The bus rolls out of here at five

                       They'll still be up when you get there

and uses often nature to mirror states of mind, as in

                       I'll come back in the winter

                       on a trail of no remorse

                       and my footprints will get covered

                                  by the frozen snow

from "Firetrap". Resignation and the unability to break away from rut and hopelessness is prominent in "Almost Wisdom", a song that at least lyrically resembles the darker sides of Bruce Springsteen. The sense of a lost tomorrow extends into "Bordertown", the album's miniature "Spoon River Anthology". As opposed to "Findlay's Motel", "Bordertown" paints a detailed picture by actually leaving details out:

                       And John Law wakes to sweep

                       the morning off the street

                       but no one cares if he has done his job

                       And postcards never came

                       from race tracks by the sea

                       from a gambler who says:

                       'You are still my lucky thing'

That and the conclusive

                       Down here only taxi drivers know my name

have more levels of experience than they have lines and words.

The numbed desire for a better someplace and (where the characters actually manage to break out of resignation) the disturbing notion of never coming back to the place you just arrived makes "Setting the Woods on Fire" a bleaker album than "New West Motel". But just like the cover has a fire burning, so has the music. The sheer power of the out-on-the-edge performances evokes willpower, and with such inherent opposites, "Setting the Woods on Fire" ends up an even better album than "New West Motel".

1.1.10  DEVIL'S ROAD

[LP] Virgin 7243 84134914, GER 1996 [DMM pressing]

[CD] Virgin 7243 84134921, GER 1996

The Light Will Stay On - Rebecca Wild - The Stopping-Off Place - Cold Eye Christmas Valley - Blue Head Flame - When Fortune Smiles - All For This Fairground Blues - The Leaving Kind - Forgiveness Song

After the overwhelming succession of "New West Motel" [1.1.7], "Setting the Woods on Fire" [1.1.9] and Chris & Carla's "Life Full of Holes" of 1995 [2.1.1] it was not really likely the Walkabouts would come up with something better. It just didn't seem possible. But it was, and they did.

"Devil's Road" is interesting from multiple points of view. First of all, it denotes the departure from the small-scale backwoods of SubPop/Glitterhouse into the major label world of glass tables, budget meetings and reception desks of the international Virgin conglomerate. Moreover, it was recorded out of Seattle, in legendary Conny Plank's studio in Germany with the Warszaw Philharmonics providing the strings. More still, it spawned a hit single in several European territories; "The Light Will Stay on" was the band's first real encounter with the regular charts and still a song to warrant them an extra round of cheers when played live.

It's easy to ridicule the major labels for their budget scares and narrowminded appreciation of music, but we mustn't forget that signing to the German division of Virgin offering the band the opportunity to produce their most consistently realized album up to then. For instance, the addition of a well established and skilled string orchestra allowed the songs to expand into almost unlimited space. Seattle arranger and score writer Mark Nichols had worked with the Walkabouts already earlier (on "Train to Mercy" and "Findlay's Motel"), but with the Warszaw Philharmonics, his arrangements take on the grandeur of Robert Kirby's works for most notably Nick Drake. Previously on among others Nick Cave's payrolls and a Chris & Carla acquaintance, producer Victor Van Vugt was given enough time to accomplish a lush and thorough production, to the detail sympathetic to the new material.

Production values, arrangements etc - the core of the album is obviously the songs. Gathered here are eleven of Chris Eckman's best ever ones, and although I'd like to mention "Rebecca Wild" in particular, it's actually enough to say that any of them would have been a high point on any other album.

As for the lyrics, Chris here takes a step away from the dense narration of "Setting the Woods on Fire" towards a more impressionistic style. The words for "Devil's Road" might not be as effective for plain reading as some of the earlier ones, but it opens up to a more nuanced vocal delivery from both Carla and Chris. Chris had over the last handful of albums developed greatly as a singer, and his deep, grainy baryton comes to great use on "Devil's Road". Carla in turn lives up her reputation as one of the finest contemporary singers as proved by "The Light Will Stay on", "All for This" and "When Fortune Smiles". (It's just about impossible to believe that the vocals on the latter are actually the original guide vocals recorded early in the morning!) But top-notch performances aren't limited to the singers - the entire band sounds more confident in the studio than ever before. Receiving the recognition that a major label deal means after all must have spurred them to go even further down Quality Road.

It's rare to come across an album that you can honestly say is perfect. "Five Leaves Left" is certainly worthy of such an appointment, and so is "Forever Changes". But, with "Devil's Road" I'd go even further and call it the greatest album of all, thereby surpassing both Nick Drake and Love.

That's not an achievement.

That is a miracle.

1.1.11  NIGHTTOWN

[CD] Virgin 7243 84428020, GER 1997

Follow Me An Angel - These Proud Streets - Tremble (Goes The Night) - Unwind - Lift Your Burdens Up - Prayer For You - Immaculate - Nocturno - Heartless - Slow Red Dawn - Harbour Lights - Forever Gone - Nightbirds

The artistic, critical and commercial success of "Devil's Road" [1.1.10] put the Walkabouts in great public demand. Following its release in late January 1996, the band undertook two extensive European tours, spanning a total of over three months and more than 70 dates including a few, rare British ones in the summer. Add to that numerous TV, radio and magazine appearances and it almost looks as if the Walkabouts tried to rival James Brown as the hardest working act in show business! To add further to the frantic pace, they wrote and recorded a whole new album that came out in May 1997 (and prompted even more tours and interviews and...)

One might think that the high pressure would have affected the high level of creative output, but "Nighttown" proves the opposite. Almost as good as its predecessor it prolonged the amazing run of brilliant songs from Chris Eckman's pen. With the exception of the rather ill-considered "Immaculate", a pop throwaway that more than anything looks like a way to meet Virgin's knowing requests for marketable singles, the album floods over with memorable songs, well-crafted string arrangements and proud performances. Sometimes dismissed as a content attempt to repeat the "Devil's Road" formula, "Nighttown" stands up strong to a lot more than that.

Launched as "a dusk-to-dawn song cycle", it vibrates with the inner city's elegant decadence. "Follow Me an Angel" alludes to early 70's big city funk and neon glamour while "Tremble (Goes the Night)" is sipping expensive drinks in affordable bars, namechecking Scott Walker to a melody Lloyd Cole would love. "Unwind" is one of the most heartbreaking songs I know of, bittersweet to the point of perfection, with Carla giving her best to a melody I'm sure Portishead's Beth Gibbons would love. "Heartless" is the reconciliation, but a complicated one. "Nightbirds" is where it ends, in the last open bar, too drunk to see straight and the crooked mile home.

"Nighttown" reflects the luxurious shimmer of the city past sundown, but beneath the glittering surface, beneath the laughter in the bars, beyond the sensual touches and seductive smiles lies a diffuse buzz of gnawing uncertainty. The refined grammar of attraction can't conceal the question mark of faint anxiety at the end of the phrase.

A blueprint of "Devil's Road"? No. The perspective is completely different and the conclusion another. "Nighttown" might seem like the brighter album at first, but as time goes, it reveals itself as the darker one, emotionally perhaps even more complex. "Devil's Road" and "Nighttown" don't exclude but complement each other and are equally pertinent.

1.1.12  TRAIL OF STARS

[2LP] Glitterhouse GR 450, GER 1999 [800 copies on blue/yellow vinyl, 700 copies on black vinyl]

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 450, GER 1999 [early copies w/bonus tracks and sticker on front]

Desert Skies - Straight To The Stars - Gold - Last Tears - Crime Story - Hightimes - Harvey's Quote To Me - On the Day - Till I Reach You - Drown - No One The Wiser - Bonnie and Clyde* - Walkabouts Media**

[*] 2LP and original CD copies only

[**] CD-ROM track original CD copies only

After a two year major label stay, the Walkabouts returned to Glitterhouse in time for "Trail of Stars" - an album that comes in for much debate among fans. When it comes to "Setting the Woods on Fire" [1.1.9] or "Devil's Road" [1.1.10], most avid followers will agree that those two efforts count among the Walkabouts' very best. "Trail of Stars" on the other hand isn't subject for such a common consent. The problems many people have getting a grip of it reveal the album's major weakness: The emotional elusiveness.

The turn of the millenium was a hard time for the band as a unit and for the individual members. Their previous bass player, Baker Saunders were only with them for one album before his untimely death by a probably accidental overdose. Chris and Carla's long standing private relationship had broken. Other members too experienced personal hurt of various kinds. Amidst all this, the Walkabouts withdraw to a locus solus to record another album. Considering the circumstances, it's no wonder that "Trail of Stars" has a detached feel. That it ever came about at all is, according to Chris and Carla, to Glenn Slater's merit, and on a very factual level, his keyboards clearly form the framework. But Glenn alone couldn't pull "Trail of Stars" out of insularity and in the end, it remains strangely out of reach.

Therefore, the romantically infused title seems appropriate. If you look straight at a star on the night sky it seems to disappear. You have to look slightly to the side of it to see it. "Trail of Stars" works this way too. If you aim straight at it, it will slip away. You have to find other openings into it. Attending to the production might be one way. All instruments are fixed in their certain positions throughout the album, like furniture in a room where no-one lives. It's very concrete. But at the same time it's double-edged: it either conveys a sense of calm or a sense of sterility depending on your state of susceptibility..

The songs may be obscured by the album's unusual aspects, but many of them are in fact very good, which becomes evident when taken out of their original context. In my case, "Drown" and "Gold" were helped by several live performances. "Till I Reach You" expanded when put alongside with other songs on the "Shimmers" compilation [1.3.4] . Other songs were more immediate though - "Desert Skies" and "Last Tears" quickly shown themselves as classic Walkabouts.

Still, I don't listen to "Trail of Stars" very often. Between me and the album a barrier remains persistently problematic to break through. I can appreciate the quality of the songs; I can analyze the production and I certainly respect the band for carrying it through such hard times. But when I want a Walkabouts album to stimulate my emotions, I look elsewhere.

Before I end this review, let's just have a closer look at the different editions of the album.

Original CD copies adds "Bonnie & Clyde" as a bonus track, also available on the "Drown" single [1.4.15]. The "Walkabouts Media" CD-ROM track isn't that special, offering mainly information you can find on thewalkabouts.com. It also has a screensaver for your PC (will not work on Mac). Cover stickers claim the edition to be limited, but with 28.500 copies made it's debatable whether it can actually pass for a true limited edition release.

Housed in a sleeve completely different to the CD, the double LP is a lot more interesting. The cover is similar to the "Drown" CD single and CD booklet inside graphics, i.e. blue with stellar diagrams. The fold-out cover has track information and credits on the inside. There were two different pressings, one in a run of 800 copies on blue/yellow vinyl, and one on regular black in a slightly smaller edition of 700. The vinyl sounds punchier than the CD, but some of the blue copies are a bit noisy during silent passages.

