| Pillows & Prayers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by Various | ||||
| Released | December 1982 | |||
| Recorded | various | |||
| Genre | Acoustic Experimental Post-punk Rock | |||
| Length | 47:35 | |||
| Label | Cherry Red | |||
| Various chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| The Guardian | (favorable)[2] |
Pillows & Prayers (subtitled Cherry Red 1982-1983) is a compilation album released at Christmas 1982, featuring artists on the Cherry Red record label. The record was originally sold at 99 pence (in fact, "pay no more than 99p" was printed on the original sleeve), which helped ensure that the album peaked and remained at number 1 on the UK Indie Chart for five weeks and sold over 120,000 copies.[3]
In 2007 the album was repackaged as a 3-CD plus DVD box set featuring complementary tracks from the same period and an extended essay by Alex Ogg. This revised edition won the 2008 MOJO Award for Catalogue Release of the Year,[4] with three of the key artists, Martyn Bates (Eyeless in Gaza), Lawrence (Felt) and Bid (The Monochrome Set) appearing on stage to collect the award, alongside Cherry Red founder Iain McNay.[5]
Tracks
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Portrait" | Graham Cassie, David Harper, David Knight, Ashley Wales, Daniel Whittock | Five or Six | 2:52 |
| 2. | "Eine Symphonie des Grauens" | Bid | The Monochrome Set | 2:19 |
| 3. | "All About You" | Thomas Leer | Thomas Leer | 3:50 |
| 4. | "Plain Sailing" | Tracey Thorn | Tracey Thorn | 2:01 |
| 5. | "Some Things Don't Matter" | Ben Watt | Ben Watt | 4:25 |
| 6. | "Love in Your Heart" | Kevin Coyne | Kevin Coyne | 2:55 |
| 7. | "Modi 2 (Extract)" | Piero Milesi | Piero Milesi | 1:02 |
| 8. | "Compulsion" | Joe Crow | Joe Crow | 4:23 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Lazy Ways" | Jane Fox | Marine Girls | 2:42 |
| 10. | "My Face Is on Fire" | Lawrence | Felt | 3:04 |
| 11. | "No Noise" | Peter Becker, Martyn Bates | Eyeless in Gaza | 2:49 |
| 12. | "XOYO" | Dick Witts | The Passage | 3:26 |
| 13. | "On My Mind" | Thorn | Everything but the Girl | 3:08 |
| 14. | "A Bang and a Wimpey" | John Baine | Attila the Stockbroker | 1:41 |
| 15. | "I Unseen" | Tony Hill | The Misunderstood | 1:58 |
| 16. | "Don't Blink" | Robert Lloyd, Paul Apperley, Steve Hawkins, Andy Lloyd | The Nightingales | 4:00 |
| 17. | "Stop the Music for a Minute" | Quentin Crisp | Quentin Crisp | 1:00 |
Pillows and Prayers 2
In 1984 a sequel, Pillows and Prayers 2, was released in Japan. This time, there was no special price. In 2000 the album was reissued on CD (CDMRED 169) together with volume 1.
Tracks
- Marine Girls - "A Place in the Sun" (2:29)
- Jane - "It's a Fine Day" (2:45)
- Kevin Hewick - "Feathering the Nest" (3:51)
- Fantastic Something - "If She Doesn't Smile" (3:14)
- Eyeless in Gaza - "New Risen" (2:47)
- The Monochrome Set - "Jet Set Junta" (2:04)
- Morgan Fisher - "Un Homme et une Femme" - (2:45)
- Felt - "The World Is As Soft As Lace" (4:15)
- Maurice Deebank - "The Watery Song" (4:54)
- In Embrace - "Shouting in Cafes" (3:33)
- Grab Grab the Haddock - "I'm Used Now" (3:17)
- Ben Watt & Robert Wyatt - "Walter and John" (4:05)
- Five or Six - "Another Reason" (3:04)
- Red Box - "Chenko" (3:40)
"Un Homme et Une Femme" is the theme from the film of the same name, composed by Francis Lai and with lyrics by Pierre Barouh. "It's A Fine Day" was later a hit single when covered by Opus III several years later, and Red Box went on to chart success after signing to WEA.
References
- ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "Review: Various Artists — Pillows & Prayers, Vols. 1 & 2: Cherry Red 1982-1984". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
- ↑ Denselow, Robin (December 16, 1982). "Cherry Pips". The Guardian. p. 10.
- ↑ Simpson, Dave (14 June 2011). "A Compilation Album Proves There's a Mass Market for Indie Esoterica". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ↑ Rogers, Georgie (June 16, 2008). "MOJO Award Winners". BBC Radio 6 Music. BBC. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
- ↑ Mojo (June 19, 2008). MOJO Honours List 2008 — Cherry Red Acceptance Speech. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved September 27, 2018 – via YouTube.