When I say that this record more or less kept me alive during 1995, I'm only slightly overstating the case. Well, let's put it this way, in the depths of my drunken misery (details both too personal and largely too generic to really want to go into here: the usual disillusionment, ugly-end-of-the-first-great-love-affair stuff) this was the record I repeatedly turned to. This doesn't mean it's any good, of course, it's just so deeply knitted into my psyche, it's effect on me is so powerful, so elevating, I can't believe it isn't the finest record of all time.

End of biographical note