--- product_id: 95957313 title: "Coldest Winter for a Hundred Years" brand: "the wild swans" price: "$13.71" currency: USD in_stock: false reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/95957313-coldest-winter-for-a-hundred-years store_origin: US region: United States of America --- # Coldest Winter for a Hundred Years **Brand:** the wild swans **Price:** $13.71 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Coldest Winter for a Hundred Years by the wild swans - **How much does it cost?** $13.71 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/95957313-coldest-winter-for-a-hundred-years) ## Best For - the wild swans enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted the wild swans brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description ## Images ![Coldest Winter for a Hundred Years - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51e2+aAnuVL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ looking for meaning in nostalgia; ankle-deep in snow *by A***O on Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2011* Do I dare say that The Coldest Winter In A Hundred Years is the best Wild Swans album? A band was never big to begin with, put out only two obscure albums, and now reunites 20 years later -- not the most common recipe for success.Fortunately, the Wild Swans always sounded out of time, even in 1988. Their debut  Bringing Home The Ashes  had an old-world, Victorian charm. The lyrics were written with slightly mannered, old-fashioned expressions. The tone was somber, with the devout earnestness of a young student of theology. Frontman Paul Simpson was self-confrontational without the over-emotional self-absorption of more modern-sounding singers. I compared him to a character from a novel by  A.J. Cronin .Now he's back, and it's almost like the past 20 years never happened. Simpson still has that warm voice, though showing a little wear (unfortunately he strains a little on "English Electric Lightning"); he still sings with that classical diction, uses words like "Albion" and shortens "over" as "o'er." The music is vintage eighties jangle-and-chime, spacious and melodious. But it's more than just sound. The Wild Swans' music was never really their strongest point, but this album has the best guitarwork and most detailed composition of their entire career. Note, for example, how the guitar line in "Falling To Bits" now has room to breathe and unfold without getting smothered by the rhythm section, and how it is subtly reinforced by piano closer to the end of the song. Perhaps the music owes its high quality to the presence of two ex- Bunnymen , Will Sergeant on guitar in "Intravenous" (a breezy rush, the closest that this album ever gets to  Space Flower ) and Les Pattinson on bass.The tone of the album uses Bringing Home The Ashes as a model. In fact, it is even darker (more  The Stars Look Down  than Green Years). In 1988, Simpson had religion and general youthful optimism to support himself. Now, he is haunted by nostalgia. True to form, The Wild Swans live in the past. This is common among aging British rockers, and often it's not very interesting -- just see the  Manic Street Preachers'  latest. Like them, Simpson indulges in some sentimentality, at one point listing his  favourite   classic   rock   albums  and imploring, "take me back in time." He's not too thrilled with how things are going these days, openly stating, "my town used to fill my head with wonder / now it fills me with disgust." This part, unfortunately, is a bit low on specifics: he says things like "this town is falling to bits," but the only concrete criticism he expresses of the present is that we've cut down a lot of forests and built shopping malls in their place. I ended up even kind of admiring how he paraphrases William Blake to express his unrestrained contempt, but consumerism is the easiest target for a rock singer. There must be something else that bothers him.But when he turns to the past, he pours out a great deal of descriptive detail, like the images of past glory in "My Town." It is clear that he's honestly trying to somehow reinterpret the past and extract some kind of relevant message from it...and that it's not coming to him. This tension makes "Chloroform" the single greatest Wild Swans song ever. Simpson tries to look back to his ancestors' experience in the two world wars. He acknowledges their heroism and the hardships they faced ("I can't conceive of the things he saw as his friends were blown to pieces"), but these family memories don't give up the expected (hoped-for?) glory -- one of the images coming back to him is, "they shot the boy deserters." Their experiences are so alien to him that it is now very difficult to relate, all he can say is, "and the boots I bought from the vintage shop were torn from off a dead man," but he sings it with ambiguous matter-of-factness. And what about that dreamy out-of-place chorus, "it feels like chloroform"? Maybe it is a sobering reminder of how these titanic experiences are noticeably receding from collective memory, becoming incomprehensible and dulling."Lost At Sea" attempts to deal with death: "it's me, it's your old dad, voyaging out here alone / one moment I'm watching the telly, the next I'm engraved on a stone." The song has a gentle and comforting sound, but it doesn't quite balance out the frightening arbitrariness in the lyrics. The overall tone is not depressing, but there is a sense of trying to maintain control over one's life, and a sense that it isn't going well. Simpson asks, with what sounds more like curiosity than bitterness, "isn't it strange how the time makes these lines on your face?" In light of this, "In Secret" sounds like a sweet plea for warmth...and it's a song about having an illicit affair.In promotional press copy, Simpson claimed to have "unfinished business," and it's true. This is indeed the best Wild Swans album, not only a worthy sequel to Bringing Home The Ashes, but also a counterpoint. It still has that light touch, and is even deeper under the surface. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It's like they never left *by D***D on Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2012* An incredible, impressive, inspirational return to form, after what ... 20 years away? What's even more remarkable, the Wild Swans sound as good, as fresh, and as vital, as they did when they gave us the classic "Bringing Home The Ashes." If you liked that album, you MUST get this one too. The songs are poetic, reflective, transcendent; simply beautiful, melodic tunes that fill the listener with joy. And the lyrics? More clever and whimsical prose. All the various mentions of names and places and things like "Live at the Witch Trials" leave me with multiple smiles on my face. This album is a sheer pleasure. Every track works for me. Great music by a great band that should be much, much better known in the music world. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ wild swans best *by J***R on Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2011* After a long layoff, a new Wild Swans album shows up. The production is slightly rougher than their previous releases and that's a good thing. All the songs are solid and heartfelt with many lyrics about a past and fading England. Les Pattinson from Echo and the Bunnymen is on bass throughout the album and Will Sargent appears on a track. Paul Simpson's songs and voice make for a touching album of lost things. One of the best of 2011. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/95957313-coldest-winter-for-a-hundred-years](https://www.desertcart.us/products/95957313-coldest-winter-for-a-hundred-years) --- *Product available on Desertcart United States of America* *Store origin: US* *Last updated: 2026-04-27*