Housekeeping – The OLI Years 1990-1994 is a comprehensive remastered collection of no-man’s output for the OLI label between 1990-1994. Featuring the band’s first two studio albums Loveblows & Lovecries (1993) and Flowermouth (1994), along with the singles compilation Lovesighs – An Entertainment (1992), the deluxe 5CD collection also contains outtakes, alternate versions and the band’s sessions for BBC radio from the period.
The collection includes a hardback book (not supplied for review) that was designed by Carl Glover, featuring essays by Matt Hammers (author of no-man blog, All The Blue Changes), Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson, alongside rare photos and memorabilia from the period covered by the box set.
Housekeeping is a great way to experience the early part of the no-man story, when the band were serving up a pop masterclass, with breakbeat driven electronic gems, alongside emotive beat infused twisted ballads. It’s one of my favourite no-man eras, and there is a brave experimentation often on display throughout this 5 CD set.
The combination of Wilson’s pop aesthetic and his powerful, funk meets psychedelia guitar and lush keyboards underpinning the dark, impassioned Bowness croon and always original lyrical stories topped by Ben Coleman’s wild performances spoke to me, and from 1993 no-man became my favourite band.
The original albums are long out of print, and have been lovingly remastered and expanded upon for this new release.
Lovesighs – An Entertainment
Disc one is Lovesighs – An Entertainment, a singles compilation from 1992, in an expanded form. This is where I came in, picking up the double pack of Lovesighs that was packaged alongside the bands Loveblows & Lovecries first studio album. I had not heard a note of the bands music, but I was intrigued by the cover art and the wild Billy Baudelaire (aka Tim Bowness) sleeve notes. Money was tight in those days for me, so I am so glad that I took a chance in the Chatham branch of Our Price back in the early 90s, as a fascinating musical journey was about to begin.
Lovesighs sounds reborn in this incarnation. The remastering has given the material more volume (the version currently available on streaming services is too quiet) and a greater width and power. Tim’s lead and backing vocals are to the fore, and the funky bass of Heartcheat Pop is as fresh today as it was back in 1992.
For me, one of the things that made no-man stand out from the other ‘beat’ bands of the early 90s was the combination of the dark Bowness lyrics and Wilson’s superb guitar work. no-man’s lyrics explored the often dark corners of relationships, rather than the lighter subject matter often served up in the early 90s. Guitar was often shunted to a purely rhythmic, background role on other records from this era of UK music, whereas no-man had often quite alternative sounding rhythm parts and very expressive lead lines.
Up next is one of no-man’s greatest songs, the timeless Days in the Trees. This remaster is of the partly re-recorded and remixed version from the US version of Loveblows and Lovecries, and offers the best sounding version of this early 90s classic single. Featuring one of Tim’s finest vocals, the guitars and synths shimmer with such clarity and warmth. As the nostalgia-inducing keyboard riff appears in the second verse, I’m instantly transported back to when this song first hit me.
The next few tracks deliver the beats at pace. Some fine riffing from Ben Coleman alongside Steven Wilson propel Kiss Me Stupid into a special place. Colours is a sparse arrangement and a rare no-man cover. This recording was responsible for getting the band some early exposure.
The Reich / Ives and Bartok Days in the Trees mixes took me back to my first exposure to no-man and how the Reich piece, centred around the sampled Lara Flynn Boyle (as Donna Hayward) speech from David Lynch’s Twin Peaks sealed the deal for me. Such a beautiful piece of music, drawing inspiration from my favourite 90s TV show.
Lovesighs ends with two contrasting tracks. Walker features a jittery drum pattern with sparse instrumentation on the verse, with low-key Bowness vocals atop the bass and drums, and a wilder chorus roaring into life with explosive performances from Coleman and Wilson. The bands cover of Nick Drakes Road closes the first disc and hints at the music to come a little further down the line, with a more naturally percussive, rather than electronic / breakbeat rhythm driving the song.
