Smiling at Grief

Infobox Album
Name = Smiling At Grief
Type = studio album
Artist = Twelfth Night
Released =
Recorded = November 1981
Genre = Neo-progressive
Length = 41.29
Label = Twelfth Night
Producer = Twelfth Night
Last album = "Live At The Target"
This album = "Smiling At Grief"
Next album = "Fact and Fiction

"Smiling At Grief" is a studio album released by UK neo-progressive band Twelfth Night in 1982.

Details

Smiling At Grief comprised Twelfth Night's first recording with vocalist Geoff Mann. The album was recorded at Woodcray Manor Farm Studios, Berkshire.

The success of the Live At The Target LP had led to a publishing deal with Neptune Music. With their backing, the band decided to demo several new songs that were written with Geoff. The band were experimenting with shorter songs, consisting of one or a few ideas, instead of compositions of strings of ideas. The recordings were done in two batches at Woodcray Manor Farm Studios. In the time between those two, Rick Battersby decided to leave the band. For the remaining sessions, Clive Mitten doubled on keyboards.

After the recordings, the band realised they had an album's worth of music, so Smiling At Grief was released (as a cassette only, advertised at gigs and through the fan club).

Three of the songs, East of Eden, This City and The Creepshow were re-recorded in 1982 for Fact and Fiction.

Track listing

All songs written by Twelfth Night.
# East Of Eden (3:29)
# This City (3:13)
# The Honeymoon Is Over (2:35)
# Creepshow (10:13)
# Puppets (Intro) (1:25)
# Puppets (2:50)
# Three Dancers (2:54)
# Makes No Sense (4:02)
# Für Helene Part II (10:48)

Reissue

Smiling At Grief was the first of the ongoing Twelfth Night reissue / archive programme, released on CD in 1997 on MSI Records with five bonus tracks recorded prior to the main sessions at the band's rehearsal venue, Burghfield Mill, Reading. This CD is now out-of-print and Smiling At Grief is the only Twelfth Night reissue not currently available. There are plans to rerelease a 2 CD version during 2008.

#

Kindergarten (3:05)
# Midnight (0:51)
# Keep The Aspidistra Flying (9:40)
# Convenient Blindness (3:27)
# Makes No Sense (5:10)

Personnel

* Rick Battersby keyboards (tracks 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13)
* Brian Devoil drums and percussion
* Geoff Mann vocals
* Clive Mitten keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6), acoustic guitar (track 14), bass
* Andy Revell lead guitar