Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally...remastered and re-released!, December 17, 2005
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.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Swirling early 80s masterpiece, November 26, 2005
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.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
True gem of an era, December 28, 2005
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
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by Bill Nelson 