Loveblows & Lovecries – A Confession
Disc two is an expanded version of no-man’s first full studio album, Loveblows & Lovecries – A Confession. A world away from the sound of the band from the Returning Jesus or Together We’re Stranger eras, I must confess that I am a huge fan of Loveblows & Lovecries and I was so excited to hear the material that means so much to me in its remastered form, and it does not disappoint.
The short instrumental Loveblow, a showcase for the supremely talented Ben Coleman, fades away as Only Baby arrives at pace and with an expanded richness and power. Only Baby is one of my favourite no-man singles, that sprung out of OLI asking for a ‘hit single’. The band came back with this shiny pop jewel. “In my dreams…” my CD single of Only Baby would cast knowing glances in the direction of my copy of Donna Summers Once Upon A Time… album on my CD shelf. What a beautiful baby they could have produced.
I am so glad that this 5 CD set will introduce early no-man to some fans for the first time. Housekeeping is simply one of my favourite no-man tracks of all time. It’s the trip-hop / breakbeat driven side of the band at its most emotional and effective. Layers arrive and drop away, with a melancholic late-night feel. The restrained vocals and raw lyrics from Bowness collide with Wilson’s wall-of-sound guitar onslaught as it all fades to black.
Housekeeping segues into Sweetheart Raw, featuring Mick Karn on fretless bass, drum programming from Steve Jansen and keyboards from Richard Barbieri. The sprinkling of the remastering fairy-dust elevates this key album track, with background samples and sounds more audible for the listener in 2024.
Lovecry is a rarely discussed highlight of the album. Whilst it is firmly routed in the sound of the early 90s, particularly in the rhythm, it’s an adventurous and joyful song, with one of Ben Coleman’s finest performances.
Tulip has really stood the test of time. It introduced me to the sometimes harsher, more brutal aspects of the band. I love the dark collides with the light arrangement, as the sampler loops underpin an often soulful / funk arrangement. It probably shouldn’t work but it does.
Break Heaven is a revelation in its remastered guise – Tim’s vocals are much warmer and the guitars have more clarity and depth. Beautiful and Cruel is another song firmly routed in the flavour of the early 90s, but is lifted by one of no-man’s strongest and most vibrant choruses, and a simple but emotional violin ending from Ben Coleman.
The full version of Painting Paradise is one of the albums highlights,. mining a similar soundscape to David Bowie’s Outside (released two years after Loveblows & Lovecries – A Confession). Tim’s vocal arrangements are outstanding on Painting Paradise. And I am here for that trailing reverb at the end of the song!
Heaven’s Break is a beatless but very rhythmic synth, violin, chorused guitar and vocal piece that closed out the original album. Any song using harmonics instantly piques my interest (hello The Comsat Angels Independence Day, I’m talking to you) and Heaven’s Break is no exception.
The US single Taking It Like A Man is the first of the three extra tracks, here in its extended version. I can’t say that this is one of my favourite no-man songs, but this extended mix is the best version of the track, and has some lively breakdown sections during the lengthy, psychedelic instrumental passages.
Babyship Blue, from the Heaven Taste mini-album, has always been a favourite track from the ‘beat’ era for me. Sparse, splintered and naggingly addictive, the breakdown to the one-note piano underpinned by violin, strings and bass alongside Tim’s whispered vocals before the track explodes back to life, highlights the intense beauty and power of this early no-man material. I miss those days.
“I ran to the water before I could swim
Lost in your hair
I saw the dawn, I saw the dawn”
The final track on this disc is the previously unreleased Tulip (unedited master), weighing in at nearly 3 minutes longer than the original album cut. The first part of the song is the original take until 4.05, when instead of the track fading out, we are treated to a trippy, lysergic passage of music, unlike anything else in the no-man catalogue. An unexpected treat.
Singles Going Unsteady
The third Housekeeping disc is titled Singles, which collects tracks not included on the box-set so far from singles prior to the 1994 release of Flowermouth.
