![]() 3.97 | 5 ratings | 0% 5 stars
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Studio Album, released in 1972 Songs / Tracks Listing
Search SUBWAY Subway lyrics Music tabs (tablatures)Search SUBWAY Subway tabs Line-up / Musicians
Original vinyl on the French branch of the Epic label Edit this entry |
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![]() | Subway II Import Phantom Sound & Vision (Audio CD 2009) | $14.97 $10.49 (used) |
![]() | Subway Import (Audio CD 2006) | $22.95 $79.00 (used) |
![]() | White Subway Import (Audio CD 2009) | $12.49 $12.50 (used) |
![]() | Die Rose im Wasser: Best of Subway to Sally Import Ariola Germany (Audio CD 2001) | $7.46 $4.50 (used) |
![]() | Subway Import (Audio CD ) | $19.78 $13.69 (used) |
![]() | Subway II Import (Vinyl 2009) | $17.50 |
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(0%)
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(80%)
Good, but non-essential (20%)
Collectors/fans only (0%)
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
4.5 stars really!!This duo's sole album proved to be one of the most elusive collectible vinyls in the folk rock realm, and its reputation of being a lost gem was not usurped. Made from an encounter in the London tube between American singer/songwriter Irvin Mowrey and British classically trained violinist Malcolm Watson. The duo developed an acoustic 12-string guitar-violin sound that sounded quite unique, mixed with Mowrey's great voice and intriguing lyrics.
From the fragile opening I Am A Child to the darker 5-mins Songs From A Sinking Shelter (Watson is all over the track from the foreground to the background and enhanced with a mellotron and percussions) to the absolutely haunting and psychedelic Warm You Are (with a slightly Mauresque ambiance and backwards cymbal effects) and the group-enhanced soundscape of All Good Things, the first side is a pure marvel of psych/acid/progressive folk. Yet, nothing is to prepare us for the flipside.
Opening on the fantastic Enturbulation, where some electric guitars, organ, bass and drums accompany the duo, Watson's violin simply soars to height unsuspected until Mowrey's guitar is taking the song into full-blown jam, ending dramatically. Arizona Sands return to more traditional folk, with Watson's violin is sending chills down your spine. The closing track Trade With You My Mind is another full group effort, pushing the music towards an electric folk rock. Influence-wise the two tracks with the rock arrangements are really close to String Driven Thing's best moments on Machine That Cried.
It is clear that if all these songs are penned by guitarist-singer Mowrey, they would not have the same flavour without Watson's superb and inventive violin, often giving a normal song a haunting and eerie atmosphere to them. Sadly all too short, I'm more than sure there are more tapes lying around from radio shows or unused tracks for the album. And yet after so many years of turning the music racks upside down, this old geezer still manages to discover one of those legitimate lost gems in the acid-folk domain, that this little oeuvre is a real beauty.
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Send comments to Sean Trane
(BETA) | Report this review (#123209) | Review Permalink
Posted Thursday, May 24, 2007
Subway are one of my recent finds in the folk side of music. I've always been a fan
of the genre since I heard the albums in Sean Trane's recommendation blog. Since then
I've been hunting for bands and long lost gems and in the end it led me to this
wonderful band called Subway.Subway are a duo that played music for a living in the subways of Paris (hence their name). One day they were playing a record producer was passing by and it was a Cinderella story all over again. They got a record deal and wrote and released an album, but they only made a very little amount of copies and the ones they didn't sold got burned. A sad thing to do since this is definitely a tasty gem.
The music in this album is all over the place, but it always keeps a sort of mystical atmosphere (just like what you get by looking at the cover art).They can be as beautiful as the opener, "I Am A Child" to the psychedelic freakout of "Enturbulation-Free Form". As the previous reviewer pointed out the violin in this album owes much to the atmosphere here. Aside from the guitar and violin there are other instruments like the mellotron in the dreamy "Song For Sinking Shelter", drums/ percussions used in "All The Good Things" as well as several other songs and the song with a wide array of electric instruments like electric guitar, bass, drums and organ in the trippy "Enturbation". The song may look out of place in the context of the album, but it doesn't and surprisingly adds a whole different dimension to their already marvelous sound. The same can be said about "Can I Trade With You My Mind", but in a more pastoral way. All the songs blend nicely I personally wouldn't add or take any songs in the album even though its only around 35 minutes long.
In the end this is an excellent album to have if you have the chance to get it. If you're a fan of acid folk and psych folk then you won't have a problem enjoying this album. A great album to play in a sunny day outside.
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Send comments to chamberry
(BETA) | Report this review (#123246) | Review Permalink
Posted Thursday, May 24, 2007
SUBWAY were a band made up of an American, who wrote the songs and sang while
playing his 12 string guitar, and an Englishman who was a classically trained violinist.Let's
just say that playing in the subway brought the duo success in both the UK and
France.You can read their biography here at Prog Archives to get the details.The album
cover looks like a picture of two minstrels from the 1600's.They play an Acid-Folk brand of
music,and there are drums,organ,bass and electric guitar on several of the songs.
You can really get an idea of how they would have sounded playing in the subway on "I Am
A Child".The two of them do a wonderful job on this song with great lyrics like "I'm a child
and i can fly..." On the next song "Song For Sinking Shelters" we hear some unique guitar
sounds in this psychedelic flavoured tune, with some soaring violin."Warm You Are" opens
with almost dissonant violin melodies,as this song has a greater emphisis on violin that
plays over the 12 string guitar."All The Good Things" is where we hear some drums for the
first time."Enturbulation - Free Form" is my favourite song on this record.This song feels
like a jam,and the violin is outstanding!We also get some organ and electric guitar.Great
song!"Arizona Sands" is ok,kind of melancholic."Rosanna of the Roses" has some keys late
in the song with drums earlier"Can i Trade With you my Mind" has the usual terrific guitar
and violin as the sound gets fuller as the drums come in after 2 minutes.
This is a tasteful folk album with some wonderful violin,12 string guitar and vocals.Although
this is far from my favourite genre,there is something very special about this release.4
solid stars.
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Send comments to sinkadotentree
(BETA) | Report this review (#123591) | Review Permalink
Posted Sunday, May 27, 2007
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