''Allegory and Self: Illustrations in Sound'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

released by

Psychic TV Psychic TV (aka PTV or Psychick TV or several other aliases) were an English experimental music, experimental video art and music collective, formed by performance artist Genesis P-Orridge and Scottish musician Alex Fergusson (musician), Alex ...

in 1988. Several versions have appeared, including the original

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

(TOPY 035) and black vinyl (TOPY 038) versions in 1988 on Temple Records, Fundamental Records (SPIN 1006) and on pink marbled vinyl (666 copies). It has also appeared on CD in at least two versions, on Spin and Cleopatra (CLEO94912 - with 3 bonus remixed tracks). It has also been reissued in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The cover graphics feature

Austin Osman Spare Austin Osman Spare (30 December 1886 – 15 May 1956) was an English artist and occultism, occultist who worked as both a draughtsman and a painter. Influenced by Symbolism (arts), symbolism and Art Nouveau, his art was known for its clear use o ...

's ''General Allegory'' and other illustrations from his ''Automatic Drawings'' and ''Book Of Satyrs''. In the original release there was included a book of what seems to be P-Orridge's own Book of Satyrs, with very Spare-ish pen-and-ink drawings and illuminations and key lyrics, handwritten. The track ''The Starlit Mire'' takes its title from the book of epigrams of the same title (written by two doctors, James Bertram and F. Russell), illustrated by Spare around 1910, in which his illustrations once more displayed his interest in the abnormal and the grotesque. Track 6, ''Caresse Song,'' is a recording of Orridge's daughter Caresse singing as she toys around with a keyboard. The line-up for this recording included long-time PTV friend and collaborator

Monte Cazazza Monte Cazazza (January 23, 1949 – June 27, 2023) was an American artist and composer best known for his seminal role in helping shape industrial music through recordings with the London-based Industrial Records in the mid-1970s. Career Caza ...

. According to allmusic.com, all compositions were co-written by Genesis P. Orridge and Alex Fergusson.

Reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' described "Godstar" (which is about musician

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...

) as "a catchy pop single".

Track listing

12" vinyl

Side One: #"Godstar" #"Just Like Arcadia" #"Southern Comfort" #"We Kiss" #"She Was Surprised" #"Caresse Song" Side Two: #"Starlit Mire" #"Thee Dweller" #"Being Lost" #"Baby's Gone Away" #"Ballet Disco"

Personnel

Genesis P-Orridge Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmi ...

* Alex Fergusson * Dave Ball *

Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (; born 23 April 1958), also known as HÖH, is a musician, an art director, and '' allsherjargoði'' (''chief goði'') of Ásatrúarfélagið ("the Ásatrú Association"). Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson was a pioneer in the use ...

Rose McDowall Rose McDowall (née Porter; born 21 October 1959) is a Scottish musician who formed Strawberry Switchblade with Jill Bryson in 1981. History McDowall was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1959. Her first venture into music was in the Poems, an ar ...

References

External links

''Rolling Stone'' book mentioning the album
Psychic TV albums 1988 compilation albums Psychedelic pop albums {{1980s-pop-album-stub