Their joy their calm and luxury
Are lost within the wanderings of my mind
One of the most extraordinary songs from one the best-produced albums I know, David Sylvian's "Nostalgia" from his album Brilliant Trees (1984) hooked me the moment I heard it nearly 25 years ago. From the opening strains of a wordless (Hindi? Hebrew?) vocal/chant, "Nostalgia" is deeply steeped in the album's lush musical layers of East-meets-West influence and Sylvian's own metaphoric lyrics.
I'm cutting branches from the trees
Shaped by years of memories
To exorcise their ghosts from inside of me
There are long, gorgeous instrumental passages within "Nostalgia". Sylvian's collaborators suggest Eastern musical influences electronically here, while Kenny Wheeler's jazz-like flugelhorn drifts in and around the proceedings. Co-produced with Steve Nye (Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Bryan Ferry, Frank Zappa) Brilliant Trees was Sylvian's first solo foray after leaving his reasonably successful rock/punk band, JAPAN. "Nostalgia" remains my favorite track on Brilliant Trees, and it heralds the complex beauty that Sylvian has built in subsequent recordings.
The sound of waves in a pool of water
I'm drowning in my nostalgia
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