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General Category => New Model Army => Topic started by: Guillaume on November 06, 2013, 09:28:22 PM
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Yes, it has been now 2O years...NAVIGATING BY THE STARS was released in 2OO3.
I've listened to the album yesterday on my headphones, it's been months and months since i haven't listened to it...and i thought yesterday...as much as i think that BDAW is brillant stuff overall, even great at times...NAVIGATING BY THE STARS...i think maybe nothing in NMA's career can match the beauty of this album...really...Justin's voice has never been so moving, the atmosphere so beautiful and melancholic, the production and sounds of instruments so perfect ...what an incredible journey through landscapes and moods this album is, wow...thank you so much Justin! 8)
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Shitting crikey, TEN years ago..? :o
A gorgeous album, one of my favourites...
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I love this album, in a different way to any of the band albums. The music is luscious and the writing's possibly Justin's best ever; allusive, evocative, mystical. I live on a sailboat on Lake Ontario, and there's nothing quite like snuggling up with my sweetie in the v-berth on a cool autumn night, listening to NBTS while the dock lines creak and the wind and the water rock the boat. Just brilliant.
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Probably the album I play the most. Love it from start to finish. Twilight home may well be the most beautiful piece of music JS has ever written.
I live on my boat in New Zealand and this album has been the soundtrack to so many wonderful hours spent on the Pacific.
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I live on a sailboat on Lake Ontario, and there's nothing quite like snuggling up with my sweetie in the v-berth on a cool autumn night, listening to NBTS while the dock lines creak and the wind and the water rock the boat.
I guess it must be totally awesome...i'm jealous. ;)
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Got good memories of playing NBTS at night at sea.Hearing Ocean Rising in the middle of a gale at sea is something else.Can really picture Shackleton and co being battered by huge seas.A special album
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I agree with all that's been said about this album.I think my favourite track from this period is Sooner Or Later which was on the b-side of Twilight Home.Should have been on the album!
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I was nearly stunned when I first listened to NBTS. Green is my favourite. What a clever combination of lyrical meanings and mystical elements that raise towards the end of the song. Also, I have to say I think that the version of Ocean's there possibly the best one. There's all that mightyness and intensity even without the bigger rhythm parts.
My wife is working in a kindergarten and she once tried the album as a "sleeping music" to children after reading some stories to them. It worked well.
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A very relaxing album. Fine quality from start to finish. No tracks on it I skip when listening to it. Tend to listen to it on the Morning bus when still half asleep. Favourite track, - Ghost Train.
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I think that all the tracks are fine, indeed.
"Ocean rising", "Twilight home", "Sentry", "Tales of the road", the title track, "Home", "Changing of the light"...great, great stuff.
The production is also very very good, it sounds great, on headphones for example.
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I refuse to believe it's been ten years ! :o
Remember as clear as day when this was released, and being completely seduced by its beauty. Wonderful album. I have it on my mp3 player, so dip into it from time to time. I really should get the cd out and listen to the whole album from start to finish again.
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I like this thread ;) and I think it could also have been called ' Ode to Cornwall '
I am 99.9% sure Twilight Home was written in and about Polzeath !
I've watched those ' little black specks ' surfing into the dusk and sen those ' lanterns on the hill ' !!
It's JS's masterpiece, it always stops me in my tracks !
Great record !
TXP
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Defining album from a defining time in my life.
He should tour it again once this BDAW stuff is out of the way.
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I will never forget that it is ten years ago already, same age as my oldest sun, I really love the album.
I am pretty sure it was realeased in February/march 2003. and then there was the tour starting where i followed most gigs. Best time ever,
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I've only known this album for about three years, but I love it intensely.
For me, nothing can beat the impact of "Home" flowing into "Changing of the Light" with that single, suspended harmonica note. Brings a lump to my throat every time, because I'm a big softie...
I think, though, that the whole album is a work of genius.
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For me, nothing can beat the impact of "Home" flowing into "Changing of the Light" with that single, suspended harmonica note. Brings a lump to my throat every time, because I'm a big softie...
the link from "Home" to "Changing of the light" is great, isn't it?
Same for "Blue ship" flowing to "Ocean rising", with sounds of water ocean in between the songs...wow!
