David Longdon – Wild River (2004, Remastered 2023)


Review:
Remixed and remastered 2023 edition of David Longdon’s first solo album (originally released in 2004). The album features a number of previously unreleased tracks.
…Originally released in 2004, Wild River, the debut solo album from the late Big Big Train singer David Longdon, has been out of print for some time, although Longdon always had plans to remix and re-package the album. Longdon’s tragic death in November 2021 meant this never happened. However, in a final act of remembrance by his long-time colleague and Big Big Train’s noted engineer Rob Aubrey, Longdon’s wishes have now been fulfilled. The album packaging has also been re-designed by Longdon’s friend and collaborator Steve Vantsis. “It still fills me with sadness that he’s gone, but Wild River needed to be made available again as it is such a strong album,” says Aubrey. “David was really proud of those songs,” adds Longdon’s partner Sarah Ewing. “He produced and engineered the album himself, but always felt that the recording, the production and the mix never quite met his expectations. Over the years he became much more skilled at his craft, and had he been alive now, he would have been able to deliver the album the way he always wanted it to be. He’d also always wanted to improve the cover art, but at the time he’d spent all his money on the recording and mixing. “I don’t think it sounds like an album that’s 20 years old; it sounds very immediate and contemporary and that speaks of David’s talent. It’s hard for me to be objective, but I hear the younger David and in that regard it’s a beautiful time capsule.” — by Jerry Ewing at loudersound.com


   


Track List:
Disc 1:
01 - Always
02 - Honey Trap
03 - Mandy
04 - About Time
05 - Vertigo
06 - Wild River
07 - Loving & Giving
08 - In Essence
09 - This House
10 - Joely
11 - Falling Down to Earth
12 - On to the Headland

Disc 2:
01 - Always (Live)
02 - Every Silver Lining (Live)
03 - Loving & Giving (Live)
04 - April Fool (Live)
05 - Falling Down To Earth (Live)
06 - Can I Come With You?(Live)
07 - Pipe Dream (Live)
08 - Mandy (Live)
09 - Wild River (Live)
10 - On To The Headland (Live)
11 - Beyond Belief (Live)


Media Report:
Genre: prog-rock
Country: Nottingham, England
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)


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