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Musik Music Musique 1979 – The Roots of Synth-pop compilation review

1 12 2025

Musik Music Musique 1979 is the fourth volume in the series from Cherry Red and is sub-titled The Roots of Synth-pop.

The 3 CD set is released on 16 January 2026. Featuring a colossal 60 tracks, the collection is made up of well-loved classics from 1979 alongside lesser-known gems. Musik Music Musique 1979 features The Buggles, Tubeway Army, The Human League, OMD, John Foxx, Visage, Yello and more. The compilation has track by track information along with sleevenotes by Electronic Sound magazine’s Mat Smith.

Video Killed The Radio Star

Disc one opens with Technopop from The Buggles Clean, Clean single (recorded in 1979 but released in 1980) and is also available on their debut album The Age of Plastic. I’m glad that the compilers avoided the obvious Video Killed The Radio Star, that is ubiquitous on compilations covering this era, plus they made the decision to include the pre-Buggles version from Bruce Wooley & The Camera Club, a more new wave tinged take on this 80s classic. Technopop is a slice of nostalgic pop, driven by Trevor Horn’s bass and vocals, and Geoff Downes multi-layered synths.

M offer Made in Munich, a track cut from the same cloth as their massive hit, Pop Muzik. Robin Scott is joined by members of Level 42 on this addictive track, that name checks John Travolta at one point. The Korgis Cold Tea saw James Warren and Andy Davis move away from their progressive rock past with Stockbridge, to this more angular electronic, 10cc on acid sound.

The first little-known highlight on this compilation comes from Dutch musician Floris Kolvenbach and his Metal Voices project, with the haunting At The Banks Of The River, an adventurous song with a mournful chorus.

Armband by Karel Fialka is a catchy piece of electronica from 1979. Fialka is also known for his singles The Eyes Have It and Hey Matthew (a top 10 hit in 1987). Life In Tokyo (Pt 1) from Japan is a collaboration with Giorgio Moroder, and is one of the bands finest singles.

Tubeway Army’s Are Friends Electric? was released on Beggars Banquet in May 1979 and soon made its way to no1 in the UK singles chart. There will be more from Gary Numan later in this compilation. Pop duo Dollar’s Star Control (B- Side Mix) was the b-side of the more tame Who Were You With In The Moonlight single in May 1979, and is a charming vocoder driven space themed oddity.

The Lone Ranger (1979 Remix) from Rupert Hine’s Quantum Jump was a top 5 hit the second time around, thanks to championing from DJ / television personality Kenny Everett.

“Taumatawhakatangihangakoayauo-
Tamateaturipukakapikimaungahoro-
Nukypokaiwhenuakitanatahu”

If you know, you know. Rupert Hine was an important figure in 80s pop (and beyond), producing and working with Rush, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, the Fixx, Bob Geldof, Thompson Twins, Stevie Nicks, Suzanne Vega as well as releasing a series of influential solo albums, including my favourite, 1982’s Waving Not Drowning.

Birmingham’s Fashiøn deliver the single Technofascist, one of the bands early tracks before line-up changes and a huge pivot in sound that led to the magnificent Fabrique album in 1982. The Technofascist line-up had a sharp post-punk sound, and I remember seeing this line-up supporting The Stranglers at The Rainbow in 1980.

The Cars sprightly Night Spots is an album track from Candy-O, the US bands second album. Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club’s early version of Video Killed The Radio Star features a line-up that included the influential musician Thomas Dolby, and is a spikier more new wave take on what went on to be an 80s classic.

Mirror Of Infinity from the US synth trio Moebius is another gem that passed me by on its original release, with progressive vocals on top of an icy synth soundtrack. The only mis-step for me appears with an awful cover of The Stranglers Hanging Around by Final Program, a cover where the musicians are playing as if they have never heard the original, far superior version. An instant skip from me!

One Rule For You

Disc two opens with an absolute banger in Gary Numan’s no 1 single Cars, that sounds as great today, as it did on its original release in 1979. Nuff said.

Donna Summer producer Giorgio Moroder offers the title track from his album E=MC², a synth pop, disco masterclass. Daft Punk fans will likely enjoy this track.

Nice Mover from Gina X Performance was produced by German producer Zeus B. Held (Fashion / John Foxx), who has his own track titled Held It on this disc. The Gina X Performance had an underground hit with No G.D.M., and were surely an influence on the mighty Propaganda in the later part of the 80s.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Almost slipped by me when I bought their Electricity 7″ single, why didn’t I play the b-side? Almost is a delicate, forlorn piece of electronica that stands up well. The Men (an early incarnation of The Human League) appear with a funky bass line driven I Don’t Depend On You.

One Rule For You from After The Fire should have been a massive hit, with Rupert Hine, Muff Winwood, Rhett Davies and John Leckie on production duties on their second album Laser Love. Thrash was the debut single from Cowboys International, a short lived pop band, who mixed new wave with synth pop.

Factory Records act Minny Pops early single Dolphin’s Spurt has an inventive guitar line running through the sparse electronics.

Producer extraordinaire Zeus B. Held bridges Krautrock and the late 70s electronic explosion with Held It from his second solo album, that will appeal to fans of John Foxx’s The Garden album. The Swedish band Secret Service round off disc two with the saccharin pop of Oh Susie. Once you hear this song, you will struggle to get it out of your brain for days.

Living By Numbers

The third and final disc opens with a track from The Human Leagues Reproduction album, the insanely catchy Blind Youth. Back To Nature from Fad Gadget (Francis John Tovey) was a dark electronic single released by Mute Records.

Landscape (featuring future acclaimed producer Richard James Burgess) contribute the 12″ version of the playful instrumental Japan, a precursor to the bands hits with Einstein A Go-Go and Norman Bates. Japan sounds like a theme tune to an 80s cop show that sadly never existed. What a bass-line too.

Frequency 7 by Visage was the b-side to their debut single, Tar, and is a sparse, dark piece of Ballard influenced electronica. Living By Numbers New Musik was an early single from the band that featured producer Tony Mansfield.

“They don’t want your name, just your number”

Suicide’s Dream Baby Dream, produced by The Cars’ Ric Ocasek, has found a new audience due to the songs use on television and in film, including Alex Garland’s disturbing Civil War.

John Foxx appears with Young Love (the 1979 version that was first released as part of a Metamatic album reissue). Forever Tonight by Hammer (featuring Jan Hammer, Miami Vice theme composer and future Styx vocalist Glen Burtnick) is a disco infused synth pop song.

Computer was included on Toyah’s debut album Sheep Farming In Barnet and has aged particularly well. Thomas Leer and Robert Rental’s Attack Decay is an album track that offers an industrial, warped peep into the future.

Don’t Dither Do It (7″ Version) from Steve Hillage (former member of Gong and future founder of System 7) is an enjoyable new wave, disco crossover. Rheinita (7″ Version) from La Düsseldorf is an instrumental shiny electronic pop piece.

Musik Music Musique 1979 disc three closes with the barely recognisable lo-fi cover of The Beatles All You Need Is Love by Instant Automatons.

Musik Music Musique 1979 is a wonderful time capsule that showcases the futuristic experimentation of the electronic / post-punk tinged sound that grew out of punk before mutating into the heady electronic pop that dominated the first half of the 80s.

