Linoleum [EP]

Tweaker | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 21, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: EP
• Label: Six Degrees
• ASIN: B00005NBYC
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,237 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent For A Rainy Day, November 15, 2001

By 

A Music Nerd (Toronto, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Linoleum (Audio CD)

The songs and remixes here are great to listen to while sitting alone, with a cup of coffee, staring outside over a bleak, overcast, and depressing landscape....it's easy to drift away in the haunting vocals and all-over-the-place instrumentation and melodies, until a sudden drum beat or harsh sample jerks you back to reality. Fantastic!

On first listen you'll find nice electronic samples and great vocals on all tracks, but it's by the second and third listen that the album really grabs you and doesn't let you go. This record seems like it could have been a full release in it's own right since the remixes sound quite varied and interesting with nary a weak track to be found. A very eclectic and worthwhile companion to Tweaker's impressive debut "An Attraction To All Things Uncertain".

*I would have gladly paid much more for this than what Amazon is charging...great value!*

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed., August 3, 2005

By 

Michael Stack (North Chelmsford, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Linoleum (Audio CD)

Remix CDs are something of an enigma for me-- I generally find them extraneous as remixes typically go in one of two directions-- either the changes are subtle and not really additive, such as adding an extra drum loop or a few samples to a piece, or they totally reconstruct the piece, treating the original as a sample. Only rarely does something in between come forth, where the balance between too much and too little can be struck, but even in those cases, it's often that the remix is still inferior to the orignal.

Tweaker's "Linoleum" single contains six mixes of a title track, taken from "The Attraction to All Things Uncertain", including a radio edit, a vocal take on "Years from Now" from the album retitled "Imperfections", and one previously unreleased track ("Tiny Life").

"Linoleum" itself is a fine song, full of mystery developed by sparse electronica accompaniment before exploding after the chorus with a wash of industrial guitars. David Sylvian's superlative vocal helps further elevate the piece. The radio edit, chopping about forty seconds of exposition off the piece, adds nothing.

The remixes divide nicely into two camps with one sitting in between. The first two remixes, "The Josh Wink Interpretation" and the "Wamdue 2-Step Vocal Experience" fall into that treating the original as samples camp. Both meander on endlessly and probably are of more interest to people into ambient or dub music. The last two remixes are a bit more interesting to me. The "Tearglass & Plateglass remix" deconstructs the song, maintaining its structure, but replacing all the sounds-- a bass takes the place of the industrial guitars for example. Its fascinating, albeit not as gripping as the original. The "Paul Leary remix" falls in a similar mood, moving the vocal into a minimalist setting before exploding after the chorus. It's probably the best (and also is the briefest) remix on the record.

The other tracks are a pretty mixed bag-- "Imperfections", quite frankly, I can live wihtout, I much prefer the original without the irritating speak-singing vocal by Jennifer Folker. And quite frankly, remixing it isn't really going to do it for me as the source material wasn't to my liking at all and the remix does little but double the length. The live "Tiny Life" is fantastic however, explosive and exciting, full of energy, funky drums, great guitars and aggressive turntable scratches. A fine track and probably worht the cost of the single.

All in all, it's a decent EP, a bit too inconsistent, but for anyone who enjoyed the album, probably worth digging up.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yowza!, March 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Linoleum (Audio CD)

I heard about this collaboration on... the David Sylvian fan club site, and unlike Zero Landmine (not my cup of tea - Do they know it's Christmas? anyone?) this track is by far one of the best Sylvian songs EVER! Better than most of the 'rockin' tracks on 'The First Day' and most of DBOAC, I'm on my 9th consecutive listen as I write this. I am a big fan of Sylvian but can also separate the wheat from the chaff; and there is the occasional duffer!
But ... this is a cracking single - BUY IT(... download it, whatever)! ... now I'm off to get the Tweaker album!