Throughout his career Sylvian has worked with many collaborators and this compilation brings together 15 of his collaborations from the past decade, with the final track being a solo production. Much like Sylvian's 2000 compilation "Everything is Nothing" most of the tracks have been remixed, but not to any radical extent. All the tracks have been remastered and the CD is housed in a neat digipak with some quality artwork.
Highlights include the three Nine Horses tracks, particularly "Wonderful World", where Sylvian's dulcet tenor vocals work in perfect tandem with Swedish songstress Stina Nordenstam, and the Ryuichi Sakamoto collaboration "World Citizen". It doesn't match 1983's "Forbidden Colours" (what does?), but it is a quality song nonetheless. "Exit/Delete" with Takagi Masakatsu has a simple but intricate folkish vibe and features some top drawer lyrics from Sylvian.
The one new track, "Five Lines" with Dai Fujikura, finds Sylvian accompanied by a string quartet. It's a sparse affair and it is, disappointingly, one of the weakest songs here. Sylvian and Fujikura are currently
reworking Sylvians's 2009 "Manafon" album, which will feature original orchestration by Fujikura and some new compositions. It's due for release in 2011.
The list of collaborators and the original albums that these tracks are taken from:
1. Sleepwalkers: Martin Brandlmayr (The World Is Everything 2007 Tour Sampler).
2. Money For All: Nine Horses (
Money for All).
3. Ballad of a Deadman: Steve Jansen (
Slope).
4. Angels: Punkt (
Crime Scenes).
5. World Citizen: Ryuichi Sakamoto (
World Citizen).
6. Five Lines: Dai Fujikura (Previously unreleased).
7. The Day The Earth Stole Heaven: Nine Horses (
Snow Borne Sorrow).
8. Playground Martyrs: Steve Jansen (Slope).
9. Exit/Delete: Takagi Masakatsu (
Coieda).
10. Pure Genius: Tweaker (
2 Am Wake Up Call).
11. Wonderful World: Nine Horses (Snow Borne Sorrow).
12. Transit: Fennesz (
Venice).
13. The World Is Everything: Takuma Watanbe (The World Is Everything 2007 Tour Sampler).
14. Thermal: Arve Henriksen (
Cartography).
15. Sugarfuel: Readymade (Bold).
16. Trauma: Solo track (Japanese CD and Limited Edition vinyl releases of "Blemish").