Ocean Songs Explained

Ocean Songs
Type:Album
Artist:Dirty Three
Cover:D3-albumart-oceansongs.jpg
Released:March 1998
Recorded:August–September 1997
Studio:Electrical Audio, Chicago, Illinois
Genre:Post-rock
Length:66:32
Label:Touch and Go
Producer:Steve Albini, Dirty Three
Prev Title:Horse Stories
Prev Year:1996
Next Title:Whatever You Love, You Are
Next Year:2000

Ocean Songs is the fourth major album by Australian rock band Dirty Three, released in March 1998 by Touch and Go Records. It was recorded at Electrical Audio in Chicago during August and September 1997. Its cover was designed by guitarist Mick Turner. David Grubbs plays piano and harmonium on some tracks.

A special version was issued by their UK record label Bella Union in 2005, containing the original album and a live DVD.

In 2005, the entire album was performed live in London as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series. It was later performed in Barcelona, and in Mt. Buller, Australia and as part of the 2009 ATP New York Festival (curated by The Flaming Lips).

Reception

Rolling Stone Australia said, "Eschewing the now patented violin-led raveups, the Dirty Three turned the atmosphere up to 11. With Warren Ellis playing sans distortion for the first time, Ocean Songs ebbs and flows with its own inevitable momentum: quiet, reflective and painstakingly slow."[1]

AllMusic considered the album "easily their most controversial, and a decided change in direction. The music here keeps all tempos reigned in and all instrumental flurries to a minimum, creating the feeling of waves lapping and pouring into and out of one another. It's as if the D3 were on a vessel, playing to the ocean itself."

In October 2010, Ocean Songs was listed in the book 100 Best Australian Albums.[2]

Track listing

All compositions by Mick Turner, Warren Ellis, Jim White

  1. "Sirena" – 4:06
  2. "The Restless Waves" – 5:09
  3. "Distant Shore" – 5:50
  4. "Authentic Celestial Music" – 10:04
  5. "Backwards Voyager" – 4:34
  6. "Last Horse on the Sand" – 4:52
  7. "Sea Above, Sky Below" – 6:04
  8. "Black Tide" – 4:35
  9. "Deep Waters" – 16:27
  10. "Ends of the Earth" – 5:11
Special Edition DVD
  1. "Last Horse on the Sand"
  2. "Distant Shore"
  3. "Authentic Celestial Music"
  4. "Sue's Last Ride"
  5. "Deep Waters"

2021 Deluxe edition

Disc one2021 Remaster of original album
  • Disc two – Recorded live at ATP
    1. "Sirena" – 5:16
    2. "The Restless Waves" – 7:26
    3. "Distant Shore" – 4:46
    4. "Authentic Celestial Music" – 9:39
    5. "Backwards Voyager" – 3:17
    6. "Sea Above, Sky Below" – 8:50
    7. "Last Horse on the Sand" – 4:30
    8. "Black Tide" – 3:45
    9. "Deep Waters" – 16:27

    Note: Recorded live September 11, 2009 at Kutsher's Hotel and Country Club, Monticello, NY, USA

    Personnel

    Dirty Three
    Additional personnel

    Notes and References

    1. The Year in Recordings. Australian Rolling Stone Yearbook. 139. December 1998. Tilmond Pty Ltd.
    2. Book: . O'Donnell . John . John O'Donnell (music journalist) . Creswell . Toby . Toby Creswell . Mathieson . Craig . Craig Mathieson . Hardie Grant Books . October 2010 . . 978-1-74066-955-9 .

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