Sex and Death [FBN 201] | The Durutti Column

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The Durutti Column \ Sex and Death [FBN 201 / CD]

Factory Benelux presents expanded 2xLP and 2xCD editions of Sex and Death, the 11th studio album by lauded Manchester ensemble The Durutti Column. Originally released on CD only in 1995, the album has now been newly remastered with several bonus tracks.

The writing and recording of Sex and Death closed an uncertain period for Vini Reilly and the group following the collapse of Factory Records in 1992. Factory founder Tony Wilson remained in post as manager of the band, but Sex and Death would be their last album with producer Stephen Street, famed for his work with Morrissey, The Smiths and Blur.

Writer and master guitarist Vini Reilly remained philosophical. “People say the Durutti Column is this or that. I don’t care, so long as we make good music. There’s screaming feedback on some tracks, heavy metal guitar, Spanish picking. It’s not just this ethereal trip. Don’t listen to the form, never listen to the form. Listen to the content.”

Stand-out tracks include Anthony, dedicated to Wilson. Guest musicians include viola player John Metcalfe, vocalist Ruth-Ann Boyle (later to form hitmakers Olive with Tim Kellett), programmer Martin Jackson (Magazine, Swing Out Sister) and bassist Peter Hook, then on furlough from New Order post-Republic.

All 5 bonus tracks on the vinyl are previously unreleased, having been retrieved from a long-lost DAT demo tape located in Tony Wilson’s personal archive. 6 tracks from the same DAT tape appear on the CD set, together with 4 outtakes from Sex and Death previously available as a free download (Fac 2.26) via the Durutti Column website.

All tracks are newly re-mastered in 2021 by Peter Beckmann at Technology Works. All formats feature liner notes and interview material with Vini. The 16 page CD booklet is printed on matt art paper. The vinyl album is pressed on blue and silver vinyl and housed in a matt gatefold sleeve.

Vinyl (2xLP) tracklist:

A1. Anthony
A2. The Rest of My Life
A3. For Colette
A4. The Next Time
B1. Beautiful Lies
B2. My Irascible Friend
B3. Believe In Me
B4. Fermina
C1. Where I Should Be
C2. Fado
C3. Madre Mio
C4. Blue Period
C5. War Torn
D1. Picking Guitar for the Shrimp
D2. The Celestial Bar
D3. Jumble Drums, Growling Bass and the Whammy Bar
D4. For Cameron de la Isla

2xCD tracklist:

Disc 1:

1. Anthony
2. The Rest of My Life
3. For Colette
4. The Next Time
5. Beautiful Lies
6. My Irascible Friend
7. Believe In Me
8. Fermina
9. Where I Should Be
10. Fado
11. Madre Mio
12. Blue Period

Disc 2:

1. Believe In Me (Mix 1)
2. You Mess Me Up
3. My Only Love (aka Duet)
4. Believe In Me (Mix 2)
5. Picking Guitar for the Shrimp
6. Get Me to the Beat on Time
7. Jumble Drums, Growling Bass and the Whammy Bar
8. For Cameron de la Isla
9. War Torn
10. The Celestial Bar

Available as a double vinyl set and jewel cased 2xCD. CD copies are shipped in FBN slipcase. To order any format please select correct shipping option (UK, Europe or Rest of World) and click on Add To Cart button below cover image.

Or, you can order with the option of tracked shipping from our friends at Burning Shed (click here to order)

Reviews:

"The music of Durutti Column is always a trip into Utopian genius" (Total Guitar, 1995)

"The shimmering guitar repetitions suggesting Steve Reich via Satie are still there from the opening, but here Reilly is pushing his work even further than before, embracing power-chord riffing, flamenco, Arabic themes and even something sounding very much like raw blues guitar. Even when playing the blues, however, it is still unmistakably Reilly, with that exquisite signature of his, heard to lovely effect on My Irascible Friend, where he's accompanied by a summer storm and birdsong. What chance a Durutti version of the Harry Lime Theme? 8/10" (Time Out, 02/1995)

"Sex and Death is perhaps Vini Reilly's most melodic and song-based work to date. Alongside instrumentals such as My Irascible Friend, in which Reilly overlaps his acoustic guitar across trembling guitars and keyboards, there's the comparatively driving The Rest of My Life, the loose-limbed funk of Fado, and a closing blues, Blue Period" (Q Magazine, 02/1995)

"Propped in the melody department by the melancholic prowl of Peter Hook's bass guitar, and prompted by the textures and rhythms of long-time drummer Bruce Mitchell, it's classic Durutti Column - albeit rather raunchier than we've come to expect" (Guitar Magazine, 02/1995)

"The perfect easy listening album for 1995" (Select, 02/1995)