A Breath Of Fresh Air

 

The Durutti Column - Keep Breathing [DEMREC744 UK 2020 24-Bit FLAC]

We haven't had any Vini Reilly recently, well at least for a few weeks anyway. Originally released in 2006 as a compact disc only, Keep Breathing was The Durutti Column's fifteenth studio album. Reilly was extremely productive during the post-Factory years with a number of albums shared out among the Kooky and Artful labels. Never originally received as his best, these albums did feature some wonderful tracks and the recent Demon Records double vinyl editions have given this fan the chance to reappreciate this period of work.

This album does feature the the wonderful Maggie, which is one of my favourite DC tracks of all time and listening to the complete album, I have also had the chance to rediscover and enjoy other works such as Nina and It's Wonderful, the solemn yet melodic Big Hole and then of course there is the rare appearance of the Vini Reilly fuzz pedal on Waiting, which is a damn final closer.

Demon Records clearly had a few pressing issues with this release. Whilst the pressing has much less surface noise than the Crepescule vinyl reissues, it was dirty out of the shrink wrap and needed a clean before ripping. A disadvantage of coloured vinyl is that it hides dirt, dust and damage.  It has been documented elsewhere about the issues with the track Gun, in addition to it being the most dour of Reilly vocal performances, there had also been some form of contamination of the lacquer prior to production pressings and the subsequent problem is slightly audible towards the end of the track. 

All the same, well done to Demon for bringing these albums back to life on vinyl inside beautifully crafted sleeves (although a gatefold would have been an extra special option on this release).

A1 Nina

A2 It's Wonderful

A3 Maggie

B1 Helen

B2 Neil

B3 Big Hole

C1 Let Me Tell You Something

C2 Lunch

C3 Gun

D1 Tuesday

D2 Agnus Dei

D3 Waiting