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The Wake \ Harmony [FBN 29]

Factory Benelux presents expanded CD and vinyl editions of Harmony, the debut album by influential Scottish group The Wake, originally released by Factory Records in December 1982.

The group formed in Glasgow in 1981 after singer/guitarist Caesar left Altered Images, and joined Factory the following year. Harmony was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport with producer Chris Nagle (Martin Hannett's preferred engineer), by which time The Wake comprised Caesar (vocals, guitar), Carolyn Allen (keyboards), Steven Allen (drums) and Bobby Gillespie (bass). On release as Fact 60 the original 7 track mini album earned a 5 star review in Sounds magazine, hailed as the missing indiepop link between Factory and Postcard Records.

Bonus tracks on this extended remaster include dub-informed second single Something Outside b/w Host (FBN 24), and their popular John Peel session from July 1983 - the last recordings to feature Gillespie before his departure for The Jesus and Mary Chain and Primal Scream.

The 2xCD version is housed in a trifold digipack, and on the bonus CD offers 21 lost recordings from 1981 to 1983, compiled from demo and live cassettes located in the Rob Gretton tape archive.

The 3 disc vinyl version is packaged in an attractive trifold sleeve and includes 8 live tracks desk recorded at Ayr Pavilion on 15 April 1983, while on tour with New Order. The vinyl also includes a digital copy.

The artwork for these 40th anniversary editions includes images of the band by photographer Paul Slattery, taken at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, as well as new liner notes by Caesar.

2xCD tracklist:

CD1:

1. Favour
2. Heartburn
3. An Immaculate Conception
4. Judas
5. Testament
6. Patrol
7. The Old Men
8. Chance
9. Something Outside
10. Host
11. The Drill (Peel Session)
12. Uniform (Peel Session)
13. Here Comes Everybody (Peel Session)
14. On Our Honeymoon
15. Give Up

CD2:

1. Move With the Times (demo)
2. Communion (demo)
3. No More Green Space (demo)
4. Move With the Times (Reprise) (demo)
5. Move With the Times (live 1981)
6. Cold Home (live 1981)
7. Communion (live 1981)
8. No More Green Space (live 1981)
9. Patrol (live 1981)
10. Give Up (live 1981)
11. Careering (live 1981)
12. Favour (live 1982)
13. Cold Home (live 1982)
14. Forced to Think (live 1982)
15. Patrol (live 1982)
16. Give Up (live 1982)
17. Move With the Times (live 1982)
18. An Immaculate Conception (live 1982)
19. Chance (demo)
20. Judas (demo)
21. Company (live 1983)

Vinyl + digital tracklist:

A1. Judas
A2. Testament
A3. Patrol
A4. The Old Men
B1. Favour
B2. Heartburn
B3. An Immaculate Conception
B4. Chance
C1. Something Outside
C2. Host
D1. The Drill (Peel Session)
D2. Uniform (Peel Session)
D3. Here Comes Everybody (Peel Session)
E1. Heartburn (live)
E2. Host (live)
E3. Recovery (live)
E4. Uniform (live)
F1. The Old Men (live)
F2. Something Outside (live)
F3. Country of the Blind (live)
F4. The Drill (live)

Available on 2xCD, triple vinyl and digital (MP3 or FLAC). 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. Digital copies are supplied via link sent by email.

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

Reviews:

"The first genuine record I can think of for months. Favour is, believe it or not, a hit single for Factory if they cared. If I played it to you and told you it was the new New Order 45 you'd almost certainly say at first how much they've improved... They are on that soaring pitch of optimism, somewhere between Transmission and Glittering Prize. When you hear it, you'll recognise it at once and move away from the recent, gorgeously indecent chart rubbish. This is awake" (Sounds, 1982)

"The Wake excel in melancholy, raising sparseness to an art form, a kind of rain-spattered beauty" (Philadelphia Weekly, 12/2001)

"The Wake were as immersed in Glasgow's Postcard pop as they were in Mancunian angst. There's a distinct Josef K gnarling here, while the circular radiance of Favour foretells Primal Scream's Imperial" (Uncut, 03/2002)

"The songs veer from unsteady, joyous defiance to a broody keyboard-drenched bruised melancholy. Great stuff! The charm of Harmony still hits the spot and has one dancing around the living room" (Tangents, 11/2001)

"The Drill is an affectionate eulogy to New Order's Everything's Gone Green as if played by Josef K" (In Love With These Times, 03/2002)

"A fine example of dour, slow and sombre" (eMusic, 09/2006)

"On Factory, The Wake were never going to trouble the charts with this accessible, yet angular, music - then impossible to place, but with the pop sensibility of the Banshees" (The Arts Desk, 02/2013)

"The Wake played a style of post-punk that was really starting to catch on back at the beginning of the 1980s. They have oddly tuned guitars that at times are quite reminiscent of early Cure. Sometimes there's a clang to them and sometimes they drone. They are oddly hypnotic and even at times soothing, while other times they can be more aggressive and demanding. The bass lines have a striking similarity to Joy Division, but really all of the bands from this era and general area shared a similar bass sound and playing style. The bass is much more prevalent in the mix than your typical rock records and far less passive. The songs are quite melodic, more so than some of the other bands in this genre and as a result The Wake's first album is probably one of the most accessible albums from this time period and scene. It's a great slice of some exciting music from three decades ago that was outside the norm and the music holds up amazingly well. This was an exciting time in music and this album is a perfect example of that" (Punk Vinyl, 2010)