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It's a really well put together piece of work for sure. I was watchin a documentary on Shackleton on Sunday and there was a bit where the main people in the thing went to Shackleton's grave and I was suddenly given the vision described in the song perfectly....... Fascinating stuff and a very determined and brave man without a doubt.
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I expect its been discussed here before, but I prefer the original version of Ocean Rising on NBTS as opposed to the added to version on TIAGD. Anyone else agree, or disagree ?
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I expect its been discussed here before, but I prefer the original version of Ocean Rising on NBTS as opposed to the added to version on TIAGD. Anyone else agree, or disagree ?
For me the TIAGD version is the stronger.IMHO The instrumental part at the end perfectly suggests a huge storm.A wonderful example of something music can do that words can't.Brilliant.
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I expect its been discussed here before, but I prefer the original version of Ocean Rising on NBTS as opposed to the added to version on TIAGD. Anyone else agree, or disagree ?
For me the TIAGD version is the stronger.IMHO The instrumental part at the end perfectly suggests a huge storm.A wonderful example of something music can do that words can't.Brilliant.
Gotta agree with Shush. I find the original version much more powerful and driven which is interesting as presumably the TIAGD version is meant to be more 'rocky'. I've always thought it was out of place on TIAGD.
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Gave this a re-spin in the car last week on the back of this threated, and realised I wasn't in the mood cos the full band tour was imminent (for me with some dates to go to this week). When I am in the mood nothing tops this album. So atmospheric and deep, so much depth and resonance
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I prefer the Navigating version of Ocean Rising as well. Although when the TIAGD one was released I thought I preferred that but over the last few years I have gone back to the original as it seems slightly more menacing. Also it didn't quite sit right in TIAGD for me, it almost needed to be an epilogue or bonus track after the rest of the album.
We got married outside a lighthouse in the NW Highlands and this was the first album on at our reception.
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I expect its been discussed here before, but I prefer the original version of Ocean Rising on NBTS as opposed to the added to version on TIAGD. Anyone else agree, or disagree ?
quite agree, to me it just seemed like an album filler on TIAGD & not that vastly different
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Hi
I bought Navigating by the Stars after the Justin and Michael s gig in Milan, Italy in 2003. I remember I bought it from Joolz who was there at the merchandise. She told me that it was....... I can t remember the adjective she used but anyway fantastic. She was so much right. Every song of this album is stunning and my daughter Maya was born on the 24th december 2012 with Navigating by the Starts playing again and again..........................
I remember I wrote a post about it last year.
Simon
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When I am in the mood nothing tops this album. So atmospheric and deep, so much depth and resonance
I agree.
The best way to experience NBTS is IMO to listen to it on headphones, at night, when you're relaxed, in your bed...it's just an incredible, transcending journey.
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Another "grew on me" classic! I'll admit to being put off a bit by Justin's "whispering" vocals first time around.Now I play it alot and include a number of songs whenever I put together NMA compilations for my "hopefully soon to be fans" friends. It's a great album to introduce "people who are into mellower music" to the band. I can picture Justin sitting on that ship crossing the Atlantic working out these tunes on his guitar.
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Enjoy this fine review of "Navigating by the stairs" on this music blog:
http://makeyourowntaste.com/2013/01/13/justin-sullivan-navigating-by-the-stars-2003-intense-pastoral-beauty/
Sullivan on Navigating by the Stars has produced a work on a par with Nick Drake’s Five Leaves Left, Sandy Denny’s The North Star Grassman and the Ravens, Richard and Linda Thompson’s Pour Down Like Silver and Martyn’s Solid Air — a distinctly British folk singer-songwriter vision that offers melancholy and sorrow but also the seeds of hope and renewal through communion with our natural environment of land and water.
I like this comment under the review:
Unlike most people who have this album, I had never heard Justin Sullivan or New Model Army when I got this. I saw it somewhere, liked the song names and was intrigued because the title ‘Navigating By The Stars’ was a line from one of my own songs.
So circa 2008 I bought the CD not knowing what to expect and was immediately blown away. A fantastically cohesive, moody album with tons of artistry & depth. I have about 3,000 cds, maybe 500 cassettes, and around 200 LPs; with all of that, I’d still easily place this in my top 10 favorites.
