Soul Mining

Product Information

This June, Sony will release a 30th Anniversary deluxe vinyl version of The The’s, 1983 album Soul Mining. Soul Mining is a relic of the 80s that went mostly unasummed when it first got released, but has since been hailed as one of the best albums the new-wave craze had to offer. Finally, we may also share your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, to respond to a subpoena, search warrant or other lawful request for information we receive, or to otherwise protect our rights. British album certifications – The The – Soul Mining". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 27 November 2021.

MJ: Yeah, I am. In fact I’ve got a load of the tapes in the flat that need baking. I’ve been recommended something called a Dried Fruit Dehydrator that’s supposed to be more effective than the standard equipment. You bake tapes at a low temperature in a convection oven for 24 to 48 hours. These are non-standard solutions to a very new problem. The key thing is to digitize as soon as you’ve got them ready. I’ve got to get my old AKAI and REVOXes serviced and ready to go. I’ve got hundreds of tapes and most of them aren’t marked. What was I thinking? What an idiot. I’m the only person who can do it because I’m the only one who knows what to look for. That’s a process that I’m looking forward to it but it’s so time consuming. The plan is to do a box set. My first actual album was actually a cassette called See Without Being Seen and I do know where that is but it’s so rough. That will be one of those things that I put out without even advertising, purely for the hardcore followers. I was about 16 when I did that album. Pornography Of Despair will be fine. That will sound better than Burning Blue Soul. Spirits I think will sound pretty decent but I have to make sure it sounds good and I’d like to put it out as a nice set with photographs and the history. The boxset also includes a unique ‘news-poster’ containing extensive notes written by Johnson detailing the making of the album. Melody Maker placed Soul Mining at number three in its critics' list of the best albums of 1983 [36] and the NME placed it at number 25 in its own list the same year. [37] In 1989 Record Mirror and Sounds both included the album in their critics' lists of the albums of the decade, Record Mirror ranking it at number eight [38] and Sounds ranking it at number 24. [39] We have also produced an A2 giclée print with the re-working by Andy Dog of the iconic artwork he created for his brother’s seminal album, Soul Mining. Printed in vibrant colours on heavyweight 315gsm, soft-textured, 100% cotton, archive-quality white paper with the classic THE THE logo hand-embossed into the top left hand corner. Soul Mining is the tale of Matt Johnson raging at a world he had a love/hate relationship with, hence the line “I’m just a symptom of the moral decay that’s gnawing at the heart of the country.” But the album’s beating heart belongs to two songs - “This Is The Day” and “Uncertain Smile”. Both have a timelessness, tenderness and poignancy that sit perfectly in the middle of the story.Originally released in 1983, 'Soul Mining' is the major label debut album by post-punk outfit The The, fronted by Matt Johnson. Featuring the singles 'Uncertain Smile', 'Perfect', and the iconic 'This Is The Day', the album, which is Gold-certified in the UK, has been long out of print on vinyl, except as part of a limited run 30th anniversary 2 LP box set reissue in 2014. Featuring a host of talented musicians, including JG Thirwell (aka Foetus, Manorexia and Steroid Maximus), Zeke Manyika (Orange Juice), electronic DIY pioneer Thomas Leer and Jools Holland, Matt Johnson set out with a clear vision in mind - to produce an album that felt cinematic; a record of width, depth and texture and one which avoided the mundane line-up of two guitars, bass and drums. Lauded with critical acclaim ('Soul Mining is a brilliant and very idiosyncratic album' - The Guardian ; 'Like shaving lotion applied to cleanse a wound, Johnson's songs are attractively scented and sting like hell' - Melody Maker) the music and lyrics of 'Soul Mining' are as fresh and relevant today as they were almost 40 years ago. Featuring a host of talented musicians, including JG Thirwell (aka Foetus, Manorexia and Steroid Maximus), Zeke Manyika (Orange Juice), electronic DIY pioneer Thomas Leer and Jools Holland, Johnson set out with a clear vision in mind – to produce an album that felt cinematic; a record of width, depth and texture and one which avoided the mundane line-up of the day of two guitars, bass and drums. Nash, Ed (25 June 2014). "The The – Soul Mining (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 8 May 2020. a b Thorne, Mike (31 October 2002). "The The: Uncertain Smile". The Stereo Society. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021 . Retrieved 21 November 2018. Work on the album was reconvened at John Foxx’s Garden Studios in the then pre-gentrified Shoreditch area of East London with Matt co-producing with Paul Hardiman – the album was subsequently mixed at Martin Rushent’s Genetic Sound studio.

Featuring a host of talented musicians, including JG Thirlwell (aka Foetus, Manorexia and Steroid Maximus), Zeke Manyika (Orange Juice), electronic DIY pioneer Thomas Leer and Jools Holland, Johnson set out with a clear vision in mind – to produce an album that felt cinematic; a record of width, depth and texture and one which avoided the mundane line-up of the day of guitar, bass and drums. This Record Store Day release marks the beginning of a new exploration of THE THE’s timeless catalogue. Are you engaged in a long term project to actually release a definitive version of Pornography Of Despair?Soul Mining is very much of its time, with the anti-thatcher rally cries and drum machines that were lifted from the Human League's studio. at the same time, it's like absolutely nothing else from 1983. Johnson's peers were either gleefully wallowing in synth pop or turning into vampires. Only Johnson, perhaps because he has always been a little out of his mind, chose to walk that line between accessible pop (which also meant risking critical scorn) and high art. For as much as I try to expand my taste, I invariably find that the early 80s largely defines it. As such, I've had great success mining that period of music for "new" discoveries, and Soul Mining falls squarely in that camp. What makes it such an exciting find is that its confluence of new wave, synth pop and post punk elements manages to sound unlike anything I've ever heard. It might just be my attraction towards generally anxious and melancholic albums, but this album truly has no weak moment

Lyrically prowess such as this can allow for more forgiveness of musical missteps, but that isn't an issue here either. The music is upbeat and catchy for the most part. This is a fantastic album that is a weekly listen if not more and has been since before Christmas last year. I close this out with my favorite lyric, one that gives me hope for my future, however hollow it usually rings during the day-to-day. Not a song less than excellent here - from the tour-de-force opener that is "I've Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All Of My Life)" to the truly giant closer that is "Giant", plus the additional 12" with the much-loved slower version of "Perfect" (again the title justifying the means) along with two experimental pieces recorded at the time (the rumour has it, these were to form part to The The's abandoned "Pornography Of Despair" album, along with many other b-sides that appeared on other singles from the "Soul Mining" era). Simply, a masterpiece screaming GOLD all over its course of (seven) songs. Heatley, Michael (2006). "The The: Soul Mining". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p.505. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.

a b Loder, Kurt (10 May 1984). "The The: Soul Mining". Rolling Stone. No.421. p.55. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010 . Retrieved 23 July 2017. Holland, Jools; Vyner, Harriet (2008). "Mushroom Men". Barefaced Lies and Boogie Woogie Boasts. Michael Joseph. pp.212–213. ISBN 978-0-14102-677-0. a b Petridis, Alexis (27 June 2014). "The The: Soul Mining reissue review – a brilliant and idiosyncratic pop album". The Guardian. G2 supplement, p. 20 . Retrieved 26 March 2016. Amongst the goodies in the box is a ‘news-poster’ which contains extensive notes written by Johnson that detail the making of the album.