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Camphor (Limited Edition) [Limited Edition]

David Sylvian Audio CD
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Music

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Biography

The David Sylvian that fronted new wave pop band Japan wore luminescent hair and glam make-up; on the cover of his solo debut, 1984's Brilliant Trees, he was stylish and refined, a gentleman popster. But the illustration that introduces 2003's Blemish sends a different message: he's bedraggled and unshaven, his far-off expression turned haunted. The new millennium has seen a more ... Read more in Amazon's David Sylvian Store

Visit Amazon's David Sylvian Store
for 46 albums, 6 photos, discussions, and more.

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Product details

  • Audio CD (27 May 2002)
  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Format: Limited Edition
  • Label: Virgin
  • ASIN: B000063KG8
  • Other Editions: Audio CD
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 209,810 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Disc: 1
1. All Of My Mother's Names
2. Red Earth (As Summertime Ends)
3. Answered Prayers
4. The Song Which Gives The Key To Perfection
5. New Moon At Red Deer Wallow
6. Praise (Pratah Smarami)
7. Wave (Version)
8. Mother & Child
9. Plight (The Spiralling Of Winter Ghosts) Detail
10. Upon This Earth
See all 14 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Plight (The Spiraling Of Winter Ghosts)
2. Mutability (A New Beginning Is In The Offing)
3. Premonition (Giant Empty Iron Vessel)

Product Description

Product Description

Limited 2CD digipak version of David Sylvian's instrumental best-of.

Customer Reviews

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4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
After the release of Everything And Nothing, word was that a companion compilation of instrumental pieces was to follow. Though its release was necessarily delayed while Sylvian toured for the first time in five or six years, hopes were high, particularly since many listeners' favorite Sylvian instrumentals have either never been released on CD or have never been widely available.

Camphor, the new compilation, is something of a mixed bag. It will definitely not please everyone.

As a whole, the album sounds great. There is a warmth throughout that was not always apparent on the original releases, and, unlike most records released today, the music here has not been compressed to death in the name of maximum loudness. The Rain Tree Crow tracks benefit the most from the remastering - hardly a surprise, given the circumstances under which that album was originally completed.

The selection is where things get sticky. In this respect, Camphor is neither a best-of disc nor a a rarities collection. Conspicuous in their absence are such tracks as "Preparations for a journey", "The women at the well", "Steel cathedrals", "Words with the Shaman", "Blue of noon", and the four tracks left off of Gone To Earth to enable its release on a single disc. Given that this was Sylvian's last project for Virgin, it seems odd that he wouldn't have taken the opportunity to make some of these pieces more widely available.

There are new tracks available on Camphor. The title track will be familiar to anyone who attended any of the shows on Sylvian's recent tours, or who bought a copy of the tour programme. "The song which gives the key to perfection" will be familiar for the same reasons, though its inclusion over one of the above-mentioned instrumental pieces is a bit of a letdown....

The less said about "All of my mother's names" the better, though it does fit better here than it did on Dead Bees on a Cake.

The remixes of familiar tracks are somewhat startling at first. "Wave (version)" is almost unrecognizable until Robert Fripp's guitar enters the picture. "Mother and child" works very well in its guise as a quiet jazz piece, with trumpet replacing the vocals. "Upon this earth" (somehow left off the track listing on the back cover) at first almost sounds like a rehearsal tape with the ambience of the original version no longer present. The remixed Sylvian/Czukay pieces sound either slightly less or slightly more foreign than they originally did. I'm not sure which.

And, of course, Camphor is not strictly an instrumental compilation. In addition to "The song which gives the key to perfection", the Dead Bees on a Cake song "Praise" is also included.

One thing is for sure, and that's that this compilation bears the stamp of its creator. These days, this means that it will be both rewarding and challenging. Read more ›

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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Jason Parkes #1 HALL OF FAME
Format:Audio CD
Camphor showcases the instrumental side of David Sylvian's oeuvre, being a compilation of various instrumental directions from 1986 to 2000 (when he parted company with Virgin) As with all compilations, there are many tracks left off, fans will have the majority of tracks here & the various stand-alone albums (Plight&Premonition, Alchemy, Flux&Mutability, Approaching Silence, the second disc of Gone to Earth etc) all work completely...but Camphor does hold together well and showcases Sylvian's ambient-credentials.

As with Everything&Nothing, there are a few new tracks- the title track and Song Which Gives the Key to Perfection- both lovely and probably worth the cost of admission alone (along with the lovely cover, the tinkering Sylvian did as he was about to lose control of his masters & the way Sylvian tries to fashion something new from the catalogue of nostalgia) Perhaps this compilation isn't long enough- nothing from Approaching Silence, The First Day (eg Bringing Down the Light), Words with the Shaman, Bamboo Music, Flux&Mutability, The Stigma of Childhood (Kin) or the wonderful Ingrid Chavez-collaborations on the I Surrender singles...(& it would have been nice to have tracks like Zero Landmine & Linoleum also...)

To repeat myself, the compilation does work very well- perfect ambient music with hints of jazz and world music; Big Wheels in Shanty Town sounds like Peter Gabriel's Passion meets Japan (from the Japan-reform album Rain Tree Crow), while opener All of My Mother's Names is extremely Bitches Brew....

Camphor is a very pleasant compilation, though probably not necessary like Approaching Silence, the new Alchemy, or the brand new Blemish. As mood music it's wonderful and has a lot more thought put into it than the glut of obvious Japan/Sylvian compilations that will follow now he's left Virgin! Personally I'd plump for the limited edition (if you can still get it) or the Japanese version, if you are going to buy this. The kind of music they should play in coffee shops... Read more ›

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Expect the unexpected 4 Jun 2002
Format:Audio CD
This is the eagarly awaited instrumental retrospective that complements David Sylvian's "Everything and Nothing" perfectly. The two disc limited edition rounds out a remarkable career (thus far) with a set of ambient/instrumental tracks, familiar and unfamiliar, that demonstrate Sylvian's flair for soundscapes. Instead of compiling a disc worth of his most accessible material, he mixes and remixes a program that will surprise and delight, with early melodic material from "Gone to Earth" blending beautifully with the percussive, almost free-form of "Rain Tree Crow", and then into the ether of "Plight and Premonition". The re-mastering works wonders with the latter material, and the newer work simply puts the icing on the cake (so to speak). Thank you Mr Sylvian...not what I expected...much better. This is essential listening.
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16 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Relax and float downstreammmmm 3 May 2002
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
Glancing down the track listing you may be mistaken for thinking that this instrumental "best of" by David Syvlian contains little more than self indulgent noodlings.
Guess what - you're wrong.

In a collection that will reward Sylvian fans as well as the late 90's ambient/trance scene there is much to please here.

Rare gems like Answered Prayers provoke you to run a hot bath and prune yourself away. Likewise the excert included from Sylvians collaboration with Holger Czukay 'Plight' will give you endless new possibilities with a shortwave radio.

No area of Sylvians atmospheric career is left untouched. Rare b-sides (Divorce), Rain Tree Crow (Red Earth), first time on CD issues (New Moon)and the stuff to make fans forgive him for Approaching Silience (Song Which Gives The Key)yep - it's all here to venture and explore.

This retro collection will not be to everyones taste. If you liked Mick Karns bendy bass lines forget it but if you favour the ambient settings of Eno or bought Bowies 'All Saints' collection through ignorance you'll be rewarded greatly.

I award David Syvian a mascara less 5 stars , now wheres that shortwave radio?

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