Rylance, Stephen (29 July 2014). "This Is the Day: The The – 'Soul Mining: 30th Anniversary Edition' ". PopMatters . Retrieved 27 November 2021. Originally released on 21st October 1983, the recording of Soul Mining began in the spring of 1982, when the then 20-year old Matt Johnson, financed at this point by London Records, de-camped to New York to record 'Uncertain Smile' with producer Mike Thorne. A subsequent session, again in New York with Thorne, and featuring David Johansen of the New York Dolls, resulted in 'Perfect', yet both sessions, and the deal with London Records, were subsequently scrapped as The The switched to CBS Records and decided to start the album afresh. Work on the album was reconvened at John Foxx's Garden Studios in the then pre-gentrified Shoreditch area of London with Matt co-producing with Paul Hardiman - the album was subsequently mixed at Martin Rushent's Genetic Sound studio. Featuring a host of talented musicians, including JG Thirwell (aka Foetus, Manorexia and Steroid Maximus), Zeke Manyika (Orange Juice), electronic DIY pioneer Thomas Leer and Jools Holland, Johnson set out with a clear vision in mind - to produce an album that felt cinematic; a record of width, depth and texture and one which avoided the mundane line-up of two guitars, bass and drums. The aesthetic of The The was also something Johnson was very conscious of, assembling a supportive and talented team of creative individuals to help him refine his vision - his then girlfriend Fiona Skinner designed the type-face of the unique and enduring logo and his brother Andrew, working under the moniker Andy Dog, created the album artwork, a painting of one of Fela Kuti's wives. Amongst the goodies in the box is a ‘news-poster’ which contains extensive notes written by Johnson that detail the making of the album. We have also produced an A2 giclée print with the re-working by Andy Dog of the iconic artwork he created for his brother’s seminal album, Soul Mining. Printed in vibrant colours on heavyweight 315gsm, soft-textured, 100% cotton, archive-quality white paper with the classic THE THE logo hand-embossed into the top left hand corner.

Graphic designer Fiona Skinner, who had become Johnson's girlfriend in 1982, created the bespoke typeface used on Soul Mining. [1] [15] The album and the single "This Is the Day" marked the first appearance of the band's logo, which also used Skinner's font, and which would be used on the majority of the The's subsequent releases.

Catalog

Soul Mining is very much of its time, with the anti-thatcher rally cries and drum machines that were lifted from the Human League's studio. at the same time, it's like absolutely nothing else from 1983. Johnson's peers were either gleefully wallowing in synth pop or turning into vampires. Only Johnson, perhaps because he has always been a little out of his mind, chose to walk that line between accessible pop (which also meant risking critical scorn) and high art. Throughout May 1983 the The held a weekly residence of concerts at the Marquee club in central London, featuring many of Johnson's musician friends from the British post-punk scene. Johnson used these concerts to decide which musicians he wanted to contribute to the forthcoming the The album. These included Orange Juice drummer Zeke Manyika, do-it-yourself synthesizer pioneer Thomas Leer, and the experimental Australian musician Jim Thirlwell, credited on the album as one of his early aliases "Frank Want", and who would go on to achieve some degree of recognition recording under the name Foetus. [7] Originally released on 21st October 1983, the recording of Soul Mining began in the spring of 1982, when the then 20-year old Matt Johnson, financed at this point by London Records, de-camped to New York to record ‘Uncertain Smile’ with producer Mike Thorne. Heatley, Michael (2006). "The The: Soul Mining". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p.505. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.

