Lined Up

Shriekback - Lined Up

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Y Records (YT 102) in 1983 to high resolution 24-bit flac lossless audio. 

It was pleasing to recently read that three quarters of the original line-up (minus Dave Allen unfortunately) of Shriekback are touring this year with three major dates in the UK (I last saw them live at Surrey University in 1985 with A Popular History Of Signs). I have always felt they lost their direction after Oil And Gold in 1985 when Barry Andrews steered them away from their experimental funk roots. Some of these singles have appeared on ESWA before, but these are upgrades and there are a few additions. Enjoy.

A1 Lined Up (Disco Mix)
B1 Lined Up (InstruMENTAL Mix)
B2 Hapax Legomena

Shriekback - Working On The Ground

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Y Records (YT 104) in 1983 to high resolution 24-bit flac lossless audio.

A1 Working On The Ground
B1 Nightwork

Shriekback - Hand On My Heart

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Arista Records (SHRK 121) in 1984 to high resolution 24-bit flac lossless audio. A personally poignant record for me as a vivid memory of my first Summer away from Manchester, as well being as a timeless slab of slick & classy British electro-funk.

A1 Hand On My Heart
B1 Suck
B2 Nerve

Shriekback - Nemesis (Arch-Deviant Mix)

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Arista Records (SHRK 223) in 1985 to high resolution 24-bit flac lossless audio. So what an we get to rhyme with Nemesis ....oh why not Parthenogenesis?

A1 Nemesis (Arch-Deviant Mix)

B1 Nemesis

B2 Suck (Live)

Shriekback - Fish Below The Ice (Dance Mix)

Ripped from a 12" promotional vinyl single released on Arista Records (SHRK 224 DJ) in 1985 to high resolution 24-bit flac lossless audio. 

A1 Fish Below The Ice (Dance Mix)

For penguinflight.

Shriekback on Peel

Shriekback - BBC Radio One John Peel Sessions

Ok, I know I don't normally do requests but as somebody requested them and blog reader Dave Sez came up trumps. here are the first two sessions which cover the Care and Jam Science eras. There was a third but I haven't yet uncovered a usable capture.

Recorded 26/07/1982: BBC Maida Vale 4
First Transmission: 11/08/1982
Producer - Tony Wilson
Engineer - Dave Dade

Tracks:
1. All The Greek Boys (Do The Hand Walk)
2. My Spine (Is The Base Line)
3. Feelers

Line(d) Up:
David Allen (Bass, Backing Vocals)
Barry Andrews (Keyboards, Vocals)
Carl Marsh (Bass, Keyboards, Guitar, Violin, Vocals)
Martyn Barker (Drums, Percussion)
Stephanie Nuttall (Percussion)
John Murphy (Percussion)

Recorded 07/03/1984: BBC  Maida Vale 5
First Transmission: 15/03/1984
Producer - Mark Radcliffe
Engineer - Nick Gomm

Tracks:
1. New Home
2. Under The Lights
3. Suck

Line Up:
David Allen (Bass, Backing Vocals)
Barry Andrews (Keyboards, Vocals)
Carl Marsh (Bass, Keyboards, Guitar, Violin, Vocals)
Pedro Ortiz (Percussion)
Emma Burnham (Backing Vocals)
Linda Neville (Backing Vocals)
Helen Musto (Backing Vocals)

It's All Downhill From Here

Shriekback - Oil And Gold

Oil And Gold was without a doubt Shriekback's biggest selling album, but as to it being their best, I am not convinced and am sure most will have a similar opinion. It was a breakthrough record for them as it sold significantly in the USA, helped by two pounding commercial singles, plus two tracks featuring on the soundtrack of Michael Mann's superb Manhunter. 

It is not as classy and subtle as Jam Science, and it lacks the brash experimental edge of their early funk explorations. Jam Science has just been self-rereleased so won't be featured here again, but as the loud 2011 remaster of Oil And Gold is now out-of-print, I feel confident that most of you will want to hear the original, and un-tampered 1986 USA CD version. I also have the UK vinyl but it is a little to crackly for a quality rip.

Originally released on a vinyl album on Arista Records (207 206) in 1985. Ripped here from a compact disc album released on Island Records in 1986, to high quality lossless flac.

A1 Malaria
A2 Everything That Rises Must Converge
A3 Fish Below The Ice
A4 This Big Hush
A5 Faded Flowers
B1 Nemesis
B2 Only Thing That Shines
B3 Health And Knowledge And Wealth And Power
B4 Hammerheads
B5 Coelocanth

What's Funk?

Shriekback - My Spine Is The Bassline

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Y Records (Y12 27) in 1982 to high quality lossless FLAC audio.

A.   My Spine Is The Bassline
B1. Tiny Birds
B2. Feelers

Shriekback - Lined Up (Disco Mix)

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Y Records (YT 102) in 1983 to high quality lossless FLAC audio.

A. Lined Up (Disco Mix)
B1. Lined Up (Instrumental Mix)
B2. Hapax Legomana

Also of interest....

Shriekback - Care

Shriekback - Tench

Shriekback - Working On The Ground

Shriekback - Jam Science

Strangely deleted and never reissued, this was the band reaching their peak when it came to recording an album. The early singles were superior work, and I always found the first two albums a tad fiddly and unnecessary in places. The importance of a good producer is also evident when comparing the Y Records release with this, the Arista (RCA distributed at the time) release. Paul Groucho Smykle has coated everything in a smooth adhesive-like production which bonds ten very different tracks into a highly cohesive and enjoyable listen. It is funky in all the right places, soft and gentle in others, the lyrics as always mean little with Carl Marsh and Barry Andrews sharing the vocal roles with great effect.