Singles works well as an album in its own right, and often highlights the more experimental side of the band. Ocean Song was quite hard to track down before the release of Housekeeping, so its inclusion will be appreciated by long-term fans who missed out on buying the CD single back in the postal mail order days, pre Burning Shed / internet shopping. Back To The Burning Shed is a sparse, ambient instrumental that is so good that it inspired the name of the aforementioned online music store that is loved by many music fans to this day.
Swirl is an early no-man track, and another older song that benefits greatly from this remaster. Swirl was a regular fixture in early no-man live sets, and this studio version, with its playful violin and evolving, ambitious arrangement remains a joy to listen to. The Klute (1971 film starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland) sample adds a welcome dash of subversion to the song.
“There’s too much love and understanding and not enough common sense…”
The full-length version of the Jansen / Barbieri / Karn adorned Sweetheart Raw is my favourite version of this key early no-man track, that I would simply kill to hear live.
“She lies, for hours,
Crashed upon the concrete floor.
Remembers flowers,
And looks that left her sweetheart raw.”
And then we have Bleed, another personal favourite from this era. This is the Heaven Taste compilation remix, and differs from the Sweetheart Raw CD single version (that also featured Say Baby Say Goodbye), so I would recommend tracking down the CD single, if you can. Off to Discogs you must go.
Bleed features one of my favourite Bowness vocal performances (with Tim switching from his low-key whisper to his voice of God bellow), and this remaster brings the vocals further to the fore whilst highlighting the shifting backing, as the song explodes into the Say Baby Say Goodbye intense dark, industrial section. This is no-man at its most brutal and uncompromising.
“I want you near me.
I want to feel free.
To forget my history,
To destroy my memory.”
Up next are two tracks from the Only Baby CD single. Only Baby (Breathe for Me) is a longer mix than the previously issued version, with the synth strings sounding glorious on the remaster. And for Steven Wilson fans, some of his best guitar work features on this mix, with Steven duelling the powerful electric violin lines from the mighty Ben Coleman.
Only Baby (Be for Me) brings back Tim’s vocals, this time heavily processed and featuring what sounds like a different vocal take, accompanied by a stripped back, drum machine driven re-imagining of the music.
“Help me through
These bitter days.
Only baby.
Only.”
Long Day Fall opens with the sound of children playing as violin and spacey synths lead to a chorused guitar and bass propelled dreamlike, reflective piece. A wonderful Bowness vocal harmony gathers in the background to see the song to its conclusion.
The single version of Painting Paradise is a surprise inclusion, as in Tim’s album notes entry Lovesighs, Loveblows And Lovecries – A Reassessment he describes the bands reservations about this forced re-recording that they did not want to release. A rare compromise that no-man would not make again.
Heaven Taste closes out Disc 3, and at over 22 minutes, it’s the longest piece on the collection. It is a slightly longer version from the 1995 Heaven Taste compilation. Featuring Tim on “Saintly Restraint”, this is another track to benefit from no-man’s brief collaboration with Jansen, Barbieri and Karn. It may be as long as the traditional side of a vinyl album, but the myriad of twists and turns make this hypnotic piece an always enjoyable listening experience.
Heaven Taste feels like a bridge between Loveblows & Lovecries and what was to arrive from deep within no-man’s land next, 1994’s Flowermouth album, that makes up Disc 4 of the Housekeeping box-set.
Flowermouth almighty
The previous reissue included a new mix of Animal Ghost (that version is also included here) but this improved remaster shines a bright, fluorescent light onto this album, that I consider to be the first true no-man masterpiece. For anyone who is interested, to date I feel that the other no-man masterpieces are Returning Jesus and Together We’re Stranger). Please feel free to disagree with me.
For Flowermouth, Angel Gets Caught in the Beauty Trap / You Grow More Beautiful / Animal Ghost / Watching Over Me and Things Change are slightly revised mixes from the 1999 release.
