''All the Pretty Little Horses (TheInmostLightItself)'' is an album by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

band

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet, who has been Current 93's only constant member. Background Tibet has been the only const ...

. It forms the second part of the ''Inmost Light'' trilogy; the first being 1995's '' Where the Long Shadows Fall (Beforetheinmostlight)'' and the last being 1996's '' The Starres Are Marching Sadly Home (Theinmostlightthirdandfinal)''. Unlike its bookends, ''All the Pretty Little Horses'' is a full-length album. Like the earlier '' Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre'', ''All the Pretty Little Horses'' contains several songs based on repeating melodic themes. Lyrically, the album revolves around the ideas of pain and death, specifically as reflected in Patripassianist philosophy, along with the overarching concept of the "inmost light", or soul. In contrast, the music itself is some of Current 93's most traditional, relying heavily on acoustic guitar. Exceptions appear in the form of two spoken-word tracks: the ominous, drone-based round "Twilight Twilight Nihil Nihil", and "Patripassian", backed mainly by a heavily treated loop of

Carlo Gesualdo Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa ( – 8 September 1613) was Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza. As a composer he is known for writing madrigals and pieces of sacred music that use a chromatic language not heard again until the late 19th century ...

's Miserere. The album opens with "The Long Shadow Falls", a conceptual link and recap of the previous EP, ''Where the Long Shadows Fall''. In this version,

John Balance Geoffrey Nigel Laurence Rushton (16 February 1962 – 13 November 2004), better known under the pseudonyms John Balance or the later variation Jhonn Balance, was an English musician, occultist, artist and poet. He was best known as a co-founde ...

's improvised phrase, "Why can't we all just walk away," is clearly heard instead of nearly inaudible. A hidden track of

Thomas Ligotti Thomas Ligotti (born July 9, 1953) is an American horror writer. His writings are rooted in several literary genres – most prominently weird fiction – and have been described by critics as works of ''philosophical'' horror, often formed into ...

reading from his story ''Les Fleurs'' appears at the end of the album. Originally available on compact disc and vinyl, the album was reissued as part of the boxed set ''The Inmost Light'' in 2007.

Track listing

#"The Long Shadow Falls" – 2:15 #"

All the Pretty Little Horses "All the Pretty Little Horses" (also known as "Hush-a-bye") is a traditional lullaby from the United States. It has inspired dozens of recordings and adaptations, as well as the title of Cormac McCarthy's 1992 novel '' All the Pretty Horses''. The ...

" (Traditional) – 2:35 #"Calling for Vanished Faces I" – 1:50 #"The Inmost Night" – 2:16 #"The Carnival Is Dead and Gone" – 3:11 #"The Bloodbells Chime" – 3:00 #"Calling for Vanished Faces II" – 4:10 #"The Frolic" – 8:11 #"The Inmost Light" – 1:45 #"Twilight Twilight, Nihil Nihil for Thomas Ligotti, who has seen the bloodbells shine" – 8:22 #"The Inmost Light Itself" – 9:29 #"All the Pretty Little Horses" (Traditional) – 2:34 #"Patripassian" – 5:49

Participants

David Tibet David Tibet (born David Michael Bunting; 5 March 1960) is a British poet and artist who founded the music group Current 93, of which he is the only full-time member. He was given the name "Tibet" by Genesis P-Orridge, and in January 2005 he a ...

- vocals, drones, strings and bells *

- vocals on 1, 10 & 11 *

Michael Cashmore Michael Cashmore is an English composer and musician currently living in Berlin. He has created music under the name of Nature and Organisation since the early 1980s and more recently (2006) under his own name. Cashmore was a member of the g ...

- guitar, bass, glockenspiel and piano *

Steven Stapleton Steven Peter Stapleton (born 3 February 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the only constant member of experimental improv outfit Nurse with Wound. He is often seen as one of the pioneers of the British industrial music scene, a ...

- strings 'n' stones, devices 'n' drones *Timothy d'Arch Smith - vocals on 10 *Lilith - vocals on 5, 7, 8, 9 & 11 *Geoff Cox-Doreé - vocals on 10 *

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

- vocals on 12 & 13 *Joolie Wood - violin, whistle and piano *David Kenny - guitar and bass *Salamah binti Isa - vocals on 10 *David Rowlnads - steel guitar

Additional information

* Photographs of all participants from their childhoods are included in the CD booklet. * The album is dedicated by Tibet as follows: ''A death and a birth: Dorothy Ann Collins (1933 - 1995) and Seth Joseph Burgess Cox-Dorée (born 1995). I dedicate this album to one past and one future, and to that place where both shall meet''. The former is better known as

Dolly Collins Dorothy Ann Collins (6 March 1933 – 22 September 1995), was an English folk musician, arranger and composer. She was the older sister of Shirley Collins. Born in Hastings, Sussex (now East Sussex), she grew up in an artistic, socialist ...

, sister of

Shirley Collins Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on ...

. * The credits advise that the title "The Frolic" is borrowed, with permission, from

. "Twilight Twilight Nihil Nihil" is dedicated to him. * ''Lilith'' is Lilith Stapleton, eldest daughter of

and Diana Rogerson. She contributed the artwork to Current 93's '' Horsey (album)'' CD and inspired Nurse With Wound's '' Soliloquy For Lilith''. * An alternative version of "The Frolic", entitled "Frolicking", was issued on the compilation album Terra Serpentes, released by World Serpent in 1997.

References

External links

"ATPLH" page at Brainwashed.com's Current 93 Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:All The Pretty Little Horses 1996 albums Current 93 albums Durtro albums