FACT 24 in 24 Bits

Various Artists - A Factory Quartet

Ripped from a double vinyl album released on Factory Records (FACT 24) in 1980 to high resolution 24-bit flac audio. Here is a much requested re-post using my original 24/96 files from a few years back.

The second Factory Records sampler was originally planned as a double 10" set, but thankfully the label settled on this beautifully packaged double album with an embossed polaroid-style sleeve. Like the first 7" sampler, each artist gets one side of vinyl to introduce themselves, though The Durutti Column had already appeared on the label. The diversity of the chosen artists is huge, ranging from the ethereal beauty of The Durutti Column, through the distorted jazz-rock of Blurt, to scouse dirge noise terrorists The Royal Family And The Poor. Kevin Hewick supplies a difficult mix of live sets, where perhaps his 1980 Graveyard sessions would have fitted better, but as history says, he never got to finish five songs (with New Order).

Vini Reilly recruits ACR drummer Donald Johnson with a Martin Hannett production, and the three resulting tracks are among his best, For Belgian Friends being the highlight.

Hewick is joined onstage by ACR's Peter Terrell with his noisebox, but heckles and banter between Hewick and his audience spoil it for me. Blurt are an acquired taste, but like a post-punk Beefheart they pound a twisted beat with ear-splitting sax. The RFATP set is saved by Martin Hannett's presence in the production suite. It's a deep, dark noise funk-muck dirge, where the distorted guitars resemble early Section 25 whilst Joy Division's synths washaway deep in the mix.

Strangely, the album was never reissued for the CD generation, though some tracks have appeared as extras on various other reissues.

A1  The Durutti Column – For Mimi
A2  The Durutti Column – For Belgian Friends
A3  The Durutti Column – Self-portrait
B1  Kevin Hewick – Rubble
B2  Kevin Hewick – 1940
B3  Kevin Hewick – A Little Feeling
B4  Kevin Hewick – Forget
B5  Kevin Hewick – Morphia
B6  Kevin Hewick – The Enchanted Kiss
B7  Kevin Hewick – Haystack
C1  Blurt – Puppeteer
C2  Blurt – Dyslexia
C3  Blurt – Some Come
C4  Blurt – Benighted
D1  The Royal Family And The Poor – Dirge
D2  The Royal Family And The Poor – Vaneigem Mix
D3  The Royal Family And The Poor – Dirge
D4  The Royal Family And The Poor – Death Factory
D5  The Royal Family And The Poor – Dirge
D6  The Royal Family And The Poor – Rackets