The First Day - why so unpopular and criticized?

[javier]

As someone pointed out on another thread, The First Day isn't a Sylvian solo project so of course is different from his solo material (although all DS solo albums do differ quite a lot from each other too).

Personally, I don't understand the apparent hostility to the album - I certainly wouldn't rate The First Day as my favourite, but it does have 2 (and the recent addition of a 3rd) tracks which have permanent places on my all-time best DS list.

Firepower has absolutely no peer among Fripp/Sylvian collaborations - brilliant Frippwork, lovely rhythms and particularly the last 5 minutes - an incredible groove and stunning guitar solo. And as for sheer dirty power Brightness Falls can't be beaten - and the bonus of that delightful final 2 minutes of backwards instrumentation, Fripp's subdued guitar squawks and Frippertronics and Sylvian's quoted vocal phrases...magic.
Then there's Darshan which just doesn't let up...the longer it goes the higher it climbs and as someone else mentioned could well be extended out to 45 minutes....
Apart from the disaster of Jean The Birdman, the rest of the album also has plenty of guts and/or groove.

To me The First Day sounds like Sylvian at his most relaxed musically - with Fripp's shrieking guitar madness and the band's tight rhythms, it all sounds like they're just letting off steam and having a good ballsy time.

[BobbyVey]

Absolutely agree with everything there. Robert and David are two opposite polarities which generate the h_ll of the magnetic field while together.
The First Day is not a perfect album, neither would call it a master piece, like some others David's albums, but it certainly got an successful fusion of two different points of view. Sylvian's lyrics are so diverse to the Fripp's music and his voice is so transformable in order to fit different music styles. in fact, I'd love to hear him with some hard progressive rock band, like Porcupine. Awesome combination!.
Darshan implies a hypnotic power to my brain every time I hear it, and I listen it a lot...

[deadbees]

I feel that David had the least amount of control over this album out of all the albums he has released. He has admitted as such in several interviews and also mentioned that the original plan was for King Crimson to reform with DS as singer. A completely different album could have emerged from the same period which would have sat more comfortably with David's fans; Ingrid's Wheels, Damage, The First Day, The House In Which We'll Live, Earthbound Starblind etc

[javier]

A completely different album could have emerged from the same period which would have sat more comfortably with David's fans; Ingrid's Wheels, Damage, The First Day, The House In Which We'll Live, Earthbound Starblind etc

Totally agree here - in fact a merging of these other tracks in with the album would have left us with a stunning double album.

There are no studio versions of Ingrid's Wheels and The House..., are there? I have a few bootlegs from the 1992 tour but none of those are very good quality...listenable but not a lot of real "presence" (the best is probably 19920307 Shibuya or 19920624 Genoa). Any soundboard recordings maybe?

[digimarsh]

First Day is the Sort of Album that grows on you, you stick it on , then you think ,this is actually really good, but i must admit i ignored it for years,then i dusted it down earlier this year and played it loads for a about a week, Darshan is very hipnotic. If i were to level 1 negative comment ,i would say a tad over produced(a subject well documented on these pages already)

[missouriman]

We were driving in northern Michigan. A late summer's day thunderstorm raging overhead. Those summer storms are beautiful and so hard. In the car stereo was "The First Day" cd. Fresh out and it was on all the time. As we pushed through what seemed like walls of horizontal water "20th Century Dreaming" came on. The perfect soundtrack to driving long American highways. This truck pulling a camper trailer came by us on the outside as we drove a long curve. He was going way too fast in the rain and skidded flipping the trailer. The sight of that mass of metal disintegrating next to us and the relentless intensity of the music has stuck in my mind forever. 'The First Day' is still one of my favorite things David has ever done. "Darshan" became the track I would listen to to actually alter my mood. The guitar soloing by Fripp at the climax is exquisite. It is a very emotional sound to me and when my father died in 1998 I played it the night of his death and it opened me. Stifling grief that day and "Darshan" broke me down.

[Drake]

Agree.

I think it's wonderful to hear his voice surrounded by distorted guitars and big drums. I am also a fan of the distorsion effects on the vocals. Jean the Birdman is weak, yes, and Brightness Falls, too. But the rest...heavy!!!! And Darshan is vey much hypnotic, indeed!

Btw, remember hearing the phrase "She troubles me" on Earl's Court in 1994. The beauty of it just blew me away.

[Astronaut]

"Darshan" became the track I would listen to to actually alter my mood. The guitar soloing by Fripp at the climax is exquisite. It is a very emotional sound to me and when my father died in 1998 I played it the night of his death and it opened me. Stifling grief that day and "Darshan" broke me down.

