Search - Coil :: Panic / Tainted Love

The Supergroup you do not know...

William J. Tobin Jr. | Western MA, USA | 05/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Panic / Tainted Love I was one of those people, that, sadly had never been exposed to the phenomenon that was Coil. Not "Lacuna Coil", not "Icon of Coil", not "This Mortal Coil"...just plain "Coil". I had gone back into the retail field, working for a great alternative record store, when I discovered three "groups", Nurse with Wound, "Current" 93, and Coil, three units that had been operating since the early Eighties! My first job, concerning these groups, was to gather up any and all titles by each, to reprice as "collectible". It was at this time that I actually heard the music that would spark my ears, and renew my faith in modern music, completely. Nurse with Wound was brooding, sometimes scary, sometimes quite humourous ("Huffin' Rag Blues"), VERY experimental music. "Current" 93 was sometimes Psychedelic, often hypnotic, sometimes folksy, lyrically rich music. For me, however, the greatest of this triad was Coil. How to explain...Coil, the brainchild of the late Jhonn Balance, and Peter Christopherson (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic T.V.), featuring, and working with a rotating staff of cohorts, and contributing to C93, and NWW, were masters of exploration. From Techno to Brit New Wave, to Ambient...they blew me away, to say the least. Unfortunately, I had repriced the few things we had in the store, WAY above my budget restrictions, even with discount! Thankfully (unsolicited endorsement!), I lucked into Amazon. I was thrilled to find that some vendors had amazingly low prices on some of their stuff (ALL limited edition). Now, to the title at hand.The "Panic/Tainted Love E.P. is actually three songs, the first of three E.P.s on Wax Trax records,more commercially available in the states, yet still all out of print. The first song, "Aqua Regos",is a short industrial/ambient piece, that epitomizes the best bits of Coil's early period.The second song "Panic", is a Techno/"Public Image"-y bit, being a tune about the God Pan, with the repeated chant "The only thing to fear, is fear itself". It is Jhonn Balance in one of his most manic performances. The "Hit" here, is their stunningly dramatic reading of Ed Cobb's "Tainted Love". bearing little or no resemblance to the original recording by Gloria Jones, or the dancey pop version by Soft Cell (although Marc Almond cameos in the video), this song is transformed into what should have been the world anthem for AIDS awareness. As a new release, all proceeds from the sale of this recording went to AIDS awareness and education. It is a rock opera unto itself, and certainly a great (and here, still low priced)introduction to an amazing group. The Supergroup you do not know. the other two E.P.s "Windowpane", and "The Snow E.P.", comprising the whole of the Wax Trax trilogy, are also VERY recommended, and still found pretty inexpensively, here at Amazon. A Full Album, compiling The Snow AND Windowpane E.P.s is also available. WARNING. Coil music is VERY addictive. Thanks to the many vendors AND the Coil store at Amazon(for some reason misspelled "COILL"), you can satiate your urge, at the most reasonable prices I've seen anywhere (remember, I WORK in a record store!)I consider these recordings some of the most diverse, incredibly fearless recordings I'm priviledged to own. The collectible/investment aspect, is just a nice bonus. Get this E.P....I STILL see it, today at like a buck seventy five and thereabouts. You won't be sorry."