- Disc One
- Sugarbush Vs. The Swinging Snares
- Optical Illusion Pad
- Organophosphorouse Resistance In Studio Conditions
A. Subterranean Zappa Blues
B. My Saxy Baby
- A. Chuggin'
B. Codfish
C. Phantom Limb (amputation scene)
- Russolo, a little fella on very ordinary legs (on the verge of getting it on)
- Ernest needs a kidney (live studio jam)
- Rock'n Roll Station (atmospheric karaoke version)
- Disc Two
- Rock 'n Roll Station
- The Self Sufficient Sexual Shoe
- Two Golden Microphones
-A Silhouette and a Thumbtack (Dance in Hyperspace)
- R&B Through Collis Brone
- Finsbury Park, May 8th, 1:35 pm (I'll See You In Another World)
- 1.35 pm Remix
The second pirate session include Nurse with wounds 1994 album 'Rock and roll station' as well as a second disk of unused material from that recording session. When 'rock and roll station' came out, there were accusations by some that the band were moving in a more commercial direction and some dismissed the release as a bad techno album. Well what we really have here is the band throwing themselves into a new realm utilising programmed beats and rhythms as the platform to weave their classic surrealistic touches. The up front nature of the looped percussion does take you by surprise when you first hear it, but you get used to it quite quickly.
The first track on 'rock and roll station' is the title track and consists of Stapleton reciting some abstract lyrics about the nature of the rock and roll station “A rock and roll session is a session where we can do what we want to do”, while minimal slightly techno sounding loops keep time. There are also some very nice touches of classical like drones and sweeps that flit around the background. It’s a very nice start. The second track 'The second self sufficient sexual shoe', uses similar sounding beats with a slightly different rhythm. Floaty whispered female vocals give this track a dream like feel. High pitched tones and frenetic rushing sounds punctuate the song. 'Two golden microphones' has some watery mildly tribal sounding beats and begins in quite a cacophonous way, but that subsides to reveal some twangy guitar and what sounds like detuned radio recordings. The now well know 'yagga blues' rhythm makes an appearance as more rhythmic washes and cut-ups circle overhead. The back end of the track is joined by what sounds like a didgeridoo and some more chanting female voices.
'A silhouette and a thumbtack (dance in hyperspace)' is more sedate than the previous track, although the beats are almost the same as the first song. Some quite angry sounding mechanical cut-ups break in and out, but for the most part it sounds like a remix of the first track. After about 6 minutes a different beat enters and some interesting drones and bursts of sound entertain. 'R & B through collis browne' continues in a similar vein to the last two tracks but with some interesting jagged guitar work and banging percussion. 'Finsbury park, may 8th, 1.35 pm (I’ll see you in another world)' is a piece inspired by the life (and death) of the blues musician and occultist Graham Bond who killed him self by throwing him self under a train in north London. The song is not as up front and relentless as the previous tracks and is more drone and textural based. Many of the sounds are reworked from 'Thunder perfect mind', as are many components of 'Rock and roll station'. Glistening metallic tweeks and shimmering organic backdrops make this a dark otherworldly composition, still quite rhythmic but more free form in it’s execution. Half way through the song seems to end by falling into silence, but reconstructs it’s self without the overt rhythm and drifts nicely around some more abstract and otherworldly sounds before a young child says “welcome to heaven” signalling the end of this piece.
The last track on rock and roll station is a remix of the previous track, focussing more on the free form drones and ambient sounding textures, very dreamlike, but also at times quite abrasive with the occasional harsh slab of droning noise or static. I think that although this album is very entertaining and at times very otherworldly and evocative, it sufferers from repetition. The looped percussion is virtually the same through out and many of the sounds reworked from thunder perfect mind just add to the sense that you’ve heard it all before. This is unfortunate since the way in which the old material is used in this context is very good.
The second disk, is a much more varied mix of material, the beats are still their but there is also a much more free, madcap feel to the tracks on the second disk. I wont describe them all, you’ll have to discover them for your selves but stand out tracks include 'Optical illusion pad', which winds and snakes a very druggy guitar melody through the repetitive programmed electronica. 'A subterranean zappa blues' is off the wall, with some deranged vocals and a mad saxophone abuse section. Most of the tracks on the second disk have elements that hark back to earlier Nurse styles of composition with various random elements competing for attention within the mix. I would by this Two disk set just for the second CD.