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Oh that was a well written review. No doubt, the writer really liked the album, no question. The references make me want to explore folk music more than I have done.
thanks for the link Guillaume :)
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Good review.
My favourite track on it has to be Green. Especially from the 3.44 minute mark just close your eyes and drift away.
A haunting tune.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjam-T_H9_U
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I first listened to it probably in 2010 but i had also discovered NMA late (about late 2007 or early 2008). I probably listened to it ten times a day for the first week. Then I listened it to go to sleep with each night. I actually think it's better then some of the NMA albums such as "No Rest" but really not comparable. It's not a rock album and that's a good thing.
I like "Home" and "sentry" the best at the moment but my favorite tracks change very often.
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we need the vinyl version!! :)
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I refuse to believe it's been ten years ! :o
Now more than 15 years! :D
we need the vinyl version!! :)
Indeed!
The cd from 2003 becomes not so easy to find, slowly becoming out of print?
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Another nice review from an Amazon reviewer...:
M. Gaines
5,0 sur 5 étoiles Brilliant and Heartfelt.............
États-Unis le 20 janvier 2004
"Justin Sullivan has created an epic masterpiece of songwriting and
story telling with "Navigating By the Stars", perhaps one of the most
overlooked recorded pieces of music of 2003.
Sullivan, who is the main figure in New Model Army, one of the most
underrated groups in the Clash/U2/Jam genre of music, wrote most of
their politicaly working class oriented epics of which 1989's "Thunder
& Consolation" and 1986's "The Ghost of Cain" stand as pivitol
achievments in their recorded history.
With a strong European cult following, NMA have remained the
quintessential musical representatives of the repressed working class,
evoking strong anthem driven themes of disenchantment and
disillusionment with the current social struggles befalling the
average world citizen. Having followed NMA since its inception,
I had, late in 2003, heard and read reports of Sullivan's solo effort
in putting to music his experience of traveling across the ocean by
boat, not as a passenger, but as one of the crew.
In stepping away from his political musical positon and in choosing to
share his visions and love of the sea, Sullivan has come up with one
of the most deeply and emotionally musicaly experienced albums not
since heard of since Springsteen's journey into the Badlands with
"Nebraska".
With "Navigating By the Stars" the listener is transported into a
musical soundscape that leaves you breathless with it's beauty to
actually feel what's being communicated on this journey at sea.
On the opening track "Twilight Home" you can taste the salt water, see
the brilliant night sky filled with a million stars, and hear the sea
splashing against the bow.
As Jack Rabid states in his review "This is the warmest, richest, most
deeply involving music imaginable, all spooky hush and solitary
contemplation. Forgoing drums almost entirely and ingeniously
employing standup acoustic bass to add a nimble, near-jazzy quality to
the lightly brushed acoustic guitars, beguiling piano, meditative
organ, and bits of strings, Sullivan creates a web of sound that is
impossible to categorize".
Surrounded by the ambient solitude of his musical accompanyment,
Sullivan has taken a giant leap into the inner realms of his spiritual
essence of his creative force and we're lucky enough that he chose to
allow us an oppertunity to experience its radient beauty.
"In between the power and politics in NMA, there has always been a
strong sense of mysticism and spirituality and it's that which is the
central core of this album", quotes Sullivan.
I couldn't agree more after experiencing repeated listenings it's like
a novel that's impossible to put down. Amazing......................."
It's a great album to introduce "people who are into mellower music" to the band.
Very true...i know people who don't especially like the music of NMA, when they listeneed to NBTS it was a kind of "revelation"...they loved it!!
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we need the vinyl version!! :)
Desperately
Stay healthy
André
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Hmm... I've got this lovely idea in my head that Justin, tied down in lockdown like the rest of us, might just pick up his acoustic guitar and start noodling around with it thanks to the boredom if it all, he might come up with a few new ideas that might suit a follow-up to NBTS... ???
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Hmm... I've got this lovely idea in my head that Justin, tied down in lockdown like the rest of us, might just pick up his acoustic guitar and start noodling around with it thanks to the boredom if it all, he might come up with a few new ideas that might suit a follow-up to NBTS... ???
It would be fantastic!!
Another wonderful solo album 17 years later!! NAVIGATING THROUGH THE VIRUS!!
