Mr Kinski's Music Shack

Cherry Red are releasing Toyah’s February 1981 concert recorded at London’s Rainbow Theatre as a CD/ DVD and a coloured double vinyl LP on 25 November 2022.

Toyah – Live At The Rainbow is released for the first time on CD with seven additional songs, all previously unreleased and restored exclusively for this release.

Previously only available on VHS, the 53-min concert film has been remastered from the original Rolling Stones multitrack reels for the DVD release with improvements to both picture and sound. The newly remixed and remastered audio has been integrated to the concert for an enhanced viewing experience. All audio remastering was approved by Joel Bogen.

Three of the seven unheard songs appear exclusively on the CD as mono-only (originally mixed by Nick Tauber) bonus tracks, where no existing multi-tracks were available to present new stereo remixes. These three tracks do not appear on the 16-song double vinyl LP edition. Toyah provides a brand-new introduction in the 24-page booklet which contains iconic live photography by Barry Plummer and new notes by Craig Astley, Toyah’s official archivist.

I went to this gig, and so was happy to travel back in time, some 41 years later. 41 years, how did that happen? The DVD was not supplied for review, so I will have to wait until I receive my pre-order to fully relive the experience, so I am only reviewing the CD here. There has been some re-jigging of the original concert order for this release, which had to be done because of the issue of three of the tracks only being available in mono, but this release gives a good representation of the original show, and the remaster is of a high standard.

One of the support bands for this gig was Huang Chung, who became Wung Chung and had success later in the 80s. I saw on Jack Hues twitter account a couple of years ago that the bands albums, including Huang Chung’s debut from 1982, are due to be re-released in the near future, so one to watch out for.

Along with founding members Toyah Willcox and Joel Bogen, new band members Nigel Glockler, Phil Spalding and Adrian Lee make up this line-up of the Toyah band. The set opens with the heavily percussive War Boys from the Four from Toyah EP that had recently given the band their first major UK hit single.

Next up is the first selection from 1979’s Sheep Farming in Barnet album, with the punky-prog of Neon Womb, Waiting and the pop-thrills of Race Through Space.

An extended version of Four From Toyah‘s Angels & Demons slows the pace, before The Blue Meaning‘s Love Me dials in the post-punk feel again, along with album companions Mummies and Insects.

“This next one you might have seen on Top of the Pops” introduced It’s A Mystery, which still sounds so fresh after all these years. The bass and drum interplay from Spalding and Glockler is a highlight of this 1981 live incarnation of this landmark Toyah song.

Computers makes a rare return to the set after a long absence, and early single Tribal Look highlights the added keyboard presence of new member Adrian Lee, with some wonderful Rhodes piano. Bird In Flight (the double A Side that accompanied Tribal Look) works so well with this new line-up, and this could turn out to be my favourite version of this early Toyah song.

Two of my favourite Sheep Farming In Barnet tracks follow, with Victims Of The Riddle and Danced. A powerful, just under 8 minutes version of the haunting Ieya ends the main set.

The final three tracks are mono, so lose a little of their sparkle. Revelations from the Four From Toyah EP is bookended by two Sheep Farming In Barnet tracks, Our Movie and Indecision, the latter of which loses some of its power for me, but that could well be the mono mix, with less space for the performances to breathe.

Live At The Rainbow is a great keepsake of one of Toyah’s most loved live performances, and will be welcomed by fans of the band, who have waited a long time for an updated release to replace the previously released VHS version.

Buy Toyah Live At The Rainbow CD/DVD from Amazon

Buy Toyah Live At The Rainbow double vinyl LP from Amazon

Tracklisting

CD/DVD

Disc One – CD

War Boys
Neon Womb
Waiting
Race Through Space
Angels & Demons
Love Me
Mummies
Insects
It’s A Mystery
Computer
Tribal Look
Ghosts
Bird In Flight
Victims Of The Riddle
Danced
Ieya
Our Movie*
Revelations*
Indecision*

* mono

Disc Two – DVD

War Boys
Neon Womb
Waiting
Tribal Look
Ghosts
Victims Of The Riddle
Race Through Space
Angels & Demons
Insects
It’s A Mystery
Danced
Ieya

Double vinyl

Disc: 1

War Boys
Neon Womb
Waiting
Race Through Space
Angels & Demons
Love Me
Mummies
Insects

Disc: 2

It’s a Mystery
Computer
Tribal Look
Ghosts
Bird in Flight
Victims of the Riddle
Danced
Ieya

This new Cherry Red 3 CD collection brings together all of Judie Tzuke’s recording output whilst signed to Chrysalis Records, spanning 1982 to 1983. In this period Judie released two studio albums, Shoot The Moon and Ritmo plus a live album Road Noise: The Official Bootleg.

Whilst this is not a collection of new remasters, The Chrysalis Recordings set sounds amazing and it’s a great way to add these albums to your collection at a reasonable price.

Whilst I love the first three albums (1979’s Welcome to the Cruise, Sports Car from 1980 and 1981’s I Am the Phoenix), the first album in this collection, Shoot The Moon from 1982 is my favourite (and most played) Judie Tzuke studio album.

Album opener Heaven Can Wait is driven by a wonderful rhythm section (Charlie Morgan on drums and John “Rhino” Edwards on bass) and the warm guitar and smooth keyboards add a sense of tension to this emotional song.

“I’m the ghost in your headlights”

Single Love On The Border was more in the style of the previous albums, and is a good pop/rock song that should have had more of an impact in the singles charts.

