Reviews for A Paean To Wilson

Reviews for A Paean To Wilson, which is out on Sunday 24 January 2010, are starting to appear in the major music monthlies. Here's what UNCUT and Q have to say:

Wordless homage to late Factory Records chief

Vini Reilly's Durutti Column were the first band Tony Wilson ever signed to Factory Records, back in early 1978. Their bond was such that, when Wilson was ill in hospital, Reilly sent him new instrumentals to listen to and was at his bedside when he died. This rich and contemplative record is the fruition of that, forsaking traditional song structure for nagging loops, ambient flurries of guitar notes (spilling over into Spanish flamenco on "Quatro"), highly rhythmic percussion and strobing feedback. John Metcalfe's viola, particularly, is mood-perfect. It all ends with Wilson's damning verdict on New Labour. Ever the last word.

****, Rob Hughes, UNCUT 153, Feb 2010

Instrumental tribute to late Factory Records boss

"Championed by Tony Wilson for almost 30 years and present in hospital when the former Factory boss died in 2007, this is Vini Reilly of The Durutti Column's double-CD tribute to his friend and mentor. A sprawling, instrumental affair, it's also boldly eclectic, mixing the delicate acoustic pickings of Catos Revisited with the brooding guitar noise of Requiem and the Marvin Gaye-sampling Brother and The Truth, via new age, ambient textures and beautiful piano piece Anthony [actually on the bonus CD, 2005's Heaven Sent (It Was Called Digital. It Was Heaven Sent), Ed.]. Clocking in at 100 minutes, it might have benefited from some pruning, but this still makes for a fine tribute."

***, Phil Mongredien, Q

A (Final) Paean To Wilson

The Durutti Column - A Paean to Wilson; Tony Wilson and Vini Reilly

Dave Simpson in The Guardian reviews the final night of A Paean To Wilson at the Pavilion Theatre in Albert Square, Manchester.

Apparently, before proceedings started Vini said "So you won't have to put up with my awful voice and schoolboy lyrics."

In summary, Simpson said, "After the humour came exquisitely mournful music. With Reilly and drummer Bruce Mitchell augmented by bass, keyboard, violin, electric piano, drum machine and trumpet, the band's beautiful pieces reflected Wilson's love of rock and classical. Reilly's plangent guitar work showed grief's emotional spectrum, from sadness to overdriven anger. As in life, Wilson had the last word, his recorded voice expounding thoughts on socialism with an eerie echo. Silence followed as Manchester pondered the loss of one of its truly larger-than-life characters. Then everybody cheered."

A fold-out poster booklet designed by Trevor Johnson was given away at all of the gigs. It features pen pictures of all the Durutti protagonists including John Metcalfe and Tim Kellett. The new box set Four Factory Records was available to buy at the Kooky stall - don't worry, there are still plenty left. And it was very hot. The first night was about 80% full but by the third and final night there was not a ticket to be had.

A Paean To Wilson will be featured on the BBC2 Culture Show on Wednesday 22 July.

Love in the Sunday Times

Love in the Time of Recession

Rather belatedly, Mark Edwards in today's Sunday Times has reviewed Love in the Time of Recession and given it four stars.

He notes that album-opener In Memory of Anthony, "heads off into a world of wailing noise that brings to mind Gimme Shelter-era Rolling Stones." and that Loser "wanders through a chord sequence that Noel Gallagher could easily turn into a hit single".

allgigs.co.uk reviews Love in the Time of Recession

Check out Paul Pledger's review of Love in the Time of Recession at allgigs.co.uk.

Reviews for Sunlight To Blue... Blue to Blackness

Sunlight To Blue... Blue to Blackness was released back in June 2008. Here's a selection of reviews:

"The sleeve for Sunlight to Blue... Blue to Blackness is totally black save for a monochrome photo of half of Vini Reilly's face (a la Young Marble Giant's 'Colossal Youth') yet the music starts out incredibly bright and sunny, making you feel like you're on the beach (a nice beach, not one covered in sandy sick), as it goes on it gets progressively more mournful as the title suggests. The first half of the album is reverb-y solo guitar stuff pretty much all the way as you'd expect, with the usual hints of classical and flamenco styles. The occasional subtle addition of other instruments on a few tracks complement his sound without detracting from the general feel, the track Ananda differs since a piano (played by Poppy Morgan) takes the lead with Reilly playing 'intrusive guitar' as accompaniment but in the context of the album it works."

- Brett at Norman Records

"Factory Records legend Vini Reilly returns with a brand new album for 2008, with his signature guitar sounds in tow, opening up with the echoing nylon strings of 'Glimpse', before adding some amplified elements on the supple, effects-laden 'Contact'. In fact, it's worth mentioning that Reilly makes extensive use of digital guitar effects throughout this album (and a good many other releases for that matter), which could prompt a love-or-hate reaction in a modern audience. Regardless of how highly you might regard his lyrical, deeply melodic playing style, the very fact that everything is so comprehensively caked outmoded, often rather thin sounding production treatments can be something of a turn off. Still, it's very much Reilly's sound, and you could never fail to pick it out of a crowd."

- Boomkat.com

"The opener is a wonderful retread of the very rare song, 'The Party' and sets the scene for minimal electronics and pretty plucked guitar with just a slightly forlorn dressing. Further in there is the almost bouncy version of 'Never Known', a song that sparkled on the early Factory album 'LC'. Here it shuffles with an almost bogle sound and works simply because Vini sings without sounding too much like the last bus has been missed and the rain is getting wetter. 'Ananda' is a gorgeous piano-led piece that was written by Poppy Morgan - what a talent. 'Ged' is another shimmering piece with the slightest of touches and deft arrangement, in fact most of this album is quite stunning without shouting it loudly from the rooftops.

When Vini recorded for Factory back in the 80's and 90's, the boss Tony Wilson was desperate to stop him singing but his favourite artist stubbornly ignored the advice. Here he sings on 3 out of 11 and you wonder if Tony was right. I think he was - but only up to a point since some of Reilly's songs are just as emotional as his music on its own. If you haven't heard him before then start here - its his best for 7 years and reminiscent of the beauty displayed on his best albums, 'Guitar & Other Machines', 'Obey The Time' and 'Vini Reilly'."

- Allgigs.co.uk