Customer Reviews

Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With the vinyl being rarer than hen's teeth, it's a good thing this classic has finally been put on CD for all those to get a glimpse into the early magic of Stapleton and NWW. At this point NWW was a trio: Stapleton and two friends, whom having never played any instruments in their life, scammed some free time at a local studio, brought some "instruments" in for the afternoon and proceeded to make a thoroughly unprofessional yet inspired racket. No rehearsals, no plans. This is it, and it still sounds good. A mixture of musique concret, faux-Krautrock, industrial noise and Euro-style improv, it's a heady mix that shows what a few chums with their heads screwed on tight and a large record collection can spew out in an afternoon. For true greatness, however, I recommend beginners start with NWW's "Spiral Insana" from 1986, or even "An Awkward Pause" from '99, coz those are where the real goods are. As an endnote, "Chance Meeting..." also features the infamous "NWW List" in its liner notes, a ridiculously huge and wildly esoteric list of "inspiration" the band was drawing from, and you gotta give 'em credit where it's due... I mean, how many teenagers back in 1979 were even aware of Amon Duul, John Cage, Third Ear Band, Sonny Sharrock, Cromagnon, Evan Parker, Plastic People of the Universe or Debris, let alone willing to advertise the fact?

Nurse with Wound, Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella (United Dairies, 1979)

My first two experiences with Nurse with Wound from this era were The Ladies' Home Tickler and The 150 Murderous Passions. I think you will excuse me for expecting this, their debut release, to have been somewhat surprised by this, their first disc.

Instead of ear-bleeding powerelectronics one finds on the two releases mentioned above. Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table... is very much in the avant-garde/cut-up sound popular at the time in the sonic underground (it was also the genesis of noise behemoth Merzbow).

The stuff here is nothing too out of the ordinary, but then that probably shouldn't be surprising, given that the twenty-fifth anniversary of the album's original release is this year (note the reissue has a fourth track on it; that's the version I was listening to while mulling this review over). It's certainly intriguing enough, and I seem to have liked it a whole lot more than most of its reviewers. It really is what its title expresses; there are so many types of different musical styles linked up in here that a listener unfamiliar with cut-up is likely to be turned off immediately. (If you're trying to convince your friends to like NWW, for god's sake, start them off with Second Pirate Session, not this!) Blues mixes with classical mixes with film scoring mixes with musique concret.

I get the feeling this is one of those albums that needs to grow on you over a long period of time. I prefer the other discs I know from the early years of NWW, but then I like powerelectronics. Your mileage will most probably vary. ****

I still remember the day i first got this cd. I was around the age of 13 and at a record fair for a local radio station. I was looking for obscure experimental noise to furthur pollute my mind. And yes did i find it. I picked up this album and a Nocturnal Emissions cd as well...Over a decade later i am still enjoying this cd and discovering new aspects of it with every listening.

If you are looking for something different, you should definitely check this cd out. Worth the import price.

ps- this must be a reissue of the cd i have...seems to be the same though, no changes.

Those, who love art and art-music whould appreciate this CD.
This is most excellent remastering of a great spontaneous session of most genius acid freeks. There is a lot of new and absurd patterns and unusual sounds but no music whatsoever. As far as i know, the invention of "atmospheric" sounds is partly due to that people.
Buy and enjoy.

If you happen to run across a NWW fan, chances are they will either a) speak of the greatness of "Chance Meeting" with the glowing eyes of an acned geek on the verge of getting the latest game console, or b) rabidly inquire as to where they can acquire this lost treasure. Truth be told, however, it's a pretty crap album.
Obviously, NWW is a love-it-or-loathe-it project anyway, but even for someone like myself (a NWW fan), this is a rather embarrassing glimpse into what I would even call the "formative" years of NWW; this simply sounds like (and actually is) three guys (yes, NWW was once more than just Steve Stapleton) who can't play their instruments playing their instruments. Nowhere are the tape mutations that have made NWW such a unique and awesome force; they just sound like they want to recreate the first Faust album---which was a classic if there ever was one---and fail miserably.
I only give it two stars because "the Six Buttons of Sex Appeal" has its endearing moments.

I've heard so many wondrous things about this CD, and must say was very dissapointed when I actually got it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE noise/experimental music, but the only thing this album is is kids just playing guitars and other stuff completely at random, there's no 'intelligence' or thought behind the recording, in my opinion. I think I'll stick with bands like Tribes of Neurot and Hovercraft, thank you very much. And as far as being a pioneering experimental album goes, Pink Floyd did MUCH better stuff a decade earlier...