The The - Soul Mining (1983)

Soul Mining  was The The's second album. (The first, Burning Blue Soul, was released in 1981 and credited to Matt Johnson, but reissues have tended to credit it to The The.) It was released in 1983 and included the UK hit singles "Uncertain Smile" which reached No. 68 in December 1982 and "Perfect" which made No. 71 in September 1983, which featured David Johanson on harmonica. The album version of "Uncertain Smile" featured the piano playing of Jools Holland. Holland revealed in his 2007 biography that it is in fact two separate solos joined together. The original single used flute and sax solos played by Crispin Cioe of the Uptown Horns. The cover artwork is by Andy Johnson, Matt Johnson's brother, aka Andy Dog.

There are four different versions of the album in existence. Johnson originally intended the album to finish with "Giant", but EPIC insisted that 7 songs were too few and a rerecorded version of "Perfect" was added to the US vinyl, CD and cassette versions, much to Johnson's annoyance. The UK cassette version also included the five extra tracks listed below. There was also a limited edition of the original Album which included a 12 inch with an extended remix of Perfect b/sided with Fruit of the Heart & Soup of mixed emotions (XPR1250). For the 20th anniversary of Soul Mining, the album was digitally remastered without "Perfect", as Johnson had originally intended.

The album appears on the list of "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

Soul Mining

1983
THE THE
Matt Johnson

[Enjoy]

Side One

Side Two

1. "I've Been Waiting for Tomorrow (All of My Life)" 2. "This is the Day" 3. "The Sinking Feeling" 4. "Uncertain Smile"

1. "The Twilight Hour" 2. "Soul Mining" 3. "GIANT" 4. "Perfect"

nWu BONUS

This is the Day (Demo)
This is the Day (That Was The Day)(Spiral Tribe Remix)
Uncertain Smile (Extended Version)
Infected (12 Inch Version) (Infected Album 1986)
The Violence of Truth (Mind Bomb 1989)
Bluer Than Midnight (Dusk Album 1992)
Sweet Bird of Truth (Infected Album 1986)
Kingdom of Rain (featuring Sinead O'Connor)(Mind Bomb Album 1989)
Heartland (Infected Album 1986)
Dogs of Lust (45rpm The Singles)