Results for Artists' Rifles
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Album Review:

Artists' Rifles

  • Release Date: 2000
  • Genre: Rock
  • Label: Rocket Girl

  • Artist: Piano Magic
  • Flags: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Styles: Ambient Pop, Post-Rock/Experimental
  • Track Picks: "A Return to the Sea," "Artists' Rifles," "You and John Are Birds"

Review

The notion of making a concept record seems antithetic to the standard operating procedure of Glen Johnson's Piano Magic, a collective who relies on revolving-door collaborations to materialize oft-scatterbrained pop experimentalism. When you think about it, staunchly adhering to that loose-natured principle can be as limiting as painting yourself into a corner. So ha -- here it is, a concept record from Piano Magic based on the first World War that whittles the number of instrumentalists down to six, opposed to the This Mortal Coil- or P-Funk All-Stars-like tally involved on prior records. Musically taught, conceptually focused, and a lot more open to interpretation than the memorial-depicting artwork implies, Artists' Rifles is Piano Magic at their most solemn and lulling, splitting what seems to be communication between a soldier and his lover (vocals are shared between Johnson and Caroline Potter), with a handful of brief instrumentals. Everything glides by at a funereal pace -- played by guitars, bass, drums, and cello -- implying the same inner violence that Joy Division songs like "The Eternal" or "I Remember Nothing" carry, but with less weight and more emphasis on resigned melodies than haunting production nuances and a troubled voice. The most significant -- or only other -- pop record to base itself on a World War is Pink Floyd's The Final Cut, one of the most stifling what-you-hear-is-what-you-get deals on such a subject; where Pink Floyd and movie directors like Oliver Stone practically tell you what to make of it, Piano Magic is more on the Stanley Kubrick end, leaving each moment open to interpretation. The most audibly violent aspect of the LP is the martial drumming that bookends it. Indeed, the listener is just as important as the players. A thoroughly spooked record and equally lovely. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title iTunes Composers Performers Time
(1.16)
...
Miguel Marin, Paul Tornbohm Piano Magic (1:19)
No Closure
Miguel Marin, Paul Tornbohm Piano Magic (5:11)
A Return to the Sea
Miguel Marin, Paul Tornbohm Piano Magic (5:03)
(1.22)
...
Miguel Marin, Paul Tornbohm Piano Magic (1:24)
You and John Are Birds
...
Miguel Marin, Paul Tornbohm Piano Magic (5:55)
The Index
Miguel Marin, Paul Tornbohm Piano Magic (3:30)
(1.50)
...
Miguel Marin, Paul Tornbohm Piano Magic (1:51)
Century Schoolbook
Miguel Marin, Paul Tornbohm Piano Magic (3:47)
Password
Miguel Marin, Paul Tornbohm Piano Magic (7:09)
Artists' Rifles
Miguel Marin, Paul Tornbohm Piano Magic (4:21)

Credits

John A. Rivers (Producer), John A. Rivers (Engineer), Glen Johnson (Vocals), Glen Johnson (Group Member), John Cheves (Photography), John Cheves (Group Member), Piano Magic (Main Performer), Miguel Marin (Group Member), Paul Tornbohm (Group Member), Caroline Potter (Vocals), Adrienne Quartly (Cello), Matt Dorman (Design)
 
 
Wikipedia: Artists' Rifles

The 21st Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) is a special forces regiment of the British Territorial Army.

History

The Artists Rifles (originally Artists' Rifles until the apostrophe was officially dropped from the full title as it was so often misused) was formed in 1859, part of the widespread volunteer movement which developed in the face of potential French invasion after Felice Orsini's attack on Napoleon III was linked to Britain. The group was organised in London by Edward Sterling, an art student, and comprised various professional painters, musicians, actors, architects and others involved in creative endeavours. It was established on 28 February 1860 as the 38th Middlesex (Artists) Rifle Volunteer Corps, with headquarters at Burlington House. Its first commanders were the painters Henry Wyndham Phillips and Frederic Leighton. The unit's badge, designed by William Wyon, shows the heads of the Roman gods Mars and Minerva in profile. Artists Rifles Regiment Badge

In September 1880, the corps became the 20th Middlesex (Artists) Rifle Volunteer Corps, with headquarters at Duke Street. It formed the 7th Volunteer Battalion of the Rifle Brigade from 1881 until 1891 and the 6th Volunteer Battalion from 1892 to 1908. During this period, the Artists' Rifles fought in the Boer Wars. Following the formation of the Territorial Force, the Artists Rifles was one of twenty-eight volunteer battalions in the London and Middlesex areas that combined to form the new London Regiment. It became the 28th (County of London) Battalion of the London Regiment on 1 April 1908.

The Artists Rifles was a popular unit for volunteers. It had been increased to twelve companies in 1900 and was formed into three sub-battalions in 1914, and recruitment was eventually restricted by recommendation from existing members of the battalion. It particularly attracted recruits from public schools and universities; on this basis, following the outbreak of the First World War, a number of enlisted members of the Artists Rifles were selected to be officers in other units. In October 1914, the Artists Rifles was established as an Officers Training Corps. Over fifteen thousand men passed through the battalion during the war, ten thousand of them becoming officers. The battalion eventually saw battle in France in 1917 and 1918, suffering thousands of casualties and earning hundreds of honours.

In the early 1920s the unit was reconstituted as an infantry regiment within the Territorial Army, the 28th County of London Regiment. In 1937, this regiment became part of the Prince Consort's Own Rifle Brigade. The regiment was not deployed during the Second World War, functioning again as an Officers Training Corps throughout the war. It was disbanded in 1945, but reformed in the Rifle Brigade in January 1947 and transferred to the Army Air Corps in July as the 21st Special Air Service Regiment (Artists Rifles). 21 SAS was formed from the two disbanded regular regiments 1 SAS and 2 SAS, with the 1 and the 2 being reversed into 21 to provide some means of continuity. 21 SAS was active during the Malayan Emergency and in many subsequent conflicts. In 1952, members of the Artists' Rifles who had been involved in special operations in Malaya formed 22 SAS, the modern special forces regiment - the only time a Territorial Army unit has been used to form a unit in the Regular Army and remain a parent of a regular unit.

Still constituted as 21 SAS, the Artists Rifles became a reserve regiment in the Territorial Army in 1967.

Battle honours

  • South Africa 1900-01
  • The Great War (3 battalions): Ypres 1917, Passchendaele, Somme 1918, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Arras 1918, Ancre 1918, Albert 1918, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, Cambrai 1918, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914-18

NB: From 1947, all battle honours were earned and shared by the whole of the Special Air Service.

Today

Today the regiment is one of two Territorial Army regiments in the Special Air Service. There are three squadrons: one in London, one in Newport and one split between Hampshire, Cambridge and Southampton.

Notable members

See also

External links

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References

  • Barry Gregory. A History of The Artists Rifles 1859-1947. 2006

Artists' Rifles is also the name of a 2000 album by the indie group Piano Magic.


 
 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ® , a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Artists' Rifles" Read more

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