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💿 RELEASE DETAILS
Artist: Michael Knott
Album: Fluid
Label: Retroactive Records
Catalog Number / Product ID: RRCD2206
UPC: 732131700220
Format: CD
Packaging: Jewel Case with 12-Page Booklet
Pressing: Limited to 300 Copies
Edition: Legends Remastered Edition
Original Release: 1995 (Alarma Records)
Release Date: December 2026
Produced By: Michael Knott
Remastered By: Rob Colwell
New Liner Notes: Matt Crosslin
Exclusive Bonus: Limited Collector Card Included
🔥 KEY COLLECTOR DETAILS
- STRICTLY LIMITED TO ONLY 300 CDs!
- EXCLUSIVE LIMITED COLLECTOR CARD INCLUDED WITH EVERY CD!
- RETROACTIVE RECORDS LEGENDS REMASTERED EDITION of Michael Knott's extraordinary 1995 alternative rock album.
- REMASTERED BY ROB COLWELL for this special collector's edition.
- OVER 1,300 WORDS OF NEW HISTORICAL LINER NOTES BY MATT CROSSLIN! An extensive exploration of the album's unusual history, delayed release, interconnected story, and original promotional campaign.
- JEWEL CASE WITH 12-PAGE FULL-COLOR BOOKLET featuring song lyrics, archival imagery, original recording credits, and new liner notes.
- MICHAEL KNOTT'S LOST ROCK OPERA — an interconnected musical story involving Jenny May, a stolen Cadillac, tragedy, spiritual conflict, and redemption.
- ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED AS "LIQUID" and inspired in part by the atmospheric, echo-drenched guitar textures of Echo & the Bunnymen.
- FEATURES BRIAN DOIDGE AND CHUCK CUMMINGS of Aunt Bettys, plus guitarist Andrew Carter and vocalist Bridget Alford.
- ORIGINAL RECORDING PRODUCED BY MICHAEL KNOTT and engineered by Doug Lucky and Mark Rodriguez.
- INCLUDES THE COMPLETE 11-TRACK ALBUM with "Crash," "Cool," "Over," "Stars," "Drive," "Tonight," and "The Sky."
- FOR FANS OF: L.S.U., Aunt Bettys, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Cure, The Psychedelic Furs, and adventurous 1990s alternative rock.
🎸 ABOUT THE ALBUM — FLUID
ONLY 300 CDs! EXCLUSIVE LIMITED COLLECTOR CARD! OVER 1,300 WORDS OF NEW LINER NOTES! REMASTERED BY ROB COLWELL!
Few artists in underground alternative rock have built a catalog as unpredictable, adventurous, and deeply personal as MICHAEL KNOTT. With Fluid, originally released on Alarma Records with a 1995 copyright date, Knott delivered one of the most intriguing and distinctive albums of his extraordinary career. Alternately aggressive, melodic, unsettling, and beautiful, Fluid refuses to fit comfortably into any single musical category.
The story begins in the early 1990s, when Knott was enjoying considerable acclaim within the underground alternative music scene. His band L.S. Underground had released the ambitious rock opera The Grape Prophet, while his first solo album, Screaming Brittle Siren, demonstrated his ability to pursue a different musical direction under his own name. Both recordings appeared in 1992, and both helped establish Knott as an unusually inventive songwriter.
But the collapse of Blonde Vinyl Records complicated his plans. Knott established Siren Records as a smaller successor label, and advertisements began appearing in 1993 for an ambitious new project. The music was recorded, but financial and distribution difficulties prevented its intended release. Knott continued recording other albums while Fluid remained unavailable to fans.
The album was originally conceived under the title Liquid, reflecting Knott's fascination with music that possessed a flowing, atmospheric quality. Inspired in part by Echo & the Bunnymen, he experimented with echo-delayed guitars, feedback, and layered arrangements. The title eventually became Fluid, but the adventurous musical approach remained.
The recording also brought together musicians who would become closely associated with Knott's work in Aunt Bettys. Brian Doidge supplied bass, while Chuck Cummings handled drums. Guitarist Andrew Carter contributed solos to "Crash," "Over," "Stars," and "The Sky." Bridget Alford contributed vocals to "The Sky," which incorporated material from her original composition.
