| Desertshore | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 20 December 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 1970 | |||
| Studio | Sound Techniques Ltd., London, England; except "Le Petit Chevalier", at Studios Davout, Paris, France | |||
| Genre | Avant-garde [1] | |||
| Length | 28:51 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Producer | John Cale, Joe Boyd | |||
| Nico chronology | ||||
| ||||
Desertshore is the third studio album by German musician Nico. It was released in December 1970 on the Reprise label.
Desertshore was co-produced by John Cale and Joe Boyd. Unlike its predecessor The Marble Index it incorporates elements from Western traditional pop. [1]
"Janitor of Lunacy" was composed as a tribute to her friend Brian Jones who died the previous year. [2]
The back and front covers feature stills from the film The Inner Scar by Philippe Garrel which starred Nico, Garrel and her son Ari Boulogne. A few of the songs from the album were included on the film's soundtrack. [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C [4] |
| The New Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes |  [6] |
Like The Marble Index, Desertshore obtained a small cult following upon its release but was overlooked by most large publications and the public in general. However it has received mainstream praise from critics in subsequent years with AllMusic and The New Rolling Stone Album Guide in particular providing a strong and positive reception. Tiny Mix Tapes rated Desertshore five out of five. The Village Voice was less favorable—giving the album a C rating.
"All That Is My Own" was selected by Morrissey for inclusion on his Under the Influence compilation. [7]
"Le petit chevalier" was covered live by Bjork during her Post tour in 1996 and also by Bat for Lashes in 2007 at the Glastonbury festival. [8] It was prominently sampled by Abu Lahab on his 2013 album Of Heliotaxis and Cosmic Knifing . "Janitor of Lunacy" was covered by Austrian artist Soap&Skin and included in her 2008 debut EP. [9]
Industrial music pioneers Throbbing Gristle entered the studio to record a reinterpretation of Desertshore in 2007. The product of this studio session which was made open-to-the public was The Desertshore Installation , a record of the entirety of the 3-day, 12-hour-long session. The plan had been to edit the three days of recordings and craft a finished album from it but the group was not satisfied with the sessions. Peter Christopherson continued working on it in Bangkok with Danny Hyde until his death in November 2010.
Hyde passed the remaining work to Throbbing Gristle members Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti to complete, which they did with the help of several guest vocalists including Marc Almond, Sasha Grey, Blixa Bargeld and Anohni. Desertshore/The Final Report was released on 26 November 2012 under the name X-TG The Album. It debuted live at AV Festival on 17 March 2012, performed by Carter and Tutti. It was accompanied by a screening of Philippe Garrel’s La cicatrice intérieure, "for which Desertshore was soundtrack and inspiration". [10]
All tracks are written by Nico
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Janitor of Lunacy" | 4:01 |
| 2. | "The Falconer" | 5:39 |
| 3. | "My Only Child" | 3:27 |
| 4. | "Le petit chevalier" | 1:12 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Abschied" | 3:02 |
| 6. | "Afraid" | 3:27 |
| 7. | "Mütterlein" | 4:38 |
| 8. | "All That Is My Own" | 3:28 |
Christa Päffgen, known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress, and model. She had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960) and Andy Warhol's Chelsea Girls (1966). Reviewer Richard Goldstein describes Nico as "half goddess, half icicle" and writes that her distinctive voice "sounds something like a cello getting up in the morning."
Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initially a blend of avant-garde electronics experiments and punk provocation". The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by members of Throbbing Gristle and Monte Cazazza. While the genre name originated with Throbbing Gristle's emergence in the United Kingdom, artists and labels vital to the genre also emerged in the United States and other countries.
Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti, later joined by Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of industrial music. Evolving from the experimental performance art group COUM Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle made their public debut in October 1976 in the COUM exhibition Prostitution, and released their debut single "United/Zyklon B Zombie" and debut album The Second Annual Report the following year. P-Orridge's lyrics mainly revolved around mysticism, extremist political ideologies, sexuality, dark or underground aspects of society, and idiosyncratic manipulation of language inspired by the techniques of William S. Burroughs.