I wasn’t expecting much difference with the Flowermouth remaster, as the last version was such an improvement but I was so wrong. Within the first minute of Angel Gets Caught In The Beauty Trap, it became clear that this is the definitive version of the album. The mix is so much more expansive, with more clarity to the individual keyboards parts, a crisper percussion (those congas!) and Tim’s vocals have so much more depth.
The remaster of Angel Gets Caught In The Beauty Trap is a revelation. The song has been a faithful companion giving me comfort and joy for nearly 30 years. I am envious of those who will get to hear this song for the first time.
Lyrically inspired by one of my unrequited loves, Nastassja Kinski (who inspired my Kinski nickname, fact-fans) in the 1979 Polanski film Tess, and musically compiled from various different incarnations recorded over a four year period, this final recording is ambitious, confident and sensuous.
You Grow More Beautiful is cut from the same cloth as Loveblows & Lovecries – A Confession with stunning rhythm and acoustic guitar work from Wilson, and is somewhat of an outlier on the album, as the majority of Flowermouth often feels more organic than its predecessor. Animal Ghost has magic in its belly, with a simple, sparse verse that gives way to a multi-layered chorus – piano, violin and guitar vying for your attention, and delivering one of the finest no-man tracks you will ever hear.
“And the love in your mouth
And the love in your heart
Drifting away”
Soft Shoulders reminds me of the multi-coloured production on Suzanne Vega’s 99.9F° album from 1992, that Vega recorded with Mitchell Froom. The heavily percussive piece, with treated vocals, has a sound unlike anything else on the album. The vocal effects also add to the rhythm of the verse, and the song is perfectly placed in the running order, as the mood turns a shade darker, with Shell Of A Fighter. A perfectly pitched and phrased Bowness vocal drives the song towards its heavily distorted, haunting end section, which hits like never before in this new, final remaster.
Teardrop Fall is a sequence heavy piece, that simply throbs with this remaster, and has a directness and simplicity of arrangement that gives it a unique place in the Flowermouth running order. Watching Over Me has one of Tim’s greatest lyrics, for a track that brings back the guitar and slowly builds towards the most beautiful of endings, with Coleman’s imaginatively layered violin topped with some of Wilson’s most emotive guitar lines.
Simple dials in the trance-like electronics and a sampled appearance from Dead Can Dance singer Lisa Gerrard. The long instrumental section, with its slowly ebbing and flowing repeated motifs building up to the climax, would be a stylistic tool the band would draw on again in my favourite no-man song, Lighthouse from Returning Jesus.
Flowermouth ends with Things Change, a song that became a highlight of the Burning Shed 10th Anniversary show in 2011.
“I remember
When heaven’s lips kissed your every word
I pretended
Nothing you said could ever hurt”
The uncluttered arrangement, and reverb coated Bowness vocals, deliver a powerful and intensely moving song, that mutates into one of the most progressive tracks in the bands wide and varied catalogue. The incendiary climax has Ben Coleman delivering his greatest performance on a no-man track, with a searing electric violin solo that will tear your speakers to shreds, if played at volume. What a way to bow out, as Ben left the band shortly after contributing to this album.
And so ends Flowermouth, one of the high points of the bands career. Listening back to the album with a fresh perspective, after hundreds of plays over a nearly 30 year period, it is clear that the many guests (Ian Carr, Richard Barbieri, Mel Collins, Robert Fripp, Lisa Gerrard, Steve Jansen, Chris Maitland and Silas Maitland) all contribute to the rich tapestry of this beautiful album, pushing the band in fresh directions and towards new possibilities that no-man would explore in future years.
You’re leaving me behind you, things change.
Radio Sessions – Hit the North & South
The fifth and final disc is Radio Sessions 1992-94. Heartcheat Pop from the Nicky Campbell Radio One session (from January 1992) features a different rhythm guitar line from the studio version, and the version of Housekeeping from this session features more prominent guitar, particularly during the final part of the track.
