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King of Sweet

 
Album Review: King of Sweet
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King of Sweet

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Review

Released in a limited edition of 2,000 copies by the Chicago-based Perdition Plastics label, King of Sweet features demos and alternate takes of songs that appeared on Home Is in Your Head and future releases, as well as material that is unavailable elsewhere. In many ways, King of Sweet captures the experimental, abstract essence of His Name Is Alive better than the group's other releases; the album's open-ended song collages reflect His Name Is Alive's willingness to reuse, remix, and reform any ideas that cross its radar. "Take a Look Around You" gives Home Is in Your Head's "Why People Disappear" an electric guitar makeover, while "This Weekend," "Are You Coming Down This Weekend," and "Meet Me by Moonlight, Alone" recast the same song in pensive, ethereal, and breezy pop settings. Other parts of the album toss the riff from Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My," hip-hop scratches, and jazzy samples in with Karin Oliver's sweet vocals and Defever's layered, versatile guitars. Jangly little pop songs are surrounded by interludes of found noises and sound effects, as on "Honey Babe, My Blue-Eyed Babe," and "Soul Resides in the Horse Barn," both of which the band reworked later. Though not His Name Is Alive's most accessible album, King of Sweet showcases the band's ability to make divergent elements sound completely natural together, as well as its constant change and invention. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Take a Look Around You His Name Is Alive (3:29)
A Bird in Evry Tree His Name Is Alive (2:48)
This Weekend His Name Is Alive (4:20)
Drive the Dreamy Demon Down His Name Is Alive (3:32)
Lake (Theme for Sweet Hearts) His Name Is Alive (2:39)
Blissfield (Sweet Corn) His Name Is Alive (1:07)
Bears (King of Sweet) His Name Is Alive (4:16)
Ode on a Dave Asman His Name Is Alive (5:19)
A Dave in the Life His Name Is Alive (2:52)
Honey Babe, My Blue-Eyed Babe His Name Is Alive (6:12)
The Shepherds Flute Is Always Playing His Name Is Alive (4:38)
Are You Coming Down This Weekend His Name Is Alive (9:38)
Soul Resides in the Horse Barn His Name Is Alive (4:01)
Driftin Blues His Name Is Alive (3:38)
Meet Me by the Moonlight, Alone His Name Is Alive (13:04)

Credits

Damian Lang (Drums), Melissa Elliott (Guitar), Warren Defever (Bass), Karin Oliver (Vocals), His Name Is Alive (Mixing), Karen Neal (Vocals), Jymn Auge (Guitar), Denise James (Vocals), His Name Is Alive (Producer), Warren Defever (Guitar)
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Wikipedia: King of Sweet
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
King of Sweet
Studio album by His Name Is Alive
Released 1993
Recorded 1989-1992
Genre Rock
Length 72:00
Label Perdition Plastics
Producer His Name Is Alive
Professional reviews
His Name Is Alive chronology
Mouth by Mouth
(1993)		 King of Sweet
(1993)		 Stars on ESP
(1996)

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.

History

By 1993, His Name Is Alive's albums were generally being released by 4AD in both the USA and the UK. However, leader Warren Defever did not have an exclusive contract with 4AD. Defever stated in interviews that the arrangement with 4AD was quite loose; 4AD president Ivo Watts-Russell would release what he was interested in, and Defever was free to release the rest elsewhere. While this mostly resulted in homemade cassettes released through Defever's Time Stereo imprint, a CD called King of Sweet appeared in the fall of 1993. The CD was made up mostly of songs that had appeared on the self-released cassettes, including several songs that eventually appeared on Home Is in Your Head. In particular, there are four songs that are based on Home Is In Your Head's "Are You Coming Down This Weekend?", albeit in much longer versions than the 18-second version that had originally appeared.

The song "Honey Babe, My Blue-Eyed Babe," was recorded in a different version for Mouth by Mouth under the name "Underwater". "Underwater", however, didn't make the final cut of the album, and remained unreleased until the 1999 compilation Always Stay Sweet.

The original CD release was a limited edition of 2000 numbered copies, making this a highly sought-after and expensive release. It is now available in a remastered form as a downloadable purchase from the Silver Mountain Media website.

Track listing

  1. "Take a Look around You"
  2. "A Bird in Every Tree"
  3. "This Weekend"
  4. "Drive the Dreamy Demon Down"
  5. "Lake (Theme for Sweet Hearts)"
  6. "Blissfield (Sweet Corn)"
  7. "Bears (King of Sweet)"
  8. "Ode on a Dave Asman"
  9. "A Dave in the Life"
  10. "Honey Babe, My Blue-Eyed Babe"
  11. "The Shepherd's Flute Is Always Playing"
  12. "Are You Coming Down This Weekend?"
  13. "Soul Resides in the Horse Barn"
  14. "Driftin Blues"
  15. "Meet Me by the Moonlight, Alone"

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 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 Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "King of Sweet".  Read more

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