Arias & Symphonies

Arias & Symphonies is the second studio album by Canadian new wave band Spoons, released in October 1982 by Ready Records. It contains the highly successful singles "Nova Heart" and "Arias & Symphonies". It was first released on CD in 2000. In 2012, a 30th Anniversary Edition of the album was released on CD with bonus tracks, which are mostly live recordings from Barrymore's, Ottawa, October 26, 1982, originally recorded and broadcast by CHEZ-FM. The iTunes download version includes an extra "live CD" of their performance at the El Mocambo in Toronto, June 26, 1982, which was originally broadcast by CHUM-FM.[5]

Arias & Symphonies
Studio album by
Spoons
ReleasedOctober 1982
Recorded1982
Studio
Genre
Length44:11
LabelReady (CA) / A&M (US, UK, and EU)
ProducerJohn Punter
Spoons chronology
Stick Figure Neighbourhood
(1981)		 Arias & Symphonies
(1982)		 Talkback
(1983)
Singles from Arias and Symphonies
  1. "Nova Heart"
    Released: 1982
  2. "Arias and Symphonies"
    Released: 1982
  3. "Smiling in Winter"
    Released: 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]

The photograph on the album cover is from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria.[5]

Background

After the release of the band's debut studio album, Stick Figure Neighbourhood (1981), Gordon Deppe stated "the album, it wasn't a good representation of what we were capable of...we've got the same kind of attitude towards life but...the songs are taking us around the world. We're getting out of the neighbourhood."[6]

Deppe continued by noting that the songs for Arias & Symphonies would be more dance oriented, as their European influences, such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) and Peter Hammill, have done.[6]

Arias & Symphonies was named one of the 20 Most Influential Albums of the 1980s by The Chart Magazine, and the song "Nova Heart" garnered a spot in Bob Mercereau's book "The Top 100 Canadian Singles".[7]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Trade Winds"Gordon Deppe2:15
2."Smiling in Winter"
  • Deppe
  • Sandy Horne
4:06
3."One in Ten Words"
  • Deppe
  • Rob Preuss
4:10
4."No Electrons"Deppe5:12
5."No More Growing Up"
  • Deppe
  • Preuss
  • Horne
3:26
6."Arias & Symphonies"Deppe4:48
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Nova Heart"Deppe5:46
8."South American Vacation"
  • Deppe
  • Preuss
  • Horne
4:12
9."A Girl in Two Pieces"
  • Deppe
  • Horne
4:28
10."Walk the Plank"Deppe4:27
11."Blow Away"Deppe5:58
Total length:40:26
30th Anniversary Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Test Sample (Live)"
  • Deppe
  • Horne
2:52
13."Tunnels for Testing Wings (Live)"Deppe3:11
14."Broken (Live)"
  • Deppe
  • Horne
4:03
15."Walk the Plank (Live)"Deppe4:27
16."Symmetry (Live)"
  • Deppe
  • Horne
5:26
17."Blow Away (Live)"Deppe5:53
18."Nova Heart (Singularity Mix - Edit)"Deppe4:04
30th Anniversary Edition iTunes-only live "CD 2"
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Nova Heart"Deppe5:59
2."No Electrons"Deppe4:49
3."One in Ten Words"
  • Deppe
  • Preuss
4:07
4."Red Light"Deppe4:36
5."No More Growing Up"
  • Deppe
  • Preuss
  • Horne
3:33
6."Arias & Symphonies"Deppe4:39
7."Ice Age"
  • Horne
  • Deppe
4:18
8."Walk the Plank"Deppe4:28
9."Western Romance"Deppe4:33
10."Friends in the Media"Deppe3:49
11."Symmetry"
  • Deppe
  • Horne
5:41
12."Annita"Deppe6:22
13."Spanish Eyes"Deppe3:27
14."Nova Heart"Deppe6:38

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the Arias & Symphonies liner notes.[8]

Spoons

Production

  • John Punter — producer; mixer
  • Mike Jones — engineer
  • Robert DiGioia — assistant engineer
  • Carey Gurden — assistant engineer

References
  1. DeGagne, Mike (25 September 2023). "Arias & Symphonies Review by Mike DeGagne". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  2. DeGagne, Mike (25 September 2023). "Arias & Symphonies Review by Mike DeGagne". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  3. DeGagne, Mike (25 September 2023). "Arias & Symphonies Review by Mike DeGagne". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  4. DeGagne, Mike. The Spoons: Arias & Symphonies > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  5. "Arias & Symphonies". Spoons Official Site/Darrin Cappe. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  6. Noble, Peter (10–16 December 1981). "Spoons for Your Ears". Spoons Official Site/Darrin Cappe. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  7. Sterdan, Darryl (25 March 2019). "Spoons Serve Up New Day New World Album". Tinnitist. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  8. Arias & Symphonies (CD booklet). Spoons. Ready Records. 1982.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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