Customer Reviews

The Love That Whirls (Diary of a Thinking Heart)

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The Love That Whirls (Diary Of A Thinking Heart), one of the greatest albums ever recorded, by anyone.
The Love That Whirls(Diary Of A Thinking Heart) convinced me that Bill Nelson is a musical genius, and I'm so glad it's been remastered and re-released. This album is an incredible mix of synth-pop, electro-funk, ambient, other nameless brilliance. This came out in 1982 when electronics were everywhere in music but Bill Nelson was in a league of his own. He somehow managed to bridge the old art rock feel and the then newer synth sounds of the early 80s.
You'll hear Nelson's trademark e-bow guitar on several of the songs. There is also a strong east Asian influence on the songs Eros Arriving and the funky When You Dream Of Perfect Beauty It Comes True. You won't forget that guitar hook in Eros Arriving once you've heard it.
The song Empire Of The Senses features some nifty vibes and synth playing. The Crystal Escalator In The Palace Of God Department Store features one of the best synth solos I've ever heard, along with one of the longest song titles I've ever seen. Waiting For Voices, The Bride Of Christ In Autumn, Portrait Of Jan With Flowers, and Echo In Her Eyes(The Lamps Of Oblivion) are all dreamy ambient pieces, which Nelson does as good as and in some cases better than people like Eno and others. Portrait Of Jan With Flowers features some beautiful piano playing.
The songs Flesh, He And Sleep Were Brothers, Haunting In My Head and The Passion were all originally featured on the EP Flaming Desire And Other Passions. Hopefully, one day the extended version of Flaming Desire and The Burning Question will be be re-released as well.

It's good that this album has finally been re-released, along with Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam and Chimera. They've all been on the shelf for far too long and music as brilliant as this needs to be heard.

There is no other record on the planet even remotely like this one. From the opening swoosh of the exhilarating "Empire of the Senses" to the epic grandeur of "The October Man," "The Love that Whirls (Diary of a Thinking Heart)" ranks as one of the absolute best albums of the 80s, hands down, and that includes "London Calling," "Murmur," and all the rest. No question about it, this belongs in everyone's Top Ten. That it is now available again, with bonus tracks, suggests that the world is actually starting to make sense. How to describe the sound? It comes on like a sleek, chrome-polished machine, with percolating drum loops, xylophones, searing synths and guitars, and melodies that intermix pop, Asian, techno, and new wave textures. Interspersed throughout the punchy vocal tracks are half a dozen ambient instumentals that were light years ahead of their time, influenced by Eno and Fripp, to be sure, but wholly original in their own right. When I first heard "Kid-A," I smirked, frankly, given that Nelson was working this territory 16 years ago. Buy it, before it disappears again.

It's hard for a critic to understate how important, and underrated, Bill Nelson was in the early 80's. Drowned out on the "pop" side by the likes of Depeche Mode and Gary Numan, but never quite acquiring the critical panache of say, Japan or Thomas Dolby.

Nelson himself was convert to electonica from his more "glam rock" with Be Bop Deluxe (even then, he defied categorization.)

He might take a few listens for the uninitiated, but there is pure musical compositional and lyrically genius in Nelson's early 80's output. Imagine if Todd Rundgren had stayed relevent for about ten years after the first Utopia album...

I'd have forgotten by now except a local late-night college DJ picking up what appears to be the re-release of this classic. I would rate this with the best Brian Eno of whatever period you think was his best (and to me, they all are...)

After what seems like an eternity of meandering, rhythm and

texture oriented electronic dance/trance/ambient music, this reminds the listener of the value of inspired songcraft being applied to the latest in technology.

= Michael G, SF late 40-something

Bill Nelson's chameleon like career includes turns as glam-rock guitar god, nu-wave insurgent, avant-garde musician and here, a turn as one-man synthesizer driven pop wizard.

He fine tuned the formula from an earlier album, Quit Dreaming and Get On the Beam, and combined it with influence from his work with members of the Japanese band Yellow Magic Orchestra. The result is a luxurious, transcendent bit of synthesizer and guitar laden pop, with earnest and blatantly romantic lyrics. It is one of the high points of a career that continues to unfold. Invigorating and Essential.

