Following up on last year’s reissue of MORE SAD HITS, Damon & Naomi release a one-CD anthology of tracks drawn from their Sub Pop Records years: THE WONDROUS WORLD OF DAMON & NAOMI (1995), PLAYBACK SINGERS (1998), DAMON & NAOMI WITH GHOST (2000), and SONG TO THE SIREN, LIVE IN SAN SEBASTION (2002).

The original 1992 release of MORE SAD HITS on producer Kramer’s label Shimmy Disc caught the attention  of Sub Pop’s Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt. They signed Damon & Naomi to a recording contract despite the duo’s pledge never to perform their material live - a pledge they would break shortly after the release of THE WONDROUS WORLD OF DAMON & NAOMI, upon their first offer to play in Japan.

For those initial dates, Damon & Naomi invited the Tokyo band Ghost to join them on stage. Both bands forged a partnership which tranformed their performing and recording career, and which continues into the present. The duo subsequently made live performance an integral part of their music, touring throughout the mid to late 90’s as an unaccompanied twosome (they went on the road with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and collapsible Indian harmonium). Their next album for Sub Pop, PLAYBACK SINGERS, achieved an elaborate sound even though recorded in their living room.

On a subsequent tour of Japan, Damon & Naomi reunited with Ghost and decided to record a new album together. DAMON & NAOMI WITH GHOST became their most critically acclaimed release on Sub Pop. The song writing was still characteristically D & N but the sound was no longer homemade. The album would mark the start of the next phase in D & N’s recording career, since followed by increasingly elaborate and orchestrated studio albums THE EARTH IS BLUE (2005) and WITHIN THESE WALLS (2007).

First, however, there would be their soyanara to Sub Pop, 2002’s CD/DVD package SONG TO THE SIREN: LIVE IN SAN SEBASTIAN, which documented the tours they undertook as a newborn power trio with ace electric guitarist Michio Kurihara (Ghost, Boris, White Heaven). Damon & Naomi’s live and studio work with Kurihara is perhaps what they have been known for in recent years - his alternately sighing and searing lead guitar has continued to contribute heavily to their music. However, as Damon & Naomi reveal in liner notes to THE SUB POP YEARS, LIVE IN SAN SEBASTIAN is actually a fake concoction, recorded initially as a way for the trio to document arrangements developed on the road together. Only later - at Jonathan Poneman’s mischievious suggestion - was this ‘live in studio’ tape combined with an actual audience bootleg from one of the trio’s shows to create LIVE IN SAN SEBASTIAN…

Note that the DVD portion of Sub Pop’s 2002 release, Naomi’s video tour diary SONG TO THE SIREN, will be re-released later this year by the new NYC DVD label Factory 25, as part of an anthology of Damon & Naomi video titled 1002 NIGHTS - completing this 2009 retrospective of their musical catalogue.

Review

THE SUB POP YEARS (1995-2002), Released 7 September 2009

Arguably, the greatest thing about being involved in the business and art of music is that of discovery. I have never heard Damon & Naomi before this review and I wish I had - much earlier. But, better late than never, as they say, and this is a great place to start the love affair. Opening track ‘Eulogy To Lenny Bruce’ (written by Tim Hardin and from the 2000 album DAMON & NAOMI WITH GHOST) is a delicate affair with softly flowing and piano notes introducing the fragile tones of Naomi’s voice. The piano notes rise and fall and the ambience created is mournful, sorrowful. I’ve not heard the original song but this interpretation really works for me as a sincere and moving tribute. 1998’s ”I’m Yours’ (from PLAYBACK SINGERS) opens with the most subtle guitar backdrop and a distant vocal. The glacial pace and ambience created reminds me of earlier Low music and I’m left wondering if D & N actually influenced Low… It’s a gorgeous song that builds so, so slowly to its final instrumental crescendo. ‘Forgot To Get High’ is from 1995’s THE WONDROUS WORLD OF DAMON & NAOMI and is my introduction to Damon’s equally soft and fragile voice. The song sounds as fresh as today with its flashes of spoken commentary, and the mournful guitar wail that continues throughout the song. And underneath it all is the most subtle melody. I’m blown away by this…

‘New York City’ (from 2002’s SONG TO THE SIREN) is a wistful, lighter tune with another featherlight and understated Naomi vocal. ‘Eye Of The Storm’ (from 1998’s PLAYBACK SINGERS) offers up a more solid sonic experience with guitar and vocal sounding more assertive and clear. Around the middle-eight there are weird and wonderful instrumental samples that sound like the instruments are playing in reverse… It’s one of the album’s standout tracks. ‘Judah And The Maccabees’ (from DAMON & NAOMI WITH GHOST) is a prime example of the association with the Japanese band, its intuitive drumming and sparse piano notes adding another fascinating dimension to the duo’s music. It’s another of my favourite album tracks.

‘Tour Of The World’ sounds like a live track from THE WONDROUS WORLD OF DAMON & NAOMI (but could easily be sampled for the song). It’s a sweet, meandering, melodic song performed with such a rare, light touch. Towards the end there’s an extended vocal and instrumental crescendo that completes the song in fine style. Other songs include ‘Son To The Siren’, ‘The Navigator’, ‘The Mirror Phase’, ‘How Long’, ‘The New World’, ‘The Great Wall’, ‘In The Sun’ and ‘Turn Of The Century.’

I have seldom heard such musical integrity demonstrated. There are no gimmics, no massive overproduction, just simple contemporary folk music and overtly sincere performances. This has been a revelation for me and I believe it will be for many who have never been exposed to Damon & Naomi’s music before. The other major thing that struck me was how fresh this music sounds, and remember some of these songs and performances are up to 14 years old. I am both moved and impressed.

4/5