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TRACK LISTING
DISC ONE
The Buggles – Technopop
M – Made In Munich
The Korgis – Cold Tea
Metal Voices – At The Banks Of The River
Yello – I. T. Splash
Dalek I – The Kiss
Karel Fialka – Armband
Japan – Life In Tokyo (Pt 1)
Black Rod – Going To The Country
Tubeway Army – Are Friends Electric?
Dollar – Star Control (B- Side Mix)
Quantum Jump – The Lone Ranger (1979 Remix)
Fashiøn – Technofascist
The Cars – Night Spots
Devo – Strange Pursuit
Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club – Video Killed The Radio Star
Moebius- Mirror Of Infinity
Tanya Hyde – Herr Wunderbar
Final Program – Hanging Around
Metrophase – New Age

DISC TWO
Gary Numan – Cars
Giorgio Moroder – E=MC²
Gina X Performance – Nice Mover
Blah Blah Blah – In The Army
Gerry And The Holograms – Gerry And The Holograms (Alternate Drumbox Version)
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Almost
The Men – I Don’t Depend On You
Telex – Rock Around The Clock
They Must Be Russians – Nagasaki’s Children
Silicon Teens – Memphis Tennessee
Henry Badowski – Making Love With My Wife
After The Fire – One Rule For You
Cowboys International – Thrash
Jude – Mirror Mirror
Minny Pops – Dolphin’s Spurt
Mi-Sex – Computer Games
Passage – 16 Hours
Zeus B. Held – Held It
The Family Fodder – Sunday Girl #1
Secret Service – Oh Susie

DISC THREE
The Human League – Blind Youth
Fad Gadget – Back To Nature
Landscape – Japan (12″ Version)
Calvin Twilight – Harmony
Cuddly Toys – Madman (Original 1979 Japanese Mix)
R.L. Crutchfield’s Dark Day – Hands In The Dark
Visage – Frequency 7
New Musik – Living By Numbers
Suicide – Dream Baby Dream
John Foxx – Young Love (1979 version)
The Dodgems – Science Fiction (Baby You’re So)
Genocide – Pre Set Future
Hammer – Forever Tonight
Toyah – Computer
Thomas Leer and Robert Rental – Attack Decay
Plain Characters – Man In The Railings
Steve Hillage – Don’t Dither Do It (7″ Version)
La Düsseldorf – Rheinita (7″ Version)
Tim Blake and Jean Phillipe Rykiel – New Jerusalem (Extract)
Instant Automatons – All You Need Is Love

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Tags: 1979, 80s, Compilation, Electronic, music, New Wave, pop, re-issue, reviews, rock, Synth-pop, Trevor Horn
Categories : Music, Music Review

The Pale Fountains – The Complete Virgin Years 4 CD box-set review

21 04 2025

The Pale Fountains were an English band formed in Liverpool in 1980, and composed of Mick Head, Chris McCaffery, Thomas Whelan, Andy Diagram, Ken Moss and John Head.

Inspired by 1960s music (Love, Burt Bacharach), the band released two much-loved studio albums on Virgin, Pacific Street (1984) and …From Across the Kitchen Table (1985).

This 4-CD box set brings together both albums as well as the B-Sides, mixes, and some previously unreleased material from the Virgin vaults all housed in a sturdy box with extensive sleeve notes by Classic Pop’s John Earls.

The music was mastered by Tony Dixon, with vinyl restoration (presumably for some of the singles) by Andy Pearce. The albums sounded pretty good with their previous CD incarnation, but this new master from Tony Dixon adds more punch and depth to the mixes.

I bought both albums on cassette in the early 80s and also treated my self to the CD reissues a few years ago, but this box-set blows those reissues out of the water. The original two albums have never sounded better and the two discs of single cuts and unreleased demos adds real value to this release.

Pacific Street and beyond

Pacific Street, the bands debut from 1984, is my favourite of the two Virgin studio albums, and is an album I still regularly play to this day. It has a consistent sound – often with bossa-nova rhythms topped by traditional pop / rock arrangements and a smattering of Andy Diagram’s trumpet.

Whilst no doubt influenced by the pure-pop of Burt Bacharach, Arthur Lee’s Love and with a bold 60s swagger, the guitar exhibits a sharp new-wave bite that cuts through, adding a darker side to the songs.

The album was produced by the band and Howard Gray (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark / Public Image Limited / Simple Minds) and has intelligent and rich arrangements, with delicious harmonies and rapidly changing tempos.

My favourite track arrives early in the album sequence, with the atmospheric Unless. In another universe, this song would have been a top 10 hit. Deep synths take centre-stage, a rarity, and Head’s vocal is spell-binding. When the sequenced synth line kicks on the 3/4 mark, I’m transported to a musical nirvana.

(Don’t Let Your Love) Start A War is a key album track, with chiming guitar lines and a restrained verse that makes the chorus all the more powerful.

Beyond Friday’s Field is the most experimental track on the album, led by Diagram’s trumpet and a sparse 60s spy-thriller backing. The music coming out of Liverpool in the 80s was in such a rich vein of form, and The Pale Fountains were a key component of the wave of classic artists.

Abergele Next Time has a confident swagger, and sits in your mind long after the last note has faded away.

The bonus tracks from the era are solid gold. The “radio-hits” Thank You and Palm of my Hand are absolute classics . I didn’t realise until recently that multi-instrumentalist Alan Rankin, who had recently quit The Associates, produced the Pale Fountains 1983 non-album single Palm Of My Hand. I bought the single when it was released but either didn’t pick up on Rankine’s involvement at the time or simply just forgot, but listening to the song with this knowledge, his influence is clear.

The first disc ends with a couple of extended versions and the non-album track Love Situation, which suggests that Mick Head jumped into a time-machine and invented Primal Scream, bringing back this song on his return to the mid-80s.

The second disc contains rough mixes and demos from around the time of the first album. Given the age of the recordings, the quality is surprisingly good. Highlights from this disc include the light mix of Fight Think Love / Love Situation – Rough Mix Take 1, a song that would not feel out of place as part of a Hollywood film soundtrack in Spanish Tragedy (Beyond Fridays Field) – Rough Instrumental Mix and the Motown infused twisted pop of Take A Little Shelter – Rough Mix Take 2.

A shout-out needs to be given for the second version of Sundrenched Girl (Crazier) – Rough Mix – with contains a full-band performance of this supremely catchy, steel-drum adorned slice of summer pop.

…From Across The Kitchen Table

The second album finds The Pale Fountains in a more strident, confident mood. The urgent Shelter opens the album, whilst a bluesy and more ragged Stole The Love paves the way for my favourite track from the album, the timeless Jean’s Not Happening, with a sublime guitar line from John Head.

Bruised Arcade has stood the test of time, and I enjoyed becoming reacquainted on reviewing the album. It’s Only Hard passed me by when I first bought the album, by this slow-paced Dylanesque piece hits more directly now.

The title track incorporates some ‘of the time’ synths in its intro before it develops into an enjoyable, intelligent piece of dark pop. The rockabilly swing of September Sting ends the album on a high.

The 4th and final disc collects mixes and unreleased tracks from this period. An extended mix of the title track works well as does a darker mix of Bicycle Thieves.

The b-side Just A Girl – Remix feels more like an a-side, from the Thank You era, featuring a strong chorus, with a hint of the pop-nous of Pete Wylie / Wah! from around this time. A lost Palies classic.

A warm, full remix of Thank You is a welcome inclusion. A series of well-preserved demos make up the rest of the final disc. Highlights include the drum-machine driven The Outsider, with its excellent bassline, the restraint turns to wild abandon of Summertime (It’s Hard) and the promise that was never fully realised of These Are the Things (Stay).

So even if, like me, you own both of The Pale Fountains first two albums, this expanded box-set is a must-own release from one of Liverpool’s best kept secrets.

