| The Dirt Eaters | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| EP by | ||||
| Released | 20 April 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 18:08 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | His Name Is Alive | |||
| His Name Is Alive chronology | ||||
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The Dirt Eaters in an EP by His Name Is Alive, originally released by 4AD in early 1992. It has never been released on its own in the United States, as it was included on the 4AD/Rykodisc US reissue of Home Is in Your Head in 1992.
The Dirt Eaters represented a step forward in the evolution of His Name Is Alive. While still recorded at HNIA leader Warren Defever's home, the small success of his first two LPs for 4AD had allowed him to considerably improve his home recording studio. Much more so than the previous releases, The Dirt Eaters is a song-oriented effort, with mostly ethereal folk songs replacing the sound collages and avant-pop of Livonia and Home Is in Your Head . Four songs were recorded for the EP in late 1991, and a remix of "Are We Still Married?" was also included. Released early in 1992, the EP was somewhat meant to promote this remix, for which a video by the Brothers Quay had been made. Therefore, the front cover says "Are We Still Married - His Name Is Alive - The Dirt Eaters."
The original 1992 release of The Dirt Eaters on 4AD (BAD2005) on vinyl and CD, contained the following track listing:
Only tracks one to four are listed on the sleeve, although "The Dirt Eaters", ostensibly a "hidden track," is referred to in the liner notes. Lyrics are given for tracks one to four, although these are actually the lyrics for tracks two to five. This was probably done so as to not have to print the lyrics for "Man on the Silver Mountain," a cover of the Rainbow song written by Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio. By not printing the lyrics, HNIA and 4AD avoided having to obtain permission.
"Are We Still Married?" is remixed by Ivo Watts-Russell and John Fryer of This Mortal Coil. The duo had also done production work on HNIA's first two albums. This mix is sometimes called The Dirt Eaters Mix or the This Mortal Coil Remix.
"The Dirt Eaters" contains a sample of Jack Nicholson from the movie Ironweed : "I'd eat all the dirt in this yard for you. And all the weeds. And all the dog bones too, if you asked me." A later 4AD compilation called ...and dog bones too, which featured "The Dirt Eaters", was named after this part of the song.
Besides the Rainbow cover, all of the other songs are written by Defever, credited as His Name Is Alive, except for "The Dirt Eaters" which is by Melissa Elliot, a member of HNIA at this time, and the leader, not coincidentally, of a band called The Dirt Eaters.
The Dirt Eaters EP was originally available in the United States only as an import. When Rykodisc reissued the band's back catalog for American release in the summer of 1992, the tracks from the EP were included on the CD for Home Is in Your Head. With the Rykodisc CD long out of print, this has made The Dirt Eaters EP a rarity in the United States. When 4AD reissued Home Is in Your Head on CD in 1998, they used the same track listing, instead of reissuing The Dirt Eaters EP on its own.
His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan, United States. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label. Throughout the band's long history, leader Warren Defever has been the only constant member, with a variety of musicians and singers contributing over the years.
Warren Defever is a musician and producer originally from Livonia, Michigan now based in Detroit. He is most known for his chameleonic project His Name Is Alive, though he is active in numerous other circles. He produced, engineered, and or remixed recordings by Iggy and the Stooges, Easy Action, Low, Ida, Michael Hurley, Califone, Yoko Ono, Thurston Moore, the Gories, the Go, Nomo, Saturday Looks Good to Me, Ethan Daniel Davidson, Faruq Z. Bey, the Von Bondies, Reba Fritz, Destroy All Monsters, Jenny Toomey, Slumber Party, John Sinclair, Elizabeth Mitchell & Lisa Loeb, as well as HNIA offshoot Velour 100.
Colourbox were an English electronic musical group on the 4AD label, releasing a number of records between 1982 and 1987. The band was formed by brothers Martyn and Steve Young, Ian Robbins, and vocalist Debbion Currie. Currie and Robbins left the band in 1983, with the role of vocalist being filled by Lorita Grahame.
John Fryer is an English record producer. Best known for his production work, he has also performed as a musician, as one of the two constant members of This Mortal Coil, providing keyboards, strings and synthesizer sequencing for the band, and its offshoot, The Hope Blister.
Your Only Friend is the second studio album by Ehron VonAllen. Released on Hydrology Records on July 4, 2005, it was the first time VonAllen had produced his album independently. There were no specific singles pushed from the album. It was marketed as a whole work and not broken up into different songs. In fact, no remixes have ever been released from the album making it the only Ehron VonAllen cd to do so.
Livonia is the debut album by His Name Is Alive. It was originally released by 4AD on June 25, 1990 in the United Kingdom and in 1992 on 4AD/Rykodisc in the United States.
Home Is in Your Head is the second studio album by His Name Is Alive, originally released via 4AD in the UK on September 9, 1991, and on Rykodisc in the United States in 1992.
Mouth by Mouth is the third studio album by American rock band His Name Is Alive, released by 4AD in 1993.
King of Sweet is a compilation album by His Name Is Alive, originally released in a limited run by the Perdition Plastics label in 1993. Most, if not all, of the songs had previously appeared on the band's many self-released cassettes in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and some of them had appeared in different versions on the band's 4AD releases.
Stars on E.S.P. is an album by His Name Is Alive, released by 4AD in 1996.
Nice Day is an EP by His Name Is Alive, released by 4AD in the UK in 1997.
Ft. Lake is an album by His Name Is Alive, released by 4AD in 1998.
Always Stay Sweet is a compilation album by His Name Is Alive, released by 4AD on February 23, 1999.
Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth is an album by His Name Is Alive, released by 4AD in 2001.
Darrin Campbell Huss is the vocalist and lyricist of the Canadian dark synthpop band Psyche.
Breathless are an English dream pop band formed in 1983 by Dominic Appleton, Gary Mundy (guitar), Ari Neufeld (bass) and Tristram Latimer Sayer (drums). Across nearly four decades, Breathless have released seven studio albums, one compilation album and 13 singles and EPs, all on their own label, Tenor Vossa Records.
"Song to the Siren" is a song written by Tim Buckley and his writing partner Larry Beckett and was released by Buckley on his 1970 album Starsailor. It was also later released on Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology, the album featuring a performance of the song taken from the final episode of The Monkees TV show which aired on March 25, 1968.
Sixteen Days / Gathering Dust is an EP released in 1983 by This Mortal Coil, a supergroup assembled by Ivo Watts-Russell for his record label, 4AD.
1983–1991 is a four-CD box set of material by supergroup This Mortal Coil, released on March 30, 1993 on the 4AD label. The box set was released only in the United States, and was distributed by Warner Bros. Records, with whom 4AD maintained a distribution deal at the time. This marked the first domestic American release for most of the band's output, as only the debut album, It'll End in Tears, had been released in the United States previously.
Sleeps with the Fishes is the lone collaborative album from Clan of Xymox founding member Pieter Nooten and Canadian guitarist/producer Michael Brook, released by 4AD on 12 October 1987. Intended as Nooten's debut solo album after a brief split from Clan of Xymox, the record turned into a collaboration with Brook after a suggestion from 4AD label founder and boss Ivo Watts-Russell. Though not a huge commercial success, Sleeps with the Fishes was described by AllMusic as "essential listening for fans of 4AD, ambient music, minimalism, experimental electronic music, and morose themes alike... an overlooked masterpiece."
