Crooked Crosses for the Nodding God

United Dairies UD033CD, 1989, Running time: 46:35

Crooked Crosses for the Nodding God
  1. He is Everywhere Nowhere - 02:56
  2. Northforth - 00:38
  3. Hail - 02:41
  4. The Return of the Final Church - 05:06
  5. Snow - 02:00
  6. Oh Thou Coal Black Smith - 04:45
  7. From Boyd’s Bunker - 00:33
  8. Ending Ending - 01:00
  9. The Summer Past - 02:08
  10. The Sickstair Song - 00:35
  11. Toytown Awakes - 00:31
  12. Dark Wood Too Awakes - 01:27
  13. After Tomorrow - 04:04
  14. Hey Ho The Nodding God Comes - 01:43
  15. Looney Runes - 06:17
  16. The Ballad of Bobby Sunshine - 07:58
  17. The Use of Compassion Explained - 02:13

As Tibet states in the liner notes, “this is a remixed, restructured, and re-recorded version of Swastikas for Noddy, thus the before- and after-Iceland colours are now complete.” Speaking personally, I think this is a wonderful album, spooky and silly and rather twisted; in fact, I actually like it much better than the original Swastikas for Noddy.

The first track, HE IS EVERYWHERE NOWHERE (originally recorded as BENEDICTION), opens with an evil, industrial-sounding wind, under which Ian Read’s excellent vocals shine through. It ends with Tibet giving us a two-line foreshadowing of track six.

While NORTHFORTH (formerly titled NORTH) still has backing vocals by Freya Aeswynn, the lead vocals are now by David Tibet. The guitar is likewise more interesting on this version.

The first part of HAIL is essentially the same song as the VALEDICTION track on Swastikas for Noddy and I have to admit that I still don’t get it. It’s simply Tibet raving nonsensically. The second half, however, is Douglas P. singing the track originally recorded as HELLO ANGEL. It’s still sweet and wonderfully sinister.

THE RETURN OF THE FINAL CHURCH is simply that; a return to THE FINAL CHURCH. It’s a little more robust mix at a slightly higher tempo, featuring some distorted guitar and addition sound effects. Cool song.

SNOW is probably the first song sung by Freya Aeswynn that I really like. Though it’s substantially the same as the original track (BLESSING), this version is excellently produced, making her slow acapella vocals simply chilling.

Track six, OH THOU COAL BLACK SMITH, is probably one of the best songs ever recorded. It’s rather folk-ish (but that’s appropriate, since it’s a traditional English tune), quick-paced, and featuring an excellent melody and wonderful vocals from Tibet. Easily one of my favorite songs, this great album is almost worth buying for this track alone.

FROM BOYD’S BUNKER is a short spoken lecture by Boyd Rice concerning man (or Man?) as a beast of prey. It was originally a part of the earlier recording of OH COAL BLACK SMITH.

The eighth track, ENDING ENDING, was originally recorded as BLACK SUN BLOODY MOON. This version is a little more robustly produced.

THE SUMMER PAST, of course, is a cover of the Blue Oyster Cult song THE SUMMER OF LOVE. This version is actually quite a bit darker than the other version. Rose McDowall provides backing vocals, and there’s a nice choral loop that fades in toward the end.

THE SICKSTAIR SONG is actually a combination of two previously recorded pieces, SCARLET WOMAN and THE STAIR SONG. While I didn’t like the other version of SCARLET WOMAN, it works very well in this context. THE STAIR SONG, of course, has always been extremely cool (not to mention evil).

When I first heard TOYTOWN AWAKES, I couldn’t help but laugh aloud. Following on the heels of THE SICKSTAIR SONG, it’s probably the last thing you’d expect (unless you expect to hear silly circus music on a Current 93 album). This track proves, once again, that C93 has a pretty good sense of humor. It did not appear on Swastikas for Noddy.

DARK WOOD TOO AWAKES is an extended, remixed version of the first half of BLACK FLOWERS PLEASE. It’s a very strange, very evil-sounding song with vocals by Rose and Tibet, accompanied by strange background noises and a maniacal music box.

AFTER TOMORROW opens with a reprise of TOYTOWN AWAKES, mixed with another lecture by Boyd Rice. As with the original recording (SINCE YESTERDAY), the second part of the song is a cover of the Strawberry Switchblade song as sung by Tibet.

HEY HO THE NODDING GOD COMES, which was originally recorded as (HEY HO) THE GODDY (OH), is another sinister, evil song in the vein of DARK WOOD TOO AWAKES (in fact, it’s almost a contination of it). It’s great. Scary, but great.

Track fifteen, LOONEY RUNES, is a combination of PANZER RUNE and some new material. Heavy guitar, drums, strange vocals from Tibet, and some interesting studio effects make this a well-produced piece, though it doesn’t particularly appeal to me. It also features a loop from HEY HO THE NODDING GOD COMES.

THE BALLAD OF BOBBY SUNSHINE was first recorded as BEAUSOLEIL; this version is pretty much the same as the other, though more cleanly-produced. It’s an ok folk piece, but a little too hippy-ish for my taste.

The last track is one of my favorite songs on the album and likewise has a wonderfully intriguing title: THE USE OF COMPASSION EXPLAINED. Previously recorded as MALEDICTION, this piece is a reprise of the first track, though this time acapella. Through the wonders of multi-tracking, there are at least five layers to Ian Read’s vocals. An excellent ending. A wonderful album.

No epilogue.