Cranes / Early Albums, Classics and Rare EP's

Cranes

I was elated when I heard that the Cranes were releasing a new album this year and went back to listen to their recordings from the 1990's and early 2000's. As they moved their career, they redefined the term "dark beauty", falling somewhere between the sounds of early 4AD, shoegazer bands and modern classical. I'll admit, the first time that I heard Wings of Joy, I thought it was derivative, but after a few more listenings, I fell in love with the Cranes. If you haven't heard the new release, it's worth seeking out.

Below are some harder to find recordings and a few classics. Enjoy!


Cranes / Fuse
Released 1986

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The first album was never properly released on vinyl or CD. Instead, the cassette-only release showcased the sound that would become more refined over the years. Raw. Visceral. Dark. Mysterious.



Cranes / Self Non-Self
Recorded 1989

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After the extremely limited release of the Fuse cassette, Cranes, now expanded to a four-piece, put out Self Non Self in 1990. Originally only six tracks, including a dramatic, stronger re-recording of "Fuse" itself, Dedicated added a further two upon its re-release in 1992. The rough, spooky sonics from the band's earliest days were there in force, but evidence of the increased texturing and powerful arrangements started to surface as well. Certainly Jim Shaw's original fascination for groups like Foetus and Cabaret Voltaire wasn't hard to detect in the full-bodied drum slams and rough brass blasts on songs like opening instrumental "One From the Slum." The distorted electronics on other cuts like "Heaven or Bliss" also give it away, but the punchy, carefully arranged nature of the music is just as strong. There's a lot of space and echo throughout, and the band knows how to work with it for better effect, something that would become even more common with time. "Beach Mover" is especially effective, its echoing percussion and weird, droning guitar notes rising through the murk. Alison Shaw's singing is already fully in place as the lost, lonely voice later releases would make all the more familiar, though at times, as on "Focus Breathe," she has surprisingly deeper tones in comparison. The re-release bonus tracks include a live song called "Reach," a strong, surging piece, and "Nothing in the Middle, Nothing in the End," a murky little number with a rough snare drum rhythm and doomy bass. Self Non Self is definitely one for the fans most of all, but anyone interested in the shadowy early start of the band is recommended to hunt this down. - Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Cranes / Forever Remixes
Released September 27 1993

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A collection of great remixes from their 1993 release Forever.

The remixes of Clear are by J. G. Thirwell, of Cloudless by Ivo Watts-Russel and John Fryer, and of Jewel by Robert Smith and Bryan "Chuck" New.
Cranes / Ancienne Belgique December 8 1996
Recorded December 8 1996

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A very rare single from 1996 that was released as a promo and then handed out at their live show at Ancienne Belgique in December of 1996. The single is not a live recording, but instead a single from their Population 4 album. The first and third tracks appear on the record, but the second track only appeared on a compilation prior to this release.
Cranes / La Tragedie d'Oresete et Electre
Released October 29 1996

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Marketed and packaged entirely in French (and thus more often found under the title La Tragedie d'Oreste et Electre), Tragedy is the high water mark of Cranes' work in a specifically high-art realm. Originally worked on during the sessions for Population Four, this was completed and released separately earlier than that album. Combined with a limited edition run, it's even more of a curiosity, but a surprisingly rewarding one. The concept behind the work is something that in the hands of the wrong people would have been screamingly pretentious but Cranes carry out with surprising effectiveness. While the Greek myth that is the tragedy itself is thousands of years old, the work Cranes specifically adapt is French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre's adaptation of the story Les Mouches (or The Flies). An even more blood-chilling take on the story than the original, Les Mouches wrestles with individual responsibility and reaction to an intimate degree. The imaginary soundtrack created by the band partially recalls Cranes' earliest, dankest work, informed with industrial music touches, heavy echo, and clattering percussion loops, while elsewhere is mostly touched with haunting orchestrations familiar from songs like "Adoration" and "Watermark." Alison Shaw delivers lines from the play entirely in French; her vocal style is perhaps surprisingly suited for the spoken word work (and her accent sounds close to flawless as well). Her "little girl lost" sound so often focused on by favorable or unfriendly critics is perfectly appropriate here, given both the unnerving sonics and the story line itself (involving as it does a brother and sister revenging themselves upon a mother and stepfather). Highlights from the release include "Danse D'Electre," a gentle piece that turns into a haunting wash of ambient sound, and the understated chills of "Au Temple," one of Shaw's best vocal turns on the album. - Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Cranes / Live in Italy
Released June 17 2003

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Despite this album's title, it was actually recorded all across Europe and the United Kingdom, in Pordenone, Rome, Ancona, Amsterdam, Vienna and the Cranes' home base of Portsmouth during their 2002 tour. Live albums usually disappoint for one of two reasons: either the band sounds nothing like it does in the studio (rich production is replaced by thin live arrangements and dodgier singing) or the band sounds exactly like it does in the studio, making you wonder why you spent the fifteen bucks on an album that sounds just like all the other ones you've already spent fifteen bucks on. Fans of the Cranes, though, should be perfectly happy with Live in Italy, because it splits the difference nicely between those two tendencies and showcases the ethereal instrumental sound and almost creepily girlish voice of singer Alison Shaw to such fine effect. The Cranes sound is one that adapts very nicely to the limitations of live instrumentation -- Jim Shaw's guitars are soft and spare, as is Alison Shaw's voice, and the touring sidemen offer just enough wispy texture to keep things from floating away entirely. The result, especially nice on songs like "Cloudless" and the slightly more muscular "Adrift," is both moody and gently exalted, sort of like a cross between Brian Eno and the Cocteau Twins. Recommended. - All Music GuideCranes / EP Collection Volume 1 and 2
Released October 28 1997

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EP Collection, Vols. 1-2 is a double-disc set that features all of the Cranes' EP releases, which were among the group's best work. While the sheer size of the collection means that it will only be of interest to hardcore fans, for those listeners, there's a lot to savor here -- the Cranes rarely sounded as effective or as eerie as they did on these EPs. - All Music Guide