(CD spine, front cover, back of case, CD itself, play-side info, cover fold-out, 10" front/back, opening, vinyl A/B side)
The Singing From Mount Eerie CD/10"
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-Recorded by "Phil Elvrum, Jenn Kliese, Kyle Field, Mikhaela Marickh, Anna Oxygen, Mirah Y.T. Zeitlyn, Calvin Johnson, Adam Forkner, Bethany Hays Parke, Shawn Parke, Hollis Parke, Phan Nguyen, Dennis Driscoll, Zach Alarcon, Amber Bell, & with an in-audible presence of Karl Blau & The Mountain."
-The CD and 10" both have unique cover art. It appears to be a painting or a line drawing, but with no credit for who executed it. The 10" art, front and back, is a block print, but, again, no credit for who did it. Same story with the art on the CD itself and the vinyl inner labels. Though the vinyl labels look like the usual Phil handwriting to me.*
*I am unaware but wondering if an alternate color version of the 10" cover exists for this. The "Drums" 10" was also produced with a gold printed cover apparently (and the back cover of that is printed in gold so it naturally follows). The back cover of my "Singing" 10" is printed in red so I am wondering if there is a corresponding red version of this cover or if there is also a gold version. I'll update as info comes in.
-Released in 2003* (sometime after the "Mount Eerie" LP) on K Records (kpunk.com) (KLP141)
*It is worth noting that on the vinyl inner labels, under the K Records logo and number it says "2001/2002", not sure what to make of that. On the test pressing the date 8/28/02 is listed. I am assuming this is a recording date. On the one-sheet that accompanies this test press it lists the release date as January 23rd, 2002. It looks like there's a lot of other interesting info on the one sheet but the pic that's up on eBay isn't that great and it's hard to read.
-IFPI number: 6000 (stamped in the plastic of the CD)
-The CDs were "Made in Canada" as it proclaims, stamped in the plastic however, unlike the "Drums" CD it is not printed on the silver play-side info.
-No barcode info on the CD or vinyl. (There may have been a barcode sticker on the plastic for the CD, have to try to find out about that. But the vinyl I have for this is in the plastic, and no barcode.) (Also, the play-side of the CD has a barcode printed on it.)
-The vinyl plays at 33 1/3 rpms, both sides.
-There is no insert with the vinyl, all info is given either on the cover or the inner labels.
-The vinyl inner groove info is the standard label stuff (KLP 141 A/B) and then some numbers that I don't know the meaning of (side A: 8106.1 [z], side B: 8106.2 [z]).
-Other details of note:
No track list is given on either the CD or the vinyl. The only track info available for this release is gathered by putting the CD into a computer. It reads and gives the track list which I have included below.
As usual there is a lot of info/numbering on the silver play-side CD info, most of which I have no idea about.
The vinyl inner label refers to the tracks as "a cappella" and "singing-only".
It goes on to state that they are taken from a "5 part sequence of songs and sound effects" and then lists the tracks from the "Mount Eerie" album and appends "and here we add a sixth part 'Universe Conclusion'". As mentioned in the "Drums" post "Universe Conclusion", as explained in "The Headwaters Of Mount Eerie" book, was the original alternate ending of that album which Phil decided to leave off. It is included here, though, as previously mentioned, no track list is given with any version of this release. When the CD is placed in a computer it reads the "Universe Conclusion" track as "Black Night". This same version appears again on the "Mount Eerie" Japanese import CD under its intended title. It is also performed, in a much more protracted version, on the "Live In Japan" album.
The vinyl sleeve opens on top, rather than on the side.
The CDs are in plastic "slim cases", not the normal sized jewel case.
There have been floating around, for quite some time now, on eBay, test pressings of the vinyl for both this release and the "Drums" 10", apparently being auctioned by K Records themselves for charity. Which is awesome, though the price tag is a little hefty for all of us mere mortals.
...
Not totally sure what the intention is with the release of this. I can sort of see where he was coming from with the "Drums" album. But the vocal-only thing is lost a little on me. I mean, I guess I can see the argument that these songs can stand up as just vocal tracks, or snippets. And some do, to an extent. It's interesting, in that vocals and huge sing alongs are so integral to Phil's aesthetic much of the time, that this album is a little harder to get through. Now don't get me wrong, it is all still very beautiful and unearthly. It's just so damn jarring and fragmented feeling divorced from the music.
I am, sadly, unsure what else to say about this EP. I recall both of these coming out close on the heels of the proper "Mount Eerie" album, as well as "Song Islands". Living in Boston at the time and paying exorbitant rent (as one often does in Boston), I was looking at this embarrassment of riches and thinking, ok, well some of this is going to have to wait. And, at that time, it was the two EPs. Listening to them all this time later, yes I made the right call, but I hate to take away from any of Phil's efforts. These are both solid releases. It is a situation where the idea of them is somewhat more engaging than the product. It was very interesting to me, especially at the time, to see Phil sort of intentionally polarize his music, in that it was already so naturally polarized. To me, as a fan, it was sort of validating. It was like Phil saying "ok yes, I am obsessed with percussion and vocal choruses, and so here is a version of my new album that highlights one or the other."
(--238)
Tracklist (CD)
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The Sun
Solar System
Do You Really Think There's Anybody Out There?
What Do You Want?
Universe/Mt. Eerie
I Watched You From Above
Big Black Cloud
Big Black Death
Universe
Black Night (Universe Conclusion)
*(There is no tracklist listed on the vinyl, but by counting the grooves it appears that is should be as follows:)
Tracklist (Vinyl)*
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Side A
The Sun
Solar System
Do You Really Think There's Anybody Out There?
What Do You Want?
Universe/Mt. Eerie
Side B
I Watched You From Above
Big Black Cloud
Big Black Death
Universe
Black Night (Universe Conclusion)
xo
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