1.1.13  TRAIN LEAVES AT EIGHT

[CD] Glitterhouse, GRCD 450, GER 2000

The Train Leaves At Eight - Man From Reno - That Black Guitar - Disamistade - Silenci - Hard Winds Blowin' - Everyone Kisses A Stranger - People Such As These - Wake Me Up Before I Sleep - Solex In A Slipshod Style - That's How I Live - And She Closed Her Eyes - Death's Threshold Step #2 - Leb 'Wohl

Seven years after "Satisfied Mind" [1.1.8] earned the band a reputation as an excellent cover band they fearlessly immersed themselves in another covers project. This time focusing on Europe, looking to such diverse songwriters as Mikis Theodorakis, Goran Bregovic, Jacques Brel, Solex, Neu! and Stina Nordenstam for source material.

The album is divided in two parts, South and North, making "Train Leaves at Eight" a musical journey through the European continent, starting in Greece, ending in Norway. The "south" part is overall softer around the edges, even in uptempo choices like Bregovic's "Man from Reno", sung by Carla. (Bregovic actually wrote the song with Scott Walker, American born and bred but European in heart and citizenship.)

The further up north they travel, the harder the beat and the more distinct the music. I consider the second half is the better of the two, with Brel-penned "People Such as These" - complete with Chris at his menacing, growly best - highlighting the album. Perhaps the Walkabouts have a more direct, intuitive comprehension of the type of songs the north seems to generate?

The main problem with "Train Leaves at Eight" is that it feels more like an idea than a naturally born record, lacking flow and consistency. The songs appear forced together to fit in with the concept. Admits Chris, "The material was so widely different that it was no way that it was going to be put together with any coherence." A multiplicity of styles can sometimes enrich an album, but in the case of "Train Leaves at Eight" the sum fails to be greater than the parts.

Another thing that lessens the impact of the album is that Terri decided she didn't want to play on it and temporarily left the band. With bass player Fred Chalenor gone as well, the Walkabouts recruited Joe Bass and Brian Young, the rhythm section of the ever disintegrating Posies. Not that Young is a generally insufficient drummer; it's just that Terri adds such a personal - and basically irreplaceable - touch and colour to the band's music. When she's away, she is very conspicuous in her absence.

Taken as a whole, "Train Leaves at Eight" is a parenthetic album in the Walkabouts œuvre.

1.1.14  ENDED UP A STRANGER

[CD] Glitterhouse, GRCD 538, GER 2001

Lazarus Heart - Radiant - Life: The Movie - More Heat Than Light - Fallen Down Moon - See It In The Dark - Mary Edwards - Lest We Forget - Winslow Place - Cul-De-Sac - Incidento - Climb - Ended Up A Stranger

After two albums with the Walkabouts in a slightly bewildered state, they returned with this show of strength. Carefully crafted in almost every respect, "Ended Up a Stranger" ranks among the five best albums released under the Walkabouts banner. I say "in almost every respect", because I think it runs a bit on empty in the middle. "Lest We Forget" is unsubstantial, and "Winslow Place", despite its popularity, rehashes too many ideas from "Nighttown" [1.1.11] to make an impression on me. But apart from that the album is like a box of the finest brand of Swiss chocolate.

"Ended up a Stranger" runs in the grand Walkabouts tradition of having brilliant opening tracks. "Lazarus Heart" has an irresistable, epic Morricone vibe and with Terri back behind the drums it takes good use of her persistent, rolling beat. "Radiant" smooths out the edges a bit with an infectuous, funky groove, leading into the towering "Life: The Movie". "See It in the Dark" succeeds where "Immaculate" failed and - more amazingly - manages to condense David Bowie's entire career into less than four minutes! Had it been a single it could have been a hit. The bent and twisted "Cul-de-Sac" has head on wrong in and allows Glenn to turn harmonies inside out. But the best is kept to last - the title track clocking in on almost nine minutes. It moves as slow as the unbearable heat of a summer's day, and with words of such density culminating in the angst-ridden discovery that

                       I've become a stranger in my old haunts

the end result is quite possibly the most harrowing track you'll be likely to find on a Walkabouts album. But ending in such a relentless fashion, the rest of "Ended Up a Stranger" isn't half as dark. Or perhaps it's just concealed beneath an slightly morbid humour in lines like:

                       your scars they matched my dress

from "Lazarus Heart" or acting like consolation in "Fallen Down Moon":

                       there's comfort in our sadness

                       wisdom in our wrongs

If "Trail of Stars" had the instruments rigidly positioned in the mix, the opposite must be said of "Ended Up a Stranger". Much effort has been put into producing each track sympathetically to their certain requisitions, thus creating an organic and textured sound. Not only is the sound three-dimensional, but there also appears to be a fourth dimension, an X factor, as if there's an omnipresent entity of disembodied emotions wandering through the songs adding further depth to the album. Gritty sonics interact with well-rounded sounds, something that was first consistently used for Chris & Carla's "Swinger 500" [2.1.2]. Only "Ended Up a Stranger" takes it two steps further. The sound is spacious without becoming pompous, thanks to an inspired use of stereo panning and levels. Of the individual members, Glenn especially benefits from this. His role in the band has become more prominent from "Nighttown" [1.1.11] and on which is evident both on record and on stage. He paints from a richer palette than before, adding either abstract atmospherics to elevate a song or earthy, sonorous organ to keep it on firm ground. But you can't say that "Ended Up a Stranger" is the work of any one member in particular; it is indeed a collective effort showing the band as a tight unit again.

Perhaps you can call "Ended Up a Stranger" transitional. It crystallizes the most prominent traits of the Walkabouts in the 90's, closes the book on the hard years, and presents the band in revitalized state. Judging by many an exuberant live show since the release of this record, I venture to say it represents a new, beautiful start.

1.1.15  SLOW DAYS WITH NINA

[CD] Shingle Street SHING006, UK 2003

The Desperate Ones - Lilac Wine - Come Ye - Cotton-Eyed Joe - Nobody's Fault But Mine

Appearing in the summer of 2003, few even knew "Slow Days with Nina" was on the way. It was recorded during a four months period with a diminished band comprising Chris, Carla and Glenn, thus seeing these five Nina Simone songs in fittingly sparse surroundings. As it was released only a couple of months after Simone's death, it pays tribute to a life and artistry that fascinated and moved people for almost fifty years. However, the intention was not to make a tribute album (or an EP - playing time is just over 20 minutes). Writes Chris Eckman in his respectful liner notes: "We could never repeat the personal magic of her work, so obviously we didn't try. Our effort is meditation", then adding a humble wish to "have found a home for ourselves in these songs". With Simone's own personality originally impregnating the songs through and through, it must have taken a remarkable effort to succeed, so I'm happy to say they have.

If it's not a tribute album in the usual sense, neither is it a traditional Walkabouts album. Comparisons with their previous albums of exclusively other people's material is largely fruitless. Not only because it was recorded as a threesome as opposed to a full band, but simply because it's an entity very much of its own. A casual listener might not distinguish the difference, but it's there, evident in emotions they haven't quite conjured up before. Maybe an explanation can be found in the song structures forcing the trio to take on a new approach. At any rate, their efforts pay off well, climaxing in a blood-chilling version of "Nobody's Fault but Mine".

The sovereignity of "Slow Days with Nina" is more further tangibe in that it's put out on independent UK label Shingle Street instead of Glitterhouse which remains the Walkabouts regular stable.

Short as it may be, this disc holds an authority that easily rivals an album of greater length.

1.2 LIVE ALBUMS & OFFICIAL BOOTLEGS

1.2.1  TO HELL AND BACK: LIVE IN EUROPE 1994

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 356, GER 1995 [mailorder, 1000 copies]

Satisfied Mind - Polly - The River People - Promised - Buffalo Ballet - Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? - Loom Of The Land - Good Luck Morning - Firetrap Bordertown - Grand Theft Auto - Jack Candy - Pass Me On Over - Snake Mountain Blues

Next time you tell someone to go to Hell, he might end up in Norway. Because Hell is actually a village located not far from Trondheim in the middle of the country!

However, "To Hell and Back" was recorded at the Garage in London by the end of the acoustic/electric tour of 1994. The album is democratically divided between the two sets signifying the gigs of this European trip. It starts in a reflective mood with selections from "Satisfied Mind" [1.1.8] including the title track and a sensitive, fluent "Loom of the Land", before they dive head first into the wild-eyed rock blaze of "Setting the Woods on Fire" [1.1.9] and "New West Motel" [1.1.7]. A friend of mine saw this particular show and described the second half as more whiskey-soaked, although its not clear whether he meant himself or the band... But it's perfectly obvious that the sophisticated calm characterizing the first set was way gone as the band kicked in with "Good Luck Morning" and a particularly ferocious "Firetrap". Hard to believe, both are actually overshadowed by "Jack Candy" where Glenn Slater attacks his piano with his best Manchester strides and Terri Moeller beats her way to the top of the Richter scale. Writes Chris, "It was the sound of the five of us trying to prove that we were actually a rock band, and that what had come earlier in the evening had only been a disguise". It's baffling that the band of the softspoken title track from "Satisfied Mind" and the fuck-everything-let's-go-deaf howl of the hellbound "Snake Mountain Blues" is actually the one and the same.

It's too bad that "To Hell and Back" is kept a diehards' secret, limited to 1000 copies and sold only through Glitterhouse's mailorder outlet. Extracting the essence of the Walkabouts of '93 and '94, it deserves a much wider availability.

A VHS [1.6.1] of the same show was concurrently released.

1.2.2  MYSTERY MOUNTAIN CHRONICLES

[CD] Clevelandesque Records, no number, US 1997 [official bootleg w/insert, 500 copies]

Up In The Graveyard - Night Drive - Long Time Here - Lover's Crime - Drag This River - Old Crow - Inauguration Day - Winded - Blue Head Flame - All For This - Death At Low Water - The Stopping-Off Place - Loom Of The Land

"Mystery Mountain Chronicles" was the first in a series of "official bootlegs", privately released by the band and sold mainly on tour. Issued in extremely limited editions never exceeding 1000 copies which quickly sold out, they are destined to become sought-after items in the future. The packages are simple but appealing, with plain white cardboard covers, silkscreened, stamped or labeled. The selections on these discs are usually handpicked from various sources but the sound quality is good throughout, thus making these editions essential to the serious fan.

"Mystery Mountain Chronicles" compiles an hour's worth of mid-90's material, and although selected from six different occasions, the songs share a common transparency. Even the relatively few uptempo tracks stay in line with the springlike atmosphere highlighted by a pastoral, piano-driven "Long Time Here" and a fluent "Inauguration Day" particularly memorable for the almost folk-baroque styled guitar playing. There is a sense of placidity to "Mystery Mountain Chronicles", a feeling of prevailing peace that makes it a unique entry in the Walkabouts discography. However rare and constantly rising in value it will take some effort to track it down.

