Fact 24 In 24-Bits

 

Various Artists - A Factory Quartet [FACT 24 UK 1980 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC]

Time now for a brand new rip of an old ESWA favourite....

The second Factory Records sampler was originally planned as a double 10" set, but thankfully the label settled on this beautifully packaged double album with an embossed polaroid-style Garrod & Lofthouse sleeve. 

Like the first 7" sampler, each artist gets one side of vinyl to introduce themselves, though The Durutti Column had already appeared on the label, this was Vini Reilly with a different line-up. The diversity of the chosen artists is huge, ranging from the ethereal beauty of The Durutti Column, through the distorted jazz-rock of Blurt, to scouser dirge noise terrorists The Royal Family And The Poor. Kevin Hewick supplies a difficult mix of live sets, where perhaps his 1980 Graveyard sessions would have fitted better, but as history says, he never got to finish five songs (with New Order), Hewick has dined out on Haystack for years since as various distortions behind the track circulated.

Vini Reilly recruits ACR drummer Donald Johnson with a Martin Hannett production, and the three resulting tracks are among his best, For Belgian Friends being the highlight. Hewick is joined onstage by ACR's Peter Terrell with his noisebox, but heckles and banter between Hewick and his audience spoil it for me. 

Blurt are an acquired taste, but like a post-punk Beefheart they pound a twisted beat with ear-splitting sax. As the years have passed, I have really grown to appreciate the Blurt tracks on this release. I wish now that I had kept my original copies of their energetic self-titled debut album and the excellent Poppycock, rather than dispose of them in a late eighties vinyl clear out.

The RFATP set is saved by Martin Hannett's presence in the production suite. These tracks are deep, dark noise funk-muck dirge, where the distorted guitars & deep bass resemble early Section 25 whilst Joy Division's synths wash away deep in the mix below Arthur McDonald's rants from Crowley & Vaneigem prose. To these ears, the three part Dirge has a very similar feel to New Order's In A Lonely Place.

Strangely, this album was never reissued for the compact generation generation, though some tracks eventually appeared as extras on various other reissues.

A1   The Durutti Column – For Mimi

A2   The Durutti Column – For Belgian Friends

A3   The Durutti Column – Self-portrait

B1   Kevin Hewick – Rubble

B2   Kevin Hewick – 1940

B3   Kevin Hewick – A Little Feeling

B4   Kevin Hewick – Forget

B5   Kevin Hewick – Morphia

B6   Kevin Hewick – The Enchanted Kiss

B7   Kevin Hewick – Haystack

C1   Blurt – Puppeteer

C2   Blurt – Dyslexia

C3   Blurt – Some Come

C4   Blurt – Benighted

D1   The Royal Family And The Poor – Dirge

D2   The Royal Family And The Poor – Vaneigem Mix

D3   The Royal Family And The Poor – Dirge

D4   The Royal Family And The Poor – Death Factory

D5   The Royal Family And The Poor – Dirge

D6   The Royal Family And The Poor – Rackets