Cloud Nine - Evolution of a psychedelic Band (6): The Best of the ELEDIL Tapes (GER. 1991/92)

Probably the musical highlight of my little series about the German neo psychedelic band CLOUD NINE (& THE VITAMIN C)...

CLOUD NINE - Official Bootleg Archives O.B.A.

Vol. 11-12

The Best of the ELEDIL Tapes

(mp3 zip of 2 CDR, 23 tracks, 158 min, art + info incl., 218 MB)

CD 1 (12-28-1991)

1. I'm Lost - 6.23

2. Rainfrontier - 2.50

3. Angel Of Mine - 5.03

4. Draw Down the Distance - 18.41

5. Empty And Cold - 9.39

6. Tracks Of My Tears - 4.46

7. Sunspots - 8.57

8. My Sunday on A Friday - 4.59

9. Call - 4.54

10. Black Queen - 12.07

CD 2 (02-22-1992)

1. Call (faded in) - 3.53

2. Walking My Road - 3.09

3. Tracks Of My Tears - 3.40

4. I Don't Care - 4.07

5. On An Ordinary Day - 6.14

6. Empty And Cold - 8.11

7. I'm Lost - 6.42

8. Death Blues - 5.25

9. (It Makes) No Difference - 3.22

10. Sunspots (Part 1) - 4.02

11. Draw Down The Distance - 12.31

12. Black Queen - 10.59

13. Der Sandmann ist tot - 6.38
Get it here (CD1) and here (CD2)!

CLOUD NINE was the sixth incarnation of CLOUD NINE & THE VITAMIN C, lasting from about June 1991 until February 1992 (the name was shortened before playing the ELEDIL gigs).

CN(VC #6) played only two live gigs, both at the small ELEDIL Club in Darmstadt, Germany, before the band broke up. Between the 1st gig there in December 1991 and the 2nd one in February 1992 lay many weeks of rehearsals and also the first (and only) "proper" recording session in a semi-professional studio (in fact held on only 2 days, recording 6 backing tracks live in the studio and some overdubs, until the band ran out of money – so the mixing was never really finished and the mastertapes sadly seem lost. – But finally: in December 2023 the Band released those studio recordings remasters on vinyl. Recommended!.

 

Get the LP at discogs.

Digital download from Bandcamp.

 

On these recordings here you'll find live versions of all the songs that were recorded in the studio earlier/later – and they differ very much! Just compare the live version of their psychedelic masterpiece "Draw Down The Distance" from the first gig (nearly 19 minutes spaced out jamming – b.t.w. my favourite version of that song) to the much more structured version from the 2nd ELEDIL gig (much more in the style of the studio version and much shorter).

Pete Hergo (live at the ELEDIL): g., voc.

Also of note are the relativly heavy/punk-ish sounding newer songs like "Call", "My Sunday On a Friday", "I Don't Care" or "No Difference" as well as the rearrangements of older "classics" like "Rainfrontier" or "I'm Lost" – all played pretty heavy and in strong contrast to the more psychedelic jam tracks, e.g. "Sunspots". It seems that the band, featuring the new, very competent guitar player PETE HERGO, was looking for a new direction around that time and the results sound quite promising with the newer songs showing a clear influence of bands like THE CURE ("I Don't Care"), GREEN ON RED ("Walking My Road") or even THE CHARLATANS' rave sound ("My Sunday On A Friday"). Clearly a new evolution and a welcome addition to the more Sixties oriented older CNVC sound with tracks like "I'm Lost" or "Car Car" or "Rainfrontier" (more in the mood of 60s Garage bands like THE ELECTRIC PRUNES or the acid rock of THE DOORS or early PINK FLOYD psychedelia ("Brainstorm", "Black Queen")).

Many of those songs featured here have only been played once or twice live, e.g. "Der Sandmann ist tot" (= The Sandman is dead"), a very strange song, written by keyboard player Dominik E., that wouldn't have sounded out of place in the WIM WENDERS movie "HIMMEL ÜBER BERLIN". The only CLOUD NINE song, by the way, ever sung in German...

But after that 2nd ELEDEL gig not only the sandman was dead; "Der Sandmann ist tot" was the last song the band ever played live together, afterwards the band was dead as well...

Enjoy this Requiem and check out the official vinyl recordings of CLOUD NINE & THE VITAMIN C: https://www.discogs.com/de/artist/13014570-Cloud-Nine-The-Vitamin-C

https://cloud-nine-and-the-vitamin-c.blogspot.com/