Oil on Canvas [LIVE]

Japan

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 24, 1992)
• Original Release Date: June 1983
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Blue Plate Caroline
• ASIN: B000000I01
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #430,044 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Oil on Canvas

2. Sons of Pioneers

3. Gentlemen Take Polaroids

4. Swing

5. Cantonese Boy

6. Visions of China

7. Ghosts

8. Voices Raised in Welcome, Hands Held in Prayer

9. Nightporter

10. Still Life in Mobile Homes

11. Methods of Dance

12. Quiet Life

13. Art of Parties

14. Canton

15. Temple of Dawn

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Limited edition remastered Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. EMI. 2008. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars is it live or is it..., August 24, 2001

By A Customer

on account of those cheekbones, david sylvian was allegedly offered the job of being in the maxwell tape ads (you might remember if you're of a certain age, a guy on a couch being blown away by the speakers)...unfortunately no live album he's done comes close to the impact the image conveys. sylvian was a perfectionist not a performer, and if you ever caught japan live you couldn't help noticing how the other guys seemed to be having a blast while he seemed almost disdainful. The last tour in particular (from which this album was compiled) was a fairly harrowing episode during which the band essentially split. it's a pity you don't hear this tension in the album but take it for what it is, which is an almost greatest hits thing with a few instrumental nuggets thrown in. the title track ups sylvian's satie-fixation up one notch, voices raised..is a slice of ethno-percussion mixed with the chipmunks, and temple of dawn is what it sounds like, an eno composition by someone else. songwise, the one bum note is a refashioned "quiet life" which is given an excruciating, pimple-proud guitar solo. nightporter was apparently re-recorded in the studio and replaces some of the paris-at-dawn polish with synths, which generally reduces the grandeur of the song. otherwise the songs are carbon copies of the album tracks, with some extra reverb and sometimes backbeat thrown in. It would probably have made a better album if they'd left off the slower, instrumental numbers in favor of other live favorites at the time; in other words it would be nice to see Virgin raid the vaults for a full setlist sometime.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The soundtrack of my childhood!, September 21, 1998

By A Customer

I discovered this band when I was a freshman in high school (1984) and couldn't get enough of thier unusual, often meloncholy, haunting sound. David Sylvian's voice became among my favorites. I hadn't listened to this album in years and dug out my old LPs. With the first note I realized not only was this the soundtrack of my childhood, but it didn't sound dated. Everything they did was with such vision and precision that it stands today as some of the most innovative, infectious music you will ever hear. I had to order CDs of all of my favorite Japan albums that night. This is my favorite- a terrific compilation.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stick with the studio versions, February 15, 2000

By A Customer

Sylvian has said how much he dislikes performing live, calling it an uncreative process. I think this shows here. While live albums should give you a feeling of immediacy and spontaneity, Oil on Canvas sounds colder and more remote than the studio albums. The crowd sounds like it's a hundred miles away, and there are too many slow-tempo numbers (in accordance with Sylvian's preference);the album opens and closes on uninspired instrumentals. Also, there is no improvisation or variation on the studio tracks, which you might have expected from such great musicians. So you have in effect a rather uneven, slightly muddy sounding, compilation of greatest hits, minus "my new career." You're better off buying the 3 studio albums!