Beneath the atmospheric guitars and muscular alternative rock arrangements lies something even more intriguing: Fluid is a rock opera. Its songs tell the interconnected story of Jenny May, a troubled young woman whose destructive relationship and reckless actions lead to a devastating automobile crash. The resulting narrative moves between the accident scene, a hospital, memories of her past, and an imagined spiritual confrontation over her future.
The opening "Crash" introduces the stolen Cadillac and the accident that sets the story in motion. "Cool" captures Jenny's desperate condition, while "Over" and "Stars" bring the spiritual conflict into sharper focus. The instrumental "Drive" creates a moment of urgency before "Tonight" reveals Jenny pleading for divine help.
The narrative continues through "Away," "Somewhere," and "Thru," exploring the reactions of those around Jenny and her struggle to confront the choices that brought her to this point. Finally, "The Sky" and "The Sky (Reprise)" bring the story toward its dramatic conclusion. Knott even constructed the song titles so that, when read together, they suggest a sentence summarizing the album's journey.
The album's recording history is nearly as fascinating as its fictional story. Originally intended for release years earlier, Fluid eventually appeared through Alarma Records with a 1995 copyright date, although contemporary reviews and distribution history suggest that copies may not have reached stores until 1996. The delay created an unusual situation in which Knott's musical development seemed to move backward for listeners unfamiliar with the album's actual recording chronology.
The original release also included some unusual creative touches. Doug Doyle contributed additional production work involving "The Sky" and its reprise, and Knott later suggested that hidden messages had been incorporated into the recording. Meanwhile, Alarma Records promoted the album with an unusual "Get Well Prayer for You, Jenny May" card tied to its central character. The card appeared in promotional materials but became difficult for collectors to find.
THE 2026 RETROACTIVE RECORDS LEGENDS REMASTERED EDITION: Now this remarkable recording returns in a special CD EDITION LIMITED TO ONLY 300 COPIES. REMASTERED BY ROB COLWELL, the album is presented in a traditional JEWEL CASE WITH A 12-PAGE FULL-COLOR BOOKLET featuring lyrics, archival artwork, recording credits, and OVER 1,300 WORDS OF NEW HISTORICAL LINER NOTES BY MATT CROSSLIN.
Crosslin's extensive essay traces the collapse of Blonde Vinyl Records, the formation of Siren Records, the original Liquid concept, the album's recording and delayed release, and the remarkable story behind Jenny May. It also explores the album's original promotional campaign, its reception among fans, and its place in the larger Michael Knott discography.
AN EXCLUSIVE LIMITED COLLECTOR CARD IS INCLUDED WITH EVERY CD! This special collectible adds another reason for longtime Michael Knott fans to secure one of the 300 copies. Combined with the expanded historical booklet and Rob Colwell's remastering, it makes this edition a particularly appealing addition to any collection.
More than three decades after its creation, Fluid remains a compelling example of Knott's willingness to follow his artistic instincts wherever they might lead. Its atmospheric guitars, unconventional storytelling, raw emotion, and spiritual imagery reveal an artist whose creativity consistently defied expectations.
Whether you discovered Michael Knott through L.S.U., Aunt Bettys, or his extensive solo catalog, Fluid deserves a place in your collection. With only 300 CDs being pressed, a Limited Collector Card included, and an extensive new historical booklet, this is a reissue designed for the fans who have treasured this recording for decades.
FOR FANS OF: L.S.U., Aunt Bettys, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Cure, The Psychedelic Furs, and adventurous 1990s alternative rock.
🎵 CD TRACKLIST
- Crash — 4:09
- Cool — 4:38
- Over — 3:45
- Stars — 4:39
- Drive — 2:43
- Tonight — 1:54
- Away — 3:30
- Somewhere — 2:27
- Thru — 4:19
- The Sky — 5:04
- The Sky (Reprise) — 3:30
🎵 TRACKLIST — QUICK REFERENCE
Crash / Cool / Over / Stars / Drive / Tonight / Away / Somewhere / Thru / The Sky / The Sky (Reprise)
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