It may be added that a maximum of 100 stowed away copies were discovered prior to the band's visit to Europe in 2003. Housed in a new cover, it became a brief but welcome addition to the merchandise table. This special "postscript edition" must, given the small amount, count among the rarest Walkabouts items.

1.2.3  AIRMAIL

[CD] Wingnut, no number, US 1999 [official bootleg, ≥1000 copies]

The Light Will Stay On - Follow Me An Angel - These Proud Streets - Heartless - Poor Side Of Town - The Leaving Kind - Unwind - Inauguration Day - Forgiveness Song - Christmas Valley - Nightbirds

The second official bootleg starts where "Mystery Mountain Chronicles" [1.2.2] left off, in 1996, with an acoustic "Light Will Stay On" recorded for British TV. But the lion's share of the CD comprises seven tracks from a formidable show at Köln's Kantine club in 1997. The entire broadcast circulates among fans, and although the whole show is brilliant and worth to beg, steal or borrow for, it's good to get these excerpts in pristine stereo. Overall too good really to encourage cherrypicking, I must name "The Leaving Kind". Carla's vocals are heart-wrenching and at the end of the song, cellist Christine Gunn (then a touring member of the band) executes three minutes of magic. Add to that "Unwind" and you have an example of rare emotional intensity.

In the light of the Köln recordings, the remainder of the album seems weaker. Although a brave attempt to reach a peripethic peak with "Forgiveness Song" and relief from the tension with "Christmas Valley", these two performances with the Nighttown Orchestra in Berlin feel choreographed at the expense of emotional delivery. "Nightbirds" rounds off the disc, and although not that exciting it concludes the CD on an appropriate note.

1.2.4  BRUXELLES

(as The Walkabouts with the Nighttown Orchestra)

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 505, GER 2000 [mailorder]

Follow Me An Angel - Tremble (Goes The Night) - Lift Your Burdens Up - Rebecca Wild - Findlay's Motel - Heartless - Harbour Lights - Blue Head Flame - Bonnie & Clyde - Slow Red Dawn - Nightbirds

"It always seemed inevitable that a string tour would be undertaken by The Walkabouts at some point" writes arranger Mark Nichols in his excellent liner notes to "Bruxelles". That point was reached quite consequently after "Devil's Road" [1.1.10] and "Nighttown" [1.1.11], the two string-laiden and most ambitious efforts of their career. A short tour of European concert halls was scheduled for the end June 1997, with the twelve piece Nighttown Orchestra expanding the Walkabouts' regular line-up. Fully aware that rock bands and string orchestras have often proved uncomfortable bed fellows, Mark Nichols agreed to conduct the orchestra.

Considering the inconceivable demands of a venture such as this - rehearsals, organisation, precision on every level - I understand that they wanted to heed the efforts and document the results on record. For this they chose the concert held in Brussels towards the end of the seven dates tour. With all respect for their decision, I think the importance of the album is more to the Walkabouts as creators than to me as a listener.

What I said about the two "Airmail" [1.2.3] songs featuring the Nighttown Orchestra applies to "Bruxelles" as well, in fact even more so. The orchestra seems stifling to the core group. The vocal performances lack deeper commitment, and the instrumental execution seems inappropriate compared to the Walkabouts' standards of less grandiose circumstances. With the exception of Baker Saunders who with his firm and distinct bass playing is the musical centre here, the band sounds repressed. The arrangements that enhanced the songs in their studio incarnations, come through as myriadic; on "Tremble (Goes the Night)" even jumbled on the brink of cacaphonous. It doesn't get any better when parts of the orchestra seem to stumble out of pitch for a short but distracting second.

That the orchestrations worked in confluence with the band on most strikingly "Devil's Road" may be explained by the fact they were overdubbed after the Walkabouts had done their parts in the studio. In the live setting, both the band and the orchestra have to show reciprocal consideration not to step on each others' toes. But instead of attaining a dynamic give-and-take flow, they end up with an unbalanced performance where the orchestra usually get the most of it.

However, there are two notable exceptions to this. "Follow Me An Angel" has the strings subdued, instead emphasizing the horn section to great effect. The second, and best, example of what "Bruxelles" could have been is "Findlay's Motel". On this track the strings add to the drama without _becoming_ the drama. The squealing dissonances at the end let the song's worries blossom out in a very becoming way. Choosing this recording for compilation album "Shimmers" over "New West Motel's" original was a wise decision acknowledging this version's even greater potential. But these two songs alone don't save an album where ambition misleads into pretention. The initial idea was good and the courageous attempt honourable, but the result - and it hurts deep to admit it - a failure.

1.2.5  I'M SORRY

[CD] no label, US 2002 [official bootleg, ≥1000 copies]

Nothin' - Lungs - Bordertown - Crime Story - Drown - Gold - Jack Candy - Loom Of The Land - No One The Wiser - Disamistade - Straight To The Stars - Desert Skies

Spanning the period 1997 to 2000, "I'm Sorry" continues the chronology of the "alternative discography" as presented by the official bootlegs.

First off is a true rarity, being an otherwise unreleased song: a cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin'", recorded at a Townes tribute in Seattle a month after his death on January 1, 1997 (incidentally sharing the day with Hank Williams who died on January 1, 1953). If "Nothin'" is uncanny, "Lungs" (from the same occasion) isn't far behind. Taken from an audience recording, sound quality on these two tracks isn't as good as on the remaining album, but the rarity value and the sincere perfomances well make up for any marginal hi-fi loss.

The rest of the CD sports live versions of several "Trail of Stars" [1.1.12] songs. With that being a peculiarly impenetrable album, "I'm Sorry" makes for a welcome alternative to it. The songs expand out of their restricted context on the studio album and literally come much more alive. And Carla's a real queen here, singing from deep within the words of a majestic "Drown"; "Gold" too climbs high the mountains of emotion. "Jack Candy" loosens it up a bit with 1999's typically funky, trainlike groove and decidedly sexy vocals courtesy of Carla. The other two songs from '99 also deliver and lead nicely into the last, three-song set from 2000 ending with a heavy yet bouncing "Desert Skies".

All the official bootlegs (including several from Chris & Carla [2.2.3-5]) are on a high level musically, but "I'm Sorry" might be the most relevant with so many versions bettering the "Trail of Stars" songs. With only slight adjustments to the tracklist and some unifying remixing, this could easily be turned into an official release. And as such it would be an instant classic.

1.2.6  EMONA: LIVE IN LJUBLJANA 26/1/2002

[CD] Mucchio Extra #9, ITA 2003 [free with Il Mucchio #9]

Winslow Place - Radiant - All For This - Heartless - Man from Reno - Ended Up A Stranger - The Light Will Stay On - Drown - Grand Theft Auto - Straight To The Stars - Slow Red Dawn - Prayer For You

Free CD's with magazines are always a nice touch, but most often such CD's have a limited lifespan. You listen to them a few times, at best discovering something good you haven't heard before, and then they're passed to the growing heap of CD's you, well, got free with magazines. So when you get a bonus CD by your favourite band and it turns out to be a full album of a previously unreleased live show, it's celebration time. "Emona" (old name for Slovenia) was originally recorded for Slovenian radio and came with the spring issue of 2003 of Italian magazine Il Mucchio.

Recorded in Ljubljana in January 2002, it's an appropriate representation of the band's live set at that time. "Devil's Road" [1.1.10] and "Nighttown" [1.1.11] chestnuts blend with material from recent albums. It's a good show but the impact is somewhat lessened by an unnecessarily cautious mix. Although supervised by Chris Eckman, it suffers from typical "radio sound", with guitars too low and vocals and rhythm section overemphasized in the mix. Rock music usually craves the opposite sound which is particularly apparent in the ever so rousing "Grand Theft Auto". But, "Emona" is still an enjoyable disc thanks to the inspired performance.

Copies were also available on the 2003 tour.

1.3 COMPILATIONS

1.3.1  DEATH VALLEY DAYS: LOST SONGS AND RARITIES 1985 TO 1995

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 404, GER 1997

Drunk (On A Civilized Rule) - 1+1 - Barnstorming - Chain Gang - On The Beach - Big Black Car - Cello Song - Maggie's Farm - Break It Down Gently - Train To Mercy (Italia Version) - Yesterday Is Here - Prisoner Of Texas - Inauguration Day - Pass Me On Over - Like A Hurricane - House Of The Rising Sun - Loswerden - Sand & Gravel Strings

People's secrets are interesting because they seem to capture so much of the personality's essence. A personality they - for whatever reason - work hard to shape, slim and cultivate to fit in with expectations they and other people have on them. Secrets that can be ugly, but they can also be very beautiful.

That's why I tend to like rarities compilations. They offer rare insights to the more obscure sides of an artist, and that can be every bit as revealing as any more coherent and thought-out presentation of the artistic vision.

"Death Valley Days" tells the Walkabouts early story anecdotally, with tracks sampled from "various artists" compilations, B-sides and boxes of unreleased tapes. It may not be useful as an introduction to the band, but anyone already familiar with them on at least a medium level will find this compilation rewarding. "Cello Song" (from a Nick Drake tribute album) is lovely; the acoustic "Break It Down Gently" (from a Danish magazine sampler) is more atmospheric than the album version on "New West Motel", and B-side "Inauguration Day" has well deservedly been resurrected for live renditions a fair few times over the last years. The Walkabouts even manage to breathe life into the worn-out "House of the Rising Sun" with a eerie, driving take on it.

No major objections to what's here then. The black belt Walkabouts fan can't help noticing what's left out though. Personally, I just can't see why "Got No Chains" from the "SubPop 200" compilation [1.5.1] was excluded, being one of the greatest pre-1993 tracks. To accompany "Drunk (On a Civilized Rule)", another "Weights & Rivers"[1.1.1] track, "Place He Falls", would certainly have made for a nice addition. And, dreadful as it otherwise may be, "22 Disaster's" |1.4.2] title track is good enough to have made sense in this context. "Death Valley Days" covers a lot of ground, but it leaves some threads still dangling. With several omissions, there's still a lot out there for the completist to hunt down. It would have been nice to have it all in one place, but I guess you can't have it all. After all, with "Death Valley Days", the Walkabouts share a lot of beautiful secrets with you.