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TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE

Pacific Street

Reach
Something On My Mind
Unless
Southbound Excursion
Natural
Faithful Pillow (Pt 1)
(Don’t Let Your Love) Start A War
Beyond Fridays Field
Abergele Next Time
Crazier
Faithful Pillow (Pt 2)

BONUS TRACKS

Thank You – Single
Meadow Of Love – Single B Side
(There’s Always) Something on My Mind – Remix
Palm Of My Hand – Single
Palm Of My Hand – Instrumental – Single B Side
Love’s A Beautiful Place – Single B Side
Unless – Extended Version 12″ Single
(Don’t Let Your Love) Start A War – Single
(Don’t Let Your Love) Start A War – Extended Version 12″ Single
Love Situation – Single B Side

DISC TWO

Mixes And Unreleased Tracks

Partner Picking Man – Rough Mix with Bass and Drums*
Fight Think Love / Love Situation – Rough Mix Take 1*
Jock’s A String Bean – Rough Mix*
Fight Think Love / Love Situation – Rough Mix Take 2*
Spanish Tragedy (Beyond Fridays Field) – Rough Instrumental Mix*
Take A Little Shelter – Rough Mix Take 2*
Partner Picking Man – Acoustic*
Sun Drenched Girl (Crazier) – Acoustic
Lavinia’s Dream – Rough Mix Take 1
(There’s Always) Something on My Mind – Rough Mix
Hey There Fred – Rough Mix
One By One – Rough Mix Take 2*
Norfolk Broads – Rough Mix Take 1
Untitled Jam / 7 and 7 Is*
Unless – Rough Mix
(There’s Always) Something on My Mind – Rough Mix
Sundrenched Girl (Crazier) – Rough Mix
Southbound Excursion – Rough Mix

DISC THREE

…From Across the Kitchen Table

Shelter
Stole The Love
Jean’s Not Happening
Bicycle Thieves
Limit
27 Ways to Get Back Home
Bruised Arcade
These Are the Things
Its Only Hard
…From Across the Kitchen Table
Hey
September Sting

DISC FOUR

Mixes And Unreleased Tracks

From Across the Kitchen Table – Extended Version 12″ Single
Bicycle Thieves – Remix Single B Side
Just A Girl – Remix Single B Side
Thank You – Remix Single B Side
Silver Bendix – Demo*
The Outsider – Demo*
Detrimentally (Stole the Love) – Demo
27 Ways to Get Back Home – Demo
Summertime (It’s Hard) -Demo
Shelter – Demo
Yeah Eah Eah – Demo*
These Are the Things (Stay) – Demo
Bruised Arcade – Demo
*Previously unreleased

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Tags: 1984, 1985, 80s, Alternative, Liverpool, pop, re-issue, Shack
Categories : Music Review

Climie Fisher’s Everything: 5CD Deluxe Edition Review

12 02 2025

Cherry Red are releasing a 5CD deluxe edition of Climie Fisher’s 1988 album Everything, including the original album alongside a staggering 51 bonus tracks featuring singles, B-sides, remixes, edits, alternate versions, demos and previously unreleased recordings.

This new version of the album has been remastered by Oli Hemingway at The Wax Works using the original master tapes. The package includes a 28-page booklet featuring lyrics, a full-colour illustrated discography, rare photos, and comprehensive credits.

The album was produced in two halves with five tracks produced by Stephen Hague (Pet Shop Boys) and five produced by Steve Lillywhite (U2). An additional track, Rise To The Occasion (Hip Hop Mix), was produced by Stephen Hague with additional production and remix by Phil Harding.

The list of musicians that appear on Everything includes bassists Nathan East and Pino Palladino, guitarist Neil Taylor, plus David Palmer, Mel Gaynor and Steve Ferrone on drums, Luis Jardim on percussion and Kirsty McColl provides backing vocals on This Is Me.

Everything – the main album

The original album sounded great in the late 80s, but this new, sympathetic remaster is a definite improvement. Drums have more power and the vocals sit better in the mix, with a real added bite to the bass and a fresh shine evident on the guitars.

Everything is one of my favourite pop albums from the late 80s. Love Changes (Everything) has stood the test of time, and both versions of Rise To The Occasion remain great pop songs. I was introduced to the bands work by heavy radio play of Rise To The Occasion (Hip Hop Mix), in fact I still own the 12″ vinyl of the extended mix.

I Won’t Bleed For You sums up the sound of the late 80s, with its heady mix of acoustic and electronic stylings. The playful Room To Move sounds wonderful with this new remaster, and This Is Me has remained one of my album highlights. The rhythmic guitar from Neil Taylor works so well with the always joyful Luis Jardim percussion.

Never Let A Chance Go By features a fine Pino Palladino bassline and a great vocal from Simon Climie. Its a shame that Climie and the late Rob Rob Fisher only released two albums together.

Bite The Hand That Feeds is a single that never was and the album ends with the slower-paced Break The Silence and the lively arrangement of Keeping The Mystery Alive, featuring powerful backing vocals from The Soultanas and some imaginative guitar work (lead and rhythm) from Neil Taylor, who went on to work with Tears For Fears and Robbie Williams.

The rest of Everything

The remaining 4 discs in the collection contain a mixture of remixes, extended versions, demos and b-sides. Highlights include the alternate 7″ mix of Rise To The Occasion, with added percussion and a slightly different bassline, and a flurry of extended mixes including a wonderful 9 minutes take on the extended version of This Is Me and the “Extended Bleed Mix” of I Won’t Bleed For You, with Rob Fisher adding layer upon layer of synth riffs.

Climie Fisher - single sleeves for the two versions of "Rise To The Occasion" and "Love Changes (Everything)"

The highlight of the self-produced non-album tracks for me is Nothing But A Feeling, with its jazzy guitar and stuttering beat. The demos you will probably only play once or twice, as the songs are already pretty well formed. If you are a fan of the Hip Hop mix of Rise To The Occasion, the sample heavy 8 minutes plus remix is on disc four. This disc consists of a plethora of extended cuts, including an 8 minutes + version of I Won’t Bleed For You.

The only mis-fire is the Everything Megamix that closes disc 5, as the production / concept has not aged well, and is a track that I find myself skipping.

Cherry Red have wisely kept the original album on disc one, as this is the disc you will return to the most, with the other discs there for you to dip in and out of, particularly when you are in an Eighties mood. This new deluxe edition is the definitive version of the duos first and finest album.

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DISC ONE
ORIGINAL ALBUM
Love Changes (Everything)
Rise To The Occasion
I Won’t Bleed For You
Room To Move
Precious Moments
Rise To The Occasion (Hip Hop Mix)
This Is Me
Never Let A Chance Go By
Bite The Hand That Feeds
Break The Silence
Keeping The Mystery Aliv

DISC TWO
BONUS TRACKS – SINGLES
Love Changes (Everything) (Remix)
Rise To The Occasion (7″ Version)
BONUS TRACKS – B-SIDES
Far Across The Water
Mental Block
Nothing But A Feeling
Never Close The Show
Climbing Up The Ladder
BONUS TRACKS – DEMOS & PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED RECORDINGS
Love Changes (Everything) (Demo) †
Rise To The Occasion (Demo) †
Precious Moments (Demo) †
Lifeline †
Fighting Talk †
Money Makes The Man (Go Crazy) †
Love Transmission †
Emotional Waves †
Unfinished Business †

