The Morning Lasted All Day: A Retrospective

by The Dream Academy

Overview

Morning Lasted All Day: A Retrospective begins, as it should, with "Life in a Northern Town," which was as big, bucolic, and bold a stroke of studio-polished chamber pop as one was likely to encounter in 1985, which is saying something. Co-produced by David Gilmour, that song, a folk-tinged, dream pop tribute to Nick Drake, the steamy "Love Parade," and the rapturous "Edge of Forever," the latter of which will always be accompanied by the image of Ferris Bueller locking lips with Sloane before embarking on the feverish last few minutes of his already memorable day off, occupy the first three slots on this two-disc overview, which was compiled by Academy head Nick Laird-Clowes, who also provides extensive liner notes. The Dream Academy, despite releasing two more like-minded yet spotty albums, never matched the success of their 1985 debut, and Morning Lasted All Day (the original title of "Life in a Northern Town" until Paul Simon, from whom Clowes was receiving guitar lessons at the time, convinced him otherwise) aims to rectify the situation by allowing the cream to rise to the top. At 24 tracks, it's a bit much for casual fans, but for the converted, hearing songs like the beguiling "Here" and the grand and tastefully epic "Indian Summer," neither of which have undergone any kind of significant remastering since they first appeared on CD in the late '80s, with such clarity is worth the price of admission, and the bevy of unreleased tracks includes the ambitious Kurt Weill-meets-"West End Girls"-inspired "Last Day of the War," the wistful, road trip-ready "Chosen Few" (one of two songs from the vaults to feature Gilmour on guitar), and the all-new "Sunrising," a languid, rainy morning confection that serves as the perfect closer for a winning collection of songs that were no doubt inspired by, and sometimes made in spite of, overcast skies. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	07/29/2014
Label:	Real Gone Music
UPC:	0848064002451

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Life in a Northern Town
2. The Love Parade
3. The Edge of Forever
4. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want
5. Johnny (New Light)
6. In Places on the Run
7. Ballad in 4/4
8. Girl in a Million (For Edie Sedgwick)
9. Power to Believe
10. This World
11. Here
12. One Dream

Disc 2

13. Indian Summer
14. Lucy September
15. Hampstead Girl
16. The Demonstration
17. Living in a War
18. Love
19. Waterloo
20. The Chosen Few
21. It'll Never Happen Again
22. Power to Believe
23. The Last Day of the War
24. Sunrising

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Dream Academy   Primary Artist
Gilbert Gabriel   Vocals,Keyboards
Kate St. John   Oboe,Vocals,Saxophone,Cor Anglais,Piano-Accordian
Nick Laird-Clowes   Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

The Dream Academy   Producer
Alan Tarney   Producer
Gordon Anderson   Executive Producer
Gilbert Gabriel   Producer,Group Member
Steve Lambert   Producer
Tarquin Gotch   Management
Claire Morales   Design,Cover Art
George Nicholson   Producer
Arthur Elgort   Photography
Mark Lebon   Collage
Paul O'Duffy   Producer
Steve McLaughlin   Mixing,Remastering
Johnny Marr   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Hugh Padgham   Producer
Lindsey Buckingham   Producer
Kate St. John   Group Member
Nick Laird-Clowes   Composer,Producer,Liner Notes,Remastering,Group Member
Anthony Moore   Producer
Tim Hardin   Composer
David Gilmour   Producer
Morrissey   Composer