The Hit The North BBC Radio Five Session (from October 1992) is the most interesting part of this disc. Featuring three tracks performed with the Jansen / Barbieri / Karn lineup, this is the only place to get an idea of how the band sounded in their brief live incarnation. Ocean Song work’s particularly well in this live setting, and Days in the Trees, once you get used to the addition of live drums in the mix, offers a powerful alternative take on this key no-man track.
I prefer the session version of Taking it Like a Man to the studio version. Less reliant on the samples, JBK really shine as the song goes into a freeform spin during its mid-section.
Just as interesting are the two Greater London Radio session tracks from June 1993. An acoustic guitar, violin and vocals, with Chris Maitland on percussion, take of Lovecry, shorn of its electronics, releases the pure raw emotion of the song.
The acoustic version of Days in the Trees has the same effect, with this more pastoral take fitting like a glove.
A live in the studio (with audience) take of Sweetheart Raw from The Way Out in late 1993 features Chris Baker on drums and Silas Maitland (the band seemed to collect musicians called Maitland!) and whilst it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the JBK version, it is still interesting to hear.
The sessions disc ends with four acoustic recordings (without Ben Coleman) from No Man’s Land, featuring Rick Edwards on percussion and Colin Edwin on bass, that were syndicated to local radio stations in 1994.
Teardrop Fall has a slight Buffalo Springfield For What It’s Worth feel with Wilson’s guitar, and a lovely vocal from Bowness. Watching Over Me loses none of its power in this more acoustic setting.
Shell of a Fighter is an example of how a great song can work just as well when stripped back to its basics, and the final track is You Grow More Beautiful, highlighting the sweet, uplifting chorus.
Whether you are a long-term no-man fan, or if you are curious about hearing the early no-man music, or through your love of the Steven Wilson or Tim Bowness solo releases, Housekeeping has so much to offer, and this period of no-man’s output is presented here in a much improved audio quality. Time has certainly been kind to no-man.
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Buy Housekeeping – The OLI Years 1990-1994 from Burning Shed
Buy Housekeeping – The OLI Years 1990-1994 from Amazon
Housekeeping
CD1. Lovesighs – An Entertainment
- Heartcheat Pop
- Days in the Trees – US remix
- Drink Judas
- Heartcheat Motel
- Kiss Me Stupid
- Colours
- Iris Murdoch Cut Me Up
- Days in the Trees – Reich
- Days in the Trees – Ives
- Days in the Trees – Bartok
- Walker
- Road
CD2. Loveblows and Lovecries – A Confession
- Loveblow
- Only Baby
- Housekeeping
- Sweetheart Raw
- Lovecry
- Tulip
- Break Heaven
- Beautiful and Cruel
- Painting Paradise
- Heaven’s Break
- Taking It Like a Man
- Babyship Blue
- Tulip – unedited master
CD3. Singles
- Ocean Song
- Back to the Burning Shed
- Swirl
- Sweetheart Raw – full length version
- Bleed
- Only Baby – Breathe for Me
- Only Baby – Be for Me
- Long Day Fall
- Painting Paradise – single re-recording
- Heaven Taste
CD4. Flowermouth
- Angel Gets Caught in the Beauty Trap
- You Grow More Beautiful
- Animal Ghost
- Soft Shoulders
- Shell of a Fighter
- Teardrop Fall
- Watching Over Me
- Simple
- Things Change
CD5. Radio Sessions 1992-94
- Break Heaven – Nicky Campbell session
- Heartcheat Pop – Nicky Campbell session
- Housekeeping – Nicky Campbell session
- Ocean Song – Hit the North session
- Days in the Trees – Hit the North session
- Taking It Like a Man – Hit the North session
- Lovecry – GLR session
- Days in the Trees – GLR session
- Sweetheart Raw – The Way Out session
- Teardrop Fall – acoustic session
- Watching Over Me – acoustic session
- Shell of a Fighter – acoustic session
- You Grow More Beautiful – acoustic session
Buy Housekeeping – The OLI Years 1990-1994 from Burning Shed
Buy Housekeeping – The OLI Years 1990-1994 from Amazon
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