The Marble Index is the second studio album by the German musician Nico, released in November 1968 on Elektra Records. The avant-garde sound introduced in the album—a stark contrast with her folk pop debut, Chelsea Girl (1967)—was the result of the combination of Nico's droning harmonium and somber vocals, and the producer John Cale's musical arrangements, which were inspired by modern European classical music. Nico envisioned the release as an attempt to get artistic legitimacy and changing the looks that had made her famous as a fashion model.
Peter Martin Christopherson was an English musician, video director, commercial artist, designer and photographer, and former member of British design agency Hipgnosis.
June 1, 1974 is a live album of songs performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London on the titular date. The album is officially attributed to all principal performers Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno and Nico, although other well-known musicians, including Mike Oldfield, Robert Wyatt, and Ollie Halsall, also contributed to the concert. The record has often been referred to as the "A.C.N.E." album, for the initials of Ayers, Cale, Nico, and Eno.
Cosey Fanni Tutti is an English performance artist, musician and writer, best known for her time in the avant-garde groups Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey.
The End... is the fourth studio album by German musician Nico. It was recorded in summer 1974 at Sound Techniques studio in London and produced by John Cale. It was released in November 1974, on record label Island.
Chris Carter is an English musician, best known for being a member of Throbbing Gristle and the duo Chris & Cosey, both with his longtime partner Cosey Fanni Tutti.
Chris & Cosey, sometimes known as Carter Tutti, are a musical duo formed in 1981, consisting of couple Chris Carter (electronics) and Cosey Fanni Tutti, both previously members of industrial music pioneers Throbbing Gristle. Since the release of their 1981 debut album Heartbeat, the group have expanded on the rhythmic ideas of Throbbing Gristle while adding synthesized pop elements to their sound.
Part Two is an album by English industrial band Throbbing Gristle, released in 2007 through record label Mute Records.
20 Jazz Funk Greats is the third studio album by British industrial music group Throbbing Gristle, released in December 1979 by the band's Industrial Records label. Known for its tongue-in-cheek title and artwork, it has been hailed as the band's best work, with Fact naming it the best album of the 1970s and Pitchfork naming it the best industrial album of all time.
Heathen Earth is a live album by the English industrial band Throbbing Gristle, released in 1980 through Industrial Records.
TG Now is an album by English industrial band Throbbing Gristle. It was released in 2004 through the band's own record label Industrial Records and was their first album of original material since 1982's Journey Through a Body.
The Second Annual Report is the debut album by English industrial music group Throbbing Gristle, released in November 1977 through Industrial Records. It is a combination of live and studio recordings made from October 1976 to September 1977. The Second Annual Report is considered to be influential within electronic music, being one of the first industrial music albums.
Danny Hyde is an experimental musician and remix artist. Hyde has contributed to production and mixing on many Coil albums, including Horse Rotorvator, Love's Secret Domain, The Remote Viewer, Black Antlers, The Ape of Naples and The New Backwards. Hyde has also worked with Psychic TV and Pop Will Eat Itself. Hyde participated in the creation of many remixes while working with Coil, including several for Nine Inch Nails that were released on Fixed, Closer To God and certified gold release Further Down the Spiral as well as the rerelease of quadruple-platinum album The Downward Spiral. His remix of Nine Inch Nails' song "Closer" was featured in the film Seven.
D.o.A: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle is the second studio album by English industrial band Throbbing Gristle. It was released in 1978 by their Industrial Records label.
The Frozen Borderline – 1968–1970 is a two-disc compilation set of music by German musician Nico, released in 2007 by record label Rhino.
The Desertshore Installation is a box set that was released by Throbbing Gristle. The 12-CDr set documents the recording sessions of the cover version of Nico's third studio album, Desertshore. These recordings were made as a document of TG's Desertshore Installation. These sessions were open to the public and a short question and answer session is included in the recordings. Each session lasted for approximately two hours and there were two sessions per day, an afternoon and an evening session. The box set only had one pressing.
Do or Die: Diary 1982 is an album chronicling Nico's European tour from January 18 to March 28, 1982. It features songs from Nico's albums The Marble Index, Desertshore, The End... and Drama of Exile, which include covers of the Velvet Underground, David Bowie and the Doors.
