Marc Almond - Trials Of Eyeliner (The Anthology 1979/2016) FLAC download

The most disappointing aspect of this collection to me isn't the inclusion of some clumsy edits or omissions of key tracks and collaborations. The most disappointing fact is that more care wasn't put in to the sequencing of the tracks. I've seen this with quite a few reissues of late and it's maddening. Tracks end with a split second or two of the next track, leaving one with extra audio, and the other truncated. This is not a big deal if listening straight through from beginning to end, but when archiving, only some manual fixing in an audio program will fix the problem tracks. I have no idea why so much care can go into a lavish package such as this, yet something so simple to quality control slips through the cracks. This unfortunately happens across several tracks on all 10 CDs.

Thank you so much for that. I've been on the fence about getting this set, but now I know about the poor sequencing I definitely won't buy this. In the past, CDs used to have an approximately 2 second gap between tracks. These days so many CDs have no gap at all, or they have no thought about the gaps whatsoever. One CD I played recently had a 12 second gap on one track. It really isn't that difficult to avoid such errors.

[I have re-edited this as I was unfair on the collection – expecting it to be more comprehensive and containing more 12” versions. Just because something isn’t what I want it to be doesn’t mean it doesn’t meet the mark. Despite this, I still defend my point below.]Any fan interested in such a collection will probably already have a considerable amount of Marc Almond's work from Soft Cell, Marc and the Mambas, and also alot of the rarities. It is still best to continue to seek out and collect: preferably on the original vinyl. The point of a collection this size, one would think, is the convenience of having a strong collection, with the best examples all present, brought together for convenience, and to have it beautifully assembled. However, it is debatable what the “best examples” would be. The trouble with March Almond’s work is that it is far too vast to include everything and that is to his credit. So, decisions to not include certain items had to be made in order to keep this collection comprehensive and affordable. The decision apparently is to not include any of the extended versions and countless remixes. (There are a small number of demos, live edits and remixes, where I suppose it was thought those versions were more appropriate.) This collection then represents Almond’s songs and his song writing well, without repeating versions – it gives a great impression of Almond’s work. As a catalogue it is excellent, for many this collection is perfect in that sense.It could be said the lack of 10" + 12" versions makes this collection a bit ‘misrepresentative’. The 12" was very much a thing of the 80s - so the 12" edits of singles like Torch, Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye are essential. With Marc Almond / Soft Cell the extended versions weren’t just extra drum beats and special effects, some of the classic 12”s were essentially different to the shorter edits, with witty spoken dialogue etc. These are tracks that meant a lot to the fan – tracks to lose yourself in. The 12" of So, backed with What? was brilliant. This doesn't only refer to the Soft Cell 12"s, but also Marc Almond: if you want the over 10 minutes 12" of Ruby Red (Re-Edited And Re-Structured), Tears Run RIngs, Justin Strauss mix, Days of Pearly Spencer, Adored and Explored extended remixes - there were loads, the glorious never-ending cakemix of Almond's I Feel Love with Bronski Beat . . . you get the picture: don't look here for those fantastical re-inventions.For me, the best way to play Marc Almond is in the extended formats; rather than shorter edits. It seems to me, Marc Almond enjoyed the freedom of the 12” and expressed himself there to the full. Given the understanding of the above, that a collection of this size can’t be everything: this is a wonderful collection to have. It's good to have all the album tracks, hits and odd things collected together (including the duets with Nico, Skin, Othon, Siouxsie etc). This collection is titled a 'Marc Almond' collection, perhaps emphasizing Almond's strength in ballads and career as a whole, rather than the 'Soft Cell Daze' - a valid point. Marc Almond is far more than just Soft Cell, though Soft Cell was certainly an explosive beginning for him.

Paulscott - yes, I agree Soft Cell are important. I remember when Tainted Love was released, it was being played everywhere; so much I remember it irritating me. Of course it doesn't irritate me now.Soft Cell are central to Eighties music: "Eighties" has become a genre itself in music. Other decade don't claim that accolade so well. Whether individuals like Eighties music or not, general opinion, by genrifying it, has put Eighties music in its rightful place as a genre that proclaimed a genuinely inventive (indie) independence - immense in its creativity and variation of musical output.Musicians felt so liberated it enabled them to release countless iconic and influential albums (Garlands and other Cocteau Twins' albums, Joy division x 2, Blondie, Cindytalk, Eurythmics, Dead Can Dance, Echo and the Bunnymen, Comsat Angels, Yazzoo, Depeche Mode, Siouxsie, Cure, Grace Jones . . .). Some albums were so unique, like Garlands and Camouflage Heart, that they could not be copied. Yes, obscurity can be the companion to such albums, but for those who enjoy them there is to be found a very rare beauty (perhaps less lucratvie). Soft Cell and Eighties music have a proven relevance to how we continue to hear and enjoy music today. It also forces the question of the effect of institutional pressure on the artist.Soft Cell always had a strong emotional core to their music, the music often being about extreme emotions, desperados, those on the edge . . . But then, earlier solo Marc Almond (with the Mambas, Willing Sinners and beyond) retaining that strong emotional core (evidently coming from Marc), develops to have added to that core an extraordinary construction of a wide variety of musical inputs (a punk attitude of course, but also clasical string arrangements, Spanish Flamenco, Scott Walker, and other important influences), redefining and further shaping new directions for future music. Post-punk at its finest.So paulscottrainford, when you say "Soft Cell 9 CDs" - great. But I will also hope for a complete and representative collection of works after Soft Cell, the earlier Marc Almond (with Mambas, Willing Sinners etc).

Soft Cell ARE important! Wait till early next year for a 9-cd treatment of Soft Cell!

Honesty it should have the full version of the US 12" of Loving You Hating Me, all Soft Cell missing versions and still no sight of Say Hello Wave Goodbye (Instrumental) among other 12" singles from Marc Almond's solo career and nothing else.total waste of money.and I am a fan since I was 10 years old.

Well, wait for the box set 9-cd which is due out soon!!