album // The Many Moods Of Simon Turner
This collection of soundtracks for TV, theatre and the silver screen was released in 1993 on Richmond, one of the Cherry Red suite of labels. Its slightly naff sleeve veers toward lounge lizard cheese, but the actual music is far from easy listening. By that, I don't mean that this is uncomfortable listening, just that it's not at all as retro as the sleeve would have us believe. If nothing else, The Many Moods Of... shows that Simon Fisher Turner is capable of delivering a consistent quality of output, regardless of the medium.
The opener, 'Isles Of Spice', was written for a Japanese aftershave commercial, and is a dense web of icy chords, much in the vein of Brian Eno. At over 2 minutes, either commercials are a lot longer in Japan, or only a passage was used. 'Exotic Hats' was used at a fashion show in Cadiz in 1990 and appears to consist of a deeply-processed marching drum pattern, complete with rolls, as well as some high-pitched synths and percussion; it sounds like Turner ran this whole track through a combination of effects, leading the music far from what appears to be quite a simple arrangement. I can't be totally sure, but the pastoral classicism of 'Esperanza' (from a 1991 tribute to James Mason), appears to be a duet between harp and acoustic guitar, or maybe just layers of classical Spanish guitar. A brief guitar piece ('Violet Crumble', from Turner's private collection) also closes the album.
The heavyweight soundtrack work kicks off on 'Caravaggio 1986' from the Derek Jarman film. This starts as a piece for string quartet (I'm guessing), that develops with Turner's loops and noise samples. At around 5 minutes, the strings return, duelling intermittently with Turner's sonic structures. Phased guitar and bass passages introduce 'Sloane Square' (another Jarman score), which is balanced perfectly between beautiful harmonies and dropped-in samples and harsh, hissing tones. Spoken word passages combine with the latter to create an atmospheric work that moves from austere beauty to threatening sound and synth collage all in a matter of minutes. The screams and child voices that come in at 8 minutes are something of a shock, particularly since by this stage the track is dominated by beautiful piano.
Serene spirals and cascades of synths open the highly atmospheric 'A Gourmet Love Song' (from the 1976 stage play Apples, Peaches, Bananas & Pears, in a vein recalling some of the best early 90s ambient music. The addition of a dirty electric guitar simply builds the tension. 'Colours Of My Life' (1989) deploys snatches of spoken word, in a similar vein to the impressive music Turner put together on Still Moving Light. The track is also dominated by ethereal pads and held tones, and a healthy dose of reverb, all of which this piece colour and mystery. The skittering rhythm which appears after 7 minutes is filled with the kind of intermittent tension that graces the best crime thrillers.
About a year ago, I made conscious decision not to review albums track by track, a rule which I have clearly broken here. But it is with good reason - the music on The Many Moods Of... is, as its name suggests, made up of many shades and a multitude of styles, and cannot be summarised convincingly. Few artists are capable of carrying this off with as much credibility as Simon Fisher Turner.