durutti column: amigos em portugal

Reissue of Amigos Em Portugal by The Durutti Column, originally released in 1983. 180-gram LP. Includes CD. Digitally remastered from two different original sources for vinyl and CD for optimum sound quality. New artwork and design by Manchester-based graphic designer Trevor Johnson. Limited edition of 500. A precursor to one of the great Durutti Column albums, Without Mercy (1984), Amigos Em Portugal was recorded in only a couple of days -- as is always the case with Vini Reilly -- and was allegedly supposed to be a single or EP, but the newly formed Portuguese label Fundação Atlântica had the tapes and different ideas. Reilly was just enjoying the tape time, playing many of his current works in progress. These sketches later became part of Reilly's classical experiment with Tony Wilson and students of The Royal Northern College of Music, Without Mercy. Most of the tracks here have a beautiful fragility, whether they're solo guitar instrumentals ("Estoril A Noite") or piano pieces ("Wheels Turning"), not to mention the piano loop from "Without Mercy" and "Favourite Descending Intervals." Yes -- this set documents a time when Reilly played piano, before he came to believe that he was "an awful and discombobulated pianist." This reissue is the first in a series of five releases of rare or previously unreleased material from the band on the Durutti imprint.