Saturday, June 16, 2007

Ultra Vivid Scene - Joy 1967 - 1990



Although probably the least known of all the artists on the 4AD catalogue, Ultra Vivid Scene (UVS) were a decent band mostly overlooked by most. UVS were a short lived project by the likes of one Kurt Ralske, who originally moved to the UK to pursue the noisy muddling one My Bloody Valentine and Jesus & Mary Chain under the band name Crash. After moving back to the US, Ralske recorded two albums virtually by himself, Ultra Vivid Scene in 1988 and Joy 1967 - 1990 in 1990. Later he adding other musicians to record Rev, which was essentially a label flop, and eventually prompted the breakup of UVS. For a time he worked as a producer, working with artists such as Ivy and Lloyd Cole, but eventually the recording bug hit again and you can find him now recording under the guise of Cathars. UVS releases were not brilliant or original by any stretch of the imagination, but they did offer a decent look into the songwriting of Ralske. Joy is a decent album, though it won't etch a permanent mark into your brain, it will leave you with the urge to play it again later.




Track 1, It Happens Every Time

Track 2, Staring At The Sun

Track 3, Three Stars

Track 4, Special One

Track 5, Grey Turns White

Track 6, Poison

Track 7, Guilty Pleasure

Track 8, Extra Ordinary

Track 9, Beauty #2

Track 10, The Kindest Cut

Track 11, Praise The Low

Track 12, Lightning








US 4AD Records 1990, CK 46227


Personal rating 3/5

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

the last track, lightning, is so dreamy. sounds like lou reed fronting a synth pop band. i bought this at amazon for like 99cents. great album. kim deal is here too!!

chris fish said...

Hey, I'd say the first Ultra Vivid Scene album *was* brilliant and original, but then maybe I'd just not thought of mixing Syd Barrett with Soft Cell and lots of drugs before. . . Pity Ralske couldn't follow it up. Most of Crash's records were great but he didn't write those.

Good on you for posting Southpacific too - I was beginning to worry i was the only person who'd ever discovered that album! Definite lost classic of shoes.

Anonymous said...

the first album is better, I think. Have you got dubsex album?

Dreamwave said...

That's kind of the sad thing, that their stuff can be found in junk bins everywhere. I suppose it is good to get a deal though ;)

Anonymous said...

Any album w/Kim Deal AND B.J. Cole is alright in my book! Thanks!

Mike said...

yep, Kim Deal on 'Special One'. Great stuff - I think I've still got the promo video for that one knocking about somewhere (from 'Snub').