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The Wake \ Testament [FBN 95 / CD]

Testament is a comprehensive 'best of' collection by influential Glasgow group The Wake, including tracks recorded for cult labels Factory and Sarah Records.

The album combines key album tracks with singles including On Our Honeymoon, Something Outside, Talk About the Past, Of the Matter and Crush the Flowers. Also included are a previously unreleased 7" edit of Pale Spectre (issued as a white label promo by Factory), and (on the CD version only) 2012 studio outtake Clouds Disco.

The vinyl edition includes an exclusive 54 minute bonus CD featuring 21 early live and demo recordings from 1981/82, preserved in the tape archive of Joy Division/New Order manager Rob Gretton. Among these priceless lost recordings are 7 songs never before heard even on bootlegs.

The matt reverse board artwork is based on the artwork for the boxed cassette edition of Here Comes Everybody, designed by Peter Saville.

CD + MP3 tracklist:

1. On Our Honeymoon
2. Favour
3. Heartburn
4. Something Outside
5. Talk About the Past (7" edit)
6. O Pamela
7. Melancholy Man
8. Here Comes Everybody
9. Of the Matter
10. Gruesome Castle
11. Pale Spectre (7" edit)
12. Crush the Flowers
13. Firestone Tyres
14. A Light Far Out
15. Clouds Disco

Vinyl LP tracklist:

A1. On Our Honeymoon
A2. Favour
A3. Something Outside (edit)
A4. Talk About the Past (7" edit)
A5. O Pamela
B1. Melancholy Man
B2. Of the Matter
B3. Pale Spectre (7" edit)
B4. Crush the Flowers
B5. Methodist
+
bonus archive CD:
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)

Available on digital (MP3 + FLAC). Vinyl and CD are out of stock. To order please select correct shipping option (UK, EU 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:

"Lovers of pop footnotes will know that an early version of The Wake included Bobby Gillespie on bass. He left in 1983, and this set stretches from 1981, when frontman Gerard 'Caesar' McInulty left Altered Images, right up to the present day. Gillespie's influence is marginal compared to that of New Order, who provide the template for the group's sound - proto-dance music, with thin synths, melodic bass, robotic drums and half spoken vocals hovering between dreaminess and depression. Their identity emerges with the bright Talk About the Past, a single from 1984, which marries skittish funk with anthemic synths, and piano from The Durutti Column's Vini Reilly on the fade (but keeping it glum by rhyming 'emptiness' with 'happiness'). By 1988 The Wake signed to Sarah records - see the breezy girl-boy vocals of Crush the Flowers. An unexpected treat is the unreleased Clouds Disco from 2012. 7/10" (Uncut, 11/2014)

"Icy, lost-inside textures mirror New Order before turning indie on 1985's Here Comes Everybody. Includes best of Factory and Sarah label releases and beyond. 3 Stars" (Mojo, 12/2014)

"Before you even get down to the music, there's something very striking about this pseudo-Best Of, as it comes housed in a sleeve that pays homage to Peter Saville' legendary boxed cassettes for Factory from the early 90s. The Wake recorded for Factory, of course, but also for the almost-as-cult Sarah Records. They had Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie on bass and, just as importantly to some, later had a track covered by Nouvelle Vague. Super-jangly, pre-shoegazer songs like On Our Honeymoon are early 80s indie to a tee, while previously unreleased elements include a 7" edit of Pale Spectre and an outtake, Clouds Disco, that's almost delicious, in a Frazier Chorus sort of way" (Classic Pop, 12/2014)

"Starting off labouring in the long shadow of New Order, Scottish band The Wake managed to carve out a nice niche for themselves by always evolving, but remaining true to their core sound. Their time on Factory yielded some very good post-punk and synth pop singles and albums, most notably the wonderful O Pamela and Talk Abut the Past, which beats New Order at their own game. From there, they moved to Sarah Records for a string of solid singles and albums that showcased their simplified songcraft and spiky lyrics. After shutting down in 1995 when Sarah did, they hooked up with Bobby Wratten of The Field Mice to form The Occasional Keepers, before returning under the Wake name in 2009 to play some shows, then release an unsurprisingly strong new album in 2012. Testament spans their career, picking their best tracks from each era and even dishing out a late-period unreleased gem (Clouds Disco). The selection is heavy on the Factory years, since that's the period they are best known for, with a nice mix of singles and albums tracks. A rare 7" edit of Gruesome Castle is a nice treat, that almost makes up for the lack of Sarah material. Best to just break down and buy the reissues of the two albums they made for them. In fact, once fans of post-punk and indie pop who don't already have all The Wake's output hear this collection, they'll likely think real hard about tracking down all their reissues. Until then, this will do fine" (AllMusic, 10/2014)