Yep, not only did I part with my cash for A Brief History, a compilation of tunes I already owned, but I also asked for the full four-CD edition for my birthday. I knew this was daft. And I'd resisted for three and a half years after the compilations came out. But in the end the lure of those two (two!) unreleased tracks (disregarding a further three which the package claims were "previously unreleased outside Japan" but were actually on The Penguin Cafe Orchestra Mini Album), reasonable artwork and Robert Sandall essay (now available in full on the PCO website) were too much to resist. I got some postcards of Emily Young's artwork, too, but they were extra.
I've barely listened to the CDs. I had a private exchange with Max in which he was critical of Arthur Jeffes' track sequencing on this compilation. I don't know about that, but agree with Max's broader point that it makes more sense to listen to the original albums. But I've made my way through the whole lot, in sequence, over the past 48 hours. Sometimes you discover new things in the old when the frame changes, but mainly I just re-discovered what I'd forgotten from four years ago — that Sheep Dip is a stand-out even in exquisite company — and what I remembered from fourteen months ago — that the PCO's swansong was probably their finest.
The other thing Max and I agreed about was the dearth of good writing about the Orchestra. No disrespect to Robert Sandall or Robin Denselow, both of whom have done great stuff; just not enough! (Though here's Sandall on the latest incarnation of the orchestra, which Guy and I saw at the ICA last June.) I'd pay the price of this boxed set all over again for a book-length account of the PCO — not just the history, but the musicology as well. And, no, I don't think such analysis would strip the music of its charm or mystery. Not for me, anyway, as I'd only half understand it.
p.s. never mind the artwork, the download version of this set
MusicBrainz entry for this album
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