1.3.2  DRUNKEN SOUNDTRACKS: LOST SONGS & RARITIES 1995-2001

[2CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 561, GER 2002

Drunken Soundtracks - Unbreakable - People Such As These (Kevin's Dub) - Shot Bayou - How Many Times (Must The Piper Be Paid For His Song) - Sorry Angel - Undermine - Call Me Back Again - On The Day (Bone Mix) - Desert Skies (Black Light Mix) - Albuquerque - The Getaway - Bonnie & Clyde (live) - Rage on - Death's Black Train - Thieves Like Us - Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars) - Cover Of Darkness - Silver City - Sanitorium Blues - Cowbell's Shakin' - Come Along - The Light Will Stay On (Country Mix) - Desierto - Glory Road - Winded - Incognito - Master of None - Theme From "Where The Air Is Cool And Dark"

"Drunken Soundtracks" stakes out an even more unfamiliar and secretive area than "Death Valley Days" [1.3.1]. Especially the first disc of this 2CD set (in reversed chronological order) shows a more experimental side to the band than what was evident prior to its release. Weird remixes (like "On the Day") and club influenced, hypothetical soundtracks (like "Undermine") will have even the seasoned fan scratching his head. But even if you may find half of the album puzzling, it sells for only the price of a single disc. And there's a lot here that is excellent already after only a few listens: The previously unreleased and vaguely Morphine-like title track, 22 Pistepirkko cover "Shot Bayou" that would have been a highlight of "Train Leaves at Eight" [1.1.13] hadn't it been dropped in the last minute; the troubled "Albuquerque" from a Neil Young tribute album; "Thieves Like Us" with its French elegance; excellent "Devil's Road" era B-sides [1.4.10-11]; the three tracks from the Virgin singles [1.4.13-14] that remained commercially and tragicomically unavailable for years… It's a meaty compilation for sure with plenty to recommend it.

"Drunken Soundtracks" may be a bewildering ride through the Walkabouts' recent career, but if you dare to be surprised you will be rewarded and taught that the Walkabouts are a lot more than godfathers of americana. They are explorers unafraid to go out on a limb and there is no other album proving it as concisely as "Drunken Soundtracks".

1.3.3  WATERMARKS

[CD] Innerstate 7016, US 2002

Till I Reach You - Rebecca Wild - The Light Will Stay On - Winslow Place - Drown - Follow Me An Angel - Lift Your Burdens Up - Christmas Valley - Prayer For You - Disamistade - Bordertown - Grand Theft Auto - Long Time Here - Loom Of The Land - Train To Mercy (Eno Mix)

Aimed specifically at the same US market that has been ignorant to the Walkabouts for basically their entire career, this is a survey of the band's most fertile years. 80 minutes of playing time isn't much for a band as prolific as the Walkabouts, but "Watermarks" succeeds well in presenting a representative introduction to their music.

Diehards won't need it though as it thankfully excludes any previously unreleased material. It's however worth to have a look at because of longtime Walkabouts associate Ben Thompson's attractive design including a multipanel fold-out cover and a beautiful Chris Peters woodcut on front. It also includes one of the best pieces ever written on the Walkabouts, by Magnet columnist Jud Cost - one of the best and well-informed writers around today.

Released in the US only, it is available as import through Glitterhouse.

1.3.4  SHIMMERS

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 584, GER 2003

Drown - The Light Will Stay On - Radiant - The Stopping-Off Place - Winslow Place - Unwind - Man From Reno - Prayer For You - Bordertown - Poor Side Of Town - Till I Reach You - Rebecca Wild - Findlay's Motel (live)

With "Watermarks" [1.3.3] out in the US, Europe eventually got its own Walkabouts "best of" album with "Shimmers". For the compilation, the band contacted their fans by posting a request for tracklists on the discussion forum walkabouts@yahoogroups.com. From the wish lists they received, they picked the most popular songs blending them with a few less obvious choices such as "Unwind" and "Poor Side of Town", plus the superior "Findlay's Motel" from the "Bruxelles" mailorder-only album [1.2.4].

Like "Watermarks", "Shimmers" don't care for chronology, but as much as I usually dislike such disposition, I have to say that it works well here. Some songs also seem to grow outside their original context, most notably "Till I Reach You" from "Trail of Stars" [1.1.12]. No unreleased material so again, diehards need not bother, but newcomers who want a concise introduction to the brilliance of the Walkabouts are well served by "Shimmers".

1.4 SINGLES & EP:s

NB: With the release of "Death Valley Days" [1.3.1] and "Drunken Soundtracks" [1.3.2], many of the songs previously only available on elusive singles and EP's are now easily obtainable. However, there are still tracks unavailable on any full length album. I have marked these songs with an asterisk [*] in the listings below.

1.4.1  THE WALKABOUTS

[MC], Necessity, no number, US 1984 [200 copies?]

Maps And Compass* - Salesman* - ?* - ?*

With "22 Disasters" [1.4.2] long believed to be the Walkabouts' first ever outing, rumours suddenly began to circulate of an earlier recording, dating from 1984. Said to be a cassette-only release comprising four tracks, it long remained shrouded in mystery as to what it actually contains. It has now lost some of its apocryphal status since both Carla Torgerson and Chris Eckman has confirmed not only its existence but also two of the song titles. However, not even Chris has a copy of it anymore, but recalls: "A strange tape indeed... I remember hearing [Echo &] the Bunnymen's "Killing Moon" on the radio the day we drove to the studio... I prayed we would create that sort of magic: we didn't even get close."

1.4.2  22 DISASTERS

[12"] Necessity EP 001, US 1985 [1000 copies]

Ask Me Another* - Trouble Time* - Tools Of The Trade* - 22 Disasters* - Hope In Anchor*

I wish I could say that Chris and Carla are wrong, that this is a lost classic, but I honestly can't. It's not a classic, it's merely lost. The songs are so overwrought, crammed with so many ideas, that they come across as nervous tics. But they are not even half as bad as the vocals. Chris fares a tad better than Carla who most of the time seems to be out of touch with her voice, enthusiastically spurting out syllables. Like killing flies with an atom bomb.

The one and only song here that deserves to be heard is the title track. It has a good melody that Carla refrains from stabbing in the back with over-zealous vocals, and a nice psychedelic guitar solo from Chris. That track aside, it's very hard to find something here that even suggests that the Walkabouts were a band of any particular talent.

Thankfully, they would quickly grow.

1.4.3  LINDA EVANS

[7"] Necessity S001, US 1987

Linda Evans - Cyclone

Resurrected from the aborted "Weights & Rivers" LP [1.1.2] and originally entitled "Bunker Hill", "Linda Evans" is a fine slice of early Walkabouts, overtaking "22 Disasters" by a lightyear. Both sides of the 7" were included as bonus tracks on the "See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens" CD [1.1.2].

1.4.4  WHERE THE DEEP WATER GOES

[12"] SubPop SP17/157, GER 1991

[CD] SubPop SP117b, GER 1991

Where The Deep Water Goes - Stir The Ashes - Big Black Car - On The Beach

The first two tracks (side A of the original 12") are taken straight from "Scavenger" [1.1.6]. The cover of Neil Young's "On the Beach" was originally released as a flexi disc free with the Unhinged magazine #6 in 1989. Being a Big Star song from their third album, "Big Black Car" was in turn intended for an Alex Chilton tributed that never materialized. Both of these are now found on "Death Valley Days" [1.3.1].

1.4.5  DEAD MAN RISE

[12"] SubPop SP39/197, GER 1992

[CD] SubPop SP150b, US 1992

Dead Man Rise - The Anvil Song (live)* - Long Black Veil (live)* - Hangman (live)* - Train To Mercy (Gospel Remix)*

To further push for the commercially successful "Scavenger" [1.1.6], this mini album was released in 1992, choosing one of the best songs from that album as headlining track. The remaining selections are more interesting from a rarity point of view, with none of them available elsewhere. Apart from a string-less, edited "Train to Mercy", there are three songs taken from various radio broadcasts in Denmark and the Netherlands. Why "The Anvil Song" makes another crop-up on record is beyond me, but "Long Black Veil" is good, as is this matter-of-fact rendition of "Hangman".

1.4.6  UNHOLY DREAMS

[MC] no label, US 1993 [tour release, ≥200 copies]

Murdering Stone* - Train To Mercy (Italia Version) - Long Time Here* - Unholy Dreams*

Long before the days of the celebrated official bootlegs [1.2.2-3; 1.2.5; 2.2.3-5], this tape was sold on the European tour of 1993. The inconvenient but explanatory subtitle reads "a semi-acoustic recording made for Jan Douwe Kroeske's 'Two Meter Session', Dutch National Radio". The recording took place on August 15, 1992 and includes three songs from the then yet-to-be-released "New West Motel". Only one song from the session has later appeared on record, the Italia version of "Train to Mercy" [1.3.1].

The sweet session breathes fresh country air with Bruce Wirth exnhancing the sound with violin and lap steel. As the 2 Meter sessions often are, it has a relaxed, undemanding feel, perhaps best symbolized by the lilting "Murdering Stone". And "Unholy Dreams", I must say, finds a more comfortable home on the hillside here than on "New West Motel" [1.1.6].

Thus far, the official bootleg series spans the era 1994-2000, but if they have a lot of older material this good, I wouldn't mind a volume covering the earlier years.

1.4.7  JACK CANDY

[CD] SubPop SPCD 80/251, GER 1992

Jack Candy - Yesterday Is Here - Like A Hurricane* - Prisoner Of Texas

The pilot single from "New West Motel" [1.1.6] became a hit of sorts. For bonus material, the three cover songs recorded to flesh out the vinyl version of "New West Motel" were chosen. "Yesterday Is Here" and "Prisoner of Texas" ended up on "Death Valley Days" [1.3.1], while this version of "Like A Hurricane" remains in the rarity category. Good as it is, the live-in-the-studio take included on "Death Valley Days" is better.

1.4.8  YOUR HOPE SHINES

(as The Walkabouts with the King Jesus Disciples)

[2x7"] SubPop SPCD 89/270, US 1993 [coloured vinyl]

[CD] SubPop SPCD 89/270, GER 1993

Your Hope Shines - Wondertown (Part Two)* - Shine A Light* - Inauguration Day

The King Jesus Disciples are a black vocal group that used to sing in the streets of Seattle. Somehow they ended up on "Your Hope Shines" from "New West Motel" [1.1.7], why this double 7"/single CD is co-credited to them. Of the remaining tracks, only the excellent "Inauguration Day" has cropped up on any full length release. "Wondertown (Part Two)" was presumably originally linked to the "Wondertown" found on "New West Motel" [1.1.7]. This is a much rougher, rock oriented version. Rough can also be said about the full-blast, devil-may-care rendition of the Rolling Stones' gospel influenced "Shine a Light".

"Inauguration Day" was the obvious choice for "Death Valley Days" [1.3.1], but the other two exclusives will make you want to seek this one out.

