''Desertshore'' is the third studio album by German musician

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pl ...

. It was released in December 1970 on the

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

label.

Recording

''Desertshore'' was co-produced by John Cale and

Joe Boyd Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked on recordings of Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Ba ...

. Unlike its predecessor ''

The Marble Index ''The Marble Index'' is the second studio album by the German musician Nico, released in November 1968 on Elektra Records. The avant-garde sound introduced in the album—a stark contrast with her folk pop debut, '' Chelsea Girl'' (1967)—was ...

'' it incorporates elements from Western

traditional pop Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standard ...

. "Janitor of Lunacy" was composed as a tribute to her friend

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

who died the previous year. The back and front covers feature stills from the film

The Inner Scar ''The Inner Scar'' (french: La cicatrice intérieure) is a 1972 French film directed by Philippe Garrel, who co-stars with Nico, her son Christian (Ari) and Pierre Clémenti. It was filmed in Egypt, the United States and Iceland. The film features ...

Philippe Garrel Philippe Garrel (; born 6 April 1948) is a French director, cinematographer, screenwriter, film editor, and producer, associated with the French New Wave movement. His films have won him awards at Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival. ...

which starred Nico, Garrel and her son Ari Boulogne. A few of the songs from the album were included on the film's soundtrack.

Legacy

Like ''

, Desertshore'' obtained a small cult following upon its release but was overlooked by most large publications and the public in general. However it has received mainstream praise from critics in subsequent years with

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

and

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

in particular providing a strong and positive reception.

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...

rated ''Desertshore'' five out of five. ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' was less favorable—giving the album a ''C'' rating. "All That Is My Own" was selected by Morrissey for inclusion on his '' Under the Influence'' compilation. "Le petit chevalier" was covered live by Bjork during her '' Post Tour'' in 1996 and also by

Bat for Lashes Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979), known professionally as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released five studio albums: '' Fur and Gold'' (2006), ''Two Suns'' (2009), '' The Hau ...

in 2007 at the Glastonbury festival. It was prominently sampled by

Abu Lahab Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...

on his 2013 album ''

Of Heliotaxis and Cosmic Knifing ''Of Heliotaxis and Cosmic Knifing'' is an EP by Abu Lahab, independently released on October 14, 2013. Quotes from Nico's ''Desertshore'' album serve as appendixes for ''Of Heliotaxis and Cosmic Knifing'', with samples of "Le petit chevalier" us ...

''. "Janitor of Lunacy" was covered by Austrian artist

Soap&Skin Soap&Skin is the experimental musical project of Austrian artist Anja Plaschg (born 5 April 1990). Life Anja Plaschg grew up in a small village called Poppendorf (near Gnas) in south east Styria, where her parents have a farm. She has played ...

and included in her 2008 debut EP.

X-TG cover

Industrial music pioneers Throbbing Gristle entered the studio to record a reinterpretation of ''Desertshore'' in 2007. The product of this studio session which was made open-to-the public was ''

The Desertshore Installation ''The Desertshore Installation'' is a box set that was released by Throbbing Gristle. The 12-CDr set documents the recording sessions of the cover version of Nico's third studio album, ''Desertshore''. These recordings were made as a document of ...

'', a record of the entirety of the 3-day, 12-hour-long session. The plan had been to edit the three days of recordings and craft a finished album from it but the group was not satisfied with the sessions. Peter Christopherson continued working on it in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

with

Danny Hyde Danny Hyde is an experimental musician and remix artist. Hyde has contributed to production and mixing on many Coil albums, including ''Horse Rotorvator'', ''Love's Secret Domain'', ''The Remote Viewer'', ''Black Antlers'',''The Ape of Naples'', ...

until his death in November 2010. Hyde passed the remaining work to Throbbing Gristle members Chris Carter and

Cosey Fanni Tutti Cosey Fanni Tutti (born Christine Carol Newby; 4 November 1951) is an English performance artist, musician and writer, best known for her time in the avant-garde groups Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey. Tutti first performed under the name ...

to complete, which they did with the help of several guest vocalists including

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. ...

Sasha Grey Marina Ann Hantzis (born March 14, 1988), known professionally as Sasha Grey, is an American actress, model, writer, musician, and former pornographic actress. Grey began her acting career in the pornographic film industry, winning 15 awards for ...

, Blixa Bargeld and Antony Hegarty. ''Desertshore/The Final Report'' was released on 26 November 2012 under the name ''X-TG The Album.'' It debuted live at AV Festival on 17 March 2012, performed by Carter and Tutti. It was accompanied by a screening of

’s ''La cicatrice intérieure'', "for which ''Desertshore'' was soundtrack and inspiration".

Track listing

Personnel

* Nico –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...

* John Cale – all other instruments except

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* John Cale and Adam Miller – harmony voices * Ari Boulogne – vocals on "Le petit chevalier"

References

External links

{{Authority control Nico albums 1970 albums Albums produced by Joe Boyd Albums produced by John Cale Reprise Records albums