So, where to start with this one… Being of a limited budget at its time of release, I opted just for the 7″ single of this fine song. I don’t even remember being aware that the 12″ single had a different version – I guess that if I had actually seen the 12″ single and checked out the back cover credits it would have been a bit more obvious, since it namechecks Julian Mendelsohn for the remix. But for whatever reason I never clocked on this, so, for many, many years I lived in blissful ignorance of this remix – and as far as I know, it never has had any kind of release on CD or download.
Despite a stellar cast of art rock names in one place and the feeling that this would have given a pointer to something quite weighty, this is a beautifully slight piece with plenty of air to its precise, nimble rhythmic interplay and arrangement. The guitars in particular twist and dart as if folded into some miniature piece of exquisite origami, while the ever dependable Steve Jansen’s kick drum pins down to start with and yet plays around loosely into something far more off kilter as the instruments join in. The opening track of the ‘Gone To Earth’ album, it’s perhaps no wonder that it didn’t chart high – this was a good way on even from ‘Brilliant Trees’ era singles. Continue reading “David Sylvian – ‘Taking The Veil’ UK 12″ single (Virgin, VS815-12, 1986)”