As for “Uncertain Smile”, well, what a triumph of songwriting and storytelling. The whole ideology of The The was there in the name, an amorphous collection of musicians tailored for each song, and while Johnny Marr didn’t sign up for another decade, he and Matt Johnson were already musical soulmates in the early 80’s (it sure sounds like Marr on guitar here). The guitar riff is a mellifluous lilt and the words are simply heartbreaking (“I’ve got you under my skin/where the rain can’t get in/but as the sweat pours out, just shout/I’ll try to swim and pull you out”). It actually gets even better when Jools Holland appears with his boogie-woogie shuffle. Recorded in one take, he lifts the song into the stars. In the newspaper that accompanies the box set, Matt Johnson correctly describes it as “Possibly the finest piano solo in British pop music over the past 30 years.” The sleeve features a ‘2 faced’ double cover to mirror the audio content – THE THE’s Andy Dog artwork features on one side, and DJ Food’s illustrative interpretation of the artwork on the other, and a top opening makes this sleeve entirely non-preferential. This record fits snugly inside the Soul Mining 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Boxset to complete the collection. MJ: Yeah, I am. In fact I’ve got a load of the tapes in the flat that need baking. I’ve been recommended something called a Dried Fruit Dehydrator that’s supposed to be more effective than the standard equipment. You bake tapes at a low temperature in a convection oven for 24 to 48 hours. These are non-standard solutions to a very new problem. The key thing is to digitize as soon as you’ve got them ready. I’ve got to get my old AKAI and REVOXes serviced and ready to go. I’ve got hundreds of tapes and most of them aren’t marked. What was I thinking? What an idiot. I’m the only person who can do it because I’m the only one who knows what to look for. That’s a process that I’m looking forward to it but it’s so time consuming. The plan is to do a box set. My first actual album was actually a cassette called See Without Being Seen and I do know where that is but it’s so rough. That will be one of those things that I put out without even advertising, purely for the hardcore followers. I was about 16 when I did that album. Pornography Of Despair will be fine. That will sound better than Burning Blue Soul. Spirits I think will sound pretty decent but I have to make sure it sounds good and I’d like to put it out as a nice set with photographs and the history.Additionally, you can opt out of some of these services by visiting the Digital Advertising Alliance’s opt-out portal at: http://optout.aboutads.info/. This Record Store Day release marks the beginning of a new exploration of THE THE’s timeless catalogue.

The closer “Giant” is a perfect summary of the album’s manifesto. An incredibly serious piece of music and an existential musing upon the nature of the self - “How could anyone know me when I don’t even know myself?” - it’s a theme Matt Johnson would revisit on the majestic ‘Slow Emotion Replay” from 1993’s Dusk. Staunton, Terry (July 2014). " Soul Mining | The The". Record Collector. No.429. p.101 . Retrieved 27 November 2021. Work on the album was reconvened at John Foxx’s Garden Studios in the then pre-gentrified Shoreditch area of East London with Matt co-producing with Paul Hardiman – the album was subsequently mixed at Martin Rushent’s Genetic Sound studio.

Statistics

Albums to Hear Before You Die – Artists beginning with T". The Guardian. 22 November 2007. p.5 (supplement) . Retrieved 2 January 2012.

Featuring a host of talented musicians, including JG Thirlwell (aka Foetus, Manorexia and Steroid Maximus), Zeke Manyika (Orange Juice), electronic DIY pioneer Thomas Leer and Jools Holland, Johnson set out with a clear vision in mind – to produce an album that felt cinematic; a record of width, depth and texture and one which avoided the mundane line-up of the day of guitar, bass and drums. a b Loder, Kurt (10 May 1984). "The The: Soul Mining". Rolling Stone. No.421. p.55. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010 . Retrieved 23 July 2017. Ever since hearing 'Giant' for the first time in a Berlin club, this album has accompanied me through my life and has constant rotation several times a year. Finally, we may also share your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, to respond to a subpoena, search warrant or other lawful request for information we receive, or to otherwise protect our rights.The music on this album is light and airy, bouncy, floating but also brooding, haunting and dark at the same time. The more darker songs like 'Tomorrow' with almost Joy Division-esque synthesizers or 'The Sinking Feeling' are perfectly matched by (deceptively!) cheerful and more accessible pops songs like 'Perfect', 'This Is The Day' with its accordion and 'Uncertain Smile' with its piano solo by Jools Holland. To coincide with this event, we have managed to obtain 15 Soul Mining vinyl box sets to offer for sale, personalised and signed by Matt. a b c d e Doran, John (16 June 2014). "Under My Skin: Matt Johnson Discusses Soul Mining With John Doran". The Quietus . Retrieved 27 November 2021. Not a song less than excellent here - from the tour-de-force opener that is "I've Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All Of My Life)" to the truly giant closer that is "Giant", plus the additional 12" with the much-loved slower version of "Perfect" (again the title justifying the means) along with two experimental pieces recorded at the time (the rumour has it, these were to form part to The The's abandoned "Pornography Of Despair" album, along with many other b-sides that appeared on other singles from the "Soul Mining" era). Simply, a masterpiece screaming GOLD all over its course of (seven) songs. Reviewing the remastered reissue in 2002, PopMatters said, "It may not make the list of best records of the '80s, but it's damn close, and would definitely stir some intense debate over its inclusion." [40] A supplement entitled "80 from the 80s" in the August 2007 issue of Mojo included Soul Mining as one of only four albums from 1983 to make its list of the 80 best albums of that decade, [41] and three months later in November 2007 The Guardian included Soul Mining in its list of 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die, where it stated that Johnson's "artful pop ... hides an underlying menace at odds with the chart-toppers of the time". [42]