1.4.9  GOOD LUCK MORNING

[CD] SubPop SPCD129/321, GER 1994

Good Luck Morning - Night Drive (Truck Stop Version)* - Findlay's Motel (live)* - Nothing is a Stranger (live)*

Here's another one that has gone entirely unrecognized for compiling. The subtitle to "Night Drive" perhaps suggests an alternate, country-tinged recording, but it's actually a smoother remix of the "Setting the Woods on Fire" [1.1.9] take. With that and the excellent live songs from Amsterdam's Paradiso venue, this too makes a necessary addition to your Walkabouts collection.

1.4.10  THE LIGHT WILL STAY ON

[CD] Virgin 7243 893294 2 1, NL 1996

The Light Will Stay On (Single Version) - Devil's Road* - Incognito - Winded The Light Will Stay On (Album Version)

The only exclusive track here is the song that gave the "Devil's Road" [1.1.10] CD its title. However, it was dropped as it was considered too dissimilar in mood to the other songs. Fair enough; it would indeed have felt out of the context. It's much more uptempo and also weaker than anything that ended up on the album. "Incognito" and "Winded" are both available on "Drunken Soundtracks" [1.3.2], and the single version of "The Light Will Stay On" - still one of the Walkabouts best known songs - is merely an edited version. Relevant to completists only.

1.4.11  ALL FOR THIS

[CD] Virgin 724389354027, EU 1996

All For This - Glory Road - Desierto - Master Of None

Most singles are an attempted hit song and ten minutes of additional rubbish, but the Walkabouts, always caring for the song itself, have made singles a worthwhile concept. This is the best example of that. "Glory Road" is a brilliant Neil Diamond cover (including a "psychedelic trumpet solo" as Glitterhouse billed it), seven minute "Master of None" is the Walkabouts at their doomy best, while Ennio Morricone surely wishes he wrote "Desierto". "Desierto" was, by the way, used as intro music on the 1996 tours. Thankfully, all these tracks were included on "Drunken Soundtracks" [1.3.2] for all to hear in their abundant glory

1.4.12  THE BLACK SESSION

[CD] Virgin LC3098/SA3713, FRA 1996 [promo]

The Stopping-Off Place (live)* - Findlay's Motel (live)* - Blue Head Flame (live)*

This is one of the very few promotional Walkabouts releases with any relevance outside the strict collectors' circuits, as it features all exclusive recordings. It was given away free with "Devil's Road" [1.1.10] in France and has three selections from the Black Sessions radio show (hosted by Bernard Lenoir, hence the name) on February 27, 1996. The Paris Black Sessions performance was a ragged one, with Chris Eckman (according to himself) ill and slightly confused. Quite literally a feverish show! The entire broadcast is available on the traders scene and is a personal favourite. But with better sound, this is an absolutely essential item. "The Stopping-Off Place" (curiously misspelt "stapping") is absolutely blazing - one of the best versions I've heard of it! - and "Blue Head Flame" is equally rousing on its own terms. "Findlay's Motel" is almost up to par with the "Bruxelles" [1.2.4] version, and with such a performance completing this all too short disc, "The Black Session" yearns for another rarities compilation. The original EP has proved to be one of the most elusive items carrying the Walkabouts' name, and with many fans lacking first-hand experience of its excellence, it more than anything deserves a re-release in some handy format.

1.4.13  LIFT YOUR BURDENS UP

[CD] Virgin 7234 894285 2 0, EU 1997

Lift Your Burdens Up - Come Along - Cover Of Darkness - Sanitorium Blues

1.4.14  IMMACULATE

[CD] Virgin 7243 894502 2 4, GER 1997

Immaculate - Cover Of Darkness - Come Along - Sanitorium Blues

The story of the Virgin singles is a legend among fans. To promote the band's second album for the label, "Nighttown" [1.1.11], "Lift Your Burdens Up" was chosen for the first single. When it was just about to hit the shops, the release was cancelled, and the already manufactured singles were used for promotion instead. Again trying to direct the band to the charts, Virgin picked "Immaculate", a song so commcercially fit that it most definitely would have given them a great amount of radio play with sales to match it. But the same thing happened again - the single was withdrawn before it ever saw a record shop! And this by a record label that had been bugging their signing with demands for marketable singles!

Even more frustrating to their fans was the inclusion of three all-exclusive bonus tracks. Excellent they were too, especielly the riveting Carla-led "Come Along" which certainly would warrant it an inclusion on "The Spookiest of the Walkabouts" if such an album was in the making. For five long years, these tracks remained in limbo until they finally saw the light of day commercially on "Drunken Soundtracks" [1.3.2]. Through indie Glitterhouse I should add, not Virgin. Go figure.

1.4.15  DROWN

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 461, GER 1999

Drown ('Stars On 45' edit) - Bonnie And Clyde - Lost In The Scraps*

Given that "Drown" has become one of the most beloved Eckman-penned songs, it was a wise choice for a single. It's also the last Walkabouts single to date. Not that their songs lack memorable hooks and hummable tunes, but the they simply don't seem to be able to crash the singles market.

Anyway, "Drown" is available here in abbreviated form, rubbing backs with "Bonnie and Clyde" and an instrumental Eckman solo track. The excellent "Bonnie & Clyde" is the same version as on the vinyl and initial CD copies of "Trail of Stars" [1.1.12] . Borrowing the title from "Last Tears", "Lost in the Scraps" finds Chris being exactly that. Quite easily one of the worst ever tracks released as the Walkabouts, it's nothing more than the guitarist fooling around with his instrument and delay pedals. Anyone with the same equipment - basic to any electric guitarist - could come up with something equally pointless (and have more fun doing it than listening to it).

If you have "Bonnie & Clyde" elsewhere, this is one release you can do well without.

1.5  IMPORTANT V/A COMPILATIONS

1.5.1  SUBPOP 200

[3x12"] SubPop SP25, US 1988

[CD]

Got No Chains

This is a real gem, enigmatically excluded from "Death Valley Days" [1.3.1] on which it certainly would have made a highlight. Early Walkabouts rarely rocked _this_ hard, and the ending is wonderfully furious. Just like "The Black Sessions" EP [1.4.12], "Got No Chains" points to the urgent need for another compilation of scattered tracks.

1.5.2  THE RETURN OF THE FURIOUS SWAMPRIDERS

[CD] Strange Ways Records Way 41/Indigo 1141-2, GER 1993

Unholy Dreams (live)

The digipak cover claims that "Unholy Dreams" is a genuine live recording, but it sounds more like a radio session. No recording date is specified, but a rather safe bet would be it hails from late 1992. It's a very good version, better than the common one on "New West Motel" [1.1.7], and brings forth the inherent gospel feel to good effect. Too bad then that the CD has become somewhat hard to find a decade after its original release.

1.5.3  2 METER SESSIES VOL. 5

[CD] Radio Records 477702 2, NL 1994

Loom Of The Land

The Walkabouts obviously felt comfortable doing Two Meter radio sessions for the Dutch radio, proven by excerpts on various (semi)official releases. This one, taken from a five song session in Bullet Sound Studios on April 17, 1994, is simply the best of the many different officially released versions of the Nick Cave cover.

With so many fine radio sessions with the Walkabouts, a compilation bringing all of them together in one place would be a highly listenable album for sure.

1.5.4  THIS IS FORT APACHE

[MC] MCA FA1, UK 1994 [free with NME Dec. 10, 1994]

[LP] MCA 11179, US 1995

[CD] MCA D11179, US 1995

Murdering Stone (demo)

According to Chris in the original Soundmind 1996 interview, this uptemo version was recorded in 1990. By the time of "New West Motel" [1.1.7] - where the song eventually ended up - "Murdering Stone" had been slowed down to a more appropriate tempo, emphasizing the tune's country quality. Chris also said of the earlier version that it "sounds like 'Hitsville UK' by The Clash". There's some truth to that. Although it benefits from being slowed down, it's interesting to follow the changes of a song before it takes on a final shape.

If you want to hear "Murdering Stone" at its very best, try locating the 1992 Two Meter Session (as released on the "Unholy Dreams" [1.4.6] cassette).

1.5.5  ZILLO JUBILÄUMS-COMPILATION 1989-1994

[CD] Zillo EFA 91008, GER 1995

Jack Candy (live)

This version of "Jack Candy" is very similar to the one on "To Hell and Back" [1.2.1]. Possibly the same recording, but with a decidedly different mix, more spacious with greater stereo separation and Glenn's piano and Chris' backing vocals more prominent. 

1.5.6  ABSOLUTELY LIVE 1995

[CD] Almaviva Records AR003, GER 1995

Findlay's Motel (live)

"Absolutely Live 1995" was put together by the German music promoter Berthold Seliger, and apart from the Walkabouts, it features contributions from the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Chris Cacavas and the curious El Vez. The album is a bit hard to find, but on the other hand, it isn't really essential. The version of "Findlay's Motel" feels a bit forced, sort of rushed. It is mainly interesting for its use of some warped, echo-laiden, mandolin styled guitar playing.

1.5.7  LIVE AT ROSKILDE '96

[CD[ Wild 07, DEN 1996

The Light Will Stay On

Recorded outdoors in the backstage area of the Roskilde festival in 1996, this is an atmospheric and hushed "Light Will Stay On" featuring a band stripped down to Chris, Carla and Glenn. Pleasant enough if you by chance stumble across a copy of the album, but not really worth putting a lot of effort into finding it. If you want your "Light Will Stay on" acoustic, try the official "Airmail" bootleg [1.2.3] for a better version.

1.5.8  FINGERPRINTS VOL. 2

[CD] Kulturgelände Nonntal C061188, GER 1997

Bordertown (live) - Loom Of The Land (live) - Pass Me On Over (live)

Three examples of the band's stand at the Arge Nonntal festival in Salzburg May 28, 1994. Judging by these and the additional three on "Mystery Mountain Chronicles" [1.2.2], it must have been a great show. Well worth picking up, but ask for a brown bag to hide the terrible sleeve design in.

1.5.9  BITE BACK: LIVE AT THE CROCODILE CAFE

[CD] PopLlama PPL 2200, US 1997

Bordertown (live)

"Bordertown" is along with "Loom of the Land" one of the most frequently released tracks. It's understandable as it's a Walkabouts classic, widely acknowledged by fans and equally appealing to the casual listener. This version is thorough but not essential if you have it elsewhere.

"Bite Back" was a fundraising release for the Planned Parenthood and the Northwest AIDS Foundation. Interestingly enough it was out on Conrad Uno's PopLlama Records, the label that almost a decade earlier put out "See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens" [1.2.3].

1.5.10  4x4

[7"] Sound Affects SAE 022, SWE 1998 [white vinyl, free with Sound Affects #38]

The Leaving Kind (demo)

A vinyl only EP distributed free to subscribers of the now defunct Swedish music mag Sound Affects. This demo of the familiar "Devil's Road" [1.1.10] track was recorded as early as 1994 and needless to say, it has a rougher edge than the final version. Getting a peek through the studio keyhole wettens the appetite for more recordings like this. What would the entire "Devil's Road" be like in this sparser setting?

