The Ape of Naples

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The Ape of Naples
THRESH2.jpg
Studio album by
Coil
Released2 December 2005 (2005-12-02)
Recorded1993–2005
Genre
Length65:36
Label Threshold House
Producer Coil
Coil chronology
...And the Ambulance Died in His Arms
(2005)		The Ape of Naples
(2005)		 The New Backwards
(2008)

The Ape of Naples is the final studio album by English experimental group Coil. It was released on 2 December 2005 in the UK and Thailand by Threshold House, and has subsequently been reissued by multiple labels. Produced by Peter Christopherson following the death of bandmate John Balance in 2004, it contains reworked and remixed material from 1993 to 2004. The album was dedicated to Balance's memory. [2]

Contents

Background and composition

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"Fire of the Mind"
Sample of "Fire of the Mind", taken from the album The Ape of Naples
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The Ape of Naples is composed of reworked material that Coil had created in varying forms since the inception of Backwards , their aborted Nothing Records album created during a period that Christopherson dubbed "the New Orleans era", [3] as well as songs that were previously only played live in improvisational form on the mini-tours Coil undertook in the early 2000s. The title of the album was originally intended to be Fire of the Mind, which then became the title of the first track. "The Last Amethyst Deceiver" is the "final version" of "Amethyst Deceivers", a track released on Autumn Equinox: Amethyst Deceivers in 1998 and in various versions afterwards; "It's In My Blood" was performed under the original name of "A.Y.O.R."; and "Going Up", the last song on the album, samples Balance's voice from Coil's final performance at the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival in 2004: Christopherson remarked that Coil's performance of "Going Up" at the festival was "the one and only time John thought of and sang those words...his own epitaph if you like." [3]

Christopherson created the album with awareness of his own grief after Balance's death at their home in Weston-super-Mare on 13 November 2004; with the material he reworked taking on new meanings that he saw throughout the album's production, he felt he didn't "think [he] could have done it any better, so in that sense [he felt] fulfilled, and [was] sure John would feel so, too." [3]

Songs from the New Orleans era which HAD not seemed to have "found their time" suddenly took on a completely new aspect, because of John's death. Miraculously, they changed, morphed, in front of my eyes, and I had numerous "oh my god—THAT's what that's about" revelatory moments. I imagine everyone does, listening to the album knowing what happened, in a way. [3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
Pitchfork 7.9/10 [5]
Stylus A− [6]
Head Heritage (no rating) [7]

The Ape of Naples was well-received by music critics. Pitchfork reviewer Matthew Murphy gave the album a rating of 7.9/10 and described it as "a remarkably unified work, its every meditative gesture alloyed with a looming, unmistakable sense of impending loss and/or transition". [5] AllMusic reviewer James Mason described it as "one of Coil's best albums and one of the best albums of 2005" and described listening to the album as "a bittersweet experience". [4]

Track listing

CD pressing

No.TitleLength
1."Fire of the Mind"5:14
2."The Last Amethyst Deceiver"10:11
3."Tattooed Man"6:33
4."Triple Sun"3:46
5."It's in My Blood"4:51
6."I Don't Get It"5:35
7."Heaven's Blade"4:21
8."Cold Cell"4:08
9."Teenage Lightning 2005"7:11
10."Amber Rain"5:12
11."Going Up"8:30
Total length:65:32

Vinyl pressing

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Fire of the Mind"5:14
2."The Last Amethyst Deceiver"10:11
3."Tattooed Man"6:33
Total length:21:58
Side C
No.TitleLength
1."Triple Sun"3:46
2."It's in My Blood"4:51
3."I Don't Get It"5:35
4."Heaven's Blade"4:21
5."Cold Cell"4:08
Total length:22:41
Side E
No.TitleLength
1."Teenage Lightning 2005"7:11
2."Amber Rain"5:12
3."Going Up"8:30
Total length:20:53

Limited edition copies came with a copy of The New Backwards as a fourth piece of vinyl.

The New Backwards, Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Careful What You Wish For"9:06
2."Nature Is a Language"8:00
3."Algerian Basses"5:02
Total length:22:08
The New Backwards, Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Copacaballa"6:49
2."Paint Me as a Dead Soul"6:29
3."Princess Margaret's Man in the D'Jamalfna"8:46
Total length:22:04

Personnel

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References

  1. 1 2 "Coil - The Ape of Naples - Heathen Harvest". heathenharvest.org. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  2. ↑ "echoingthesound.org". echoingthesound.org. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Peter Christopherson: The Million Dollar Altar". Brainwashed. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  4. 1 2 Mason, James. "The Ape of Naples – Coil | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  5. 1 2 Murphy, Matthew (15 January 2006). "Coil: The Ape of Naples Album Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork . Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Coil - The Ape of Naples". Stylus . 19 December 2005. Archived from the original on 29 March 2006.
  7. ↑ "Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage | Unsung | Reviews | Coil – The Ape of Naples". Head Heritage . 25 February 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
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