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What Now, What Next?

retrospective 2CD collection - 12 September 1998

Bill Nelson

What Now, What Next cover

TRACKS:

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CD1

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01)  The Strangest Things, The Strangest Times (Giants Of The Perpetual Wurlitzer ep, 1984)

02)  Do You Dream In Colour? (Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam album in 1981)

03)  Radiant Spires (Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights album, 1987)

04)  Lady, You're A Strange Girl (Chimes And Rings album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989)

05)  Exactly The Way You Want It (Optimism album, 1988)

06)  Playing Jesus To Her Judas (Chimes And Rings album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989)

07)  Over Ocean (The Summer Of God’s Piano album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985)

08)  Devil In Me (Nudity album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989)

09)  Several Famous Orchestras (Sex-Psyche-Etc ep, 1985)

10)  Working Man (Chimes And Rings album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989)

11)  First Boy On The Moon (previously unreleased; later included on Sunflower Dairy Product, part of the Noise Candy set, 2002)

12)  Let It All Pass You By (Details album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989)

13)  The Profaned Sanctuary Of The Human Heart (Simplex, 1990)

14)  Sell My Soul (Chimes And Rings album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989)

15)  The Garden (La Belle et La Bete album, 1982)

16)  Edge Of The World (previously unreleased and unique to this compilation)

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CD2

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01)  Heartbreak Thru' The Telephone (Heartbreakland album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989)

02)  Fellini's Picnic (Map Of Dreams album, 1987)

03)  The World Wakes Up (previously unreleased; later included on Sunflower Dairy Product, part of the Noise Candy set, 2002)

04)  Skies Are Not Cloudy (previously unreleased and unique to this compilation)

05)  Love's Immortal Shining Angel (Heartbreakland album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989)

06)  A Promise Of Perfume (A Catalogue Of Obsessions album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985)

07)  Bronze (Simplex, 1990)

08)  Bride Of The Atom (previously unreleased and unique to this compilation)

09)  News From Nowhere (Iconography album, 1986)

10)  Les Amoureux (Pavillions Of The Heart And Soul album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985)

11)  Kiss It Off (Nudity album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989)

12)  Opium (Sounding The Ritual Echo album, 1981)

13)  Astroluxe (previously unreleased and unique to this compilation)

14)  Windmills In A World Without Wind (A Catalogue Of Obsessions album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985)

15)  Um, Ah, Good Evening (extra song on the UK CD version of the Optimism album, 1988)

NOTES:


This compilation taken from the Cocteau back catalogue was another product of the licensing deal with DGM, and was issued simultaneously with Atom Shop. While lacking the more commercial successful material to be found on Duplex, What Now, What Next? stands up well alongside its more prominent predecessor, and at least had the dignity of being available for a lot longer.

   
Six of the songs were labelled as being from unreleased albums, named Noise Candy, Console, and Bungalow FunlandNoise Candy was eventually released almost four years later, and included a CD entitled Console. The album title Bungalow Funland was never used (see Bill's quote below), and in the end, four songs remained unique to this compilation (A16, B4, B8 and B13).


PAST RELEASES:

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Several songs on this collection have been previously released on compilations like: The Strangest Things, Duplex, and The Practice of Everyday Life box set (all three out of print).

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CURRENT AVAILABILITY:
 

This compilation is out of print, but may be made available through Bandcamp at some point.

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BILL'S THOUGHTS:

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"For anyone who has missed much of my '80's work, the double album What Now, What Next? provides a reasonable cross section of what I was up to back then. Most of the tracks were recorded on analogue equipment and use what
I affectionately think of as 'steam driven' keyboards, (ie. mini-moog, vintage string machines, simple drum boxes, etc).

The production values are very much of the time too, (particularly if you recall that the credits on my albums sometimes said 'recorded in a room above my kitchen').


"The set contains both instrumental and vocal tracks, some of them in the 'quirky' category and provides a listening experience that is, paradoxically, both consistent and full of variety."
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"Bungalow Funland was an idea that never materialised. Or at least never materialised under that name. The tracks were absorbed into the Noise Candy box set. The tracks were not inspired by an American trip but by more English capers."

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