The track fades out earlier than on "Devil's Road" which makes me suspect that this might be an edit to make it fit on the four-song EP.

1.6 VHS

1.6.1  TO HELL AND BACK: LIVE IN EUROPE 1994

[VHS] STUDIO K7 028, GER 1994

Satisfied Mind - Polly - The River People - Promised - Buffalo Ballet - Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? - Loom Of The Land - Good Luck Morning - Firetrap - Bordertown - Grand Theft Auto - Jack Candy - Pass Me On Over - Snake Mountain Blues - Feel Like Going Home

This long out of print VHS documents the band at their London stand at the Garage club in 1994, and was released to tie in with the mailorder album of the same name [1.2.1]. Not a high budget registration, it's still 80 minutes nice on your eyes. A few spare copies cropped up in the merchandise stand on the 2003 romp through Europe, but they were gone halfway through the tour. With no imminent plans for a DVD reissue, this remains a much sought-after item.

1.6.2  SUB POP VIDEO NETWORK 1

[VHS] SubPop SP 22/165, GER 199?

Ahead of the Storm

Not chosen for a single, the Walkabouts nevertheless recorded a promo video for this "Rag + Bone" [1.1.4] song. Included on the rare "Video Network Vol. 1" released through SubPop in the early 90's, it is, by the completion of this discography in April 2004, the only Walkabouts promo video to surface commercially.

However, a few more tracks, all singles, have been given a visual treatment, namely: "Where the Deep Water Goes" (1991); "Stir the Ashes" (1991); "Your Hope Shines" (1993); "Good Luck Morning (1994); "The Light Will Stay On" (1996); "Lift Your Burdens Up" (1997), and "Drown" (1999). With a DVD currently planned, hopefully these videos will eventually become accesible to buyers. (As a side note, the "Light Will Stay On" made a brief and low resolution CD-ROM appearance on the Swedish "Details" promo CD on Virgin in 1996.)

There's also a video for the Tindersticks' "Travelling Light" , but although Carla's being heard on the track, she isn't starring in the video.

Chris and Carla is also being interviewed in Doug Pray's 1996 documentary on the Sub Pop scene, "Hype!".

2. CHRIS & CARLA

2.1 ALBUMS

2.1.1  LIFE FULL OF HOLES

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 360, GER 1995 [initial copies with sticker on front]

Precursor - Storm Crazy - Death at Low Water - The Tower - Nights Between Stations - Take Me - Sleep Will Pass Us By - Sandy River Moon - The Silent Crossing - Comfort of a Stranger - Life Full of Holes - Velvet Fog - Never Gonna Fall - The Cool and the Dark

If the premature dual debut "Shelter for an Evening" [2.2.1] showed Chris & Carla as merely a diminished Walkabouts, "Life Full of Holes" is an altogether different, and strikingly better, effort. With the songs specifically written for the album (as opposed to being stripped down runthroughs of old Walkabouts numbers), it established Chris & Carla as a separate outfit with a life of their own. Many have asked what the difference is between them and the Walkabouts, but it's hard to define it other than by saying it is, well, different. There's something in the delicacy of the songs chosen for Chris & Carla that make them more suitable to this format. It's hard to imagine the excellent "The Tower" or the gripping title track transferred to the Walkabouts line-up. (That said, "Death at Low Water" has successfully - and repeatedly - been given a full band treatment.)

But "Life Full of Holes" isn't purely a duo album. A quick glance through the CD booklet reveals a fine line of contributors, including the Tindersticks, R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows/The Minus 5, plus guest appearances from Walkabouts members. Also, the songwriting credits looks different to a Walkabouts album, as several of the songs were co-written with other people.

With lines like:

                       If there's a darker part of night

                       we'd best go find it

from "The Silent Crossing", the album sure has its share of lugubrious emotions. But in the end, it has a more easygoing feel. Travelling for instance seems to be a much less complicated venture on "Life Full of Holes" than on "New West Motel" [1.1.7] and "Setting the Woods on Fire" [1.1.9], where relocating usually was of restless but not painless necessity. On "Life Full of Holes", sheer will and a wish for learning seem to be reasons enough to hit the road. On the other hand, this might be an illusion created by the looser quality of the music rather than the lyrics themselves, as in "Nights Between Stations" where the country swagger seems to take some of the darkness out of the words.

Squeezed into the middle of the Walkabouts' busy release schedule of 1993-1997, "Life Full of Holes" stand up well against every other album from that period. With corner stones "Silent Crossing", "Life Full of Holes", "Velvet Fog" and the marvellous George Jones cover "Take Me", this proper Chris & Carla debut immediately hits the upper part of the essential albums list.

2.1.2  SWINGER 500

[LP] Glitterhouse GRLP 432, GER 1998

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 432, GER 1998

The Good News First - Electric Wire - New Love Ends - Black Rope Tied - Fear - Swinger 500 - Funny How Time Slips Away - Bingo Catastrophe - Blue Winter Snow - Mercury Rising - Famous Last Words

Released within less than a year of the Walkabouts' "Nighttown" [1.1.11] this is far removed from the grandeur of that album. It is named after the organ with the built-in drum machine used on the album and has a somewhat grainy, home-made feel that mirrors the small lyrical room perfectly. For the first time, Chris withdraws to a more personally centred lyric writing; the lyrics make more mentions of "you", "I" and "us" than ever before. Although neither admitted nor denied, it's hard not to see them as reflections on a relationship breaking down. In hindsight, "Trail of Stars" [1.1.12] isn't as revealing as "Swinger 500" in that sense. Already the opening track, "The Good News First", suggests that something is happening:

                       I'm convinced this whole thing ends

                       In a crash of common sense

                       In an avalanche of accidents

                       Premonitions of what's already been

Other lyrics also contemplates the uncertainties following broken ties (and broken hearts), as "New Love Ends", so slow it's emotionally inescapable:

                       And old love condemns

                       What I still can't pretend

before wanting but not daring to trust renewal:

                       And the new love breathes

                       What I still can't believe

In "Black Rope Tied", there's a bitter sting of finality:

                       See what's broken

                       See the white branches

                       Seeing what laughs

                       What hurts

                       These last chances

There's a lyrical/emotional call-and-response between "Swinger 500" and "Trail of Stars" particularly in the latter's "Drown" and a hint at acceptance (and later reconciliation) in "On the Day". In terms of production though, "Swinger 500" sows sonic seeds for "Ended up a Stranger" [1.1.14] and Chris Eckman's solo album "The Black Field" [3.2.2]. Introducing aesthetics that would prove useful later on, "Swinger 500" is a crucial album.

Taken strictly as a collection of songs, the album is for the most part impressive. After the title track, it begins to fluctuate a bit. The oft-covered "Funny How Time Slips Away" has never been a favourite Willie Nelson song of mine, while the Willard Grant Conspiracy took "Mercury Rising" one step further with their cover of it. But overall, it's an important, even essential, piece of the puzzle.

2.2 LIVE ALBUMS

2.2.1  SHELTER FOR AN EVENING

[CD] SubPop SPCD 92/264, GER 1993 [1000 copies]

River Blood - Long Time Here - Jack Candy - Wichita Lineman - Down Where the Drunkards Roll - Stir the Ashes - Hangman - Sweet Revenge - Glad Nation's Death Song - Train to Mercy - On the Beach - Maggie's Farm

The first outing from Chris & Carla is also their weakest. It has a dull, flat sound particularly affecting the acoustic guitars making them sound tinny. The selections were taken from two German shows in February 1993, and whether these simply weren't the most inspired nights, or whether the insufficient sound clips the wings off the performance is uncertain.

The setlist features two rare songs, "Down Where the Drunkards Roll" by Richard & Linda Thompson, and Jim Webb's "Wichita Lineman". It is the latter that stands out in this collection, revealing much darker aspects of the song than Glen Campbell's original hit recording from the sixties. Taken as a whole, the slower songs work marginally better than the uptempo numbers which don't survive the acoustic treating herein.

Whereas "Shelter for an Evening" remains vastly negligible to casual fans, it has an enduring appeal to collectors, being limited to 1000 copies and never reissued.

2.2.2  NIGHTS BETWEEN STATIONS: LIVE IN THESSALONIKI 1995

(as Chris & Carla with the Mylos All-Stars)

[LP] Hitch-Hyke Records LIFT037, GREECE 1995 [limited edition]

[CD] Glitterhouse GR383, GER 1995 [1000 copies]

Where the Air is Cool and Dark - Nights Between Stations - Prisoner of Texas - The Silent Crossing - Storm Crazy - Sleep Will Pass Us By - Sweet Revenge - Storms are on the Ocean - Lungs - Velvet Fog - Inauguration Day - Sand & Gravel

The circumstances leading up to this recording are detailed in Chris' amusing liner notes, so I will refrain from relating them. Let me just say that Chris & Carla ran across the seven Mylos musicians in a Greek taverna, immediately falling in love with their sound. It was agreed that they would one day play together, and in late 1995, they teamed up for the very special show documented on this disc.

It is a marriage made in heaven. The Mylos All-Stars contribute so much to the music with their dedication and their genuine and culturally specific approach. Guitarist George Bandoek and violin player Fotis Famelos particularly shine, adding an otherworldly strain to the songs that can best be described as psychedelic folk. The songs themselves make up an unusual set, with rarely played selections from the Walkabouts back catalogue and the then recent Chris & Carla album "Life Full of Holes" [2.1.1]. Add to that a driving, swinging Townes Van Zandt cover, "Lungs", and you have an album that is as irresistible as it is unique.

As in the case of many an essential Walkabouts/Chris & Carla disc, this was released only in a limited edition of 1000 copies, and available through Glitterhouse's mailorder service. It was also issued on LP in a minimal run with a different sleeve.

2.2.3  RECORDED LIVE 21/2/95 IN LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA

[CD] Wingnut, no number, US 1999 [≥1000 copies]

Nights Between Stations - The Silent Crossing - Sleep Will Pass Us By - On the Beach - Grand Theft Auto - Storm Crazy - Loom of the Land - Velvet Fog - Take Me - Snake Mountain Blues - The Tower - Feel Like Going Home - Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone

The first official Chris & Carla bootleg was sold simultaneously with "Airmail" [1.2.3] on the "Trail of Stars" [1.1.12] tour in 1999. With good, rich sound and an inspired all-acoustic, rollicking performance, this is exactly what "Shelter for an Evening" failed to be.

A particularly entertaining moment is right before "The Tower" when Chris tries to convince a guy from the audience to come up and play harmonica (a trick they used several times on the tour). Instead they end up with Carla's sister Laura wailing away during the middle eight to the audience's amused ovations.

