CD reissue Happy Valley Records 1989 with bonus tracks
Japanese limited edition
"Virginia Astley's solo debut (she had previously been a member of the short-lived Ravishing Beauties with Kate St. John and Nicky Holland, and played piano on her brother-in-law Pete Townshend's single Slit Skirts) is a magical piece of instrumental pop. It's too melodic to be Brian Eno-style ambient music, too involving to be new age mush, too simple and casual to fit in comfortably with the post-minimalist school of Michael Nyman, Andrew Poppy, or Wim Mertens, and too restrained to truly be pop music. Almost entirely instrumental, save for a few wordless vocals on A Summer Long Since Past, and featuring little instrumentation besides Astley's piano and some subtle woodwinds, the album is a lovely 35-minute meditation built around field recordings Astley made of the ambient sounds of the rural English countryside. This description makes the album sound much more twee and insubstantial than it actually is; however, Astley is no mere ambient noodler. These nine songs are melodically rich and varied; mood pieces in the truest sense of the term. Specifically designed to mirror the moods of an indolent summer day (the sides of the original LP were even marked 'morning' and 'afternoon'), From Gardens Where We Feel Secure is a dreamy, involving, and occasionally even fascinating listen".
(Stewart Mason, All-Music Guide)
"Evoking images of summer afternoons in the countryside, From Gardens Where We Feel Secure is, superficially at least, soothing sonic wallpaper. Except for a few syllables, it's entirely instrumental, consisting basically of piano, flute, clarinet and tape loops. Upon closer scrutiny, the tapes (animal sounds, church bells, etc.) build subliminal tension: there's more to Ms. Astley than initially meets the ear".
(David Sheridan, Trouser Press)
ENJOY
Hiding in the Ha-Ha
10 comments:
Tracklist:
- Morning -
01 With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming
02 A Summer Long Since Past
03 From Gardens Where We Feel Secure
04 Hiding In the Ha-Ha
- Afternoon -
05 Out On the Lawn I Lie In Bed
06 Too Bright For Peacocks
07 Summer of Their Dreams
08 When the Fields Were On Fire
09 It's Too Hot To Sleep
bonus tracks:
10 Sanctus
11 Melt the Snow
12 Melt the Snow (Instrumental)
13 Melt the Snow (Instrumental 2)
Oh Sir,
thank you thank you thank you so much.
I love her silent idyllic music so much.
All the best Jay
Great album.
Obrigado!
Thanks for the bonus track.
This is a classic album in every sense of the word but so is her follow up "Hope in a Darkened Heart" from 1986 so if you've got it..........
To the absent minded Anonymous: you just have to check the labels/tags on the right, and find out that I already posted Ms. Astley's 2nd opus many many moons ago (something like 18 months...).
Anyway, to save you the time, you can go straight to the surviving link from said post
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PRRPWFF2
Cheers
Thanks ELT, absent minded Anonymous here. I actually downloaded it at the time but didn't think it came from here because its 192 kbps and you tend to post at 320 kbps (which is what I was hoping for). I'll check in future. Great site BTW and thanks for taking the time to respond to comments.
You certainly have a point there, my friend, but I'm affraid that 192 was - and still is - as good as it gets for the moment. Sorry about that, perhaps one day a friendly hand will get me a more decent rip...
Thanks for visiting
Ex Lion Tamer:
Many, many thanks for the bonus tracks! FGWWFS is one of my all-time favorite recordings!! You rock!!!
~pemory
The description says it all (and very well). All that is left to say is Thanks so very much for this gem. I never would have discovered it otherwise. You have quite an ear.
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