Beacon Hill brings a jazzy vibe, with it’s rhodes piano and fretless bass.

“We get in trouble when we look too far”

The trusty rhodes makes another welcome appearance, accompanied by a Roland CR-78 drum machine for the touching ballad Don’t Let Me Sleep, that highlights the emotional range of Judie’s vocals.

I’m Not A Loser was also a single, and perfectly captures the sound of late 70s, early 80s classic / FM rock.

Liggers At Your Funeral did not really resonate with me on release, but listening to this song in later years, it is one of my favourite tracks on the album. The heavily processed guitar from Mike Paxman along with the twists and turns in the arrangement turn this song into an album highlight that I never tire of hearing.

The originally sequenced album ends with the upbeat carousel of Water In Motion and the short acapella title track.

There are four bonus tracks on this version of Shoot The Moon – the b-sides Sold A Rose and Run On Luck plus demos of I’m Not A Loser and How Do I Feel. Whilst these are interesting, for me the album will always end with the title track.

I saw the band live in May of 1982 at Fairfield Halls, Croydon and bought the vinyl version of Road Noise (The Official Bootleg) on release. Do not be put off by the “official bootleg” in the title, this is a professionally recorded live album, with material taken from Tzuke’s 1982 performances at Hammersmith Odeon and the Glastonbury Festival.

Road Noise contains tracks from Tzuke’s first four albums, and features the same core musicians as on Shoot The Moon, apart from Jeff Rich who replaces Charlie Morgan on drums.

Road Noise open with a stunning version of Heaven Can Wait, which segues (why does no-one do that anymore) into Chinatown from Tzuke’s second album, Sports Car. This is the sound of collection of musicians at the top of their game.

The Shoot The Moon album is well represented on Road Noise, as are tracks from the previous three studio albums. You Are The Phoenix from the previous years I Am the Phoenix features a fabulous Mike Paxman guitar solo.

The title track of Sports Car is one of only two songs from that album on Road Noise, whilst debut album Welcome To The Cruise is represented by 6 tracks. Highlights from this album include the sung to backing track, mostly acapella For You and the big hit, the instantly recognisable Stay With Me Till Dawn, which sounds as good today as it did when first released in 1979.

Come Hell or Waters High is a fine FM ballad, at its most powerful with a simple mix of piano and voice, and a restrained live arrangement as the song progresses. City of Swimming Pools, in hindsight, is a mix of FM rock and prog. The vocal arrangement works well as the song takes us on an increasingly progressive journey.

“City of swimming pools
Where you can buy anything”

The album ends with a rare (at the time) Tzuke cover version, of The Hunter which was first recorded in 1967 by Albert King. As well as being a very good live album, Road Noise serves as a fine introduction to the first four albums.

The final album in this collection is Ritmo from 1983. This album is a much more synth-heavy collection of songs, and sadly, that’s the albums downfall.

The China Crisis sounding first single from the album, Jeannie No, opens the album, and is a strong pop song. She Don’t Live Here Anymore, despite the more synthetic than usual sounding drums, has haunting qualities and so has stood the test of time fairly well.

Shoot from the Heart works well with an electronic backing that builds as layers of guitar and synths plus backing vocals are added. Face To Face has more of the feel of earlier Tzuke material, but the drum sounds let it down.

Another Country is a bit of mis-step, and a track I skip pretty quickly. The chorus of Nighthawks lifts the album but the following two tracks, Walk Don’t Walk and Push Push, Pull Pull (with it’s Mick Karn alike basslines) have really not stood the test of time.

The album’s final track, How Do I Feel works a little better. The interesting vocal arrangement on the chorus is a strength, but by the end of the album I am left feeling that I wish the Simmons SDS series of drums had never been invented (even though I once owned one myself).

An extended and a 7″ version of Jeannie No ends this version of the album, which overall is a bit of a mixed bag for me, but the inclusion of Shoot The Moon and Road Noise make this a must-buy collection for anyone interested in the work on one of the UK’s finest singer-songwriters.

Shoot The Moon (1982)

1. Heaven Can Wait
2. Love On The Border
3. Information
4. Beacon Hill
5. Don’t Let Me Sleep
6. I’m Not A Loser
7. Now There Is No Love At All
8. Late Again
9. Liggers At Your Funeral
10. Water In Motion
11. Shoot The Moon
12. Sold A Rose (Bonus Track)
13. Run On Luck (Bonus Track)
14. I’m Not A Loser (Demo) (Bonus Track)
15. How Do I Feel (Demo) (Bonus Track)

Road Noise (The Official Bootleg) (1982)

1. Heaven Can Wait
2. Chinatown
3. I’m Not A Loser
4. Information
5. You Are The Phoenix
6. The Flesh Is Weak
7. Sportscar
8. For You
9. Come Hell Or Waters High
10. Southern Smiles
11. Katiera Island
12. Love On The Border
13. Black Furs
14. City Of Swimming Pools
15. Bring The Rain
16. Sukarita
17. Stay With Me Till Dawn
18. The Hunter

Ritmo (1983)

1. Jeannie No
2. She Don’t Live Here Anymore
3. Shoot From The Heart
4. Face To Face
5. Another Country
6. Nighthawks
7. Walk Don’t Walk
8. Push Push, Pull Pull
9. How Do I Feel
10. Jeannie No (Extended Version) (Bonus Track)
11. Jeannie No (7” Version) (Bonus Track)

Buy Judie Tzuke – The Chrysalis Recordings on Amazon

Buy Welcome To The Cruise

Buy Sports Car & I Am The Phoenix