Souvlaki

Slowdive | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 8, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00000DR7P
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,541 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #12 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Shoegazing
  • #23 in Music > Alternative Rock > British Alternative > General
  • #30 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Dream Pop

Track Listings

1. Alison

2. Machine Gun

3. 40 Days

4. Sing

5. Here She Comes

6. Souvlaki Space Station

7. When the Sun Hits

8. Altogether

9. Melon Yellow

10. Dagger

11. Some Velvet Morning [*]

12. Good Day Sunshine [*]

13. Missing You [*]

14. Country Rain [*]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Two generations of head-rockers meet on Souvlaki, the second full album by England's ethereal Slowdive. Veteran ambient soundmeister Brian Eno produced, arranged, and played keyboards on two tracks, but his presence isn't nearly as obvious as it is with U2, which is more of testament to Slowdive's own dreamy Another Green World aesthetic than to any laziness on Eno's part. The lulling melodic undertow of the group's early EPs is present in subtle new variations on songs such as "Allison," "Machine Gun," and "Souvlaki Space Station," but Eno blurs the foreground and background, giving the album a pleasant, swirling mix that's never static or predictable. --Jim DeRogatis

Product Description

Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of the British Shoegaze outfit's 1993 album featuring a whole disc of rare B-Sides and a special mixes. Widely regarded as their best album, it benefits from synthesizer contributions from co-producer Brian Eno on 'Sing' (which he co-wrote) and 'Here She Comes'. The album's U.S. release included the previously unreleased cover of 'Some Velvet Morning' and three tracks from the band's 1993 5 EP, all of which feature on this edition. 20 tracks. Cherry Red. 2010. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweeeeet..., April 14, 2004

By 

Micah Newman (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Souvlaki (Audio CD)

Slowdive are, for me, the band that most defines, and are the best representative of, the genre "shoegazer." The name "shoegazer" was originally a derogatory term (like "impressionism" for that French school of late-19th-century painters, interestingly) coined by some snotty British music journalist to apply to a crop of bands such as Ride, Lush, and My Bloody Valentine, that appeared in the early 90's and whose sound was defined by dense layers of guitar textures and that tended to effect a distinctly introverted stage presence. Actually, most people are not familiar with the term or the music: you certainly won't hear any "shoegaze" on hit radio.

While in the main, shoegaze music tended to be melodic as well as loud and textured, part of what set Slowdive apart is how much more both sweetly melodic and densely layered their music was compared with their contemporaries. They hit their stride with Souvlaki, their second full-length LP, and made the most sonically ravishing and unforgettable album of their ilk. An important part of their sound and unique charm is the male/female unison vocals of singers/guitarists Neil Nalstead and Rachel Goswell, which sounds like it could have been lifted from some sixties folk/pop outfit, only... it's not. It fits in beautifully with the expanses of sound and color wash that fill out this music, though. It all soars and lifts magnificently. There's a good dynamic range between the songs, too, from the yearning, searching "Alison," delicate reverbed-guitar picking of "Here She Comes Now," overwhelming wall-of-sound tsunami of "Souvlaki Space Station," and haunting, faraway, acoustic "Dagger"; the album never gets samey or washed-out as is the distinct danger with this kind of music. Fully-realized and a complete and satisfying experience, Slowdive's _Souvlaki_ is a real treasure.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gazer Heaven with Abrupt Cacaphony, August 3, 2004

By 

M. JEFFREY MCMAHON "herculodge" (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Souvlaki (Audio CD)

I was tempted to give the album, a huge lush affair with the dreamy kind of music Shoe Gazers have learned to expect, only four stars. Why? Because a few delicious wispy pieces are interrupted, inexplicably, by pieces that are grating and noisy and don't contribute to the album's ethereal, intoxicated mood but jar the listener out of his or her half-sleep. However, I still have to give this album five stars because only two songs are stinkers. It's hard to find an album with eleven strong songs, full of aching, dripping melancholy. If you like Slowdive, you will surely enjoy Silver Screen's single "All I Have" and the Cocteau Twins most gazing masterpiece Victorialand. You will also be pleased with a song by Bent titled "A Ribbon for My Hair." And finally, you will be blissed out by "Spiders and Flies" by Mercury Rev.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Lost Gem, February 11, 2004

By 

Paul H. "rmj84" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Souvlaki (Audio CD)

Souvlaki is a pretty incredible album, and it certainly contains some of the most beautiful guitar sounds set to tape. Had this record not fallen victim to the usual label nonsense back in the day thanks in part to SBK records (their U.S. label), it might have garnered some more attention. But unfortunately, My Bloody Valentine's classic Loveless overshadowed many great shoegazer records of the day, including this one. Yes, Loveless is the epitome of the "shoegazer" trend, easily the best record the movement produced. But Souvlaki is a very close second, focusing on creating a lusher soundscape than Loveless' onslaught of white noise. Mixing the dreamy guitar patterns of MBV with the ethereal ambience of the Cocteau Twins, Slowdive were brilliant in their creation of surreal soundscapes. "Alison" deservedly gets attention as a brilliant pop single, but "When The Sun Hits," "40 Days," and the Eno-touched "Sing" are all not to be overlooked. The strangely-titled "Souvlaki Space Station" is another highlight, a brilliant mixture of white noise, delay, layering, and instrument manipulation creating a perfect soundscape that nobody's really been able to duplicate. This record is a must for anybody who worships Loveless.