Black Ships Ate the Sky
Encyclopedia
Black Ships Ate the Sky is a 2006 album by Current 93
. The album features numerous guest vocalists, such as Antony Hegarty
, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
, Marc Almond
, and Shirley Collins
. It features nine versions of the 1763 Methodist
hymn "Idumæa", with lyrics by Charles Wesley
, each featuring vocals by a different artist. The album was issued in digipak
packaging, with a 56 page booklet containing liner notes
, lyrics, photographs, and credits.
In order to assist with funding for the album, customers were able to pre-order a copy. These 'subscribers' received a mention in the liner notes, as well as a limited edition extra CD, entitled I Am Black Ship, consisting of alternate versions of the tracks from Black Ships Ate the Sky.
The track "Sunset (The Death of Thumbelina)" was featured on the National Public Radio program All Songs Considered
on August 10, 2006.
of the album, which Tibet described as "far more intimate and more emphatically acoustic than the original version." The songs of Black Ships Eat the Sky have the same titles (unlisted on the CD cover itself - only available online) as their …Ate the Sky counterparts, with the exception that track 20 is titled "Why Cæsar is Burning Part I".
Current 93
Current 93 is an eclectic British experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet .-Background:Tibet has been the only constant in the group, though Steven Stapleton has appeared on...
. The album features numerous guest vocalists, such as Antony Hegarty
Antony and the Johnsons
Antony and the Johnsons is a music group presenting the work of Antony Hegarty and his collaborators.-Career:British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Antony's music through his Durtro label. The debut album, Antony and the Johnsons, was released...
, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Will Oldham
Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...
, Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
, and Shirley Collins
Shirley Collins
Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE is a British folksinger who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s...
. It features nine versions of the 1763 Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
hymn "Idumæa", with lyrics by Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley , and father of musician Samuel Wesley, and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley...
, each featuring vocals by a different artist. The album was issued in digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
packaging, with a 56 page booklet containing liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
, lyrics, photographs, and credits.
In order to assist with funding for the album, customers were able to pre-order a copy. These 'subscribers' received a mention in the liner notes, as well as a limited edition extra CD, entitled I Am Black Ship, consisting of alternate versions of the tracks from Black Ships Ate the Sky.
The track "Sunset (The Death of Thumbelina)" was featured on the National Public Radio program All Songs Considered
All Songs Considered
All Songs Considered is a weekly online multimedia program started in January 2000 by NPR's All Things Considered director Bob Boilen. At first, the show featured information and streaming audio about the songs used as bumper music on All Things Considered. The program has turned into a source of...
on August 10, 2006.
Black Ships Ate the Sky
- "Idumæa" (Vocals: Marc AlmondMarc AlmondMarc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
) – 3:22 - "Sunset (The Death of Thumbelina)" – 3:18
- "Black Ships in the Sky" – 3:38
- "Then Kill Cæsar" – 3:58
- "Idumæa" (Vocals: Bonnie "Prince" BillyWill OldhamWill Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...
) – 2:42 - "This Autistic Imperium Is Nihil Reich" – 4:03
- "The Dissolution of the Boat Millions of Years" – 3:57
- "Idumæa" (Vocals: Baby DeeBaby DeeBaby Dee is an American performance artist, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio.-Early career:In the 1970s, Baby Dee began her musical career as a street performer, but soon decided to take work as an organist at a Catholic church in the Bronx...
) – 4:19 - "Bind Your Tortoise Mouth" – 2:30
- "Idumæa" (Vocals: AntonyAntony and the JohnsonsAntony and the Johnsons is a music group presenting the work of Antony Hegarty and his collaborators.-Career:British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Antony's music through his Durtro label. The debut album, Antony and the Johnsons, was released...
) – 2:02 - "Black Ships Seen Last Year South of Heaven" – 4:07
- "Abba Amma (Babylon Destroyer)" – 3:19
- "Idumæa" (Vocals: Clodagh SimondsMellow CandleMellow Candle were a progressive folk rock band. Principally Irish, the members were also unusually young, Clodagh Simonds being only 15 and Alison Bools and Maria White 16, and still at school, at the time of their first single, "Feelin' High", released in 1968 on Simon Napier-Bell's SNB...
) – 2:35 - "Black Ships Were Sinking into Idumæa" (Vocals: Cosey Fanni TuttiCosey Fanni TuttiCosey Fanni Tutti is best known as a performance artist and for her time in Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey....
) – 11:05 - "The Beautiful Dancing Dust" (Vocals: AntonyAntony and the JohnsonsAntony and the Johnsons is a music group presenting the work of Antony Hegarty and his collaborators.-Career:British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Antony's music through his Durtro label. The debut album, Antony and the Johnsons, was released...
) – 0:57 - "Idumæa"(Vocals: Pantaleimon) – 3:06
- "Vauvauvau (Black Ships in Their Harbour)" – 4:41
- "Idumæa" (Vocals: David TibetDavid TibetDavid Tibet is a British poet and artist who founded the music group Current 93, of which he is the only full-time member. He had earlier collaborated with Psychic TV and 23 Skidoo...
) – 1:50 - "Black Ships Ate the Sky" – 4:20
- "Why Cæsar Is Burning Part II" – 2:48
- "Idumæa" (Vocals: Shirley CollinsShirley CollinsShirley Elizabeth Collins MBE is a British folksinger who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s...
) – 2:42
I Am Black Ship
- "Eaten Sky" (Instrumental Introduction)
- "Idumæa" (Alternative Vocals: David Tibet)
- "Black Ships in the Sky (alternate version)"
- "The Dissolution of the Boat Millions of Years"
- "South of Heaven (Instrumental Edit)"
- "'Prototypes' Outtake"
- "This Autistic Imperium Is Nihil Reich (alternate version)"
- "5 Hypnagogue 5 (alternate version)"
- "'Pale Sky' Outtake"
- "Black Ship Skips to Armageddon"
- "I Am Black Ship"
- "Idumæa" (Alternative Vocals II: David Tibet)
Black Ships Eat the Sky
In December 2006, Current 93 released an "alternate version" of the album titled Black Ships Eat the Sky. This limited edition record features different versions and a different mixAudio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
of the album, which Tibet described as "far more intimate and more emphatically acoustic than the original version." The songs of Black Ships Eat the Sky have the same titles (unlisted on the CD cover itself - only available online) as their …Ate the Sky counterparts, with the exception that track 20 is titled "Why Cæsar is Burning Part I".