DISC THREE
BONUS TRACKS – SINGLES: REMIXES, EDITS & ALTERNATE VERSIONS
Keeping The Mystery Alive (7″ Remix) †
Rise To The Occasion (7″ Edit)
Love Changes (Everything) (US Single Edit)
Rise To The Occasion (7″ Mix) *
I Won’t Bleed For You (Radio Edit) †
Rise To The Occasion (Alternate 7″ Remix) †
BONUS TRACKS – EXTENDED VERSIONS & REMIXES
This Is Me (Extended Version)
Keeping The Mystery Alive (Extended Mix)
Rise To The Occasion (Extended Mix)
Love Changes (Everything) (Love Mix)
I Won’t Bleed For You (Extended Bleed Mix)
Keeping The Mystery Alive (12″ Mix)
Mental Block (Full Length Version) *

DISC FOUR
BONUS TRACKS – MORE EXTENDED VERSIONS & REMIXES
This Is Me (12″ Version)
Keeping The Mystery Alive (Bruce Forrest 12″ Mix) †
Rise To The Occasion (Hip Hop Remix)
Love Changes (Everything) (House Mix)
I Won’t Bleed For You (High Velocity Mix) *
This Is Me (‘This Is It’ Mix)
Keeping The Mystery Alive (John Gallen 12″ Mix) †
Rise To The Occasion (Extended Mix Edit)
Love Changes (Everything) (Pop Mix) *
I Won’t Bleed For You (12″ Mix) †
Keeping The Mystery Alive (Dealer Mix) †

DISC FIVE
BONUS TRACKS – EVEN MORE EXTENDED VERSIONS & REMIXES
Love Changes (Everything) (Extended Mix Edit)
I Won’t Bleed For You (Nick Gatfield Mix) †
Keeping The Mystery Alive (Extended Version) †
This Is Me (Dub) †
Rise To The Occasion (Hip Hop Dub) †
Love Changes (Everything) (Dub) †
This Is Me (Dub + Claps) †
I Won’t Bleed For You (Dub) †
This Is Me (Dub + Vocal) †
I Won’t Bleed For You (Bonus Beats) †
Everything Megamix *
* PREVIOUSLY UNAVAILABLE ON CD
† PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

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Tags: 80s, Classic Rock, Deluxe Edition, music, new-music, News, pop, review, Tears for Fears
Categories : Music, Music Review

Danny Wilson – The Complete Danny Wilson 5 CD box-set review

16 01 2025

Complete Danny Wilson is a 5CD boxset, released by Cherry Red on 28/02/2025, bringing together the group’s two albums as well as their b-sides, mixes and a complete live show (some of which has never been heard before).

The new 5 cd set was mastered by Andy Pearce. The band were involved in all aspects of the release and have been interviewed extensively for the booklet, that features revealing and often humorous band member comments on the studio tracks along with background to the live recordings.

The band’s debut Meet Danny Wilson is on disc 1 of the 5 disc set. Davy is the story of a journey to the bright (or maybe quite faded) lights of London. The song really sticks in your head after hearing it again.

“But remember, money is nothing alone
Remember, if you want to come home
I won’t throw the first stone, Davy”

Davy is a delightful opener and an early indication of the improvement with the mastering. Comparing to my Sweet Danny Wilson CD version from the early 90s, the songs are louder (but not brick-walled) with so much more clarity and punch. All of the tracks sound improved, not just the two studio albums.

Aberdeen fully utilises the studio equipment of the era, including the Fairlight. The sleeve-notes explain that the band went “a wee bit mental” throwing everything at the track, and the more stripped down version on disc 4 is my favourite take, using less electronics to populate the arrangement.

Mary’s Prayer is simply one of my favourite songs of all time. This punchy, crisp mix makes it feel like you are discovering the song for the very first time, and that’s a wonderful feeling.

“So when you find somebody you keep
Think of me and celebrate
I made such a big mistake
When I was Mary’s prayer”

The performances, arrangement and heart-wrenching lyrics make this a timeless classic, that still hits hard on every single listen.

Lorraine Parade showcases the band at their best, with space and restraint in the performance, and features one of Gary Clark’s finest vocals. Broken China has a fairly sparse arrangement, using an addictive marimba line to push the song along at a relaxed pace, before a jagged middle section turns the mood darker. An album highlight for me.

Steamtrains To The Milky Way features a mesmerising bassline and wonderful trumpet from Roddy Lorimer, the star of many 80s recordings, that adds a Burt Bacharach touch to the mix. Ruby’s Golden Wedding is a brass and accordion driven piece, unlike any other track on the album. Musical surprises pop up throughout the duration of the track, which sounds stunning on this 2024 master.

A Girl I Used to Know has always been a favourite of mine. I bought this as a CD single at the time of release, from Our Price, UK readers might remember this shop. A rare up-tempo piece, with excellent percussion underpinning sections of the song. Five Friendly Aliens also utilises marimba, and is so well produced that it does not feel like it has dated. Shades of Mr Bacharach also haunt I Won’t Be Here When You Get Home, a wide-screen production that delivers a fitting end to the album, with its delicious chorus.

1989’s Bebop Moptop is the subject of the second disc. Imaginary Girl always reminds me of Francis Ford Coppola’s One From The Heart, with its colourful, imaginative soundscape. I love how the lead guitar feels like it is about to scream, but is rained back in and never moves to centre stage, which would have been an obvious move to make. Danny Wilson did not do obvious.

The Second Summer Of Love was the bands second and final top 30 hit in the UK, and unlike the “musical movement” of the second summer of love, this track has not dated. “Acid on the radio…”

If You Really Love Me (Let Me, Go) dials down the pace quite a few notches. The space in this song lets it really breathe, and the soulful backing vocals add to the unique flavour served up. Loneliness has a haunted vibe to add to the very dark lyrics, as disembodied voices and snatches of broadcasts swim in and out of earshot, with the song ending on vinyl static. Turn the record over!

Charlie Boy is stamped throughout with an 80s sound, including lovely, warm guitar lines that wash over a tale of addiction. The percussion on this song is a star, its a roll call of iconic drum machines. Why has no-one picked up on Never Gonna Be The Same for the myriad of Christmas compilations? Those bell synth lines and sleigh-bells need to be heard in December, although it is obviously not a Christmas song.

It was lovely seeing the Alesis HR16 sequencer (I owned a second hand HR16 in the late 80s) getting a mention in the sleeve-notes for Desert Hearts. Gotta love Alesis. The song showcases some interesting production techniques and a rare Danny Wilson guitar solo.

N.Y.C. Shanty is a Kit Clark lead vocal, and has a bold swagger that conjours up the ramshackle older New York City vibe.

Goodbye Shanty Town is a return to the sound of the bands debut album. I love the guitar production and the way that the song really springs into life for the chorus. A real hidden gem…

Bebop Moptop comes to its conclusion with The Ballad of Me and Shirley Maclaine, a short, sharp and sweet ending.

“I guess because
It was December in May
We had to sleep on the hay
And as we counted the stars”

I hope the band let the kidnapped Burt Bacharach out of the studio after recording this song, as he had certainly left his mark. Don’t believe the band if they deny the kidnapping, just because it’s not on Wikipedia doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Sadly Bebop Moptop was the end of Danny Wilson as a recording band.

The 3rd CD contains B-Sides / Edits / Mixes. Highlights from this disc include I Won’t Forget (what a chorus) and the slow-burning Pleasure To Pleasure that stretches far beyond their usual 3 minutes, and is one of the bands finest songs, one that I first loved many moons ago as it appeared on the A Girl I Used to Know CD single. It remains as powerful and raw as when I first heard the song.

