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LP
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STEP 014LP
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2022 repress. Originally released in 2014. Received a 7.8 rating from Pitchfork. "Nine years after Lookaftering, her last album of new material, legendary British singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan returns with a breathtaking new LP. Recorded largely in her home studio, Heartleap is a unique and entrancing collection of ten songs comprising what Vashti is adamant will be her final album. Vashti's third album follows her rediscovery after thirty years in the wilderness, with the 2000 re-release of Just Another Diamond Day and the critical success of 2005's Lookaftering. Heartleap has a classic sound and is the first album where she herself has been in control of the whole process, from writing and arranging to playing and recording. Crafted predominantly from a studio setup in her Edinburgh home, the record was slowly pieced together, and reveals an artist at her peak, capturing her songs within fluid settings that masterfully marry content and form. Both Just Another Diamond Day and Lookaftering saw Vashti's songs arranged and framed by others. Joe Boyd's production and Robert Kirby's arranging of the former remain timelessly classy, while Max Richter's bold production of the latter was enhanced by contributions from a raft of supporting artists (including Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Vetiver and Adem), all eagerly adding their colors. Vashti is justly proud of Lookaftering, but Heartleap is an equally strong and even more personal record, standing solely on the merits and patient endeavor of its author rather than being buoyed by and filtered through the cachet and collaborative creativity of a powerful supporting cast. Recording her vocals when no one else was around to overhear freed Vashti up to deliver more confident performances. At the same time, the absence of studio deadlines enabled her to work slowly and lovingly in her own time, weaving together tracks out of numerous takes. Predominantly guitar- or piano-led, with additional instrumentation building throughout, the songs have no underpinning bassline or percussion, giving each instrument and voice the chance to pace itself. It took in total seven years to put together these ten songs. The first was written in 2007, the last just two months before mastering. A hiatus in recording came with the untimely passing of Robert Kirby in 2009. Robert had arranged three songs on Just Another Diamond Day and the pair had just reconnected and planned to work on new arrangements together -- just weeks before he died. It would be another two years before Vashti took the decision that she must arrange the music herself, with Robert always in mind. The subsequent three years saw her gradually picking the thread back up and working with renewed purpose. Slowly more songs found their way out of her. Seven became ten. The right final mix frustratingly eluded her until the album magically came together in a week in May 2014 -- when it was balanced and mastered beautifully. Like the deer on the cover painting, Heartleap moves gracefully, enchantingly. Overcoming adversity through sheer willpower, its very existence is a dazzling triumph."
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2CD
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STEP 011CD
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2021 repress. Singles and demos, 1964 to 1967. "Following the amazing success story of Vashti Bunyan's recent re-emergence as an artist after an exile of over 30 years, comes the release of Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind, a comprehensive compilation of early recordings dating from the period prior to Vashti's classic Just Another Diamond Day album which was originally released1970. Titled after Vashti's (Jagger/Richards-penned) debut single which opens the compilation, this double-album represents an attempt to both open out and draw a line under the past, and also to try to set the record straight about the disparity between how Vashti viewed (and still views) herself against the way she has been popularly perceived. Widely construed as a folk singer -- a tag she fundamentally disagrees with - these recordings instead reveal Vashti as a pop singer, however 'fragile' and unique."
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2LP
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STEP 011LP
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Double LP version. 2023 repress; deluxe Stoughton gatefold packaging. Singles and demos, 1964 to 1967. "Following the amazing success story of Vashti Bunyan's recent re-emergence as an artist after an exile of over 30 years, comes the release of Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind, a comprehensive compilation of early recordings dating from the period prior to Vashti's classic Just Another Diamond Day album which was originally released1970. Titled after Vashti's (Jagger/Richards-penned) debut single which opens the compilation, this double-album represents an attempt to both open out and draw a line under the past, and also to try to set the record straight about the disparity between how Vashti viewed (and still views) herself against the way she has been popularly perceived. Widely construed as a folk singer -- a tag she fundamentally disagrees with - these recordings instead reveal Vashti as a pop singer, however 'fragile' and unique."
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LP
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STEP 006LP
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2020 repress. "First time LP edition of this miraculous follow-up to 1970's influential folk classic Just Another Diamond Day. Deluxe gatefold jacket with 'tip-on' style sleeve. Features contributions from Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Adem, Adam Pierce (Mice Parade), Robert Kirby (Nick Drake), Otto Hauser and Kevin Barker (Espers, Currituck County)."
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LP
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STEP 004LP
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2024 repress. Deluxe gatefold vinyl edition. "With a book of lyrics and artwork, updated by Vashti herself. This vinyl reissue of Vashti Bunyan's lone 1970 solo release features contributions from British folk royalty including members of Fairport Convention and preeminent producer Joe Boyd."
"Vashti Bunyan's lone 1970 solo release features contributions from British folk royalty including members of Fairport Convention and preeminent producer Joe Boyd. Vashti was recently heard singing alongside Devendra Banhart on the title track of Rejoicing In The Hands. The songs were written over two summers and one winter of travelling. After a chance meeting that winter with Derroll Adams (noted Woody Guthrie era folksinger and banjo player) who told her not to 'hide her light under a bushel,' Vashti took the songs of her journey to Joe Boyd. A year later he recorded Just Another Diamond Day, inviting Robin Williamson of the Incredible String Band, and Dave Swarbrick and Simon Nicol (who also played on Nick Drake's records) from Fairport Convention to accompany Vashti on some tracks. The album was released late in 1970 to little attention. The music was abandoned by the singer in favor of further horse journeys and complete obscurity. However, over the years all the recordings have succeeded in finding their own way to the notice of music collectors. The master tape of the album lay in a London warehouse for thirty years before being unwisely taken across the city in an underground train and getting wet in a raging thunderstorm, but has survived almost intact. The four additional on this edition are from well traveled old vinyl, acetate demos, and home recorded tape." -- Paul Lambden.
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CD
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STEP 004CD
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Domestic reissue, originally released in 2004. " Vashti Bunyan's lone 1970 solo release features contributions from British folk royalty including members of Fairport Convention and preeminent producer Joe Boyd. Vashti was recently heard singing alongside Devendra Banhart on the title track of Rejoicing In The Hands. The songs were written over two summers and one winter of travelling. After a chance meeting that winter with Derroll Adams (noted Woody Guthrie era folksinger and banjo player) who told her not to 'hide her light under a bushel,' Vashti took the songs of her journey to Joe Boyd. A year later he recorded Just Another Diamond Day, inviting Robin Williamson of the Incredible String Band, and Dave Swarbrick and Simon Nicol (who also played on Nick Drake's records) from Fairport Convention to accompany Vashti on some tracks. The album was released late in 1970 to little attention. The music was abandoned by the singer in favor of further horse journeys and complete obscurity. However, over the years all the recordings have succeeded in finding their own way to the notice of music collectors. The master tape of the album lay in a London warehouse for thirty years before being unwisely taken across the city in an underground train and getting wet in a raging thunderstorm, but has survived almost intact. The four additional on this edition are from well traveled old vinyl, acetate demos, and home recorded tape." -- Paul Lambden.
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