Filigree & Shadow

This Mortal Coil

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 7, 1998)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: 4ad / Ada
• ASIN: B000007SPU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #82,735 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

1. Velvet Belly

2. Jeweller

3. Ivy and Neet

4. Meniscus

5. Tears

6. Tarantula

7. My Father

8. Come Here My Love

9. At First, and Then

10. Strength of Strings

11. Morning Glory

12. Inch-Blue

13. I Want to Live

14. Mama K

15. Filigree & Shadow

16. Firebrothers

17. Thaïs

18. I Must Have Been Blind

19. Heart of Glass

20. Alone

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must-own CD on many levels, March 19, 2000

By	Brooke Pennington "Renaissance girl" (Pocatello, ID USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I heard of This Mortal Coil through a soundtrack, and I bought this CD on a whim--probably the best impulse buy I ever made. I first listened to it a few weeks later at three in the morning while smoking a cigarette and watching tree branches scrape my window. When you hear this music you will understand that it perfectly fit the moment. Dominic Appleton has the voice of a faceless lover in a gothic dream, and the instrumental pieces are quite haunting. "At First, and Then" is a gorgeous progression from calm to chaotic and frenzied that I see as a musical interpretation of either sex or death. "The Jeweller" is simply the best, most beautiful song I've heard, period. I found the Pearls Before Swine original version since I liked the cover so much, and the arrangement and vocals of This Mortal Coil's version make it far superior. This album also makes the best psychedelic music I've ever heard, bar none. It is great to chill out to--very relaxing, yet visionary. If I could own only one CD, this would be it.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking., June 11, 2004

By	Linda M. Versluis "geist" (St. Catharines, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After ordering 'Blood', the 3rd album from This Mortal Coil, I decided to pick up Filligree and Shadow, and I am very happy I did. This album combines gentle strings, throbbing guitars and gentle piano chords, along with mesmering synthesizers, creating a 76 minute epic 4AD masterpiece. I was shocked at how wonderful this CD is. Ivo Watts Russell takes a number of relatively unknown songs by other artists, and gives them a '4AD makeover'. (The Jeweller, Come Here My Love, My Father, Strength of Strings, Morning Glory, Firebrothers, I Must Have Been Blind, Alone, Drugs)
There are also a number of TMC originals, which connect the songs to each other quite well. Darker and Warmer than It'll End in Tears, but more unfocused than Blood.
If you like Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Pink Floyd, etc. Pick this album up. NOW.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A compelling disc, August 26, 2002

By	Michael G. Hannaford (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first heard this when I was in high school. Its melancholy demeanor, luscious melody and intriguing orchestration spoke well to me then. Over a decade after the first listen, this disc still remains compelling. The sequence of tracks that runs from "Thais (I)" to the end of the album is fantastically beautiful; if those tracks were an album unto themselves, it would be one of the most listened to albums I own. I still have just as much fun singing along with "I Must Have Been Blind," and I still adore the cover of David Byrne's "Drugs." And the ambient tracks (too numerous to mention) are superb.

I can't give it the five stars because, like the other TMC releases, it is inconsistent. Some songs haven't lasted as well and now they get on my nerves. Luckily, they seem to be crowded more towards the beginning of the disc.