Monday, July 25, 2011

Delusions of Grandeur - Picture Perfect Martyr (1989, Acid Ceiling)

In reference to the title, more like picture perfect pop!  Not unlike jangly Anglophiles the Ocean Blue, who took a chip off the ol' C86 block, made some slight modifications, and pitched it to us Yanks in a more palatable formula, Beantown's Delusions of Grandeur adopted a similar tact, albeit without a modicum of recognition to show for it.  Too bad, because both songs on side one are stunning, with "Silent Sea" clocking in at a perfect ten, and the sweetly chiming "This Theatre Falls" coming in not far behind.  The other side of the coin features the strummy and sobering "From Green to Red," and the much swifter and acoustic-endowed "Carousel."  I'm hearing trace elements of everyone from Winter Hours to Ireland's Power of Dreams, and even a little Crowded House and REM too.  A nice surprise from a combo that sports a decidedly goth appearance on the rear album jacket.  Upon digitizing these tracks, I probably should have taken a little record cleaning solution to this rather staticy wax, but for now, enjoy it as is (I'm pretty confident you will).

01. This Theatre Falls
02. Silent Sea
03. From Green to Red
04. Carousel

Hear

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Great post...Just the review alone compelled me to buy a nice sealed copy! Thanks.

VINYL ▌ΘBSCURITΫ

spavid said...

Glad to hear I enticed you into buying the record. This proves once again that Wilfully Obscure is doing it's part to stimulate the economy.

John Mc said...

The vinyl is still around? Might be worth buying a turntable to get better rips. (lp to cassette to mp3 doesn't get you the best quality.)

My friend was friends with the band way back when and that got me into the ep. Even today, This Theater Falls is in high rotation on my ipod.

I still search from time to time, but find little about the band on the 'net. Nice to see one of my old faves on Obscure - thanks!

Andy G said...

I can tell you with certainty that this was released in 1989. Was playing it on my college radio show at the time. "From Green To Red" went well with Document era REM. Thanks for posting.

spavid said...

Just for the record, I transfer all vinyl direct to digital, not to a cassette. What you're hearing is record surface noise, not tape hiss. Thanks for providing the date Andy.

Unknown said...

Hey!

Would it be possible to re-upload this album? Been searching for it for awhile now with no luck. Cheers and keep up the great work on the blog!

Anonymous said...

HEY THIS IS NO DELUSION OF GRANDEUR THE ACTUAL DELUSION OF GRANDEUR DESCRIPTION IS GIVEN AT grandeurdelusion.blogspot.in

Spicy McHaggis said...

Piss off! This is the ORIGINAL Dog.

Unknown said...

As somebody who was at a few of their gigs in the Boston and South Shore area, I've had this lp for quite some time.It's spinning now, and it's still a fun listen. Always wished they'd unleash their guitarist a little. Appreciated his talent more hearing him live. My friends and I were the ones yelling DOG! DOG! Before they played. They always looked surprised when we did it. Not sure if we started a trend. Lol Pretty sure I found the lp at Tower Records in Boston. Chillin' in Florida, now.