Sleep No More (The Comsat Angels album)

Last updated

Sleep No More
Comsat Angels - Sleep No More-cover.jpg
Studio album by
The Comsat Angels
Released21 August 1981
RecordedMarch 1981
StudioPolydor Studios, London; Stratford Place
Genre Post-punk
Length38:19
Label Polydor
Producer Peter Wilson and the Comsat Angels
The Comsat Angels chronology
Waiting for a Miracle
(1980)		Sleep No More
(1981)		 Fiction
(1982)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Smash Hits 8/10 [2]
Stylus Magazine A+ [3]

Sleep No More is the Comsat Angels' second album, released 21 August 1981 on Polydor Records. It is widely regarded as a masterpiece that had a major influence on bands such as U2 [ citation needed ] (who toured with the band) and later groups such as Editors and Interpol. The album has been reissued on CD three times, in 1995 by RPM Records, in 2006 by Renascent and in 2015 by Edsel Records, with different track listings (see below). Sleep No More produced no singles, but it had the highest UK chart ranking for any Comsats album, peaking at No. 51. [4]

Contents

After the rushed production of the first album, Waiting for a Miracle , the band was able to put a lot more craft into Sleep No More. Frontman Stephen Fellows described how they achieved a resonant sound on a couple of the tracks: "Pete Wilson suggested taking the drums out of the studio – on the fourth floor at Polydor – and putting them near the lift-shaft (elevator shaft) by the stairs. We then put microphones on the three floors above and below  ... Obviously we were only able to do this sort of thing in the evening when the offices were closed!" [4]

Fellows felt the album Sleep No More had a unique quality among the band's work: "The only [album] which had a 'thread' through it was Sleep No More, the 'thread' was the sound we wanted to get." [5] Critics recognized it as a great follow-up to Waiting for a Miracle. AllMusic later said, "Sleep No More is certainly more powerful, and it's also a greater achievement. Here The Comsat Angels became one of the era's exceptional bands." [6] In a 1981 review, Mark Cooper of Sounds wrote that it was "an album that is head and shoulders above anything else recorded this year", [4] while Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover summed up the album by saying, "I think Sleep No More is one of the greatest pieces of music ever released!" [7]

When Sleep No More was released, it sold out very quickly. Unfortunately Polydor took two weeks to ship additional stock to the record stores, an issue which was believed to have had a negative effect on the album's momentum. [4]

Track listing (1981)

All tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake.

  1. "The Eye Dance"
  2. "Sleep No More"
  3. "Be Brave"
  4. "Gone"
  5. "Dark Parade"
  6. "Diagram"
  7. "Restless"
  8. "Goat of the West"
  9. "Light Years"
  10. "Our Secret"

Track listing (1995)

All tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake.

  1. "Eye Dance"
  2. "Sleep No More"
  3. "Be Brave"
  4. "Gone"
  5. "Dark Parade"
  6. "Diagram"
  7. "Restless"
  8. "Goat of the West"
  9. "Light Years"
  10. "Our Secret"
  11. "Eye of the Lens"
  12. "Another World"
  13. "At Sea"
  14. "(Do the) Empty House"
  15. "Red Planet Revisited"

Track listing (2006)

All tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake.

  1. "The Eye Dance"
  2. "Sleep No More"
  3. "Be Brave"
  4. "Gone"
  5. "Dark Parade"
  6. "Diagram"
  7. "Restless"
  8. "Goat of the West"
  9. "Light Years"
  10. "Our Secret"
  11. "Eye of the Lens"
  12. "Another World"
  13. "At Sea"
  14. "Mass"
  15. "Dark Parade 1" (Demo)
  16. "Goat of the West" (Demo)
  17. "Be Brave" (Demo)
  18. "Gone" (Alternative EP Version)

Track listing (2015)

All tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake

CD 1
  1. "Eye Dance"
  2. "Sleep No More"
  3. "Be Brave"
  4. "Gone"
  5. "Dark Parade"
  6. "Diagram"
  7. "Restless"
  8. "Goat of the West"
  9. "Light Years"
  10. "Our Secret"

Bonus Tracks

  1. "Eye of the Lens"
  2. "Another World"
  3. "At Sea"
CD 2
  1. "Mass"
  2. "Dark Parade 1" (Demo)
  3. "Goat of the West" (Demo)
  4. "Be Brave" (Demo)
  5. "Gone" (Alternative EP Version)

John Peel Session

  1. "Be Brave"
  2. "At Sea"
  3. "Eye of the Lens"
  4. "Dark Parade"

Richard Skinner Show

  1. "Gone"
  2. "Total War"
  3. "Eye Dance"
  4. "Be Brave"

Personnel

The members of The Comsat Angels are:

Related Research Articles

<i>Enter</i> (Within Temptation album) 1997 studio album by Within Temptation

Enter is the debut studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released by DSFA Records in 1997. After the band became more widely known in foreign markets, it was released by the independent label Season of Mist in North America in 2007, and re-printed by Nuclear Blast in 2014. It was produced by Lex Vogelaar, founder of the Dutch death metal band Orphanage, and had to recorded, completed and mixed within three weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Crahan</span> American percussionist

Michael Shawn Crahan, more commonly known by his stage persona "Clown", is an American musician. He is the co-founder and one of the percussionists for heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #6. Crahan helped form Slipknot in 1995 alongside bassist Paul Gray and former vocalist Anders Colsefni. Crahan is the longest-serving and only remaining original member of Slipknot, and also has extensive involvement with Slipknot's media production and music videos. Outside Slipknot, Crahan had two side project bands called To My Surprise and Dirty Little Rabbits. Aside from his musical activity, he also directed the 2016 action thriller film Officer Downe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Bruno</span> American singer-songwriter, academic and writer

Franklin Bruno is an American singer-songwriter, academic and writer originally from Upland, California. He has been a member of Nothing Painted Blue since its inception in 1986.

