Born Sandy Devotional
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''Born Sandy Devotional'' is the second studio album by the Triffids, released in March 1986. The album was recorded at Mark Angelo Studios in London in August 1985 with
Gil Norton Gil Norton (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer known for his work with alternative rock bands such as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, the Distillers, Maxïm ...
co-producing with the band, and mixed at Amazon Studios in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in September 1985. The cover photo shows
Mandurah, Western Australia Mandurah ( ) is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 90,306. Mandurah's central business dis ...
– now a large urban centre – as it appeared in 1961.


Recording

''Born Sandy Devotional'' was the first album recorded with an outside producer, with David McComb admitting to arguments within the band over production in the past. He said he knew, "it was time to get someone in there. It get's a bit difficult, especially now with 6 of us in the band." A publicist they shared with
Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...
had recommended Gil Norton. The band were "resigned to producing ourselves, then we got Gil literally three days before we were due to record". With the use of vibraphones, cellos and keyboards, McComb believed at least half of the album would not be played live.


Critical reception

The album has been widely praised by critics. Writing for the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', Mat Snow described it as "a masterpiece....and boldly reoccupies the territory rock has abandoned in its retreat into self obsession, and so throws down the challenge to the rest of the field. Have you the imagination to accept?" '' Sounds'' Wilde wrote that "All the other rock is howling around, picking the sand out of its eyes, and The Triffids, on this hurricane form, make it look like a swarm of legless lizards. They've evidently taken their time, but unleash their true masterpiece when their nearest rivals clog their own arteries with pomp and frigid pretentiousness." Adam Sweeting of ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' said that "At last somebody's released ''Born Sandy Devotional'', which was finished nearly a year ago but has been bouncing around between dithering record companies ever since. God knows why because it's a classic, 10 songs of love and life in a hostile sub-tropical landscape. David McComb wrote the lot and it's a substantial achievement. His lyrics display real writer's insight, and mould imperceptibly to his unhurried melodies....In The Seabirds, he explores a drowning love affair in a song so vivid it resembles a short story with pictures."


Legacy

On 11 August 2007, SBS in Australia aired a one-hour documentary on the Triffids and ''Born Sandy Devotional'' as the 1980s' representative of their '' Great Australian Albums'' series. In October 2010 it was listed at No. 5 in the book '' 100 Best Australian Albums''.


Track listing

All songs are written by David McComb. # "The Seabirds" – 3:20 # "Estuary Bed" – 4:49 # "Chicken Killer" – 3:51 # "Tarrilup Bridge" – 3:21 # "Lonely Stretch" – 5:02 # " Wide Open Road" – 4:08 # "Life of Crime" – 4:24 # "Personal Things" – 2:57 # "Stolen Property" – 6:47 # "Tender Is the Night (The Long Fidelity)" – 3:53 Remastered edition #
  • "The 107" – 3:28: Recorded on an early four track cassette Portastudio in November 1984 and mixed at Greg Wadley's Spill Studios in January 2006. "The 107" and "When a Man Turns Bad" run into each other on the original recording, probably accidentally, and have been deliberately left this way on the remastered edition. # "When a Man Turns Bad" – 4:35 # "Of the Plaza" – 2:40: Was originally recorded as a solo vocal version on a 1984 cassette labelled ''New Songs''. According to the album liner notes it appeared once in an early list of possible songs for ''Born Sandy Devotional''. # "White Shawl" – 1:08: Was also found on the same cassette as the previous track. # "Convent Walls" – 4:04: A song that appeared in early track lists for ''Born Sandy Devotional'' but was eventually relegated to B side status. Recorded in Albert Studios in Sydney, 1985 with Margaret Labi guesting on backing vocals. # "Time of Weakness" – 3:12: This song, according to the album liner notes, was a part of ''Born Sandy Devotional'' until a very late stage, where it got bumped for the track, "Personal Things", as there was an issue with the running time or length of the LP. This version of the song was recorded live by Mitch Jones on 23 November 1985 at the Graphic Arts Club in Sydney and mixed by Rob Muir in Perth. # "Born Sandy Devotional" – 5:07: This version has been reworked, as it only ever appeared as a truncated version on the album, '' In the Pines''. # "Wish to See No More" – 1:59: This is another song that was listed for inclusion on ''Born Sandy Devotional'' and also for ''In the Pines'' but was not included on either. # "Tender Is the Night (The Long Fidelity) Alt. vers." – 3:40: Was recorded on the same cassette as the first two songs, "The 107" and "When a Man Turns Bad", with McComb and Birt singing this as a duet. # "Wide Open Road" – video track


    Personnel

    The Triffids * David McComb – vocals, guitar, keyboards * "Evil" Graham Lee – pedal and lap
    steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...
    * Martyn Casey – bass guitar * Jill Birt – vocals, keyboards * Robert McComb – violin, guitar, backing vocals * Alsy MacDonald – drums, backing vocals Additional musicians * Sally Collins – backing vocals * Fay Brown – backing vocals * Adam Peters – cello, keyboards, piano * Chris Abrahams – piano, vibraphone * Lesley Wynne – viola


    Charts


    References


    External links


    A Retrospective with Graham Lee and Rob McComb by Wilson Neate
    {{Authority control 1986 albums Albums produced by Gil Norton Domino Recording Company albums Mandurah The Triffids albums