Compilation albums from your favourite artists – do you like them, do you find them a waste of time? In many cases, where the proliferation of them becomes so vast that you can barely tell one from another (and I’m thinking, for example, of Gary Numan here, or Tears For Fears – damn it, Japan’s Hansa Records era has been well and truly milked over the years too with countless budget label compilations), you lose all track. For this post though, I’m going to look at a handful of David Sylvian compilation releases – and this really is the opposite end of the spectrum from the previous example. These are clearly very carefully curated and bring a lot to the table in what they offer by way of tracks not found elsewhere. ‘Everything and Nothing’ in particular I would consider to be a vital piece of the catalogue that has so much going for it.
‘Everything and Nothing’ (3CD digipak limited edition)
From 1982 onwards, David Sylvian’s solo and collaborative releases were released by Virgin Records and it seems only fair to say that he enjoyed a supportive relationship with the label. But by the year 2000, the deal was reaching its end and as Sylvian himself has acknowledged in interviews, he had his final chance to peruse the Virgin archives of his material from 1980 onwards – the results of that would inform the two compilations ‘Everything and Nothing’ (principally vocal material solo and in collaboration) and ‘Camphor’ (primarily instrumental material, again solo and in collaboration). Neither of these could by any means fit the ‘Greatest Hits’ compilation album template.
‘Everything and Nothing’ was available as a three disc limited edition initially and a standard two disc edition.
What is/was unique to this compilation?
In short, lots! Sylvian took advantage of this opportunity to rescue some tracks which been intended for the previous year’s ‘Dead Bees On A Cake’ album (and from earlier sessions too) but which had been left off due to being unfinished. If that gives off a hint of ‘leftovers’ of a second rate nature, let me just say that in ‘The Scent Of Magnolia’ and ‘Cover Me With Flowers’ we had top-drawer Sylvian material on offer – not to be missed. Elsewhere, several cuts were newly remixed from their original releases. Continue reading “David Sylvian compilations across the years – Part 1”
