Blueberry Boat already reached its 20th anniversary last year, but the Fiery Furnaces have never handled themselves conventionally. The sibling duo has announced a new limited edition vinyl reissue of their towering, tangled prog-twee opus, now that the album has reached drinking age. They don't really seem like round number people, do they?
Available now for pre-order, the record will be limited to 500 hand-numbered copies, each one housed in a gatefold tip-on jacket with new artwork and printed innersleeves. This version also tacks on a previously unreleased track from the Blueberry Boat sessions, "Far Away," which is streaming today. According to the Friedbergers, it was intended to be the album's lead single and was later reworked into "Waiting To Know You" from 2006's Bitter Tea.
As a press release explains it, drummer Jay Dee Daugherty (Patti Smith Group) came into the band's orbit via touring band member Toshi Yano after the pair met at their local video store. "I’d never seen Jay Dee play, so before he arrived Samara put on a VHS tape in the back of the studio of Patti Smith live," Eleanor Friedberger explains. Daughtery's involvement led to one section of the song changing time signatures from 6/8 to 4/4.
As for the track’s intro, Matthew Friedberger wrote it at Eleanor’s request, to set the scene for a specific show in November 2003 at the Mercury Lounge in New York. That version of "Far Away" was performed live only once. "I liked the idea of writing a special song for each show, but that was the only time we ever did it," Matthew says. "In the end we decided to not put it on the album. I’d thought it would fit because it didn’t. It turned out it just didn’t. I told myself that the songs on Blueberry Boat are about working and not working, as opposed to loving and not loving."
The Fiery Furnaces are promoting this reissue with five shows this fall: two in New York state, three across the Atlantic. Below, hear "Far Away" and check out the tour dates.
TOUR DATES:
10/10 – Kingston, NY @ O+ Festival
10/25 – Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust
11/06 – London, UK @ Barbican Theatre, Pitchfork Festival
11/07 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique
11/08 – Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who? Festival
