The Return of the Durutti Column

The album was a collaboration between producer Martin Hannett and Vini Reilly.^[1] Hannett experimented with electronic sounds in the studio, creating the backing tracks to which Reilly's classical influenced guitar playing was added.^[2] The album was given the Factory Identifier FACT14 (Vinyl), or FACT14-C (Cassette).

The original 2000 LP sleeves were made of coarse sandpaper (an homage to the Situationist book Mémoires (1959) that similarly had a sandpaper cover) designed by Dave Rowbotham and Tony Wilson. The sleeves were assembled by members of the band and label-mates Joy Division. The initial two thousand copies also included a flexi-disc single with two tracks by producer Martin Hannett: "First Aspect of the Same Thing" and "Second Aspect of the Same Thing".^[3]

A regular printed sleeve for later copies was designed by Steve Horsfall featuring paintings by Raoul Dufy in varying textured and non-textured sleeves. This release includes an additional mix of the album with less reverb and more phasing.^[3]

"Sketch for Summer"/"Sketch for Winter" was released as a single (Gap Records SFA-491) in Australia, with a sleeve by Andrew Penhallow of Gap.^[4]

In 2013, a modified version was issued as a vinyl album by Factory Benelux (FBN-114) with an 11-inch square sheet of coarse glasspaper attached to the inner sleeve, visible through a die-cut in the front cover. The die-cut was based on the 1978 Factory 'bar graph' logo designed by Peter Saville. On this edition, the Hannett tracks were included on a bonus 7-inch single on hard vinyl.^[5]

The album was given a 2025 reissue, remastered from the original source tapes and featuring several demo tracks.^[6][7]

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
The Guardian	[9]
Pitchfork	8.5/10[10]
PopMatters	8/10[11]
Record Collector	[12]

Close

AllMusic called the album a "quietly stunning debut, as influential down the road as his labelmates in Joy Division's effort with Unknown Pleasures."^[8]

Reviewing the 2013 reissue, Record Collector's Ian Shirley called it "arguably the most distinctive record in the Factory canon" and deemed it "a classic album".^[12]

All tracks written by Vini Reilly

Side A

1. "Sketch for Summer" - 2:58
2. "Requiem for a Father" - 5:06
3. "Katharine" - 5:26
4. "Conduct" - 4:59

Side B

1. "Beginning" - 1:37
2. "Jazz" - 1:35
3. "Sketch for Winter" - 2:22
4. "Collette" - 2:20
5. "In 'D'" - 2:25

Bonus flexi-disc

1. "First Aspect of the Same Thing" - 3:42
2. "Second Aspect of the Same Thing" - 2:59

The Durutti Column

• Vini Reilly – guitar
• Pete Crooks – bass guitar
• Toby Toman (credited as Toby) – drums

Additional personnel

• Martin Hannett – production
• Chris Nagle – engineering
• John Brierley – engineering
• Anthony H. Wilson – sleeve artwork (uncredited)