The band went on to break America with the Oil & Gold album but silliness began to creep in with big bad nemesii and silly songs about fish isolating their original audience. I won't be ripping my copy of Oil & Gold as it has recently been reissued.

Jam Science : ripped from a vinyl album released on Arista Records (206 416) in 1984 to high quality lossless FLAC audio.

A1. Hand On My Heart

A2. Newhome

A3. Achtung

A4. Party Line

A5. Midnight Maps

B1. Mercy Dash

B2. Under The Lights

B3. My Careful Hands

B4. Suck

B5. Hubris

Shriekback - Hand On My Heart (Remixes)

Two remixes of Hand On My Heart by Adrian Sherwood and one by Paul Groucho Smykle, backed with the superb Nerve, all ripped to lossless FLAC audio from a 12" vinyl single released on Arista Records (SHRK 221) in 1984.

A1. Jumping On The Ribcage With The Digital Rasta

A2. Nerve

B1. Cloud Of Nails (Pump Up A Storm)

B2. Mistah Linn He Dead

Shriekback - Jam Science (Y Records Version)

Somebody was asking for this. I'm not 100% sure as to the history of why there are two versions of this album, with differing tracks. I prefer the Arista UK release as the tracklisting is stronger, the re-recorded versions of Hand On My Heart and Party Line are better, and Paul Groucho Smykle's final production is sublime and unique in places. Dave Allen is a follower of these pages ...any chance of the story behind it all, Dave?

Jam Science : ripped from a vinyl album released on Y Records (YLP 504) in 1984 to high quality lossless FLAC audio.

A1. Under The Lights

A2. Building Up A New Home

A3. Hand On My Heart

A4. International

B1. Putting On The Pressure

B2. Party Line

B3. My Careful Hands

B4. Midnight Maps

Not Available

Shriekback - Care

Care : lovingly ripped from a vinyl album released on Y Records (YLP 502) in 1983 to high quality lossless FLAC audio.

A1. Lined Up

A2. Clear Trails

A3. Hapax Legomena

A4. Petulant

A5. Lines From The Library

B1. Brink Of Collapse

B2. Sway

B3. Into Method

B4. Evaporation

B5. In : Amongst

See comments for more info.

Shriekback - Tench

Tench : ripped from a vinyl album released on Y Records (Y21) to high quality lossless FLAC audio.

A1. Sexthinkone

A2. A Kind Of Fascination

A3. All The Greek Boys (Do The Handwalk)

B1. Accretions

B2. Mothloop

B3. Here Comes My Hand Clap

See comments for more info.

Shriekback - Working On The Ground

Working On The Ground : ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Y Records (YT 104) in 1983 to lovely lossless FLAC audio. I've also included my rips of the 7" single in the archive too.

A. Working On The Ground (Extended Version)

B. Nightwork

See comments for more info.

Shriekback - Before It All Went Wrong!

For a short while, Shriekback were fantastic! Regrettably, that was well before most people had heard of them.
The original core line of Marsh, Allen, Andrews and Baker turned out some brilliant experimental dance music but during the Oil & Gold era (coincidentally as they broke in America) it all started to go wrong. Goofy XTC-reject Andrews (who wouldn't have been out of place in The Rocky Horror Show or was it Crystal Maze) started to get all serious about Fishes, Buddhas and Nemeses, the band gained a new audience and lost their old one (including me).
The original Y Records albums, Care and Tench are included here as well as the three key singles, of which My Spine (Is The Bassline) and Lined Up are Brit Funk classics. The major debut album on Arista, Jam Science was a much more glossy affair, but was strangely released with different track listings in Europe. I've put the two non-UK tracks in the Extras folder, which also features the non-LP versions of the singles and the three tracks used on the Manhunter film soundtrack - which was by far the better version of what was to become Silence of the Lambs.
As a real bonus - I've also included the two John Peel sessions which have never been commercially available.Andrews still releases under the Shriekback name these days and former Gang of Four bassist Allen is a regular blogger.

Tench - Y Records (Y 21) Released 1982

A1 Accretions
A2 Mothloop

A3 Here Comes My Hand-Clap

B1 Sexthinkone

B2 A Kind Of Fascination

B3 All The Greek Boys (Do The Handwalk)

Care - Y Records (YLP 502) Released 1983

A1 Lined Up

A2 Cleartrails

A3 Hapax Legomena

A4 Petulant

A5 Lines From The Library

B1 Brink Of Collapse

B2 Sway

B3 Into Method

B4 Evaporation

B5 In: Amongst

John Peel Session 11th August 1982

1. My Spine (Is The Bassline)

2. Feelers

3. All The Greek Boys

John Peel Session 15th March 1984

1. New Home

2. Suck

3. Under The Lights

Jam Science - Arista Records (UK Pressing 206 416) Released 1984

A1. Hand On My Heart

A2. Newhome

A3. Achtung

A4. Partyline

A5. Midnight Maps

B1. Mercy Dash

B2. Under The Lights

B3. My Careful Hands

B4. Suck

B5. Hubris

Extras - Non LP Tracks

1. My Spine (Is The Bassline)

2. Working On The Ground

3. Lined Up (Disco Mix)

4. Hand On My Heart (12" Mix)

5. Nerve [Hand On My Heart B-Side]

6. International [from European pressing of Jam Science]

7. Putting On The Pressure [from European pressing of Jam Science]

8. This Big Hush [From Manhunter OST]

9. Coelocanth [From Manhunter OST]

10.Evaporation [From Manhunter OST]

11.Mistah Linn He Dead [From Knowledge, Power, Truth & Sex]

Links removed : look closer in these pages and you will find most of these releases in high quality lossless vinyl rips.