Re-issues-Re-consideration

[Urpal]

Now that the dust has settled on the re-issue of all the main Triffids albums, has the experience of hearing the music re-packaged, enhanced and supplemented affected your opinion/perception of the band and its legacy?

It has mine. I feel closer to the music and where it came from in an undefined way. Is that just by virtue of being around on here when it panned out? Or is it something about the quality of the re-issues?

[HVanherf]

Hey

I'm very glad with the re issues , especially the sound of BSD.
I do like all the b sides and demo's etc and the artwork etc is very good.

There's only his one thing ; I love this band so much that you always think/hope there's something hidden somewhere in someone's basement that will blow you of your socks like that first time you listened to BSD or Calenture or Love in bright landscapes. (the only time this happened to me was with smile of the beach boys)
But I have to realise that that's all there is and will ever be of this wonderfull band.

[jonmck]

Well The Reissues are my introduction to the band.  And I couldn't want anything more from a series of reissues; liner notes, packaging, bonus tracks, remastering and remixing where appropriate. 

I now love the band, so they certainly worked for me.

[glee]

The re-issues as far as original official releases are concerned might be over but there will be more to come. It is a great thing that many people are actually discovering the band through the re-issues - means a lot...

[Urpal]

Assuming that the future holds in store something along the lines suggested here (solo/costar, live, early, tributes/covers (live or otherwise)) then it might be the most exciting for older fans as we'll be venturing into uncharted waters. I'm looking forward to what's yet to come. I hope it will keep up the high standards set by the re-issues so far. The prospects are good.

[Jonathan Alley]

I doubt I'd be making a film without the re-issues programme, as it was the BSD re-issue and associated reawakening of Dave/Triffids awareness that inspired me to delve back into Dave's story. And as they've arrived, it's only served greater re-examination of the songs .... that simply have endless lives of their own beyond us mere mortals. Actually, the re-issue that's changed my perception the most has been Calenture. As much as I've loved the others, and enjoyed the remastered audio, extra tracks, liner notes etc , the reissues programme hasn't changed how I see the character of any particular record, (even though they might have enhanced the existing sense of character) Calenture is the exception to me. The flatness has gone, and it sounds like the sea; it's rich and deep. It's 'bigger'. And it's bloody beautiful. 

[Stupy]

Yes.

In order from most significant, a few thoughts:

1. In The Pines is actually a rather magnificent work of art. The remix and remaster puts a completely different spin on the beast. It is one hell of a hayshed. The clarity is astounding.

2. Lawson Square Infirmary. This was new Triffids ground for me. I could name drop many country songs that mock welfare, but none that deal with it in a matter of fact, off the cuff way while blending it with some sort of mother fixation as per "Mother Silhouette". The whole EP is disturbingly catch, yet with a sinister edge. Love it.

3. The Black Swan. Well, it makes more sense in the expanded form. Jack's Hole and Go Home Eddie I particularly enjoy, without looking at the track listing. It seems more coherent now, though still a weaker link.

I've probably said it before, but, in my limited experience (I merely have ~2000 CD's), the Triffids remasters are the pinnacle of remasters. From the sound to the artwork to the inclusions - they are brilliant.

Would dearly love some unreleased on CD earlier material

[JD]

Raining Pleasure was my first introduction to the Triffids and I have been an avid fan ever since.

I think the thing I have enjoyed most about the reissue program is seeing how songs evolved. I thought this was most evident on Calenture. It was fascinating seeing the raw material from which the slick pop of the final product was developed. It seemed to me that the record was originally conceived as country rock. Like everyone else, the Black Swan also makes more sense to me in its expanded form. I was also pleased to finally hear Born Sandy Devotional off In the Pines in its entirety. It always used to bug me that it faded out on the original just as it got going. 

Like averyone else I am keen to explore what to me is the undiscovered country of the Triffids' early material. It will be fascinating to finally hear the songs that belong to the song titles I have long read about.

[Urpal]

I was also pleased to finally hear Born Sandy Devotional off In the Pines in its entirety. It always used to bug me that it faded out on the original just as it got going. 

Yeah, I really like the version included as an extra on the Born Sandy Devotional re-issue. You can understand why Dave might have thought the song lacked something to make it complete and shelved it repeatedly, but it's still a cracker. It'd be good to hear someone giving the song a full orchestration some time and see how it sounds with some frillage.