Catherine Wheel - Ferment [12", LP, Limited Edition, Bonus EP]

Been looking for this album on vinyl for quite a while already. It's become pretty rare (and expensive, for that matter), but recently i finally got my hands on a copy of FERMENT by CATHERINE WHEEL. It's even the limited edition with a bonus Live EP. This is such a magnificent debut album. It features quite a few re-recorded versions of songs that had already been out on various EP's during the years before this was released, like I Want To Touch You, Black Metallic, She's My Friend and Shallow. All of them absolutely great songs. But my favourite song on the album is definitely Flower To Hide. It's also the one that comes closest to shoegaze; the band never liked to be labeled as a shoegaze band, and i must say i never really considered them as such either. But they sure knew how to use the pedals and create some proper feedback noise. Funny trivia that i only found out recently: singer Rob Dickinson is a cousin of Bruce Dickinson, the frontman of Iron Maiden. That was documented on both Wikipedia and Discogs when i did some research, but what it didn't say is that both bands' names derive from torture devices. Coincidence? I think not.

Label: Fontana
Cat.nr.: 510903-1
Year of release: 1992

SIDE A:
01. Texture
02. I Want To Touch You
03. Black Metallic
04. Indigo Is Blue
05. She's My Friend

SIDE B:
01. Shallow
02. Ferment
03. Flower To Hide
04. Tumbledown
05. Bill And Ben
06. Salt

I already mentioned the Live EP: it features live recordings of 3 songs that also appear on the album, recorded at Bath Moles, November 6th 1991. Pretty cool versions as well.

Label: Fontana
Cat.nr.: 866535-1
Year of release: 1992

SIDE A:
01. Shallow
02. I Want To Touch You

SIDE B:
01. Salt