Stapleton / Tibet: Octopus

Durtro 044CD, 1998, Running time: 76:23

Stapleton / Tibet: Octopus
  1. I Left Her For a Cartoon Octopus - 16:58
  2. The Fire Of the Mind - 18:01
  3. The Dead Side Of the Moon - 21:29
  4. Bubblehead - 19:55

The third release from Steven Stapleton and David Tibet is kind of a disjointed album, consisting of an older Current 93 track, vinyl-only versions of Stapleton and Tibet pieces, and one snazzy new composition. Though the disc contains mostly previously-released material, for many it will actually be a very worthwhile purchase, as the Current 93 song is long out of print, and the Stapleton/Tibet tracks are from the vinyl release of Musical Pumpkin Cottage (which was titled Musicalische Kˇrbs Hˇtte).  Completists should rejoice that this material is available on CD.  No lyrics included, however.

The only new track on this album, I LEFT HER FOR A CARTOON OCTOPUS, is fairly obviously from the hand of Steven Stapleton. It’s a chuggy, chiffy, and somewhat percussive piece whos rhythm reminds me a little of COLD from the Nurse With Wound version of Thunder Perfect Mind. If you’re buying the album for this piece alone, make sure that you’re a fan of Nurse With Wound or risk disappointment.

Recorded in 1994 by Current 93, THE FIRE OF THE MIND was originally released as a one-track EP companion to the Durto book “Simply Being,” a translation of Tibetan texts by James Low. As is appropriate for the contemplative theme of the book, the track is a quiet, slow and vaguely melodic drone which reminds me, somewhat, of MOON: PAGE 209, TWENTY TWO EIGHTEEN NOW from A Gothic Love Song.  Stuff to fall asleep by.

Originally released on Musicalische Kˇrbs Hˇtte, THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON is a remix of the track of the same name from the CD version of the album (titled, of course, Musical Pumpkin Cottage).  Both versions are fairly comparable, though I have to admit, I like the Musical Pumpkin Cottage version just slightly better.

Like track three, BUBBLEHEAD is the LP remix version of the track from the Musical Pumpkin Cottage CD.  Also like track three, this isn’t quite my favorite version, but, I’m happy to see that it’s been made available on CD.

No epilogue.