Colin Potter - Potter's Wheel (1989)

Following my last post from Colin Potter someone pointed me in the direction of the ICR website, where an extended vinyl edition of 'Here' had just been issued, including three previously unissued or hard to find tracks. I've just received my copy of that, plus another vinyl issue of a more recent release, 'The Abominable Slowman' from 2017. Both albums are brilliant stuff, with the new one having a much harder edge than I would have expected. Coincidentally, while I was retrieving some of my old cassettes for future posts I found a three track compilation tape called 'Chainsaw', which featured one long Potter track alongside two from Monoplane. I hadn't heard it in ages so gave it a listen and found that it was just too good to languish away on this obscure cassette, so it got me thinking if there were any other tracks that had been given away for inclusion on compilation tapes back in the 80's, and was surprised to find that there were actually over an hour's worth scattered around. They range from very early work from 1980, when he was in his vocal synth-pop mode, through to the longer instrumental pieces that he started to compose around the time of 'Here' a year or so later. It also includes some shorter instrumentals from 'The Scythe', 'A Gain', and 'The Where House' era, right up to a couple of pieces that he gave to cassette compilations in 1989. For fans of Colin Potter this is a fascinating journey through his career, as you can hear the progression from the early Cabaret Voltaire-style pieces, becoming more confident in what he is doing with 'Here' and 'Two Nights', and bringing it right up to date, where he can produce an album as good as 'The Abominable Slowman' some 35 years after some of those early cassettes made their first appearance. 

Track listing

01 Is It You, Is It Me ('Angst In My Pants' EP 1980)
02 I Am Your Shadow ('Angst In My Pants' EP 1980)
03 Quick One ('Angst In My Pants' EP 1980)
04 Bogey Man ('Deleted Funtime' 1980)
05 One Million Blades Of Grass ('Visions' 1983)
06 Behind You ('Couldn't Agree On A Title' 1981)
07 We Are So Glad ('Couldn't Agree On A Title' 1981)
08 Soul Train ('Sudden Departure' 1982)
09 Hills ('Integration' 1983)
10 The State ('Three Minute Symphony' 1983)
11 For All You Know ('Insane Music For Insane People Vol 2' 1983)
12 Night Shift ('Chainsaw' 1984)
13 Potter's Wheel ('A Cage Went In Search Of A Bird' 1985) 
14 Marsh Fog ('Journey To The End Of Night' 1986)
15 The Burrowing Machine ('Directions Two' 1989)
16 Malton ('Remote Viewing Vol. 2' 1989)