I'll confess that I've not really followed Mick Karn's career, post-Japan, bar his first two solo albums, Dali's Car, a short-lived collaboration with Pete Murphy and a one-off single (After A Fashion) with Midge Ure. I'm slowly trying to catch up.
Mick Karn fought cancer and sadly died on 4th January 2011 at the age of 52. I turned 52 in December, so it strikes a chord, listening to his music and appreciating what the legacy of what was a ridiculously short life.
I really like both albums, which both complement more than contrast with each other. I've spent the last couple of months integrating the two, playing them simultaneously in different running order, finding combinations of tracks that seemed to work well until I ended up with the selection presented here.
I've used ten of the nineteen tracks across the two albums, ever so slightly favouring Karn's original, produced by Karn and Steve Jansen. Richard Barbieri and Ryuichi Sakamoto both provide remixes, alongside other Karn collaborators David Torn and Yoshihiro Hanno. It makes for an interesting and satisfying three quarters of an hour and, like me, hopefully a prompt for you to seek out more of Mick Karn's body of work. It will reward you.
1) Angel's Got A Lotus (Album Version By Mick Karn & Steve Jansen)
2) Latin Mastock (Album Version By Mick Karn & Steve Jansen)
3) Puppeteer Night (Remix By David Torn)
4) The Forgotten Puppeteer (Album Version By Mick Karn & Steve Jansen)
5) Up To Nil (Album Version By Mick Karn & Steve Jansen)
6) Re-Nil (Remix By Yoshihiro Hanno)
7) The Salmon Of Knowledge (Album Version By Mick Karn & Steve Jansen)
8) Big Left (Remix By Ryuichi Sakamoto)
9) Venus Monkey (Album Version By Mick Karn & Steve Jansen)
10) Angel's In The Asylum (Remix By Richard Barbieri)
2001: Each Eye A Path: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9
2002: Each Path A Remix: 3, 6, 8, 10
It was only when scheduling this post that I realised that it almost coincides with Ryuichi Sakamoto's birthday on 17th January. Sadly, it has also coincided with the sad news of the death of fellow Yellow Magic Orchestra founder, Yukihiro Takahashi, who passed on 11th January but news of which has only been reported in these parts in the last few hours.
Again, I'm shamefully ignorant of his post-YMO work but as a brief tribute, I'm posting Glow Worm from Bill Nelson's 1983 mini-album Chimera, featuring Takahashi's superlative drumming and Mick Karn on bass. I didn't hear this until roughly twenty years later, but it still sounds spectacular in the 21st Century.
That's weird. I was just thinking of Mick Karn yesterday and sought out 2 clips on youtube. Firstly Japan playing Swing on OGWT (why wasn't it a single?) and then 'Buoy' from 'Dreams of reason produce monsters'. That is still my favourite song involving Mick Karn- when someone reviewed the album they said it was a bit dire bar 'Buoy' which was head and shoulders above the rest :) Whilst I don't agree with that statement anything would pale into comparison with 'Buoy'. Looking forward to listening to your compilation.
ReplyDeleteYou must have been sending subliminal messages for me to get on with it and finish the selection, Mike! I didn't have my own copy of Dreams Of Reason... so I possibly have a rose-tinted recollection but I enjoyed it and the predecessor, Titles. I'd agree that Buoy was the standout, though. When I get to that David Sylvian cassette compilation in that dusty box in the attic, Buoy will get an airing here as it was on the tracklist, having been used as a B-side to Let The Happiness In a year or so later (possibly a remix?) It's a fabulous song.
DeleteWonder mix of Karn's work! I followed Mick with as much enthusiasm as David Sylvain through the 30+ years (now 40+) since Japan's breakup. Retrospect throws most of the glow on Sylvian's contribution/control of Japan, but Mick's input/import can be seen throughout his solo career, especially those collaborations he has from Gary Numan to Takahashi, Nelson and Torn. When Karn and Sylvian decided to collaborate once again in 1986/7 on Bouy for Karn's Dreams Of Reason Produce Monsters, you couldn't escape the collaborative spark that the two achieved when they shared an idea and passion.
ReplyDeleteAh thank you, Echorich! Part of me wishes I had followed Mick Karn more closely post-Japan and certainly within his lifetime, but it's been a real pleasure discovering and immersing myself in these two albums for the past few months. As mentioned in my reply to Mike, I'm looking forward to going back (if that's not a contradiction!) to Titles and Dreams Of Reason... to see if my rosy recollection of the albums is stronger in close up. I have heard Buoy several times more recently and it's a joy to listen to.
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