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Various Artists \ Ghosts of Christmas Past (Remake) [TWI 158 / CD]

An expanded double disc edition of the celebrated Christmas album from Les Disques du Crépuscule, first issued in December 1981 as TWI 058.

"Every gift which is given, even though it be small, is in reality great, if it is given with affection" (Pindar)

Sometimes witty, sometimes melancholic, Ghosts of Christmas Past features exclusive festive tracks by Crépuscule and Factory luminaries such as Tuxedomoon, Durutti Column, Paul Haig, Antena, Mikado, Thick Pigeon, Pale Fountains and The Names, along with special guests including Michael Nyman, Aztec Camera, Deux Filles, Gavin Briars, Virna Lindt and New Order (as B Music).

For the 2015 double CD edition these vintage classic are joined by newer tracks from Section 25, Marsheaux, Blaine L. Reininger, The Wake, Miranda Dali and Ultramarine.

Cover art by Jean-François Octave. Remastered 2xCD set in six panel digipack. 2xLP set in gatefold sleeve + digital copy.

2xCD tracklist:

CD disc 1:

1. Section 25 Jesus Sweetly Sleeps
2. Miranda Dali Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
3. The Wake Jesus From the Block
4. Marsheaux We Met Bernard Sumner at a Christmas Party
5. Ultramarine Winter Circle
6. Isolation Ward Lamina Christus
7. Thick Pigeon Jingle Bell Rock
8. Aztec Camera Hot Club of Christ
9. Paul Haig Scottish Christmas
10. B Music Rocking Carol
11. Tuxedomoon Weinachtrap
12. Virna Lindt Festivo
13. Blaine L. Reininger Jingle Hell
14. Blaine L. Reininger Silent Blight
15. Blaine L. Reininger Xmas Blooz
16. The Durutti Column Snowflakes
17. Monks in the Snow A Theme for This Special Evening

CD disc 2:

1. Hillcrest Club Breakfast at Christmas
2. Paul Haig Christiana
3. The Names Tokyo Twilight
4. The Durutti Column One Christmas for Your Thoughts
5. White Birds Possessed by the Stars
6. The Swinging Buildings Praying for a Cheaper Christmas
7. B Music Ode to Joy
8. Antena Noelle à Hawai
9. The Pale Fountains Benoît's Christmas
10. The French Impressionists Santa Baby
11. Simon Topping Peep Show International
12. Thick Pigeon Silhouettes
13. Deux Filles The Snow Falls and the Village Is...
14. Mikado Message de Noel
15. Winston Tong The Twelve Days of Christmas
16. The Arcadians Write Your Letter
17. Michael Nyman Cream Or Christians
18. Magazzini Criminali Honolulu 25 Dicembre 1990

2xLP tracklist:

LP disc 1:

A1. Aztec Camera Hot Club of Christ
A2. The Durutti Column One Christmas for Your Thoughts
A3. Paul Haig Christiana
A4. Isolation Ward Lamina Christus
A5. Buscemi Shchedryk
A6. The Swinging Buildings Praying for a Cheaper Christmas
B1. Tuxedomoon Weinachtrap
B2. Thick Pigeon Jingle Bell Rock
B3. The French Impressionists Santa Baby
B4. Gavin Bryars Season of Mists
B5. B Music Ode to Joy
B6. Michael Nyman Cream or Christians

LP disc 2:

C1. Antena Noelle à Hawai
C2. Mikado Message de Noel
C3. The Pale Fountains Benoît's Christmas
C4. The Names Tokyo Twilight
C5. Marsheaux We Met Bernard Sumner at a Christmas Party
D1. Blaine L. Reininger Jingle Hell
D2. Section 25 Jesus Sweetly Sleeps
D3. Miranda Dali Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
D4. The Wake Jesus From the Block
D5. Deux Filles Deep Snowdrop
D6. Ultramarine Winter Circle

Available on digital (MP3 or FLAC). To order please first select correct shipping option (UK, EU or Rest of World) and then click on Add To Cart button below the cover image. Digital copies are sent to customers by email link.

Or, you can order the CD or vinyl with the option of tracked shipping from our friends at Burning Shed (click here to order)

Ghosts of Christmas Past [TWI 158 CD]
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Reviews:

"Aztec Camera's Hot Club of Christ is a busy, Django-esque run through a few well-known Christmas ditties, while Michael Nyman's Cream or Christians is a silly but loveable fragmented organ collage in a typical English eccentric tradition. Elsewhere, A Certain Ratio's Simon Topping contributes a beaty, bongo-brassy little thing, which would have sounded a lot less formal had the likes of Rip Rig been let loose on it, Tuxedomoon are in playful Residential mood, while The Durutti Column's One Christmas For Your Thoughts is exactly what you'd expect, an exquisite, gentle instrumental operating on a level where factors of 'interest' and 'boredom' don't figure" (NME, 12/1981)

"Crépuscule's Christmas cracker is here to rescue the festive season from the fogies and bores" (Melody Maker, 12/1981)

"Greatest Christmas albums ranked! At *18 that most improbable of things: a post-punk Christmas album, that features Aztec Camera doing a Django Reinhardt-inspired instrumental, a selection of Factory Records alumni and San Franciscan oddballs Tuxedomoon. The Durutti Column's implausibly beautiful Snowflakes is a standout" (The Guardian, 12/2022)

"Awesome. An ideal stocking filler for your favourite followers of early 80s avant-garde and new wave" (Boomkat, 12/2007)

"Ghosts Of Christmas Past is without doubt the only Christmas LP you can play with a clear conscience (and without the danger that someone declares you insane) in summertime. Recommended - and more than that!" (Peek A Boo, 12/2015)

"Opportune idée de cadeau de... Noel s'il en est (RifRaf Musiczine, 12/2015)

"The Christmas album of choice in the Electronic Sound Office gets a lick of paint in the shape of a double vinyl reissue. Essential listening on the big day, or in fact any day round this time of year" (Electronic Sound, 12/2017)

Ghosts of Christmas Past [TWI 158 CD]