But the entire set is beautiful, crowned by a gorgeous "Snake Mountain Blues" that proves you don't need electricity to make an impact. And if "Feel Like Going Home" doesn't bring to tears to your eyes, then what will?

2.2.4  COME AS YOU AREN'T

[CD] no label, US 2002 [≥1000 copies]

Talk/Intro - Life Full of Holes - Black Rope Tied - Velvet Fog - Mercury Rising - Slow Red Dawn - New Love Ends - Leaving Kind - Lift Your Burdens Up - Electric Wire - Straight to the Stars - Cortez the Killer - Climb - Can You Fly?

Without a new album to promote, Chris & Carla took to the road in the summer of 2001. The gig on this official bootleg was recorded at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels on June 15, 2001. Chris opens the show by promising a "whimsical" mix of songs, but whimsical it isn't. On the contrary, it's a remarkably focused show with both of them very attentive to the songs. Carla fires off one vocal thriller after another, and Chris is amazing on the guitar, constantly finding new sounds to lace the songs, from that intimidating tremolo he likes to use, to wailing sustained "violin" and simulations of a warbly Lesley cabinet. They turn the limitations of the duo line-up to assets, squeezing the best out of the songs.

Find here a crunchy "Mercury Rising" to outdo the recording on "Swinger 500" [2.1.2]. Marvel at a "Leaving Kind" that makes Nick Cave's piano based songs pale by comparison. Be thankful for two unreleased songs, a ten minute "Cortez the Killer" - what a killer! - and Freedy Johnson's haunting "Can You Fly".

With the official bootlegs, they have a found a distribution channel for material that otherwise would remain unheard by most. With recordings such as this, that would be a terrible waste and a horrible shame.

2.2.5  WANT TO SWING FROM YOU

[CD] no label, US 2003 [≥1000 copies]

The Stopping-Off Place - The Good News First - Electric Wire - Jack Candy - Swinger 500 - Black Rope Tied - Blue Winter Snow - Satisfied Mind - The Light Will Stay On - Immaculate - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - Famous Last Words - Galveston

This is an accurate document of the "Swinger 500" [2.1.2] tour, recorded in Brussels, April 1998. The core of the set list is quite naturally selections from "Swinger 500", still hot from the pressing plant at the time.

One of the studio album's strengths is the use of the ancient drum machine which brings a rugged feel to the music's surface. The same drum machine was sampled and used live to recapture the rhythmic foundation of the "Swinger 500" songs. Therefore, live performances of songs like "The Good News First" and "Blue Winter Snow" aren't that far removed from the record. Simply put: this album doesn't add much to what we already knew about the songs, thus making "Want to Swing from You" a less relevant album.

Two tracks raise the level of interest a bit. One: the folksy, acoustic "Stopping-Off Place" that Chris learnt back from Townes Van Zandt's cover of it, and two: the wonderful Smiths cover "There Is a Light that Never Goes Out". Chris & Carla take the consequences of the song, slow it down and use mainly an electric piano to create a sombre, lowlit ambience. It's a fine example of their ability to understand the heart of a song and filter it through their own experiences and personalities. On the otherwise average "Want to Swing from You", this song effortlessly establishes itself as the highlight.

A Hamburg recording of "Galveston" is added to the Brussels set, but it's better heard on the Glitterhouse compilation "Out of the Blue Vol. 6" [2.4.4].

2.3 SOUNDTRACKS

2.3.1  WHERE THE AIR IS COOL AND DARK: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE

(as Chris Eckman, Pete Gerrald and Carla Torgerson)

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 426, GER 1997 [mailorder]

Intro (River People) - Emmett & Laura - Setting Chokers - River People - Bordertown - The Tree - The Point - On the Beach - Neon Rose - Death in the Forest - Shoot Up - Sunday Morning - Panic Attack - Sawmill - Cafe Paradiso - Clearcut - Firetrap - General Store - Madeleine's Story - Snow Song - Train to Mercy - Two Girls - Basement - She Knew Me - Theme from "Where the Air is Cool and Dark"

Along with Seattle engineer and composer Pete Gerrald, Chris and Carla provided the soundtrack for Hollis Welsh's 1995 independent movie "Where the Air Is Cool and Dark". It's very much what you can imagine a soundtrack album to be like: a few songs but mostly snippets of incidental music, in this case reminiscent (and sometimes based on) on the short "Precursor" and "The Cool and the Dark" framing Chris & Carla's "Life Full of Holes" [2.1.1] album. The actual songs on the album are mostly previously released Walkabouts tracks, with the exception of the brilliant theme song ending the album. For long, this mailorder-only release was the only way to hear it, but it was subsequently included on "Drunken Soundtracks" [1.3.2], making this soundtrack album more or less redundant.

But, mention must be made of Terry Lee Hale's cover of "Train to Mercy". included herein. A little bit too static for its original ten minute incarnation on "Scavenger" [1.1.6], Hale strips it down to only voice and guitar (including some fine slide), making this the best available version of the song.

Other than that, this album is best for hangovers and collectors.

2.4 IMPORTANT V/A COMPILATIONS

2.4.1  SILOS AND UTILITY SHEDS

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 361, GER 1995

Soul of a Better Man

A track that never made it to "Life Full of Holes" [2.1.1], where it would have been worthwhile substitute to the irritating "Sandy River Moon". Especially since it retains the slightly doomy feel of "The Tower" and "Life Full of Holes", and even deepening it. With tracks like this, there's an urgent need for a "Death Valley Days" [1.3.1] kind of Chris & Carla compilation.

2.4.2  OUT OF THE BLUE VOLUME 4

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 415, GER 1997

Made to Burn

Another runaway track, this time released prior to "Swinger 500" [2.1.2]. More primitive than anything on the album, this sounds more like a demo and would have been out of the context on "Swinger 500". Excluding guitars and instead relying on piano and electronics, this is a rare bird and an off-beat favourite. Chris' Mark Sandman-like vocals and Carla's ghostly whispers create an unnerving atmosphere strengthened by evocative lyrics ("Walk through hell in a gasoline suit"). Excellent.

2.4.3  WAKE ME WHEN I'M UNDER

(split with Willard Grant Conspiracy)

[7"] Dahlia DHL0020, US 1997 [red vinyl, w/insert, 500 copies]

Runaround

Released on Willard Grant Conspiracy's own Dahlia label, this 7" was pressed on red vinyl and split with the aforementioned Conspiracy. "Runaround" is a sad but hopeful lullaby, somewhere inbetween Peter Hammill's "Wilhelmina" and Richard Thompson's pessimistic "End of the Rainbow". It was made more accessible when included on Glitterhouse sampler "Have One" in 1997, and has also been played live on a few rare occasions.

The title "Wake Me When I'm Under" was later used for a one-off all-star gig at the Orange Blossom Festival in Germany 2001, with - appropriately enough - members from the Walkabouts and Willard Grant Conspiracy.

2.4.4  OUT OF THE BLUE VOLUME 6

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 458, GER 1999

Galveston

The second Jimmy Webb song performed by Chris & Carla (the first one being "Wichita Lineman" on "Shelter for an Evening" [2.2.1], recorded in session for Radio HOT FM 9 qm. Appearing live on the "Want to Swing from You" CD [2.2.5], this version is a bit more focused. The CD cover lacks information on recording date.

2.4.5  COME ON BEAUTIFUL: THE SONGS OF AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB

[CD] Big Night/Glitterhouse, GRCD 514, 2000 [mailorder only, 1000 copies]

Blue And Grey Shirt

"Come on Beautiful" was compiled and initiated by American Music Club diehard Paul Austin (ex-Willard Grant Conspiracy), and was a joint venture between Austin's label Big Night and Glitterhouse. Other contributors are Lambchop, Calexico, Tarnation's Paula Frazer and Steve Wynn to mention but a few. Chris & Carla's choice is in its original American Music Club incarnation found on the odds-and-ends compilation CD "United Kingdom".

It's not surprising, actually rather logical, that they finally recorded an American Music Club song. There are similarities between the songs of Chris Eckman and those by Mark Eitzel; the bleakness, the survivor's sense of strength. "Blue and Grey Shirt" slips nicely into Chris & Carla's idiom.

3. CHRIS ECKMAN

3.1 ALBUMS

3.1.1  A JANELA

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 476, GER 2000 [mailorder]

Fireworks - Intrusions - The Drag - Rua Augusta - Ghostface - Deadwood - Fadista - A Janela - May You Have Strength - The Other Side of Night - 20 Minutes on a Train - Sonhos e Sombras

Chris Eckman's first solo album was sneaked out as another mailorder album. Maybe he wasn't certain of its qualities, maybe it was too personal, maybe it was something he needed to get off his chest and wasn't sure he wanted everyone else to hear. Neither are there any lyrics included with the album; you can't fake your way through "A Janela", you have to pay attention. And when you get under its skin, you'll find it's gotten even deeper under yours.

If "Swinger 500" [2.1.2] and "Trail of Stars" [1.1.12] dealt with separation, they still did it on a "socially acceptable level". They were the things you can say to a trusted someone over a glass of wine. "A Janela" is the things you can't tell, those that claw you to shreds when no-one else is there, every grinning devil catching up with you when your solitude already is one person too many. "A Janela" is the roar of the silent darkness.

A look at the titles gives "A Janela" away as everything but an easy record: "Intrusions". "Ghostface". "Deadwood". Words with collapse and claustrophobia for semantics. And the words the titles veil are even darker.

                       I was down

                       to my three last straws

                       when your sister came

                       took your pictures off the walls

                       And the nails left hanging

                       was all I saw

                       The nails left hanging

                       on the wall

                       And I won't change anything

                       I just change everything

from "Intrusions", set to a melodic loop of frustration, like the emotions that won't lose their grip; or the hard-earned insight of "The Drag":

                       There's too much history in this

                       There's no victory in this

It is evidently a so-called "divorce album" and there's no way that can be hidden. It has all the ambivalence of Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks" or Peter Hammill's "Over". Phrasings that are so obvious I can understand if Chris Eckman preferred "A Janela" to reach but the few and sympathetic. I see nothing wrong in that. And I see nothing wrong with someone releasing the tension on record. Because sometimes, your own darkness is best treated with someone else's. "A Janela" is a soul-shattering album; it's painful, it hurts, it scares long after the last words of "Sonhos e Sombras'" eerie telephone message have been uttered. But what I've said elsewhere, about the consolation in the trust Chris Eckman shows by sharing, certainly accounts for "A Janela". It is not quite the comfort of a stranger, because by reaching out it touches friends, nameless as they might be. "A Janela" recognizes your darkness by allowing its own; that mutuality relieves pain, and adds a morning to even the darkest of nights.

