The Ugly Organ is one of my all-time favourite albums. I've written before about how I got into the band (see here) and that Domestica is also one of my all-time favourite albums (see here) so I'll save repeating those stories. When I saw Cursive, in the summer of 2006, they were touring with a cello player who would come out for the songs from The Ugly Organ. I've always been a sucker for classical instruments in rock music, so I think that definitely added to the appeal of this album for me. I'd read about the band and figured I'd definitely enjoy The Ugly Organ, so asked for it as a Christmas present that year (which I received, along with Yank Crime by Drive Like Jehu and A Flight and A Crash by Hot Water Music - quite the strong year).
The Ugly Organ didn't disappoint. The slightly harsher sound of Domestica was largely made a bit friendlier by the cello and song structures, but The Ugly Organ still had balls; the opening (proper) pair Some Red Handed Slight of Hand and Art is Hard explode and are both over in minutes. The Recluse follows hot on their heels and still hits pretty hard too. The self-referencing, anger and bitterness from Domestica and Burst and Bloom were all still there too. Until I heard it on the album, I didn't realise that I'd actually heard A Gentleman Caller before, on a mix-tape given to me by Hugh. Somehow, out of the context of the album, I wasn't that impressed and entirely forgot that I'd heard Cursive years before. Listening to it now, with it's outro that matches that of Staying Alive, I can't see how it passed me by. I wish it hadn't.
The Ugly Organ is beautiful record, one of those albums where each song stands out on it's own merits and is instantly recognisable. It finishes as strongly as it starts, with Sierra (a song that regularly find in my head) and Staying Alive, a long song that doesn't want to end and a fitting end to an album that can't wait to start. I love this album.
This copy is the remastered Deluxe Edition. My main gripe here is that it's been remastered and basically sounds terrible. So bad that when I first started playing it I thought my needle had broken. Then I downloaded the mp3s and they sound just as bad. It's not always noticeable, but when it is it really takes away from my enjoyment. The dodgy sound definitely reaches a peak during the outro of Staying Alive. I'm not a musical person, so my description of how it sounds off isn't very technical: it sounds woolly - like the needle has picked up a huge amount of crap from the grooves on the record (which it hasn't - I check every time); everything sounds dulled - the drums are fuzzy and strange; the cello and tune and "do do do do do do's"come through ok, but the flat, horrible sounding drums over the top really ruin it. It's like listening to music in a storm. The original album has such a clear, strong sound, I can't understand why anyone would intentionally make the album sound like this.
But other than that (although, let's not miss the point - the music is the main part of an album), they've done a great job on this reissue. Firstly, there's a bonus 12" of 8 extra songs from the era (which are all pretty great in their own ways, especially Excerpts... and Nonsense). The artwork has been redone (although I do prefer the original) and there's a 16-page book of photos, lyrics and tour dates included. If it wasn't for the dubious audio on the album itself, I'd have to give it full marks. However, I feel there's still basically an Ugly Organ shaped hole in my collection because I can't listen to this and enjoy it fully. I know copies of the original version are fairly easy to come across, so I will try to pick one up at some point. If you're not familiar with the album, seek out the original.
Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve, 16-page booklet
Tracks: 20
Cost: Free, new
Bought: Gift
When: 16/01/15
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code
