The Ape of Naples is the final album from Coil

Coil (band)

Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...

. It was released after the death of lead vocalist John Balance

John Balance

John Balance , born in Mansfield, England, was the founder of the experimental music group Coil, along with his partner Peter Christopherson...

, who died on 13 November 2004. The title of this album was originally intended to be "Fire of the Mind".

Several tracks from the abortive Nothing Records

Nothing Records

Nothing Records was an American record label, specializing in industrial rock and electronic music, founded by John Malm Jr. and Trent Reznor in 1992...

 album Backwards are included here. The last song on the album is a cover version of the theme song from the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 show, Are You Being Served?

Are You Being Served?

Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...

, which utilises Balance's last ever words spoken on stage live at the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival in 2004, Coil's final performance. This album was originally pressed as a digipak

Digipak

Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...

 in the UK, but due to the low quality of the printing, it was repressed in Thailand.

The album compiles material from 1993 to 2004 http://www.echoingthesound.org/phpbbx/viewtopic.php?p=545433&sid=e701d7653798db3cccc111c9a8009c64#545433, including lives and remixes, assembled and reworked in 2005 by Peter Christopherson

Peter Christopherson

Peter Martin Christopherson, a.k.a. Sleazy was a musician, video director and designer, and former member of the influential British design agency Hipgnosis....

.

Pressings

This album is currently available in CD format at Coil's official website, Thresholdhouse.com.

A 4X12" edition was released by Important Records in late February 2008 and contains several unreleased songs from the Backwards sessions entitled "The New Backwards". This has also been released on CD and as a digital download from Threshold House with three extra tracks. Copies of the 4x12" sold by Threshold House include a "listening copy" of The New Backwards CD

Song origins

"The Last Amethyst Deceiver" is a reworking of the song "Amethyst Deceivers

Amethyst Deceivers

Amethyst Deceivers is a song by Coil which appears on several of their releases. The name refers to a type of mushroom, Laccaria amethystea.*1998 Autumn Equinox: Amethyst Deceivers - Original release of the song....

", originally released on Autumn Equinox: Amethyst Deceivers

Autumn Equinox: Amethyst Deceivers

Autumn Equinox: Amethyst Deceivers is part three of the four part Seasons collective created by Coil.This was first released on autumn equinox 1998 as a limited edition of 1000 7" on dark red vinyl and 40 copies on light blue vinyl. the cdep release was unlimited, but deleted on winter solstice...

; it is closer to live versions of the song than the original in approach. Two very different live versions of "Triple Sun" appear on ...And the Ambulance Died in His Arms

...And the Ambulance Died in His Arms

...And the Ambulance Died in His Arms was an album recorded live during Coil's performance at All Tomorrow's Parties on April 4, 2003. This album was the last planned release by Coil before the death of John Balance...

 as "Triple Sun Introduction" and "Triple Sons and the One You Bury", the latter from which the studio version's vocals are culled.

"It's In My Blood" is a radical reworking of "A.Y.O.R.", which was originally distributed on the bootleg

Bootleg recording

A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...

 demo collection Backwards, later released on Пособие для кончающих: Волос Злата

Posobie dlya konchayushchikh: Volos Zlata

Пособие для кончающих: Волос Злата was the second of two CD compilations released to mark Coil's first performance in Russia. The title loosely translates to "A Guide For Finishers: A Hair Of Gold". It is a collection of their industrial style works....

 and The New Backwards

The New Backwards

Backwards was a studio bootleg recording by Coil. The origin of the source of "Backwards" is believed to have been a leak of the studio demo, in the form of a cassette . However, the entire demo was broadcast when Dutch Radio4, a radio station in Amsterdam, had Coil as in studio guests to coincide...

.

"I Don't Get It" and "Heaven's Blade" also appeared on the Backwards tape in other forms, the former minus vocals and other effects as "Spastiche", the latter also sans lyrics with no backbeat and much heavier instrumentation.

"Cold Cell" was originally released in alternate form as "A Cold Cell" on the Wire Magazine compilation release Wire Tapper 11, and a live version on Live Three

Live Three

Live Three was a CD by Coil which documents their live performance on 6 April 2002 at Teatro delle Celebrazioni in Bologna, Italy. This CD was one of four releases in a series. Its counterparts are Live Four, Live Two and Live One...

.

"Teenage Lightning 2005" is a reworking of the songs "Teenage Lightning 1" and "Teenage Lightning 2" from one of their earlier albums, Love's Secret Domain

Love's Secret Domain

Love's Secret Domain is the third album by Coil and was released in 1991. The album marked a departure from the brooding synthesizers and melodies of their first two albums, focusing more on acid house sampling. The singles released from the album were "Windowpane" and "The Snow"...

. A version of "Teenage Lightning" very similar to the one on this album appeared on Black Antlers

Black Antlers

Black Antlers was originally released in CD-R format by Coil in 2004 in a limited edition. The album was later re-edited by Peter Christopherson and expanded to include a second CD of two new tracks, as well as a new track on the first disc. The second edition was released in 2006 August on the...

 as "Teenage Lightning (10th Birthday Version)."

"Going Up" is a cover version of the "Are You Being Served

Are You Being Served?

Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...

" theme tune, the vocals from "Going Up" are sung by François Testory as well as (mostly much lower in the mix) Jhonn Balance. François Testory's vocals are from a studio recording whereas Jhonn's are from a bootleg of the last live Coil

Coil (band)

Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...

 concert in 2004.

Contributers

• Artwork, photography: Ian Johnstone
• Hurdy-gurdy - Cliff Stapleton
• Keyboards - Thighpaulsandra (track 5 & 6)
• Marimba - Tom Edwards
• Performer, Producer - Peter Christopherson
• Pipes, Duduk - Mike York
• Synthesizer - Ossian Brown
• Vocals - Jhonn Balance (all), François Testory (track 11)
• Written By, Recorded By, Producer - Coil (tracks: 1, 5 to 8, 10) , Danny Hyde (tracks: 1, 5 to 8, 10)

Track listing

CD

1. "Fire Of The Mind" - 5:14
2. "The Last Amethyst Deceiver" - 10:11
3. "Tattooed Man" - 6:33
4. "Triple Sun" - 3:46
5. "It's In My Blood" - 4:51
6. "I Don't Get It" - 5:35
7. "Heaven's Blade" - 4:21
8. "Cold Cell" - 4:08
9. "Teenage Lightning 2005" - 7:11
10. "Amber Rain" - 5:12
11. "Going Up" - 8:30

3X12"

Side A:

(unknown)

Side B:

(unknown)

Side C:

(unknown)

Side D:

(unknown)

Side E:

(unknown)

Side F:

(unknown)

4X12" (with The New Backwards)http://brainwashed.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6524&Itemid=1

LP1

1. "Fire Of The Mind"
2. "The Last Amethyst Deceiver"
3. "Tattooed Man"

LP2

1. "Triple Sun"
2. "It's In My Blood"
3. "I Don't Get It"
4. "Heaven's Blade"
5. "Cold Cell"

LP3

1. "Teenage Lightning 2005"
2. "Amber Rain"
3. "Going Up"

LP4: The New Backwards

Side A:

1. "Careful What you Wish For"
2. "Nature Is A Language"
3. "Algerian Basses"

Side B:

1. "Copacabbala"
2. "Paint Me As A Dead Soul"
3. "Princess Margaret's Man in the D'Jamalfna"