3.2.2  THE BLACK FIELD

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 581, GER 2004

Nights Like These - Healing Waters of the Flood - Low Country - Crystalline - Befell - The Black Field - Pirates & Clowns - Restless - Why Can't I Touch It?

Comparisons to "A Janela" [3.1.1] are probably inevitable, but they won't bring us closer to what "The Black Field" is, unless you use them to describe the opposites. Because at the end of the day, they are two very different albums. "A Janela" was deeply personal, coloured by hurtful undercurrents, whereas "The Black Field" is much lighter in tone; more accessible if you will. They could have swapped titles: "A Janela" means "the window" in Portuguese, and "The Black Field" is much more of an open window, while Chris' solo debut was a scary walk through a black field of deserted, but lingering emotions.

On one level, "The Black Field" has more in common with Chris & Carla's "Swinger 500" [2.1.2]: production. Fair enough, because "production" is a key word here. Chris understands in his heart the potential of timbres and the space inbetween. David Byrne once said that it's as important for a musician to know when to play as when not to - silence as a creative part of music. The use of silence and the understanding of the innermost qualities of sound, tone and timbre is one of the Chris' trademarks as a producer. "The Black Field" is a proof of that.

To bring things down to a crude simplistic level, another difference between "A Janela" and "The Black Field" is that the former is a mood album and the latter is a song album. Maybe that's one reasons why "The Black Field" seems a little less coherent album; the songs rely more on their individual qualities and not all of them are equally good.

Already "A Janela" displayed a Plastic Ono Band influence, but on "Low Country", the impressions of Lennon are much stronger. It's almost as if Chris toys around with Lennon's specific harmonies - you don't need a very vivid imagination to substitute Chris' voice with Lennon's nasal croon. Other details too prevent the song to elevate out of the paraphrase. A song like "Befell" in turn seems uninspired.

Much better is album opener "Nights Like These". It's the track here that most prominently hints back at "A Janela", almost disintegrating into disembodied jazz with its diminished harmonies. The tremolo guitar of "Healing Waters of the Flood" is as much Twin Peaks it gets without any Badalamenti involvement, and helps the ectoplasmic spirit of the opening track to settle in a less abstract context. The title track is another high point, with a foreboding country lilt and memorable lyrics. And, picking an old Buzzcocks chestnut to conclude "The Black Field" once again shows Chris sensitivity in hearing qualities in other people's songs.

Taken track by track, the album may lack a bit of consistency, but it should be remembered that the sum of "The Black Field" is greater than its separate parts. And in the end, it might be an album I play more often than the emotionally stronger "A Janela", saving the latter for my most desolate moments.

3.2 IMPORTANT V/A COMPILATIONS

3.2.1  OUT OF THE BLUE, VOL. 8

[CD] Glitterhouse, GRCD 500, GER 2000

Sense of Wonder

"Sense of Wonder" was recorded during the "A Janela" [3.1.1] sessions, but has musically speaking sharper, more jagged edges than anything on the album. It's hard to see how it would have fitted in with tracks like "Intrusions", "Fadista" or even "The Drag", so it was a good decision to exclude it. It's a decent not a great song, but it's still nice to see "A Janela" outtakes leak out and add further perspectives to that remarkable album.

4. CARLA TORGERSON

4.1 ORIGINAL SCORE

4.1.1  A LIE OF THE MIND

(as Mark Nichols & Carla Torgerson)

[CD] no label, US 2003 [500 copies]

It's Been a Great Show (Intro) - At the Crossroads - Morning Train Passes - Black Box Witness - Crazy Dancing with Strangers - Song for Goose, Sax and Voice - Great Show (Reprise) - Grey Sky Blues (Instrumental) - Breathsong - Sleeping Under the Flag - Shadow on Your Heart - Just One Kiss - Love & Patchwork Lies - They Float Like Butterflies - Pure, Pure Blue - Grey Sky Blues - It's Been a Great Show

In 2003, movie director, arranger and long-term Walkabouts associate Mark Nichols asked Carla to collaborate on a score for Sam Shephard play "A Lie of the Mind" that would be performed at Seattle's ACT Theatre. She agreed, and six sessions later they had a little less than 50 minutes of music to illustrate the play. Given that it's what you could call "circumstantial music" to fit in with the stagings, parts of it is may seem too rudimentary for home listening. But a lot of it works well out of the original context, and some of it reminds me of the instrumental side of Laurie Anderson. Only a few songs have lyrics, but they make for a worthwhile read as well as and listen. Especially lyricist Michael Willet turns the common into poetry with "Just One Kiss", "Grey Sky Blues" and "It's Been a Great Show" - the latter performed with a Nick Drake hush to it.

However, the track best prepared for a life away from the theatre is Carla's self-penned "Black Box Witness". It was finished several years prior to "A Lie of the Mind" and performed live at least once in a slightly abbreviated form as "Splintered". Written like a dialogue between two parents (with Mark Nichols singing the father's part), it's reminds me of the Beatles' "She's Leaving Home". But Carla replaces McCartney's mawkishness with an acidic sting of bitterness, making "Black Box Witness" an enduring effort raising the hopes for a Torgerson solo album.

The score for "A Lie of the Mind" was privately issued in a small edition and is now out of print.

5. OTHER PROJECTS

5.1 JOE LEONARD

5.1.1  JOE LEONARD'S BREATHE

[MC] Green Monkey, no number?, US 1991

Walking Song

The lead singer for Seattle's Hitmen recorded this cassette-only concept album for Green Monkey in the early 90's. In a way it signifies Chris & Carla's recorded debut, as they were invited to appear as "walking singers" on "Walking Song". However, it's an easily forgotten tongue-in-cheek blues styled track of interest to completists only.

5.2 HÖST

5.2.1  THE DAMAGE SUITE

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 534, GER 2001 [initial copies w/sticker on front]

The Clock - Damage Suite - The City - The Big Picture - Ground Zero/Point A - The Confrontation - Night Of Departure - Washington Fall - Underground Games

Höst (meaning "autumn") are Chris Eckman and Midnight Choir's Al DeLoner bouncing ideas across the Atlantic. "The Damage Suit" was originally an extension of a soundtrack DeLoner did for a Norwegian short film, but it soon took on a life of its own. Chris added overdubs and came up with a few basic ideas and eventually they had an album's worth of material.

I understand the intention of making ambient music as much electric as electronic, but the album fails to transcend its own starting point. Although it's not a soundtrack album per se, its shortcomings are that it sounds like one. Despite a few moments of higher tension, it's too insubstantial to live up to the demands of repeated listens.

5.3 i

5.3.1  I

[CD] Glitterhouse GRCD 548, GER 2002

Paris Is Burning - Marathon Man - Kistekopf - Milhaus’ Daydream - Elephant Titus: The Exploding Pizza Delivery Boy - Who’s The Creep? - Chromium Tears

With no pictures or personnel information on the cover, this peculiar band even more peculiarly named I was launched by Glitterhouse as a krautrock band from Düsseldorf. However, the hoax was soon exposed by a journalist with private detective aspirations: I were in fact Carla, Glenn and the three Eckman brothers Chris, Grant and Curt! That might lead someone to believe it's a reunion of the original Walkabouts (in which all three brothers played), but far from it. The krautrock influence is indeed there, with samples on top of drony instrumental jams, and it works surprisingly well. It begins to feel a bit overlong towards the end, but a little more than the first half is enjoyable, even evocative.

Despite the singular nature of the project, the I line-up actually played a few rare live shows following the release of the album. A parenthesis it is, but a pleasant one.

5.4 ANDRÉ HELLER

5.4.1  RUF UND ECHO

|3CD] Polydor/Universal 602498654958, GER 2003 [box set]

Immigrant Song - Für Immer Jung - Esther

Something of a star in his native Austria, André Heller has been active for decades as an impresario, actor, film maker, musician, conceptual artist and probably a whole lot more. Once a singer in the Jacques Brel vein, he hadn't made an album for over ten years when the idea sprung to mind to bring in members of the Walkabouts to back him up for some new sessions in the summer of 2002. These sessions spawned the three songs included on the retrospective 3CD box set "Ruf und Echo".

The first track to feature Chris, Carla and Glenn is a duet with Carla in vocal close-up with Slovenian singer Vlado Kreslin (who wrote "That Black Guitar" on "Train Leaves at Eight"). The rolling, spirited "Immigrant Song" shows an Eastern European influence with a sensitive and enhancing addition of clarinet.

The multilingual reader perhaps suspects that "Für Immer Jung" is a German translation of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young", and so it is. The initial verse is a duet with Carla and Heller, then Heller takes over and finishes this earthy version in his native tongue.

The last song of the three is the one being an all-Walkabouts performance. With its slow Sunday sadness, "Esther" could have been an Eckman original, and he also sings it meritorious. Had this song been on "Train Leaves at Eight" [1.1.13], where it would have fitted had it been recorded a few years earlier, it would have been the absolute highlight.

5.5 SIGMATROPIC (featuring Carla Torgerson)

5.5.1  SIXTEEN HAIKU AND OTHER STORIES

[CD] Tounge Master TMAST 002, UK 2003 [first edition w/bonus CD]

Haiku Five - Haiku Six (with Akis Boyatzis) - Haiku Six (Vangelis Zisis mix)* - Haiku 13*

[*] on original 2CD version only

Sigmatropic is a Greek band centred around the current musical visions of veteran Akis Boyatzis. "Sixteen Haiku and Other Stories" was also originally conceived in Greek, but to stay true to Boyatzis' initial idea of an English version, he invited overseas singers to contribute to the international equivalent of the album. A diverse range of performers including Steve Wynn, Mark Eitzel, Lee Ranaldo, Cat Power and the wonderful Robert Wyatt agreed to participate in the project based on poems by 1963 Nobel Prize winner in literature, Giorgos Seferis. Carla overdubbed vocals for several of them, with numbers 5 and 6 ending up on the album.

It is predictable of me to say that Carla's tracks are the best on the album, but I genuinely think they are, only rivalled by Wyatt's and Wynn's performances. It's interesting that in these electronic surroundings, her voice reveals qualities that haven't been as obvious before, as in "Haiku Five" where it has a touch of the mature Siouxsie Sioux on later Banshees recordings. On the bonus EP that came with original copies of the CD, Carla's vocals replace Lee Ranaldo's on "Haiku 13". It also has a remix of "Haiku Six".

CD features a CD-ROM track.

5.5.2  COULD THAT BE THE VOICE?

[12"] Tongue Master TONG 006, UK 2004 [limited edition]

Haiku Ten

Increasing the amount of alternate vocal takes from "Sixteen Haiku and Other Stories", [5.5.1] this five track vinyl only 12" EP has Carla's version of "Haiku Ten" (sung by Mark Eitzel on the original album).