More Arthur Russell Reissues Due

The Audika Records campaign to resurrect rare Arthur Russell recordings continues this year in full force. Russell composed and performed several long-form orchestral works in the early 1980s, and on April 4 Audika will release a 2xCD of this material, entitled First Thought Best Thought. A 3xLP set will also be released, and Rough Trade will put out the 2xCD in Europe and Australia.
Originally written by Russell as a 48-hour song cycle, "Instrumentals" only saw roughly half of its material released in 1984, and that segment is represented by "Instrumentals, Volume 2" on the compilation. "Instrumentals, Volume 1", along with "Sketch for the Face of Helen" and "Reach One", are previously unreleased recordings, totaling over 45 minutes, two Fender Rhodes, an electronic tone generator, and field recordings of a Hudson River tugboat, among other things.
Musicians on "Instrumentals" include such downtown NYC luminaries as Rhys Chatham, Ernie Brooks, Jon Gibson, Peter Gordon, Garrett List, Andy Paley, Dave Van Tiegham, and Peter Zummo.
"Tower of Meaning", conducted by Julius Eastman, was originally released in an extremely limited edition of 320 copies. So for everybody else in the world, it's basically previously unreleased.

Disc One:

01 "Instrumentals" Volume 1
02 "Instrumentals" Volume 2
03 Reach One

Disc Two:

03 Tower of Meaning
04 Sketch for the Face of Helen

Audika's flood of Russell material doesn't stop there, oh no. In May, the label plans to release a DFA remix of Russell's "Springfield" as a 12", and then in June, another 12", including the tracks "See My Brother, He's Jumping Out (Let's Go Swimming #1)", "Corn #3", and "You Have Did the Right Thing When You Put That Skylight In", all from Russell's unreleased Corn album. The 12"s will be compiled onto a CD along with the bonus track "Hiding Your Present From You". A June release date is also anticipated for the CD.

Audika: http://www.audikarecords.com