NITS : URK

Disc One (62:20)

1. The Train
2. Adieu Sweet Bahnhof
3. J.O.S. Days
4. Sketches Of Spain
5. In The Dutch Mountains
6. The Dream
7. The Swimmer
8. The House
9. Two Skaters
10. Cabins
11. Nescio
12. Pelican & Penguin
13. Telephone Song
14. Dapperstreet

Disc Two (58:48)

1. Port Of Amsterdam
2. Bike In Head
3. Mountain Jan
4. Walter & Connie
5. A Touch Of Henry Moore
6. The Bauhaus Chair
7. Under A Canoe
8. Shadow Of A Doubt
9. Mask
10. Home Before Dark
11. The Panorama Man
12. Slip Of The Tongue
13. An Eating House
14. Red Tape
15. Tons Of Ink

Label : CBS

Venues : Amsterdam, Utrecht & Moscow

Recording Date : Winter 1988-1989

Release Date : 1989

Review (AllMusic) : Anyone looking for a convenient summary of the Nits' work from the '80s could do worse than check out this superbly recorded live double CD. Over two hours and 29 tracks you can trace their progress from bug-eyed new wave types to master songsmiths, still with an eye to pushing envelopes and confounding expectations. And there's no need to worry about how well the band reproduces its studio creations before an audience, either. As the 1987 album In the Dutch Mountains proved, for all their concern with texture and detail the four members of the Nits were capable of producing a lushly sculpted sound without the need for overdubbing or armies of session musicians. That said, the most heart-stopping moment of Urk comes with an ingenious reworking of the memorable 1984 song "Mask," featuring an elegantly extended introduction by the Amsterdam Saxophone Quartet. Given that a casual listener might assume the Nits to be a dourly serious bunch of art rockers, Urk contains no shortage of the (strictly musical) humor that invariably forms an important part of a typical Nits concert. It also features an early sighting of what was to become something of a concert tradition, with the band congregating at the front of the stage around Robert Jan Stips' accordion and Henk Hofstede's acoustic guitar for a few campfire renditions of classics like "Adieu Sweet Bahnhof" and "Panorama Man." Urk was also important in the Nits' development in that it marked their earliest venture away from the world of sweaty clubs and into the rarefied atmosphere of Holland's theaters, where for the first time they were guaranteed a more sophisticated and attentive audience. After the tour, bassist Joke Geraets was sadly forced to leave the band owing to the onset of a muscle-wasting disease.

Review (Muziekweb) : In 1989 bezegelde de Amsterdamse groep Nits haar successen met albums als Adieu, Sweet Bahnhof (1984) In The Dutch Mountains (1987) met de live lp Urk. Het was de eerste (en laatste) driedubbel lp uit de Nederlandse popgeschiedenis. De groep was ook pionier in het concerten geven in theaters, de entourage bij uitstek voor hun even ambachtelijke als kunstzinnige popmuziek. Urk, wat nu op dvd is verschenen werd opgenomen in de Amsterdamse Stadsschouwburg. De opnames stammen hoorbaar en zichtbaar niet uit het digitale tijdperk maar er valt veel te genieten, zoals mooie en ingetogen versies van In The Dutch Mountains en Sketches Of Spain. De theatrale probeersels, waarbij toetsenist Robert-Jan Stips de accordeon oppakt en drummer Rob Kloet het drumstel verruilt voor een pannetje, doen even kneuterig als kleinkunstachtig aan. Maar dit is ze vergeven want Urk toont vooral dat Nits anno 1989 al een tijdloos en geheel eigen oeuvre had opgebouwd. De extra's bevatten bonustracks en een Russisch videodagboek van zanger/gitarist Henk Hofstede. Het geheel werd, zoals we dat gewend zijn van Nits minimaal maar smaakvol verpakt. (MR)