Ecstasy and Wine

Ecstasy and Wine
A sepia photograph of four people with warped, circular text reading "My Bloody Valentine Ecstasy and Wine".
Compilation album by
My Bloody Valentine
ReleasedFebruary 1989 (1989-02)
Recorded1987 (1987)
Genre
Length29:09
LabelLazy
ProducerMy Bloody Valentine
My Bloody Valentine chronology
Isn't Anything
(1988) 		Ecstasy and Wine
(1989) 		Glider
(1990)

Ecstasy and Wine is a compilation album by the Irish-English alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, released in February 1989 on Lazy Records. It features the band's second mini album, Ecstasy, and the single "Strawberry Wine", both of which were previously released on Lazy Records in November 1987.

Release and reception

An alternate mix of "Strawberry Wine" was used on the album due to an error by personnel at Lazy Records.[1] Released without the band's consent,[2] at the time of Ecstasy and Wine's release My Bloody Valentine were signed to Creation Records on which the band had released their debut studio album, Isn't Anything (1988).

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Hi-Fi News & Record ReviewA/B:1/2[3]

Upon its release, Ecstasy and Wine peaked at number 2 on the United Kingdom Independent Albums Chart.[4] David Stubbs, offering a mixed review in Melody Maker, referred to the album as "a more quiet and mannered affair than Isn't Anything" and described its material as "a muffled, pastoral drone … overshadowed by a distant whirlwind of feedback".[5] Writing for AllMusic in a positive retrospective review, Bradley Torreano described the compilation as "the sound of a band discovering its unique voice" with vocalists and guitarists Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher "exploring the guitar landscapes that would later become their trademark"; Torreano rated the album four out of five stars.[6]

Legacy

Shields, irate about Lazy Records releasing the album without the band's consent,[1] retrieved 10,000 LP copies from the label's manager soon after its release. He sold the records to various distributors in the early 1990s, after My Bloody Valentine were dropped from Creation Records, and used the funds to finance later recording sessions.[2]

In February 2012 Graham Coxon, lead guitarist of Blur, included the album in NME's list of the "100 Great Albums You've Never Heard", placing it at number 12.[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kevin Shields unless otherwise noted

Side one
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Strawberry Wine" (alternate mix, originally from "Strawberry Wine")  2:33
2."Never Say Goodbye" (from "Strawberry Wine")Shields, GoogeShields, Ó Cíosóig2:32
3."Can I Touch You" (from "Strawberry Wine")  3:15
4."She Loves You No Less" (from Ecstasy)  2:34
5."The Things I Miss" (from Ecstasy)Shields, Ó CiósóigShields, Ó Cíosóig2:56
Side two
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
6."I Don't Need You" (from Ecstasy)  3:08
7."(You're) Safe in Your Sleep (From This Girl)" (from Ecstasy)  2:31
8."Clair" (from Ecstasy)Shields, Ó CíosóigShields2:33
9."You've Got Nothing" (from Ecstasy)  3:41
10."(Please) Lose Yourself in Me" (from Ecstasy)Shields, Ó CíosóigShields3:26

Personnel

All personnel credits adapted from Ecstasy and Wine's liner notes.[8]

My Bloody Valentine
Guest musicians
  • Nick Brown – violin (8)
Technical personnel

Chart positions

Chart (1989) Peak
position
UK Independent Albums Chart[4] 2

References

  1. ^ a b Brown, Nick (1991). "My Bloody Valentine". Spiral Scratch (February 1991).
  2. ^ a b North, Aaron (19 January 2005). "Kevin Shields: The Buddyhead Interview" (PDF). Buddyhead (Interview). New York. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Review: My Bloody Valentine — Ecstasy and Wine" (PDF). Hi-Fi News & Record Review (magazine). Vol. 34, no. 6. Croydon: Link House Magazines Ltd. June 1989. p. 105. ISSN 0142-6230. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021 – via World Radio History.
  4. ^ a b Lazell 1997, p. 155.
  5. ^ Stubbs, David (1989). "My Bloody Valentine, Ecstasy and Wine (Lazy Records)". Melody Maker (25 February 1989). IPC Media.
  6. ^ Torreano, Bradley. "Ecstasy and Wine – My Bloody Valentine: Songs, Reviews, Credits and Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  7. ^ Coxon, Graham (11 February 2012). "100 Great Albums You've Never Heard". NME. London, England: IPC Media. p. 21.
  8. ^ Ecstasy and Wine (LP). My Bloody Valentine. Lazy Records. 1989. LAZY 12.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

Bibliography

  • Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits: 1980–1989: The Complete Guide to UK Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). London: Cherry Red. ISBN 978-0-951720-69-1.