The Return of the Durutti Column

The Return of the Durutti Column
File:The Return of the Durutti Column.jpg Original sandpaper sleeve by Tony Wilson
Studio album by The Durutti Column
Released	January 1980
Recorded	August 1979 at Cargo Studios, Rochdale, England
Genre	Post-punk
Length	28:13
Label	Factory
Producer	Martin Hannett
The Durutti Column chronology
The Return of the Durutti Column (1980) LC (1981)LC1981
Second edition sleeve by Steve Horsfall

The Return of the Durutti Column is the debut studio album by English band The Durutti Column. It was released in January 1980, through record label Factory.

Background

The initial two thousand copies also included a flexi-disc single with two tracks by producer Martin Hannett: "First Aspect of the Same Thing" and "Second Aspect of the Same Thing".

The original 3600 LP sleeves were notably made of coarse sandpaper, designed to scratch LPs which were placed on either side of it. The sleeves were assembled by members of the bands and label-mates Joy Division and A Certain Ratio. A regular printed sleeve for later copies was designed by Steve Horsfall. Some later pressings featured a sixth (untitled) track on side two.

"Sketch for Summer"/"Sketch for Winter" was released as a single (Gap Records SFA-491) in Australia, with a sleeve by Andrew Penhallow of Gap.

In 2013 a modified version was issued as a vinyl album by Factory Benelux (FBN-114) with a single sheet of glasspaper tipped to the inner sleeve, visible through a die-cut in the front cover. The die-cut took the form of the original Factory logo designed by Peter Saville. On this edition the Hannett tracks were included on a bonus 7-inch single on hard vinyl.

Track listing

All written by Vini Reilly.

Side A

1. "Sketch for Summer"
2. "Requiem for a Father"
3. "Katharine"
4. "Conduct"

Side B

1. "Beginning"
2. "Jazz"
3. "Sketch for Winter"
4. "Collette"
5. "In 'D'"

Bonus flexi-disc

1. "First Aspect of the Same Thing"
2. "Second Aspect of the Same Thing"

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

AllMusic called the album a "quietly stunning debut, as influential down the road as his labelmates in Joy Division's effort with Unknown Pleasures."

Personnel

The Durutti Column

• Vini Reilly – guitar
• Pete Crooks – bass guitar
• Toby Toman (credited as Toby) – drums

Additional personnel

• Martin Hannett – production
• Chris Nagle – engineering
• John Brierley – engineering
• Anthony H. Wilson – sleeve artwork (uncredited)

External links

• The Return of the Durutti Column at Discogs (list of releases)