The Wild Swans-Incandescent (2003)

The Wild Swans es el ejemplo perfecto de la perseverancia dentro del Pop. De la perseverancia y del fracaso. Inmerecido, por supuesto.

Con su primer single "The Revolutionary Spirit" firmaron uno de los mejores temas de los 80. Tuvo un pequeño impacto en las listas pero no se materializó el album que debía ponerlos en su sitio.
Su sello Zoo, dirigido por Bill Drummond, que más tarde sería una de las cabezas pensantes de KLF (Ya habrá un post de estos francotiradores de la escena electrónica), cerró.

Este fue el fin de la primera encarnación de The Wild Swans. Paul Simpson, su lider y cantante, formó Care con Ian Broudie, quien a su vez formaría Lightning Seeeds y se convertiría en uno de los productores más solicitados.

Jeremy Kelly, guitarrista, formaría The Lotus Eaters y escribirían uno de los debuts más emocionantes de la década, No Sense of Sin, una auténtica maravilla.

De esa época nos quedan las caras B y Peel Sessions que es el material que se recopila en este Incandescent.

La segunda encarnación de la banda llegaría en 1988, con el album Bringing Home the Ashes. Aún manteniendo la esencia del sonido original de Wild Swans, los temas tienden a una épica que los emparenta con los U2 más mesiánicos.
Es decir, son peores comparados con el nivel de execelencia de sus primeros singles, pero dan mil vueltas a lo que muchas bandas hacían por entonces.Y contiene auténticos temazos.

Un tercer intento en 1990, con Space Flower, con la ayuda de Ian Broudie, supone un bajón de calidad, en parte porque se aleja un poco de su sonido característico, el de las mágicas guitarras de Jem Kelly.

Y su último intento de alcanzar el éxito que se le ha escapado estas tres décadas, The Coldest Winter in a Hundred Years que supone un regreso a su sonido y a la inspiración, pero que, tristemente está destinado a pasar desapercibido.

Este recopilatorio es la muestra de una banda única que debería haber tenido/tener mejor suerte.


Paul Simpson definió así lo que han sido estos años en los que la suerte le ha dado de lado:

"For me The Wild Swans was like a beautiful, holy, sexy, disturbing, dreamy nightmare about breaking into heaven to have sex with the angels. Unfortunately I was woken from my reverie by someone yelling into my ear "Paul, it's 3 a.m. it's pissing with rain, it's your turn to clean the toilet and, oh yeah, your dog is dead".

Allmusic,dice:"To say that the original early-'80s incarnation of the Wild Swans had a reputation outsized by its formal releases puts it mildly -- only one single was ever released, but such was both the impact of the band on its times and the long shadow it cast that the release of Incandescent seems like a logical conclusion more than a case of overkill. It is, certainly, as exhaustive as one could want -- both sides of that single, "Revolutionary Spirit" and "God Forbid," in both U.K. and U.S. mixes, are here, plus three BBC radio sessions and assorted studio and live tracks, as well as an astonishingly large set of liner notes, including commentary on every track by bandleader and iconic figure Paul Simpson among other essays. It's very much a fan's dream first and foremost, and as enjoyable and inspiring as "Revolutionary Spirit" is, Simpson's own recollection of the rough and limiting conditions it was recorded under matches the murky-yet-soaring end results of the U.K. mix. It's a post-punk landmark of swift rhythm, rich guitar and wide-eyed vocal power that is still a flawed diamond ("God Forbid" might actually be the more powerful number, though it's more Echo & the Bunnymen-like in comparison), and most casual listeners would need no more than this, or the cleaner U.S. mix. In comparison, meanwhile, the tracks from the three radio sessions are the real heart of the collection -- repeating no cuts from the single or each other, and often consisting of songs newly created for each one, they collectively function as the mini-album that never was, and the no-frills yet professional sound serves the band much better. As a result, songs like "Flowers of England," "Now You're Perfect," "No Bleeding," "Crowning Glory" and "Enchanted" all collectively serve notice to the band deserving to be ranked among legends like Orange Juice, the Sound and the Comsat Angels. The live set, from a show opening for Echo in late 1981, is equally strong, fairly to very well-recorded and proof that the band could bring it live and then some, the rhythm section (with Joey McKechnie on drums) ripping along and Simpson's guitar cascading from the sky."