Beloved underground singer/songwriter and visual artist Daniel Johnston‘s first album fronting a band, 1991’s Artistic Vice, will be expanded with 16 previously unreleased tracks from the same time period for a new vinyl edition due Oct. 18 from Eternal Yip Eye Records/Thirty Tigers. The first song from the project, “All Good Children Got To Die,” can be heard below.
Johnston, who struggled with serious physical and mental health issues for most of his life, began recording on a boombox in his parents’ West Virginia basement in the early 1980s and settled in Austin by 1983. There, he slowly built a small but devoted following for his simple, emotionally direct and sometimes profoundly affecting songs, many of which he home-recorded and self-released on a series of cassettes.
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In Austin, a mural he painted based on the cover of his 1983 cassette Hi, How Are You still stands as an officially designated cultural landmark. His profile rose thanks to the support of many indie and alternative musicians in the ’90s, including Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who frequently wore a Johnston t-shirt and named his 1985 release Yip/Jump Music on a much-publicized list of his favorite albums ever. He gained an even wider audience following the 2005 release of The Devil and Daniel Johnston, a documentary about his music and life as a person with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
For the Artistic Vice reissue, the second LP of rarities includes outtakes, rehearsals and previously unreleased songs that were intended for the original album. It’s bolstered by reflections from the members of EYE Band and a lyric booklet with rare photos, plus a remastering job by original producer Kramer. Click here to preorder.
Johnston, who died in 2019 at age 58, continues to resonate. His song “True Love Will Find You in the End” is performed by Joaquin Phoenix in the new film Joker: Folie à Deux and his artwork can be seen on the bedroom walls in some scenes in the movie Beetlejuice: Beetlejuice.
Here is the track list for Artistic Vice Collector’s Edition
LP1:1. My Life Is Starting Over2. Honey I Sure Miss You3. I Feel So High4. A Ghostly Story5. Tell Me Now6. Easy Listening7. I Know Casper8. The Startling Facts9. Hoping10. It’s Got to Be Good11. Happy Soul12. The Dream Is Over13. Love of My Life14. I Killed the Monster15. Laurie16. Fate Will Get Done
LP:1. All Good Children Got To Die2. Christian Martyrs3. Easy Listening4. I Know Casper5. Penny Penny6. You Said You Didn’t Really Love Me7. Piano interlude8. Happy Soul9. Got To Be Good10. It’s Over11. Love of My Life12. Something Fantastic Rolling Over My Soul13. Boogie14. I’ll Be Going Home Someday15. Dead Dogs Eyeball (Variation)16. Ego Trip
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