Reign

1993

1993 was a fairly prolific year for VOTR. Sometime in the first few months we had recorded a series of cover versions and from late Spring through the Summer we embarked on a triple release of around 50 songs: one with new versions of songs we had previously recorded in the 1980s, one which featured a slightly different style and a double cassette of a more traditional acoustic sound, which we are re-issuing now as Reign and Call me Ishmael.

Lyrically, Reign seems a little bi-polar – when it was up it was up and when it was down it was Atlas. Anthony Days is really pretty much as I remember things but none of the others could be said to be strictly autobiographical, even Threat 2 which is ostensibly a sequel to another song which clearly had been.

I have always thought The Natural was one of our better openers, lifted by some really nice guitar work from Rob and, on the increasingly infrequent occasions I sit down with a guitar, Tricks is usually something I like, and can still remember how to play.

Richard Knowles August 2014

‘The present day composer refuses to die!’ The statement by Edgard Varèse quoted on the sleeve of Frank Zappa’s début album Freak Out and also on the original cassette version of Reign giving fair warning that our ambition very likely far outstretched our abilities.

But I think you’ll agree that Richard’s lyrics were superior to Edgard’s.

Robert Boole October 2014

Reissue Track Listing

The Natural
Safe & Sanguine
Not Just An Idle Threat II
All’s well
Carla
Darkness Visible
Anthony Days
Tricks
Atlas
The Great God Dumps
Absinthe

All the songs were written and performed
by Richard & Rob with the addition of
Pete Nagel & Frank McCabe singing on Carla

The cover photograph, ‘Gardes Républicains devant le Palais de Justice’ by Eugène Atget is courtesy of the Getty Trust Open Content Program.