David Sylvian - Brilliant Trees
- Pulling Punches (5:00)
- Ink in the Well (4:30)
- Nostalgia (5:41)
- Red Guitar (5:09)
- Weathered Wall (5:43)
- Backwaters (4:48)
- Brilliant Trees (8:30)
Virgin, 1984
also by David Sylvian:
- Gone to Earth
(1986)
- Secrets Of The Beehive
(1987)
- Alchemy (An Index of Possibilities)
(1989)
- Approaching Silence
(1999)
- Dead Bees on a Cake
(1999)
- Everything And Nothing
(2000)
- Blemish
(2003)
see also... Rain Tree Crow, Japan, David Sylvian and Holger Czukay, David Sylvian and Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, Talk Talk, The Blue Nile
After the break up of Japan, Sylvian refined the best elements of his former band to form his impressive solo debut. Japan's jerky pop style still remains on "Pulling Punches", but elsewhere the sound is a combination of laid-back jazz-inflected songs and sophisticated harmonies and instrumentation. The jazz emerges particularly in the trumpet solo of "Nostalgia" and the piano backing to "Red Guitar". "Backwaters" has a sinuous fretless bassline, while Jon Hassell's distinctive soft muted trumpet enhances the atmospheres of "Weathered Wall" and "Brilliant Trees". The title track is the album's high point, showcasing that style of silky baritone vocals over shifting ambient backings that would be a major feature of Sylvian's future solo work.
August 12, 2003
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