Bill Nelson - The Love That Whirls (Diary Of A Thinking Heart) (1982)

UK import

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later complimented by a CD.

Abridged album notes taken from Nelson's website:

The Love That Whirls is album that mixes vocal and instrumental pieces recorded between April and November 1981 at Ric Rac Studios, Leeds, England and Rockfield Studios Monmouth, Wales. The album reached No. 28 in the UK charts and represented a change in sound for Nelson's solo work when compared to his most recent previous output, as it featured a brightly polished production and a state of the art drum sound.

"Let me explain the title. It's actually based on a fact, rather than a poetic fantasy. It has two direct connections...the first is to the 'whirling dervishes.' These are Sufi dancers who use the whirling dance as a form of prayer and worship. They are taught to love everything and their whirling dance is an expression of that love and a means of attaining divine ecstasy. Hence 'The Love That Whirls.' The other connection is to avant-garde film maker and occultist Kenneth Anger who, in 1949, made a film titled 'The Love That Whirls.' The film was destroyed by the film processing laboratory who took it upon themselves to judge the film 'obscene.' So, you see, these things are not just random words...they are connected to certain things that interest me and inform the mood of the album."

This album is intense. I didn't listen to it much back in '82 because the arrangements are almost too dense - it's a lot to take in all at once. But when I would sit down and listen, it was similar to my preferred synthpop of the time except when it wasn't. When I was young, I simply didn't understand why a group like Flock of Seagulls saw some chart success while Nelson remained generally unknown in the U.S. Now I realize that Nelson was far more interested in creating lush, synthesized soundscapes that fulfilled his inner musician than in seeking commercial pop success. It's almost like he was caught between pop music and soundtrack work. In any case, I liked this album in 1982 and I still enjoy revisiting it every now and then. And that's not just nostalgia talking; I usually hear something new every time I spin this thing.

Press of the time:

• Smash Hits (7 out of 10): "Far from faultless but worth a listen"
• Trouser Press: "he has created a gossamer world of musical beauty"
• Record Mirror (++++): "one of this year's prime LPs"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave (1998): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: My favorites are (and always have been) Flaming Desire and Empire Of The Senses. Other top cuts for me are A Private View (which greatly reminds me of early Thomas Dolby), and Eros Arriving. I like all the instrumental tracks, in particular The Bride Of Christ In Autumn, When Your Dream Of Perfect Beauty Comes True, and Echo In Her Eyes.

For this particular CD release, they added 2 tracks to the playlist, so my memory of 12 tracks must adapt to two new cuts that they stuck in as tracks 7 & 8. Looks like those two track were taken from Nelson's 1982 North American EP, Flaming Desire And Other Passions or in the UK, the Eros Arriving single.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: My buddy Jim introduced me to this album in 1982 by playing Flaming Desire and I was immediately hooked with the sound of the thing despite its almost impenetrable density. Then I eventually moved on to the next new album because that's what 16 year olds do. Then, in 1988, I briefly dated a girl who had a big cardboard box of cassettes and sitting on top of the pile of tapes was this album. I immediately grabbed it and enthusiastically said, "Let's listen to this one!" which was met by a terse "no" and now you can see why that relationship didn't last long. About a decade later after that encounter, I was pleased to find Flaming Desire included in Rhino's Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s series, specifically Volume 7.

This album was released in June 1982, around the time I got my drivers license and began subjecting my small town to my "windows-down-volume-up" singing performances. These transportable performances in the Markmobile very possibly included my loud but definitive interpretations of Flaming Desire.

As mentioned in the above advertisement, my LP version included an "additional free album" titled La Belle Et La Bête, which was described on the sleeve as "music composed and played by Bill Nelson for the Yorkshire Actors Company production of Jean Cocteau's Classic Film." Man-oh-man, I would loved to have seen that production. The music is nothing like The Love That Whirls and is often creepy as hell. But I still enjoy the trip every now and then so I give it a spin. And that's why I've kept both the LP version. Maybe one day I'll track down a copy of the CD that contains La Belle Et La Bête.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam (1981)

Bill Nelson - Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam (1981)

EU Import.

On Nelson's website, he refers to this 2005 Mercury remastered CD as the "definitive edition of the album."

"The music on this album was written during the latter part of 1978 and recorded at intervals between February and June of 1979. That it is only now publicly available I find ironic. Nevertheless, I am pleased that these tracks, which constitute approximately two thirds of the total material recorded for the album, have finally been acquitted... by mirrors if not by justice."

--Bill Nelson March 1981

I would say it's cutting edge stuff for '81, but the fact that it was written two years prior makes it all the more impressive. New wave-ish, experimental, edgy, power pop rock, synth-guitar, proto-post-punk. At first I thought it was like Bowie, then Devo, then Gary Numan, then Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club, then back to Devo, then back to Numan, then I got a headache and gave up trying to compare, which is ultimately an exercise in futility, no?

Around late 1982/early '83, I first discovered Bill Nelson through his 1982 album, The Love That Whirls (Diary of a Thinking Heart) which included the tracks Empire Of The Senses and Flaming Desire, neither of which were like anything I'd ever heard before. I then noticed Nelson's name listed as producer on a couple of Flock Of Seagull tunes. In any case, seeing this CD - Nelson's most successful solo album in the UK - gave me the opportunity to pick up some of Nelson's other work from that era. I've never listened to his earlier work with Be-Bop Deluxe (even though I consider that to be a top-shelf band name). This wouldn't be my preference for everyday listening, but if I'm in the right mood, it definitely scratches an itch. Nelson remains quite prolific, releasing up to 4 or 5 new albums a year.

Press of the time:

• Smash Hits: "guitar-based powerglide rock and unfussy disco-tinged rhythm"
• Record Mirror (★★★½): "The coldness of Nelson's music means that it takes a great deal of time to get familiar with it."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Not released in US (peak on the UK chart: #7)

Tracks: I think the best track is White Sound. Also good are Living In My Limousine, Youth Of Nation On Fire, and Do You Dream In Colour (Nelson's highest charting solo single in the UK). I'm not much for Vertical Games.

Bonus tracks: 7 of 'em, all b-sides, mostly from the Living In My Limousine 12" and the double 7-inch release for Youth Of Nation On Fire. Curiously, nothing from the Sound The Ritual Echo (Atmospheres For Dreaming) album mentioned in the above ad.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Around the time this album was released in 1981, I was recruited to run the spotlight at various events at my school, i.e., variety/talent shows, spring recitals, elementary school presentations, and the drill team's annual spring dance show. This normally involved two of us climbing up tall ladders to the "attic" high above the auditorium floor and running the spot. I usually handled the awkward movement of the spot while the other sucker would change the color of the lighting and focus the beam. I wasn't much of an actor but enjoyed the theater life, so why not? It kept me out of the house. Even though the school I attended was replaced by a new high school built almost 20 years ago, that old school auditorium building still stands (it's gotta be 70-80 years old as of this writing and was already a dump when I attended) and those ladders are probably still there; I pray no one has to use them. But that really doesn't have much to do with this album other than coincidental timing (and maybe "get on the beam"??), so never mind. As you were.

Main entrance to my high school in the early 1980's.
The auditorium mentioned is the structure on the left.