Title - 'After the Satellite Sings'
Artist - Bill Nelson
Esoteric Recordings imprint Cocteau Discs, the home of Bill Nelson's catalogue between 1971 and 2001, continues their series of on-going releases with the release of a newly remastered edition of the album, After The Satellite Sings.
For my money, the follow-up to the instrumental Practically Wired, After The Satellite Sings is a brilliant blend of drum and bass and ambient, classic guitar rock and even jazz in some songs. All of which Bill Nelson is very, very good at. The standouts for me are the pop lite of 'Tomorrow Yesterday' (aka 'Dreamster 2.L.R),' the slow dream funk of 'Steamliner,' the Reznoresque 'Skull Baby Cluster,' the fast trance pace of 'Rocket To Damascus,' and the truly stunning ballad work of 'Beautiful Nudes.' This album predates David Bowie's Earthling by a year, which covered some of the same territory - only Bowie needed Trent Reznor's help!
The album was recorded in 28 days at Fairview Studios in East Yorkshire in 1995 and saw Nelson push his constantly evolving musical boundaries still further. A collection of fine songs and three instrumental pieces, After The Satellite Sings is a fine album that remains fascinating and engaging nearly two decades on from its first release.
Sadly, as great an artist as Bill Nelson is, I don't think he will ever be fully recognized for his talents, and that is a real shame. That said, this Cocteau Discs edition fully restores the original album artwork and even features a new note by Bill Nelson. So, as much as he still gets to have a "current hand" on whatever is released in his name, that name is the one thing that surely needed to soar higher than it ever did.
Reviewed by: Russell A. Trunk
www.esotericrecordings.com