“I will change my key from minor to major”

Mary’s Prairie is a tasteful country-tinged take on, well you know what song! Kooks is an affectionate cover of the David Bowie classic from Hunky Dory. Growing Emotional is a rare occurrence, Danny Wilson being influenced by current artists, in this case, with the drum sounds, guitar, synth stabs and vocal styling of Prince. This shouldn’t work, but it highlights that even when the band went well off-piste, they were still able to deliver zingers.

I’ll Be Waiting is a highlight of this b-sides disc, with its Thin Lizzy / Queen dual guitar riff coming out of nowhere to deliver a shock.

A Girl I Used To Know (Single Mix) is my favourite take on this song (it’s that damn 80s CD single I keep mentioning). I never tire of hearing this track, I just wish I could find my CD single. Where did I put it?

CD 4 is mainly edits and mixes, including the wonderful Paul Staveley O’Duffy remix of Mary’s Prayer and the reverb heavy New York Mix of If You Really Love Me (Let Me, Go).

The 4th disc ends with a series of demos and portastudio recordings. The demos are high quality, and show Danny Wilson as they start to crystalise into the band we knew.

Steamtrains To The Milky Way (Original Demo) is a wonderful 8 track demo, utilising the Ensoniq Mirage (a mid-80s synth / sampler).

St. Jude (Portastudio) offers a less sumptuous sound from the band, but gives a tantalising glimpse of what was just around the corner. The disc closes with The Second Summer Of Love (The Dundee Demo), which is a shorter take on the eventually released version.

The 5th and final disc is a live concert from the London Town & Country Club, recorded in October 1990. This is an excellent quality recording and the highlights for me include Broken China and an absolutely spell-binding cover of Abba’s Knowing Me Knowing You (aha!). The song is performed with passion and obvious love. Plus a well-received by the very vocal audience (and slightly pacier than normal) performance of Mary’s Prayer.

The final disc ends with a raucous The Second Summer Of Love live from Caird Hall, Dundee, from September 1989 and Don’t Know Who I Am (which musically reminds me a little of the decadence and pomp of Bertolt Brecht / Kurt Weill’s Alabama Song) recorded live in Studio 5, Tyne Tees Television.

Complete Danny Wilson has been put together with love and affection from the former band members and project designers / Matt Phillips (sleeve-notes) and Andy Pearce with the audio mastering. Well done Cherry Red, this is how to curate a back catalogue.

The box-set is a must-have for anyone who appreciates well-crafted pop music from the late 80s, and the collection offers so many more highlights than just the two well-known hit singles.

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DISC ONE

Meet Danny Wilson
Davy
Aberdeen
Mary’s Prayer
Lorraine Parade
Nothing Ever Goes to Plan
Broken China
Steamtrains to the Milky Way
Spencer Tracey
You Remain an Angel
Ruby’s Golden Wedding
A Girl I Used to Know
Five Friendly Aliens
I Won’t Be Here When You Get Home

DISC TWO

Bebop Moptop
Imaginary Girl
The Second Summer of Love
I Can’t Wait
If You Really Love Me (Let Me, Go)
If Everything You Said Was True
Loneliness
I Was Wrong
Charlie Boy
Never Gonna Be the Same
Desert Hearts
N.Y.C. Shanty
Goodbye Shanty Town
The Ballad of Me and Shirley Maclaine

DISC THREE

B-Sides / Edits / Mixes

I Won’t Forget
Pleasure To Pleasure
Monkey’s Shiny Day
Mary’s Prairie
Kathleen (House Mix)
Living To Learn
Kooks
Get Happy
Growing Emotional
I’ll Be Waiting
The Lonesome Road
A Girl I Used to Know – Single Mix
If Everything You Said Was True – Radio Edit

DISC FOUR

B-Sides / Edits / Mixes
A Girl I Used to Know – US Remix with Guitar Solo
Mary’s Prayer – Paul Staveley O’Duffy Remix
Nothing Ever Goes to Plan – Blix Mix ’86
Aberdeen (The way it should have been – The Strepzil Logic EP)
I Can’t Wait – Remix
If You Really Love Me (Let Me, Go) – New York Mix
From A Boy to A Man – Sweet Danny Wilson Comp
Monkey’s Shiny Day – Original Demo Version
Steam Trains to The Milky Way – Original Demo
Broken China – Original Demo
A Fragile World – Portastudio
St. Jude – Portastudio
The Second Summer of Love – The Dundee Demo

DISC FIVE

Live at the London Town & Country Club, 1 October 1990
Never Gonna Be the Same
Broken China
Davy
I Was Wrong
Lorraine Parade
Steamtrains To the Milky Way
Charlie Boy
Knowing Me Knowing You
Imaginary Girl – Everything You Said
Aberdeen
I Can’t Wait
Mary’s Prayer
Loneliness

BONUS TRACKS
The Second Summer of Love – Caird Hall, Dundee, 16th September 1989
Don’t Know Who I Am – live, Studio 5, Tyne Tees Television

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Tags: 1987, 1989, 80s, music, News, pop, re-issue, rock
Categories : Music, Music Review

Exploring Godley & Creme “Parts of the Process”: The 11-CD box-set

3 01 2025

Parts Of The Process is a new 11CD Box Set that celebrates Kevin Godley and Lol Creme’s recordings between 1977 and 1988. The set includes all of the Godley & Creme studio albums released during this period, with an additional two discs containing single edits, alternative mixes/versions and non-album tracks.

Parts Of The Process – The Complete Godley & Creme album art

Running to an impressive 105 tracks, the set features the albums Consequences (1977 – split over 3 discs), L (1978), Freeze Frame (1979), Ismism (1981), Birds Of Prey (1983), History Mix Vol.1 (1985) and Goodbye Blue Sky (1988), along with a disc of non-album tracks & 7” versions plus a disc containing extended versions.

Parts Of The Process also includes a 10,000 word essay by biographer Liam Newton, plus an intro from Kevin Godley.

The first three discs in the collection contain 1977’s Consequences album. The album came together after Godkey & Creme left 10cc, and featured their invention, the Gizmo, an effects device for the electric guitar and bass guitar. The album features a narrative, performed by English comedian / actor Peter Cook, and features often experimental music, some instrumental, some with vocals.

Consequences was built to be played as a whole piece, and whilst it is a challenging listen, you will either love it or loathe it. It contains the seeds of what was to come from the duo, and is a wonderful album to experience on headphones.

It was out of time and out of favour on release in 1977, as the full force of the musical revolution that was punk hit the world, but it deserves a re-evaluation and I personally think the album is built for now, with the emergence of Dolby Atmos as a viable new listening medium. Let’s hope someone has access to the original multi-track tapes and the phone number for Steven Wilson (who I know is a fan of the album), as this would make a wonderful Bluray disc in Dolby Atmos.

Whilst I have pointed out that it works best as a whole listening experience, there are a handful of stand-out tracks that I still return to regularly. The 10 minute plus The Flood is like an audio movie, propelled by stunningly treated vocals, and once you are through the flood sequence, the water adds the rhythm to a wonderful passage of music that sees the song to its watery end. Don’t listen to this track if you are desperate for the loo.

Five O’Clock In the Morning remains one of my favourite Godley & Creme songs. Sounds of the outside world sneak into the piano and massed choral voices gem of a song about the early hours before the new day is born.

“And when the one you’re holding
Runs her fingers through your hair
You’re on”

Lost Weekend still holds up particularly well, and features a stunning vocal performance from Sarah Vaughan. It’s Cool, Cool, Cool In The Morning takes me back to the vocal arrangements of early 10cc.