The Comsat Angels were an English post-punk band from Sheffield, England, initially active from 1978 to 1995. Their music has been described as "abstract pop songs with sparse instrumentation, many of which were bleak and filled with some form of heartache". They have been credited as being an influence on later post-punk revival bands such as Blacklist, Bell Hollow, Editors and Interpol.

<i>Direction Reaction Creation</i> 1997 compilation album by The Jam

Direction Reaction Creation is an anthology issued in 1997 by the British band The Jam. It includes 117 tracks over 5 discs. Discs 1 to 4 comprise all six of the band's studio albums with all of the non-album singles and B-sides interspersed chronologically. Disc 5 is made up of demos and outtakes. The box set reached number 8 in the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Von (band)</span> American black metal band

Von is an American black metal band formed in 1987 in O'ahu, Hawaii, and later relocating to San Francisco. They influenced the second wave of black metal.

<i>Waiting for a Miracle</i> (album) 1980 studio album by The Comsat Angels

Waiting for a Miracle is the debut album by the Comsat Angels, released on 5 September 1980 on Polydor Records.

<i>Fiction</i> (The Comsat Angels album) 1982 studio album by The Comsat Angels

Fiction is the Comsat Angels' third album, released in August 1982 on Polydor Records. The album has been reissued on CD three times: in 1995 by RPM Records, in 2006 by Renascent and in 2015 by Edsel Records, with different track listings. The album peaked at No. 94 in the UK charts in September 1982.

<i>Land</i> (The Comsat Angels album) 1983 studio album by The Comsat Angels

Land is the Comsat Angels' fourth album, released in September 1983 on Jive Records. The album was reissued on CD in 2001 with five B-sides as bonus tracks for Jive's "Connoisseur Collection".

<i>7 Day Weekend</i> (album) 1985 studio album by The Comsat Angels

7 Day Weekend is the Comsat Angels' fifth album, released in 1985 on Jive Records. The album was reissued on CD with bonus tracks in 2001 for Jive's "Connoisseur Collection".

<i>Chasing Shadows</i> (The Comsat Angels album) 1986 studio album by The Comsat Angels

Chasing Shadows is the Comsat Angels' sixth album, released in 1986 on Island Records.

<i>Fire on the Moon</i> (Dream Command album) 1990 studio album by Dream Command

Fire on the Moon is the Comsat Angels' seventh album, released in 1990 on Island Records. It was issued under the alias Dream Command, and in limited quantities in the United States and the Netherlands only. A promo-only single of "Celestine" was released in similarly small quantities.

Kevin John Bacon is an English musician and record producer best known for his work with Jonathan Quarmby under the moniker Bacon & Quarmby, as well as his tenure as bassist for the band the Comsat Angels. After leaving the Comsat Angels, Kevin Bacon produced for many other artists, notably Finley Quaye, Longpigs and Ziggy Marley.

Stephen Fellows is an English singer, songwriter and musician. From 1978 to 1995, he was frontman for the band The Comsat Angels. He also managed the band Gomez and helped guide the band the Little Glitches.

<i>My Minds Eye</i> (album) 1992 studio album by The Comsat Angels

My Mind’s Eye is the eighth album by the Comsat Angels, released in 1992 on RPM Records, and in 1993 on Caroline Records in the US. It was rereleased by Thunderbird Records in 2001, and remastered with additional tracks by Renascent in February 2007.

<i>The Glamour</i> 1995 studio album by The Comsat Angels

The Glamour is the ninth and final album by the Comsat Angels, released in 1995 on RPM Records and on Caroline Records in the US. In 2007, Renascent reissued the album as a double CD with seven additional tracks.

<i>Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones – The BBC Sessions 1979–1984</i> 1992 compilation album by The Comsat Angels

Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones – The BBC Sessions 1979-1984, a compilation album by the Comsat Angels, was released in 1992 by BBC Music and reissued by Renascent in 2006. The name of the album was taken from the award-winning science fiction short story of the same name by Samuel R. Delany.

<i>To Before</i> 2007 compilation album by The Comsat Angels

To Before is a double album of Comsat Angels demos and outtakes, released on CD by Renascent in 2007. The selected tracks covered the years 1978 to 1993 and were salvaged from old cassette tapes, DATs and bootlegs. The first disc documented some of the earliest years of the band and included the entire "Red Planet" three-track single, the Comsat Angels' first record. The second disc contains demo versions of songs from later albums, plus three finished tracks from the album Fire on the Moon.

Peter Wilson is a British record producer. Amongst several others, Wilson worked with the Style Council, Sham 69 and the Comsat Angels.

Renascent is an unblack metal band that originated in Helsinki, Finland, and the core of the band now currently reside in Bloomington, Indiana. The band has released an EP titled, Demon's Quest in 2004 and a full length titled Through Darkness in 2005. The band released their sophomore album, Praise of the Lord God Almighty, on 5 November 2016. The band is openly Christian. The band has been compared to Dimmu Borgir and Old Man's Child.

References

  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. ↑ Smash Hits, Mark Ellen, 17 September 1981, p.29
  3. ↑ Stylus review [ dead link ]
  4. 1 2 3 4 Sleeve notes from Renascent re-issue of Sleep No More
  5. ↑ Step Off, interviews, Stephen Fellows Q & A Session May 2002 The Comsat Angels - The Sleep No More Web-site
  6. ↑ Allmusic review of Sleep No More
  7. ↑ Springhouse forum, comment posted by Jack Rabid, 9 December 1997 Springhouse - Forum - Archives 01
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.