Album

Ancient Heart

Tanita Tikaram

1988 · Rock, Pop

10 collectors on Gatefold own this

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Ancient Heart by Tanita Tikaram

Ancient Heart is a Rock album by Tanita Tikaram, originally released in 1988. On Gatefold: 107 pressings tracked, owned by 10 collectors.

About

When it was released in 1988, Tanita Tikaram’s debut album <i>Ancient Heart</i> flummoxed critics and defied categorization. The singer’s dusky, languorous vocals belied her 19 years, while her highly literate songs skirted the edges of folk and jazz conventions without adhering to either. Produced with taste by keyboardist Rod Argent and drummer Peter Van Hooke, <i>Ancient Heart</i> charts a young woman’s emergence into adulthood in songs like “Valentine Heart,” “Poor Cow” and “Sighing Innocents.” With wistfulness but never with resignation, Tikaram strains against family ties in “World Outside Your Window” and wrestles with love’s mysteries in “He Likes the Sun.” The album’s melancholy tinge is lightened by the Celtic lilt of “Good Tradition” and the skip-along bounce of “Poor Cow.” The standout track here is the entrancing “Twist in My Sobriety,” an oblique ode to alienation. It sounds odd to praise an album titled <i>Ancient Heart</i> for its youthful vibrancy — but that’s just one more paradoxical virtue possessed by this fascinating and seductive release.

via Apple Music

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Tracklist

Side A

  1. A1Good Tradition2:50
  2. A2Cathedral Song2:50
  3. A3Sighing Innocents3:32
  4. A4I Love You2:43
  5. A5World Outside Your Window4:50
  6. A6For All These Years5:12

Side B

  1. B1Twist In My Sobriety4:50
  2. B2Poor Cow1:55
  3. B3He Likes The Sun5:24
  4. B4Valentine Heart4:02
  5. B5Preyed Upon5:02

Sound DNA

  • Rock
  • Folk Rock
  • warm
  • brooding
  • smoky

Album notes

Discogs page for these notes (opens in a new tab)

Notes from the original pressing. Later editions may differ.

Rod Argent & Peter Van Hooke appears courtesy of MMC Records (opens in a new tab)
Paul Brady appears courtesy of Polygram International
David Lindley appears courtesy of Elektra/Asylum Records
Mark Isham appears courtesy of Virgin America
Mark Cresswell and Brendan Croker are members of Leeds' finest, "Brendan Croker & The Five O'Clock Shadows (opens in a new tab)" and appear regularly at The Mean Fiddler
Engineered [...] at The Red House Studio - April/June/July 1988
On back sleeve:
[MC logo] 243877 -4 (opens in a new tab)
CD 243877 -2 (opens in a new tab)
Additional information:
Comes with inner sleeve with photos, credits and complete lyrics.
May come with hype sticker on sleeve front, either a green or black heart shaped or round white one (see images).
Durations do not appear on this release. Timings via stopwatch.
Runout information:
Runouts are stamped except for the following parts that are etched if present:
- x, xx, xxx, XX
- 1 to 3 digit stand-alone numbers like 30, 133 or 9
- Roman numerals like IV or III
Runout variant 14 side B: number 4 of 145 is mirror inverted
Versions of European LP releases, cat# WX 210 / 243877 -1:
Labels have 3 rows of perimeter text, Warner Chappell Music Ltd/Brogue Music, RSA pressing -- This one
Ancient Heart (Europe 1988) (opens in a new tab) - Labels have 3 rows of perimeter text, only Brogue Music, Teldec pressing.
Ancient Heart (Europe 1988) (opens in a new tab) - Labels have 1 row of perimeter text, only Brogue Music, Damont pressing
Ancient Heart (Europe 1988) (opens in a new tab) - Labels have 1 row of perimeter text, only Brogue Music. On sleeve, no manufacturer listed above 'Wea' logo.

Credits

The people behind it.

Performers

10 collectors on Gatefold own this · 107 pressings tracked on Gatefold

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