Sailor is one of the more laid-back, traditional arrangements on the album. Phased guitar, and aching vocals, underpinned by waves of backing vocals make this a timeless sea-shanty.

Disc four in this collection provides us with the duo’s second studio album, L from 1978. A much tighter and more focused affair than the triple disc Consequences, but it is still a wildly experimental collection. Whilst L was produced by Kevin Godley & Lol Creme, with Kevin and Lol providing the majority of the performances, the duo did have some help with engineering by Chris Gray & Nigel Gray, plus musical guests Andy Mackay (Roxy Music) and Jonathan Handelsman (saxophone) along with a spoken appearance from DJ / broadcaster Paul Gambaccini.

The Sporting Life has a feel of the 50s with the vocal arrangements, and some warm Rhodes piano, as discordant bass and acoustic piano creeps into the rapidly mutating arrangement – keeping the edgy feel to the song as it turns into an almost post-punk end section.

Sandwiches of You has such an interesting soundscape – a nagging beat and fuzzy guitars, undercut by frantic marimbas and kick drum to keep you perpetually surprised. Art School Canteen dials back the weirdness and features one of the duos finest lyrical journeys to date, that sits perfectly with the classic mid-70s feel of the track.

“Does getting into Zappa
Mean getting out of Zen
Sex has reared its ugly head at last
But it didn’t look ugly then”

I feel that musically, with L, Godley & Creme were out of time again. This album feels like it was from the early to mid-80s, so was in fact ahead of its time. Punchbag is a case in point, it would not have sounded out of place a couple of years later. Shifting from messed up piano led edgy pop, to an new wave infused conclusion. As confusing as that sounds written down, the arrangement works beautifully. L closes with a scathing takedown of the music industry with Hit Factory / Business Is Business.

“Keep it simple
Keep it neat
Aim your hook
At the man in the street”

The song sweeps in and out of genres, with an almost dream-like soundtrack, whilst the duo fire sharpened lyrical arrows at those who churn out formulaic nonsense from their (s)hit factories.

“Only the numb survive…”

1979’s Freeze Frame is my favourite Godley & Creme album. It features the duo at their experimental peak, taking chances that many others at this time would have been afraid to take. It is a very brave album. Freeze Frame saw a continuation of their relationship with Nigel Gray, as it was recorded at his Surrey Sound Studios in Leatherhead.

Straight out of the blocks, with An Englishman In New York, their intentions were clear. Godley & Crème deliver intelligent pop created with cutting edge technology, in the pre-Sampler era.

“Strange apparatus, even stranger theme”

The doubled lyric lines are slightly out of time with the main lead vocal, using the Eventide Harmoniser, an early multi-effects processor, used by David Bowie and Frank Zappa that “Fucks with the Fabric of Time”. Its an effective treatment that adds value to the song. Random Brainwave alternates between the hazy verse and a straight up disco section that appears just the once, apropos of nothing.

I Pity Inanimate Objects is an absolute delight. Also using the Harmoniser, the lyrics have never been more prescient. The lead lines screech in and out of the verses, and for a track dealing with the lifeless, the song hits hard.

“The frustrations of being inanimate
Maybe its better that way
The fewer the moving parts
The less there is to go wrong
I wonder about these things”

The title track should have been released as a single, though I suppose the Manchester Utd line put paid to that as a possibility. Clues is so beautifully produced. The chorused guitar lines mixed with the lead lines and the (ahead of its time) tribal drums make this one of the strongest songs on the album.

Mugshots is so catchy it melts my brain. Blending classic Brill Building songwriting techniques on top of quirky production experiments, leading to a wonderful song that feels the closest to classic 10cc that Godley & Creme dared venture.

Freeze Frame closes with the delicious Get Well Soon, an ode to ill-health and the late night soundtrack that can accompany insomnia.

“I’ve never liked the taste of Lucozade
Another sip of hospital champagne
Charge your glasses Radio Luxembourg”

It must have been very tempting to play this “straight”, but thankfully they didn’t, and Godley & Creme’s imagination runs riot, both lyrically and musically, on Get Well Soon, one of the highlights in their impressive catalogue.

Paul McCartney adds backing vocals to Get Well Soon, whilst other guests on the album include Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera on guitar on 4 tracks and Rico Rodriguez (ska and reggae musician) on trumpet and tuba on An Englishman in New York.

Ismism was released in October 1981, and was titled Snack Attack in the USA. Ismism peaked at No. 29 on the UK Albums Chart and was Godley & Creme’s best-selling studio album. Two of the album’s three singles were top 10 hits in the UK – Under Your Thumb hit no3 in the singles charts & Wedding Bells peaked at no7.

Ismism was very much a duo affair, with the only guest performer being Bimbo Acock on saxophone. To me, Ismism was perfectly in tune with the times. Album opener Snack Attack sums up the sound of the era – funky, with sharp guitars, twisted percussion and a trebly funk bassline. Under Your Thumb is one of Godley & Creme’s best singles. The story of a train journey, a mysterious haunting and hints of domestic abuse has a minimal musical backing, and a quite straight-forward (for Godley & Creme!) arrangement making this a classic 80s song. Although sleigh bells adorn the end section, the subject matter meant that this was never going to be considered as a Christmas staple.

The pitch-shifting vocals of The Problem continue G & C’s playful experimentation, continuing the tune into the next track, Ready For Ralph. The room was eventually ready for Ralph. And Roy, and Rose and Rob.

Wedding Bells no doubt became a staple of 80s wedding parties, hopefully the bride & groom didn’t pay attention to the lyrics. Sale Of The Century, like the preceding track, drew from the past, laying on the nostalgia heavy and thick.

The closing track The Party builds on the Snack Attack bassline (what a bassline!) and is a story of a party in full swing and is build around the snatches of disjointed conversations heard as the high-class and decadent event progresses. By the end of the track, Godley & Creme are throwing Tom Tom Club and Heaven 17 shades in every direction with the funky musical backing.

1983’s Birds Of Prey was the least successful Godley & Creme album, which was surprising after the success of Ismism. I think the absence of hit singles from the album was the main contributing factor. I was a huge fan, buying all albums up to Ismism but I wasn’t aware of the last few Godley & Creme albums until long after their release. Had I known about Birds Of Prey, I would have bought it at the time.

My Body The Car is a mostly acapella performance and Worm and the Rattlesnake introduces the styling for the rest of the album, with a virtually fully electronic album. Worm and the Rattlesnake shows that Godley & Creme’s knack for delivering addictive songs with clever lyrics was still very much intact at this point, while they continued to draw inspiration from the past (the vocal styling of Viva Las Vegas in this case).

Samson is a reggae-infused single, and is extremely catchy, so I am surprised that it didn’t get more airplay on release. Madame Guillotine wears its influences on its sleeve, with a seemingly Ball of Confusion inspired bassline during the verse and top and tailing the track with an earworm of a chorus. Godley & Creme were always good at drawing on music from the 50s / 60s and adding their own, unique sonic flavouring to give the recipe a unique taste.

I wonder whether Rupert Hine’s Waving Not Drowning from the previous year was an influence on Birds Of Prey as there do seem to be some similarities in some of the percussion and synth treatments.

Woodwork has a rare appearance of guitars (heavily processed in this case) but the electronics are pushed very much to the foreground. Out In The Cold closes the album. Vocoder heavy lead vocals sit atop an icy backing, that is temporarily lifted by saxophones. I get real The Shining vibes from this song.

