Current 93 / Michael Cashmore / Christoph Heeman

Durtro 045CD, 1999, Running time: 56:18

Current 93 / Michael Cashmore / Christoph Heeman
  1. An Introduction To Suffering - 01:42
  2. All the Pretty Little Horses - 02:35
  3. Calling For Vanished Faces - 04:04
  4. The Cat is Dead - 02:33
  5. ??? (Michael Cashmore) - 01:27
  6. In An English Garden - 01:08
  7. ??? (Michael Cashmore) - 01:47
  8. The Flower is RedRobed - 03:46
  9. A Silence Song, Silent (Michael Cashmore) - 05:24
  10. Et In Arcadia Est - 00:52
  11. Moonlight, Or Other Dreams, Or Other Fields - 02:59
  12. Judas As Black Moth - 09:34
  13. Lazy Moon Part I (Christoph Heemann) - 12:37
  14. Lazy Moon Part II (Christoph Heemann) - 05:50

The concept behind this album is really quite cool.  Primarily, it’s a collection of out-takes and alternate versions of some of Current 93’s more recent material, with the addition of a few Cashmore and Heemann pieces.  I really really like this one; it’s kind of a thrill hearing versions of tracks that never made it to the final release.  This album feels almost like a peek behind the curtain, as if Tibet and friends invited you for an afternoon tour of their recording studio.  The disc is limited to 2000 copies, so, best of luck in finding one.  No lyrics.

Though originally intended for release on Soft Black Stars, this is the first appearance of the instrumental track AN INTRODUCTION TO SUFFERING.  If you already own that album, you’ll recognize the melodies and piano style of this piece immediately.

From All the Pretty Little Horses (Theinmostlight), this rendition of ALL THE PRETTY LITTLE HORSES is instrumentally the same but features alternate vocals by David Tibet.  In the album version the lyrics were rendered in an eerie whisper, while here, Tibet actually sings for us.  Very nice.

CALLING FOR VANISHED FACES is also from All the Pretty Little Horses (Theinmostlight).  Again, the music is the same, but Tibet offers alternate vocals and some different lyrics as well.  Rather than the compact and intensely-delivered vocals from the album, this version is rather more wild and expressive.  Great track, but I can see why the tone of it was deemed inappropriate for the overall feel of the All the Pretty Little Horses (Theinmostlight) album.

Previously unreleased, THE CAT IS DEAD is a deleted track from All the Pretty Little Horses (Theinmostlight).  I’m really glad that Tibet decided to release it here, as it’s a very sweet and lovely song, featuring piano, acoustic guitar, and some gorgeous vocals and lyrics.  I love this piece.  Again, it doesn’t really fit with the theme of the album it was originally intended for, but, that’s why it appears here instead of there.

Track five is an untitled and presumably unreleased acoustic guitar piece by Michael Cashmore.  As you would expect, it has a very Baroque and melancholy feel to it, similar to the guitar work on his Nature and Organisation projects.  I have a massive amount of respect for Cashmore, and I really wish he were as prolific with his own releases as Current 93 is with theirs.

According to the liner notes, IN AN ENGLISH GARDEN was originally intended to be a part of a (now-abandoned) Current 93 album.  However, some of the material was later exhumed for use on the Stapleton and Tibet Musical Pumpkin Cottage project; you’ll recognize the lyrics and vocal style as belonging to the BUBBLEHEAD track on that album.  Tibet’s slow and vaguely distorted vocals are backed by what sounds to me like reverse piano.  Brief but eerie.

Track seven is also an untitled guitar piece by Cashmore which reminds me a lot of J.S. Bach’s Suites for Lute.  This song as sweetly melancholy as the other Cashmore track, and is also, unfortunately, far too short.

Again belonging to the BUBBLEHEAD track from Musical Pumpkin Cottage, THE FLOWER IS REDROBED is not, in fact, too very different from that version which appeared on the album.

Cashmore’s third track is A SILENCE SONG, SILENT, which is an alternate version of A SILENCE SONG from Thunder Perfect Mind.

ET IN ARCADIA EST is a short piece that is very similar to the IN AN ENGLISH GARDEN track.  I believe that this is its first appearance.

Track eleven, MOONLIGHT, OR OTHER DREAMS, OR OTHER FIELDS, is an alternate vocal rendition of the song from Soft Black Stars.  The tone of this version is a little more plaintive than the strong and direct version that appeared on the album.  The lyrics contain one small, though perhaps significant, difference:  “…vision of my Christ” is changed to “…vision of this world.” Hmm.  This is a cool track, but the album version certainly has more presence and power.

JUDAS AS BLACK MOTH is a combination of the first and eleventh tracks from Soft Black Stars.  However, while those two tracks were basically instrumentals, this version features a significant addition of vocals and lyrics from Tibet, kind of a missing-but-recovered chapter to the Soft Black Stars story.  Touching and enigmatic.

You’ll recognize Christoph Heemann’s LAZY MOON PART I as being essentially the same track as MOON: PAGE 209, TWENTY TWO EIGHTEEN NOW from the A Gothic Love Song single, although with just slightly more variation.

Much of Heemann’s LAZY MOON PART II was included in the final track of Soft Black Stars.

As I mentioned before, this album really feels like a behind-the-scenes look at Current 93.  It’s not a starting place for newcomers, but is rather a nice treat for those who are a little more familiar with the band and their works.  Definitely recommended.

No epilogue.