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Hmm... I've got this lovely idea in my head that Justin, tied down in lockdown like the rest of us, might just pick up his acoustic guitar and start noodling around with it thanks to the boredom if it all, he might come up with a few new ideas that might suit a follow-up to NBTS... ???
Have my upvote, sir! :)
I've listened NMA for most part of my life so Justin's voice is one of the most familiar things to me... Sometimes, especially when feeling lonely, I put the music on, not necessarily so much to listen to music itself but because I find Justin's voice extremely comforting. One night I had a thought that it would be wonderful if he would read some audio book... I would totally buy it :)
Navigating By The Stars is my constant companion, listening it alot also when I'm working, nothing better than that at 3 AM, week nights, dead time :) Ghost Train is still my favourite..
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It is one of my most played albums and i play a lot of music....bet you can't guess my favourite track. :D..
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It seems that JS is working on a new solo album, 17 years after the unforgettable "Navigating by the stars"!!
2021 will be a better year than 2020 just because of the release of JS's new solo album!:
(https://scontent-cdt1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/127451798_10158826868917720_5552717002315407103_o.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=2&_nc_sid=dbeb18&_nc_ohc=Y3NgpxuMrHkAX8FmcOv&_nc_ht=scontent-cdt1-1.xx&oh=2ec0e30b40518342e962efca3a82b52d&oe=5FE3DEC1)
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That news has just made my day...........cannot wait..
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Guillaume, thank you so much for posting some great news!!! :o
...or is it better not to know this kind of thing? Because now it means that We Have To Wait... ;D
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All great things are worth waiting for........ 8)........
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Great news! Although, let's be honest, what the heck else is Justin going to do whilst tied down to his house? ;)
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Finger crossed ! There was a solo album that was already planned when there was the Big Guitar in Little Europe tour (why haven't they add Here Come The War accoustic version to the CD, that was so brilliant on stage !!) and it ended up nowhere, with No Pain going to the next NMA release instead, so, let's really hope for a JS solo album and that the songs don't just turn up as the new NMA album ! (I love NMA album, but we got plenty of those, and just one JS solo ! :))
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Great news! Although, let's be honest, what the heck else is Justin going to do whilst tied down to his house? ;)
I did wonder if this may have happened. He has said he wanted to do it, but couldn't find the time. This year has been the perfect scenario. Great news, something to look forward to. Love NBTS, sure the next will be as good. I am sure I read somewhere he wanted to do one with the desert as the theme. We will have to wait and see.
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Excellent news! Really looking forward to this. NBTS is such a wonderful album.
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This is so good to hear. Haven't listened to NBTS for quite some time. Just given it a couple of spins as a reminder. A follow on will be much appreciated here. A desert theme? Not sure what to expect...fire and ice and all that. Looking forward to it.
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When/If this gets released, I'll be about as happy as I could. NBTS is one of my most played albums of the past few years, NMA related or not!
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That's great news!
"Navigating by the stars" is listed in the shop at the moment (last few copies remaining), but as "no stock". I hope I didn't miss it and they'll find a few more...
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That's great news!
"Navigating by the stars" is listed in the shop at the moment (last few copies remaining), but as "no stock". I hope I didn't miss it and they'll find a few more...
It seems that i've bought the last 2 copies in the Shop!
Christmas gifts...sorry!
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ah well, I already suspected that I'm too late... good for your friends/family, though.
just for curiosity: when did you order?
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ah well, I already suspected that I'm too late... good for your friends/family, though.
just for curiosity: when did you order?
December the 3rd.
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thanks - at least I missed it by a week then and not just a few hours...
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Something to look forward to :)
Deserts - makes sense as I guess you do indeed navigate by the stars there ;D
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Navigating by the Stars will be re-released in Spring
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Navigating by the Stars will be re-released in Spring
Dear Sirs,
Thank you!
Kindest regards,
Everybody :)
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Navigating by the Stars will be re-released in Spring
Together with the new solo album?
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Will it be the original album or will there be any extra songs ?......would be great with some bonus stuff on it 8)....
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Navigating by the Stars will be re-released in Spring
Vinyl maybe? :)
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Navigating by the Stars will be re-released in Spring
Perfect! Just when I was about to buy a used copy.. :)
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A desert theme? Not sure what to expect...fire and ice and all that. Looking forward to it.