“And now you’re gone I’m like a broken piano
That no one wants to play”

1985 saw the release of History Mix Vol.1 (there was no Vol.2). History Mix Vol.1 was a remix of songs featuring the music of Godley & Creme as well as dipping into 10cc and Hotlegs material. Interviewed in 1985, Lol Creme said that the album contained demos and master recordings thrown into the Fairlight sampler, with J. J. Jeczalik (Art of Noise) and Trevor Horn assisting with production work in the album.

Wet Rubber Soup is very Art of Noise influenced, with snatches of Rubber Bullets, Life Is a Minestrone, I’m Not in Love and snippets from the Consequences album. It must be said that History Mix Vol.1 is very much of its time, but if you love your 80s mash-ups, this may appeal to you.

Cry is by far my favourite from History Mix Vol.1. Cry was a top 20 hit in the UK and the duos only chart hit in the USA. Produced by Godley, Creme and Trevor Horn, this six minute plus version still sounds amazing. The raw simplicity of the lyrics (a rarity for Godley & Creme) makes this song work so well.

Expanding The Business is another Fairlight mashup, with an effect like tuning in and out of radio stations on an old FM radio, featuring Business Is Business, How Dare You, Neanderthal Man, This Sporting Life, One Night in Paris, The Dean and I, Sand in My Face and Umbopo.

As the 80s headed to an end, it seemed that the quality of music in the last year or two of the decade sometimes dropped, as Godley & Creme released Goodbye Blue Sky, their seventh and final studio album.

The quirk on 1988’s Goodbye Blue Sky is the extensive use of harmonicas, including performances from Nine Below Zero’s Mark Feltham and a shift away from the electronic sounds offered up on Birds of Prey. The album also features vocals from Jimmy Chambers, George Chandler and Jimmy Helms (Paul Young / Londonbeat).

Goodbye Blue Sky is an outlier in the Godley & Creme catalogue. The sounds and arrangements are more traditional than on previous albums, with virtually no sign of the experimentation (lyrically or musically) that was displayed in abundance on previous releases, which really dulls the quality of the release for me.

My personal highlights from the album includes the single 10,000 Angels, one of the few pacier tracks on the album, and Sweet Memory, a song that revisits the feel of Wedding Bells. Overall, I’m sad that Godley & Creme’s catalogue ended with their weakest release.

non-album tracks / 7" versions cover-art

Disc 10 of the set features non-album tracks & 7” versions, and serves up a reminder of some of Godley & Creme’s highlights. Wide Boy is a joyful piece of new wave / powerpop, that was released as a single with Submarine in 1980. Submarine is a dub influenced instrumental, with a superb dragging bassline and Hank Marvin-like guitar. A perfect example of how Godley & Creme could turn their gaze towards virtually any style of music and make it their own.

Power Behind The Throne (the b-side to Under Your Thumb) recycles the music from Submarine, with vocals added. Babies (the b-side to Wedding Bells) is a disturbing piece of twisted synth-pop.

Welcome To Breakfast Television (the b-side to Save A Mountain For Me) is a withering look at the new phenomenon on 80s breakfast tv, TV-am and its ilk.

“We’ll send you on your way to work
In a happy frame of mind
Seein’ all of breakfast telly
Between half past eight and nine”

There are two versions of the non-album single Golden Boy, a 7″ edit from 1984 and the 1985 remix. The b-side Light Me Up is a welcome addition, and has some interesting twists and turns. Love Bombs (the Cry b-side) is a heavily percussive studio experiment, with vocal samples and sparse lyrics.

Up next are some Goodbye Blue Sky era b-sides, that follow the same template as the album, so not really offering anything different.

An interesting 7″ edit of Sandwiches Of You brings us back to the Godley & Creme that I love. Silent Running (the b-side of An Englishman In New York) in other hands would be a standard blues song, but at this point, Godley & Creme were able to put a fresh slant on whatever genre they touched.

Cry [Single Edit] is the most familiar take on this wonderful slice of perfectly baked pop. The final two tracks on this disc are ones I skip – a dated (very much of its time) acid house sprayed Snack Attack [1987 7” Remix] and the rather ordinary A Little Piece Of Heaven [7” Single Version], which is somewhat redeemed by the mighty Mark Feltham’s playing on the end section of the song.

The final disc contains a series of extended versions. Snack Attack [Extended Version] is actually shorter than the album version, work that one out! A slightly less frantic take, the lyrics never fail to raise a smile.

“Cold turkey’s what I’m going through
Cold turkey’s what I need
But they hung a sign on my appetite
Saying “Danger Do Not Feed”
I can’t eat no more
I got to use a straw”

Samson [Dance Mix] places the drums in a more prominent position, and adds elements of dub to the mix. Golden Boy [Long Version 1984] is my favourite version of the song, with a lovely distortion on the main keyboard line and a Righteous Brothers production feel to the vocals in the verse.

Jack Attack Dub is very much of its time, and has sadly dated. I’d rather not jack, if you don’t mind…

Cry [Extended Remix] is a welcome inclusion here, and thankfully not a “jack” remix! The final two tracks are ones that I find myself skipping – Snack Attack [1987 Extended Remix], yep, its a damned “jack” remix, along with A Little Piece Of Heaven [Extended Mix], a slightly remixed take on the song from Godley & Creme’s final album.

So in summary, this is the most comprehensive, best sounding collection of Godley & Creme’s music by far. Its only let down a little by a few out-dated remixes and their sadly quite ordinary final album, but that’s just my personal taste. You might disagree.

The music up until 1986 is pretty much flawless, and deserves to be in everyone’s musical library.

Parts Of The Process – The Complete Godley & Creme was mastered by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering at AIR, and the music has never sounded so good.

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Parts Of The Process – The Complete Godley & Creme covers and box

CD1: CONSEQUENCES Part One (1977)

Seascape
Wind
Fireworks
Stampede
Burial Scene
Sleeping Earth
Honolulu Lulu
The Flood

CD2: CONSEQUENCES Part Two

Five O’Clock In the Morning
Dialogue
When Things Go Wrong
Dialogue
A Lost Weekend
Dialogue (1)
Rosie
Dialogue (2)
Office Chase
Dialogue (3)
It’s Cool, Cool, Cool In The Morning
Dialogue (4)

CD3: CONSEQUENCES Part Three

Cool, Cool, Cool [reprise]
Dialogue (5)
Sailor
Dialogue (6)
Mobilization
Dialogue (7)
Please, Please, Please
Dialogue (8)
Blint’s Tune (Movements 1 – 17)

CD4: L (1978)

The Sporting Life
Sandwiches Of You
Art School Canteen
Group Life
Punchbag
Foreign Accents
Hit Factory / Business Is Business

CD5: FREEZE FRAME (1979)

An Englishman In New York
Random Brainwave
I Pity Inanimate Objects
Freeze Frame
Clues
Brazilia (Wish You Were Here)
Mugshots
Get Well Soon

CD6: ISMISM (1981)

Snack Attack
Under Your Thumb
Joey’s Camel
The Problem
Ready For Ralph
Wedding Bells
Lonnie
Sale Of The Century
The Party

CD7: BIRDS OF PREY (1983)

My Body The Car
Worm And The Rattlesnake
Cats Eyes
Samson
Save A Mountain For Me
Madame Guillotine
Woodwork
Twisted Nerve
Out In The Cold

CD8: THE HISTORY MIX VOL.1 (1985)

Wet Rubber Soup
Cry
Expanding The Business / The ‘Dare You’ Man / Hum Drum Boys In Paris / Mountain Tension

CD9: GOODBYE BLUE SKY (1988)

H.E.A.V.E.N. / A Little Piece Of Heaven
Don’t Set Fire (To The One I Love)
Golden Rings
Crime & Punishment
The Big Bang
10,000 Angels
Sweet Memory
Airforce One
The Last Page Of History
Desperate Times

