Search - Tuxedomoon :: Vapour Trails

As Fine As Anything They've Ever Done

Phillip Thomas Powell | Eastern USA | 05/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow, I can't believe no-one has reviewed this Title yet! Although I actually bought the "7707 tm: 30th Anniversary Box" (which includes this CD), I decided to review this single-disc version instead because the box set has already been reviewed (albeit by a paltry 2 people).



So, getting down to it, for anyone whose ever enjoyed their music (which, by rights, should be anyone who has ever heard them - but unfortunately this is not necessarily the case), this is an ABSOLUTE MUST-BUY album. I happen to think almost all of their material is top-shelf (well, except perhaps for "You"), but over the years there have been several true standouts. This is one, and one that can stand toe-to-toe with even their greatest late-70's, early-80's masterpieces. The overall feel and sound is not unlike some of their other fairly recent offerings, most especially "Cabin in the Sky," but somehow on this collection they have delved more deeply into that ineffable quality that makes their best stuff so hard to categorize and so impossible to forget. Like most of the other truly GREAT bands of history (such as the Legendary Pink Dots, Wire, early-to-middle-period Pink Floyd, and, yes, the Beatles, and just a tiny handful of others) they have that unique ability to tap into the very essence of the Universe and translate that into sound. Tuxedomoon are particularly unusual in that they have reached these heights in many different decades. Yet according to the marvelous recent book "Music for Vagabonds - The Tuxedomoon Chronicles" by the uber-talented polymath Isabelle Corbisier (who also has had the honor of experiencing their world from the inside), not only have they never received proper recognition for their artistry, but they have had to deal with persistent financial struggles throughout their career(s). Proof that either there is no God, or that S/He is a sadist. But, in any case, I could not recommend this album any more highly. It stands among their very best, along with "Desire" (perhaps their greatest of all), "Half-Mute," "Holy Wars," "Suite En Sous-Sol," and the "No Tears" and "Scream With A View" EPs.



But maybe you'll want to pick up the box set instead, for all the other goodies that it includes...

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