Justin Sullivan is talking briefly about the new album here, around 8 minutes!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8SM5jvc0N4&ab_channel=Kazagast%C3%A3o&fbclid=IwAR0X6nZMxEdQTgeYK7DJSEQ-4UcT2kKhF29aH3WGOzUllrZ3ngho47qT5IE
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Taken from the facebook announcement for the WDR documentary and the DVD-release of the 40th anniversary show:
"New Year will also see the release of Justin’s second solo album ‘Surrounded’ and, at the same time, the long-awaited re-release (on vinyl and Digipack CD) of his much-loved first, ‘Navigating by the Stars’. More information soon."
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1) I have not received my copy of Carnival redux (pre ordered in September?) to the USA either, though I have been advised it has shipped.
2) Surrounded is the new JS solo album for release next spring! SO EXCITED!
3) NBTS to be re released at the same time, CD or vinyl. Very cool. I'll be interested to see if there are extras (no mention)
4) 40th Anniversary concert on DVD?!?! Take my money, please! That will make me very happy.
Lots of new material to look forward to. I would not have expected all of this even a few months ago.
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Great news :)
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I would not have expected all of this even a few months ago.
Yes it takes all of us by surprise! especially the wonderful news of a new JS solo album.
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Am I the only person whose NOT surprised by Justin putting out a follow-up to NBTS?
I mean, come on, the mans a musician with a lot of time on his hands, what else is he gonna do? Take up knitting? Observe rare bird life? Religiously watch 'Pointless' and 'Hollyoaks' every day? ;D
Truly can't wait for this album.
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Am I the only person whose NOT surprised by Justin putting out a follow-up to NBTS?
I mean, come on, the mans a musician with a lot of time on his hands, what else is he gonna do? Take up knitting? Observe rare bird life? Religiously watch 'Pointless' and 'Hollyoaks' every day? ;D
Truly can't wait for this album.
I am not SHOCKED (as you say, it's a reasonable outcome of the last few months) but I am SURPRISED, as I didn't know it was in the works!
Sometimes I find things shocking, but not surprising: this is the opposite.
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What a bonus track!!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsKcTSmUDHY&ab_channel=crustyclogcrustyclog
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What a bonus track!!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsKcTSmUDHY&ab_channel=crustyclogcrustyclog
It is!!! Both songs are fitting perfectly and adding to the album. I'm glad that i thought it is worth to get the new version of NBTS with Surrounded because of the two songs.
Sooner or later was known but Wreck of the Essex...where did that song come from? Was it written for NBTS but then finally not included?
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It is!!! Both songs are fitting perfectly and adding to the album. I'm glad that i thought it is worth to get the new version of NBTS with Surrounded because of the two songs.
Sooner or later was known but Wreck of the Essex...where did that song come from? Was it written for NBTS but then finally not included?
JS has played it live a few times over the years. Apparently, it wasn't finished on time for the original release of NBTS.
Here is a live version from 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gdArPH2ntE
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What a bonus track!!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsKcTSmUDHY&ab_channel=crustyclogcrustyclog
It is!!! Both songs are fitting perfectly and adding to the album. I'm glad that i thought it is worth to get the new version of NBTS with Surrounded because of the two songs.
Sooner or later was known but Wreck of the Essex...where did that song come from? Was it written for NBTS but then finally not included?
It's too bad that this song wasn't on the original NBTS album it's really a dark moody haunting gem, very fitting with the sound of the rest of the album. Justin's voice has a bit of Davild Gilmour's voice, or is it me?
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My daughter maya is born with this cd playing.happy it has been reissued in vinyl but the only think is is very expensive also for a double vinyl like Surrounded. I sure took the vinyl but 25 euro are enough for a double vinyl to me. in this case both cds and vinyl were expensive. and i bought a few copies of Navigating already for friends my parents etc so i have no problem spending for music (despite the fact that i have very little income since the beginning of this pandemic shit) but sometimes cds can be very cheap and vinyls always often too expensive.
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This wonderful album was released 20 years ago!!
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And is played on a regular basis at Chez Ghosttrain..... 8)...