Another post of mine that holds a torch for Xmal Deutschland, who I was seriously into in the 1980s and was fortunate to see play live a few times. This time around, the final single release by the five-piece version of the band, ‘Sickle Moon’, the second single from the ‘Viva’ album of 1987.
Released in 7″ and 12″ formats in the UK, it managed to contain two versions of the A side, ‘Sickle’ Moon’, and two versions of the shared B-side, ‘Illusion’, as well as 12″-only track, ‘In Onyx’.
The 7″ A side version is the only version of ‘Sickle Moon’ to have ever appeared on CD officially, what with it being included on the ‘Viva’ album in 1987 (though that CD release is incredibly scarce and difficult to find at anything other than a vast sum). The B side of the 7″ single was the standard version of ‘Illusion’, which as far as I know has never been re-issued officially.
Meanwhile, the 12″ single contains an extended remix of ‘Sickle Moon’ on the A side, quite noticeably different. Sadly, this also has never seen an official re-release – a real pity, since there are so many “12” ’80s/’80s extended” type compilations that seemingly only ever recycle a limited selection of 12″ mixes. This would be a prime contender to dust off the tape and re-release.
The first track on the B side is ‘Illusion (Version)’, which gets a bit more tricksy with the dub remix effects, although is not much different in its duration compared to the 7″ mix. Now, this ‘Version’ of the track did get a release on CD – one of two extra tracks added to the CD formats of the ‘Viva’ album back in the day.
Last up is the quiet and contemplative ‘In Onyx’, quite a departure from the more rhythm heavy Xmal Deutschland sound of the time. This again has never seen any find of re-issue and can only be found on the original single releases.
On the sleeve designs, although Xmal Deutschland had by this time moved on from 4AD, they retained the 23 Envelope 4AD design house style for their sleeves. On both 7″ and 12″ versions here, they made use of matt finishes with spot varnish to pick out specific elements of the design, such as the stylised letter ‘X’ on the rear and the photograph by Wolfgang Ellerbrock of the object on the front. I hope the angled photos capture this to some extent.