Bloodline is the third album by
Recoil, released on April 14, 1992. It was recorded at
Konk Studios in London, during sessions that lasted from January to March 1991, being mixed later that same year. The album was produced by
Alan Wilder, engineered by Steve Lyon, and assisted by
Dave Eringa.
After completing
Depeche Mode's most successful album, Violator, and subsequent
World Violation Tour (with
Nitzer Ebb as the support act), Wilder co-produced Nitzer's 1991 album Ebbhead. This cemented both a good personal and working relationship with Nitzer lead singer Douglas McCarthy.[2] After completing the Nitzer Ebb album, Wilder went to work on his solo project, and McCarthy returned the favour by performing on the Recoil album.
Wilder recruited guest vocalists for the first time:
Moby,
Toni Halliday (from
Curve), and McCarthy, helping produce a significant move forward. It also marked the first Recoil single, a cover of the
Alex Harvey song "Faith Healer".[3]
The album is also notable for the track "Electro Blues for
Bukka White", which introduced the idea of taking very old recordings and setting them in a new electronic setting. Moby, who contributed vocals for the song "Curse", would later release his 1999 breakthrough album, Play, which arguably contains clear stylistic similarities to "Electro Blues for Bukka White".[4] On Play, Moby used several old field recordings by
Alan Lomax, much as Wilder had used a 1937 recording of White's "
Shake 'Em on Down".[citation needed]
Track listing
All music written by Alan Wilder except "Faith Healer" (
Alex Harvey and Hugh McKenna)
Martin Atkins, T + CP Associates – sleeve photography and design
Diamanda Galás contribution is unexplained in the credits, but she is mentioned as appearing on the album. The coda to "Curse" contains a
backmasked sample from "The Lord Is My Shepherd" (
Psalm 23) from You Must Be Certain of the Devil.
In the short interlude between "Electro Blues for Bukka White" and "The Defector", there's a piano sample from the end of
David Bowie's "
Aladdin Sane".