Released
on November 7th, 1987, David Sylvian’s fourth solo album, Secrets of
the Beehive, is marking its 35th anniversary today. Written in a flush
of inspiration in a mere two week period, it’s an album that explores
the subtleties of jazz, folk and orchestral music, avoiding obvious
excess and focusing on lyrical content.
Though the album
received high praise from critics, it was ultimately felt to be a
failure by Sylvian because of the fact he was not able to complete it to
his satisfaction. Budgetary constraints meant that he was not able to
complete the album’s planned centerpiece, Ride. That track would end up
having to wait for the Everything and Nothing collection in 2000 to see
completion. Because of this, Sylvian was heartbroken that he couldn’t
finalize Beehive the way he’d envisioned. Given that the compositions
came together so quickly and clearly, he went into the production with a
definite vision of what he wanted it to be and, not reaching that goal,
it left him burdened with a sense of incompleteness. Yet this is only
something that the artist himself will notice as we, the listener, can
only appreciate the beauty and elegance of what he did manage to present
for this most sublime of albums.
For the album’s recording,
Sylvian was joined by frequent collaborators, Ryuichi Sakamoto, brother
Steve Jansen and producer Steve Nye. Sakamoto handled most of the
orchestral arrangements. Formal production of the album was completed
in just two and a half months with basic tracks begun in Chateau Miraval
in the South of France because of its exotic location. Tracks were
built up layer by layer, with musicians contributing in turns for
recording. Overdubs and orchestral sections were added in London and
then it was off to Wisseloord at Hilversum in the Netherlands to finish
the overdubs and record the vocals.
Since its initial release, the album has seen a couple of reissues with bonus tracks appearing in later editions.