Ok. This is one of the top 10 records ever made. Nothing less nothing more. At the time it came out it was completely innovative. The sound of the whole thing is simply beautiful. Bill Nelson himself would only disappoint afterwards and even if he had produced some really nice things before with Be Bop Deluxe Red Noise and as a solo artist, it did not equal this. Here he is in a territory all of its own, creating extremely lush soundscapes. The record was no hit surprisingly and he went on to continue an interesting but very very eclectic career. There are a few alternate mixes of some songs that are worth digging up: there was a single version of Eros Arriving that was spectacular and much better than the album version. It shows what great potential was wasted.

This album is from my favorite years of Bill's music. It's graceful, very stylish and just plain cool. Eros Arriving is wonderfully poppy and Flesh has that Red Noise kind of feel and of course, Flaming Desire is pure e-bow heaven. He's one of my all-time favorite musicians along with Kraftwerk, Parliament and Frank Zappa.

The Love That Whirls(Diary Of A Thinking Heart) convinced me that Bill Nelson is a musical genius.
This album is an incredible mix of synth-pop, electro-funk, ambient, other nameless brilliance. This came out in 1982 when electronics were everywhere in music but Bill Nelson was in a league of his own.
You'll hear Nelson's trademark e-bow guitar playing throughout the album. There is also an oriental influence on the songs Eros Arriving and the funky When You Dream Of Perfect Beauty It Comes True. You won't forget that guitar hook in Eros Arriving once you've heard it...believe me.
The song Empire Of The Senses features some nifty vibes and synth playing. The Crystal Escalator In The Palace Of God Department Store features one of the best synth solos I've ever heard, along with one of the longest song titles I've ever seen.
Waiting For Voices, The Bride Of Christ In Autumn, Portrait Of Jan With Flowers, and Echo In Her Eyes(The Lamps Of Oblivion) are all dreamy ambient pieces, which Nelson does as good as and better in some cases than people like Eno and others. Portrait Of Jan With Flowers features some beautiful piano playing.

I still have this on vinyl, but it was released in the late 80s on cd, on the now defunct Enigma label. You may find some copies out there on the internet, and you can believe they won't be cheap. I wish I had bought the cd when I had the chance. According to the Bill Nelson official website, The Love That Whirls(Diary Of A Thinking Heart) will be re-released one day. I only hope it's not too long. This is one of the greatest albums of all time from a genius who will probably never be fully recognized for his talents.

For a fleeting moment, I was disappointed when I first acquired this album. I knew I had at least three of the 12 tracks elsewhere in my collection.

I brightened quickly. The very first track is "Empire of the senses," a song that I would put forward as one of the finest examples of Nelson's lyrics, singing, arranging, guitar, etc. -- not the BEST in any of these categories, but the combination is truly top-notch.

If you like Nelson's 4/4 vocal-pop side, & have a little too much cash in your pocket, then you could do worse. The first play will be a pleasant & still-fresh New Wave joy. Then, with repeated playings, you'll appreciate new things, wondering how you could possibly have missed some detail or other on previous listening. It's not a "play once" album.

track list (from Cocteau LP):

Empire of the senses
Hope for the heartbeat
Waiting for voices
A private view
Eros arriving
The bride of christ in autumn
When your dream of perfect beauty comes true

Flaming desire
Portrait of jan with flowers
The crystal escalator in the palace of god department store
Echo in her eyes (the lamps of oblivion)
The october man

This is Bill Nelsons Finest Hour. Passionate and deep, beautiful, light and dark.
A Top Ten Desert Island Disc For Sure.
A great mix of Bill Nelson and Be Bop Deluxe (his 70's formative band). If you like tasteful guitar work or just experimental stuff a la Bowie, and so much more, this may be for you. He has since put out over 50 (FIFTY) CD's and they are mostly worth checking into. Please do yourself a favor.
Some suggestions :
1. Plaything '04 (Experimental, guitar, found sounds & dialogue),
2. Rosewood 2 '06 (Guitar),
and, 3. Bill Nelsons Red Noise:Sound On Sound '79 (Some Of The Best Punk Pop On The Planet).
And if you really want a treat ... all five Be Bop Deluxe Albums (73-78)

Take the trip!

While this is a fine example of an artist doing virtually everything on a project,I will say I do not like this as much as the BeBop Deluxe catalog from Bill Nelson. Otherwise very well done and interesting!