Views MOTHER TAPES: Anthology 1986/1990

(The VIEWS were one of the brightest and most hidden pearls of the 80’s Italian underground music scene, claims Roberto Calabrò (author of "Eighties colours. Garage, beat e psichedelia nell’Italia degli anni Ottanta") in the introductory notes of this double CD retrospective. The band, led by Giovanni Ferrario, was formed in 1983, and only a few years later appeared on the scene with a debut album.
Delicate melodies, guitar weaves, visionary atmospheres – all this is Views.
The double CD you hold in your hands contains the tracks of the two published vinyls of the group, "Mummycat The World n. 2" and "Namby-Pamby", plus a series of demo and live versions and rare rehearsal room four-track recordings,
twenty-eight songs that give us back the fascinating musical parable of one of the most genuine and unique bands that the Italian underground scene has ever given birth to!)The VIEWS were one of the brightest and most hidden pearls of the 80’s Italian underground music scene, claims Roberto Calabrò (author of "Eighties colours. Garage, beat e psichedelia nell’Italia degli anni Ottanta") in the introductory notes of this double CD retrospective. The band, led by Giovanni Ferrario, was formed in 1983, and only a few years later appeared on the scene with a debut album.
Delicate melodies, guitar weaves, visionary atmospheres – all this is Views.
The double CD you hold in your hands contains the tracks of the two published vinyls of the group, "Mummycat The World n. 2" and "Namby-Pamby", plus a series of demo and live versions and rare rehearsal room four-track recordings,
twenty-eight songs that give us back the fascinating musical parable of one of the most genuine and unique bands that the Italian underground scene has ever given birth to!!!

"My friends know my stubbornness in avoiding anything to do with nostalgia and how weak my memory is. Despite this and not being able to erase my tracks, I remember with pleasure the years of my training. We lived in culturally deserted lands, but every intuition and every act were important and had to find a precise meaning, also in a political sense. The idea was to create something that appealed first to ourselves but had to belong to a specific place in the universe. Our attitude was that of many bands of the time: this is our thing, if you like it help yourself, if not: fuck off! Obviously this has never worked well, but who cares? Now that every idea and every gesture is designed to be functional to the market, I understand well how much those pioneering years were relevant for my growth."
Giovanni Ferrario

TRACKLIST:
CD 1
1 – SAY IT! 4:55
2 – THE RAINING MAN 5:22
3 – EVERYBODY’S GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE EXCEPT ME AND MY MONKEY 3:16
4 – RED FLOWERS MOON LIGHT 5:29
5 – PATTY FLAN 2:31
6 – MUMMYCAT 3:43
7 – CIRCLE 4:43
8 – SHE’S GOING OUT 3:20
9 – WE’RE GONNA HAVE A REAL GOOD TIME TOGETHER 3:33
10 – THE MIRROR 6:14
11 – TILL THE MONEY GONE 3:21
12 – PLEASE LINDA TALK 3:49
13 – OCEAN 4:09
14 – FLOWERS ON THE DESERT SAND 3:56
15 – ENOUGH FOR YOU 4:10
16 – TELL YOU SOMETHING 5:06

CD 2
1 – EXPECTATIONS 5:02
2 – CITADEL 3:43
3 – WILD PIG 3:00
4- SELF-MADE MAN 3:09
5 – SO YOU WANT TO BE A ROCK AND ROLL STAR 3:01
6 – NOT SO EASY 4:13
7 – HELP YOURSELF 4:13
8 – GOOD PICS 4:44
9 – I DON’T KNOW WHY I GOT YOU 4:29
10 – HOW THEY LIVE 2.29
11 – OH DEAR 2:29
12 – FEAR 4:53

Gerry Ranson – Vive Le Rock! (zine/web) – 23/04/2021

Long lost 80s garage-psych exponents VIEWS are the subject of a new anthology.

Hüsker Dü melodic punk with Rain Parade psych and Sarah Records indie jangle, but with a distinct European edginess, to terrific effect.

Views made their recording debut on the now classic comp Rockbeef alongside big-hitting scenesters Not Moving and Liars, before presenting their own debut mini-album Namby Pamby in 1988.

This was followed by the suitably weirdly-titled full-length Mummycat The World No.2 in 1990, featuring 8 originals, plus covers of Lou Reed’s ‘Real Good Time Together’ and The Beatles’ ‘Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey’, thus completing the sum total of their officially released recordings.

Released through Area Pirata, Mother Tapes Anthology 1986-1990 brings together both albums while a second disc features the Rockbeef track ‘Expectations’, plus 11 other demos and live tracks.

Bertrand Tappaz – Chronique 2021 – 24/05/2021 – VOIX DE GARAGE GRENOBLE

Sous cette belle et intrigante pochette se trouve compilée 28 titres de VIEWS un quatuor italien drivé par Giovanni Ferrario (qui collaborera ensuite avec John Parish, PJ Harvey, Hugo Race & True Spirit…) dont j’ignorais totalement l’existence !
Dès la 1ère écoute du CD 1, j’ai été impressionné : je me suis dis "c’est varié, mais ça reste très homogène et personnel, avec des chansons qui ont une vraie forte personnalité" !
Les 16 titres de ce 1er CD sont : l’intégralité de leur album de 1990 accompagné par les 6 chansons qui figurait sur leur mini-album de 1988.
Sur le CD 2 on trouve 12 titres avec alternance de démos et de live, qui ne font pas doublons avec les chansons sorties finalement sur les 2 disques officiels de Views.
Le tout est accompagné d’un beau et sobre livret de 12 pages, avec de liner notes signées de Roberto Calabrò connu pour son excellent livre « Eighties colours. Garage, beat e psichedelica nell’Italia degli anni Ottanta ».
Je ne vous cacherai pas qu’il sort des quantité de rééditions dont je ne comprends absolument pas l’utilité (autre que pécuniaire s’entend) mais dans le cas des VIEWS c’était une grande idée !!!
Malheureusement pour eux ils avaient bien plus que « 5 years ahead of their time »… plutôt 15 ans d’avance !
Views pratique une sorte d’Indie Rock / Pop fortement imprégnée de Psychédélisme. Mais un psychédélisme non pas lymphatique et enfumé, mais bien au contraire : puissant et intense !
Prenez un peu de la Pop Indie anglaise naissante (Sarah Rds) une grosse louchée de Paisley Underground et un peu de son australiens subtils (Died Pretty / The Church) et voici l’univers dans lequel évoluait Views ! Un syncrétisme très en avance sur son temps et qui lui a donné cette forte personnalité, probablement trop unique pour son époque (voir pour la notre) !
À cela vous ajoutez quelques moments bien perchés à la limite de l’Art Rock et vous voici avec une GRANDE ŒUVRE !!!
Qu’est-ce que c’est BEAU !
Du Rock racé, avec la class et l’élégance des grands !