That's beautiful - now I think I'm gonna cry too x

[digimarsh]

We were driving in northern Michigan. A late summer's day thunderstorm raging overhead. Those summer storms are beautiful and so hard. In the car stereo was "The First Day" cd. Fresh out and it was on all the time. As we pushed through what seemed like walls of horizontal water "20th Century Dreaming" came on. The perfect soundtrack to driving long American highways. This truck pulling a camper trailer came by us on the outside as we drove a long curve. He was going way too fast in the rain and skidded flipping the trailer. The sight of that mass of metal disintegrating next to us and the relentless intensity of the music has stuck in my mind forever. 'The First Day' is still one of my favorite things David has ever done. "Darshan" became the track I would listen to to actually alter my mood. The guitar soloing by Fripp at the climax is exquisite. It is a very emotional sound to me and when my father died in 1998 I played it the night of his death and it opened me. Stifling grief that day and "Darshan" broke me down.

hey man there's no answer to that is there ,an amazing story.
At work now ,gonna stick it on tonight for sure,(hope it rains)

[inkinthewell]

And what about the cover? On what other record cover is David so relaxed, natural, smiling?
He's never been so rocky since this album (apart Linoleum, maybe?).

[Astronaut]

And what about the cover? On what other record cover is David so relaxed, natural, smiling?
He's never been so rocky since this album (apart Linoleum, maybe?).

Agreed. He looks happy and healthy. Makes me think he actually ENJOYED working with Mr Fripp - despite his behaviour at one of their joint photo sessions ...

[Tin Bird]

I think it's wonderful to hear his voice surrounded by distorted guitars and big drums. I am also a fan of the distorsion effects on the vocals. Jean the Birdman is weak, yes, and Brightness Falls, too. But the rest...heavy!!!!

Perfect description as to why I did not like the album. Liked God's Monkey and Jean the Birdman. I am a fan of songs... great melodies, ponderous lyrics, thoughful arrangements...etc "Distorted guitars and big drums" not so much...esp. the "big drums" part. Makes me think of stadium rock. I much prefer Jansen's precise, angular, jazz-tinged playing.

[baht habit]

'big drums' on The First Day? I would recommend going back and checking that again, since Jerry Marotta's drum sound is rather tight and compact. I love what Sylvian and Bottrill created out of Marotta's slinky funk groove for God's Monkey. That filthy little New Orleans backbeat rhythm on Jean The Birdman is reminiscent of some great Zigaboo tracks with the Meters. His light touch around the kit on Blinding Light Of Heaven is so smooth. Even on the prog rockers like Firepower and Twentieth Century Dreaming, Marotta's drum sound is extremely humble and lacking reverb - very similar to Fripp's preferred audio verite' from the late 70s.
Sylvian had actually played a much bigger role than Fripp in the final decisions on The First Day. Fripp recorded his initial parts rather quickly and then went out on tour with his String Quartet. When he returned to the studio to continue recording and overdubbing, he was informed that Sylvian and Bottrill had worked up the ideas for God's Monkey and Darshan in order to replace the subtler tracks such as The First Day and the newly written Damage, which Fripp had expected to be included on the cd. Sylvian was the one who decided that the record should be mainly heavier and therefore they never completed the studio versions for those two ballads.
There supposedly does exist a studio version of The House In Which We Live, as well as a 13 minute remix by David Singleton, which remains unreleased by Virgin.
The First Day remains my favorite Sylvian recording and I have consistently listened to that cd more than any other Sylvian work I own. One would never think a person as seemingly professorial as Fripp would have the intensity to flat out rip in to his guitar as he does. Trey Gunn is a monster player and a really nice guy as well. In my opinion, the only song where Sylvian's contribution falls short is on Brightness Falls. His croon just didn't seem to mesh with Fripp's crunch on that song.

[Drake]

Well, I guess you are right about Marotta's drums (I really prefer them to Mastelotto's live versions - they def have a "bigger" sound). What I really was referring to is the big wall of sound contrasting to the sound of for instance Beehive.

[Tin Bird]

As stated, loved God's Monkey and Jean the Birdman, however, to me the rest of the album is too conventional in a classic rock n roll style. I like a lot of Fripp's work esp. w Eno and Bowie. Not a fan of prog, so you can understand why 8 minute guitar workouts just don't do it for me. I know I've read numerous times that Sylvian is not fond of the work, views it as a mistake. I agree. btw if we are talking guitarists, I much prefer the work that Bill Nelson did w him. Blackwater, Answered Prayers...etc. Much more subtle and understated.
Oh yeah, loved Damage, the song The First Day, and all of the Jean the Birdman B-sides. My fave track of the lot was Damage. I also thought that the live versions of all of the tracks were much better..even tracks like Firepower that I didn't care for. Also love Trey Gunn's stick work. His first solo One Thousand Years is good. Reminds a bit of Michael Brook in places.