CD10: NON-ALBUM TRACKS & 7” VERSIONS

Wide Boy
Submarine
Marciano
Power Behind The Throne
Babies
Welcome To Breakfast Television
Golden Boy [7” 1984]
Light Me Up
Love Bombs
Golden Boy [1985 Remix]
Bits Of Blue Sky
Rhino Rhino
Hidden Heartbeat
Can’t Sleep
Sandwiches Of You [7” Edit]
An Englishman In New York [Single Edit]
Silent Running
Cry [Single Edit]
Wet Rubber Soup [Edit]
Snack Attack [1987 7” Remix]
A Little Piece Of Heaven [7” Single Version]

CD11: EXTENDED MIXES

Snack Attack [Extended Version]
Strange Apparatus (An Englishman In New York)[12” Version]
Samson [Dance Mix]
Golden Boy [Long Version 1984]
Jack Attack Dub
Cry [Extended Remix]
Golden Boy [1985 Full Length 12” Mix]
Snack Attack [1987 Extended Remix]
A Little Piece Of Heaven [Extended Mix]

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Tags: 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 70s, 80s, Compilation, music, new-music, pop, re-issue, review, reviews, rock
Categories : Music, Music Review

Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club: Review of the Definitive Anthology 1977-1981

16 10 2024

Cherry Red have released Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club – The Definitive Anthology 1977-1981, a 3-CD selection. The set stretches to 69 tracks from the period 1977 to 1981 and includes 41 previously unreleased tracks taken from the bands unreleased second album plus two live concerts, along with an expanded version of the English Garden album including the original versions of the Ivor Novello Award-nominated Video Killed The Radio Star and Clean Clean, both of which Bruce Woolley co-wrote with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes and went on to become hit singles for The Buggles.

Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club – The Definitive Anthology 1977-1981 cover

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The collection is packaged in a deluxe clamshell box with a fully illustrated 28-page booklet containing rare and previously unseen images and a brand new annotation featuring quotes from band members Bruce Woolley, Dave Birch and Thomas Dolby. The sleeve-notes are amongst the best I have seen on recent anthology releases – honest, informative and self-deprecating.

Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club were founded in 1979 with Bruce Woolley on vocals, Dave Birch on guitar, Thomas Dolby on keyboards, Matthew Seligman on bass and Rod Johnson on drums. They released their debut album English Garden in 1979 and supported its release by touring in England, USA and Canada. Unfortunately, they disbanded after two years largely spent on the road following on from CBS Records’ refusal to release their second album.

I have the original English Garden album on vinyl, but this 3 CD set offers a fuller glimpse into the bands intriguing story. Bruce Woolley will always have a special place in music history due to his contribution to Video Killed The Radio Star, but there is so much more to his story. Along with the obvious Buggles (Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes) links there is plenty for the Thomas Dolby fan to savour as well – with Thomas appearing as band member on many of the tracks, as well as contributing to some of the song writing plus the appearance of Matthew Seligman, who went on to become a key part of Dolby’s band for many years, and who backed (with Thomas) David Bowie at his legendary Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium in 1985. Matthew also contributed bass on the late period Bowie classic Absolute Beginners. Sadly Matthew died in 2020.

The first disc – English Garden expanded

Disc one is an expanded version of the English Garden album. The album is a perfect example of late 70s new wave / pop. Drawing on influences from the highly lyrical pop of Deaf School, the angular new wave artiness of Bill Nelson’s Red Noise and the occasional tip of the musical hat to David Bowie, there is a real pop sensibility to the album. The title track is a pacey, energetic opener before the first appearance on this collection of Video Killed The Radio Star. I’m obviously (who isn’t?) very familiar with the timeless Buggles version, but Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club’s take has all of the signature lines in-situ and a beefier, less synth led arrangement. It works very well and should have got more attention at the time.

Johnny is a Trevor Horn co-written song, with the “Johnny” refrain seemingly sneaking into The Buggles Johnny on the Monorail later that year. You Got Class powers along at pace, with some fine Seligman bass runs.

WW9 is a short (under one minute) Bruce Woolley/Thomas Dolby written instrumental, that hints at the future sound Mr Dolby would produce for The Flat Earth. Clean Clean will be known to many because of the Buggles version from The Age of Plastic. This edgier new wave version works particularly well, especially with the addition of Bowie V-2 Schneider referencing drums in the outro.

Get Away William was written by Bruce Woolley, guitarist Dave Birch and Thomas Dolby, and is one of my favourite tracks on the album. It has that amazing 1979 sound, where new wave aesthetics are mixing with pure pop.

Goodbye To Yesterday adds Magazine to the influence list, with its opening rhythm heavily indebted to The Light Pours Out Of Me, as the song mutates into a jazzier, Rhodes driven pop piece. Goodbye To Yesterday (reprise) is a twisted take on the preceding song.

The album proper ends with You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown), and it’s killer of a chorus.

13 extra tracks complete disc one. Highlights include US versions of Clean Clean, Video Killed the Radio Star and Goodbye To Yesterday (shorn of its Magazine influence and sounding quite Buggles like).

You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) (B-Side) features Geoff Downes on keys and Trevor Horn on bass.

Needletime was written by Bruce Woolley, Trevor Horn and Rod Thompson, and has hints of XTC meets 10cc and a bit of City Boy slipped in for good measure. Basically lots of band’s with C in their names.

The final track is Sugar Daddy (8 Track Demo), a song Bruce Woolley recorded a few times, but subsequent recordings apparently never bettered this 8 track demo. This feels like a good ending to the revisited album, as the new wave style is washed away.

Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club - English Garden vinyl cover

Disc two – the unreleased second album and later material

Disc two is Polaroid – Snapshots Of Sound, material that would have made the second album alongside other unreleased material. I Set Fire To You was rescued from the original 24-track, 2” analogue tapes, so unlike a lot of extra material that finds its way onto expanded album releases, these studio tracks are high quality recordings.

Ghost Train was co-written with Thomas Dolby, and is my favourite track on disc two. Featuring the return of Matthew Seligman on bass and produced by the mighty Mike Howlett, for Dolby fans, this song will be like finding gold in them there hills. Its a delightful song.

Killer On The Dancefloor (Olympic Studios) features Dave Birch on guitar, Nigel Ross-Scott on bass, Nigel Glockler on drums, and Simon House (who appeared on David Bowie’s Stage & Lodger albums) on keyboards. Simon also appears on the later track Morning Shadows, another highlight of the later period Camera Club.

Only Babies Can Fly has a gentle but highly addictive arrangement and is one of the last Camera club recordings, featuring a final appearance from Thomas Dolby on keyboards. Blue Blue (Victoria) is another Mike Howlett production. House Of Wax is a surprisingly never before released song. This track would have been perfect as a single in 1979 or 1980.

The final song is Radio Pictures (Bye Bye Love), of which I know nothing of its origins, as its not mentioned in the PDF of the sleeve-notes provided with the digital review copy, so maybe a last-minute addition? Radio Pictures (Bye Bye Love) is a bittersweet piece, reminding me a little of The Korgis, mixed with the poppier side of The Teardrop Explodes. Luscious guitar and warm harmonies hint at a further switch away from the earlier band sound. A fine farewell to the studio music of Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club.

Disc three – on the road forever!

Disc three is comprised of live recordings from 1979 and 1980. The 1979 set was provided by Steve Warren, who was XTC’s sound engineer at the time. Although recorded onto cassette, this straight from the mixing desk, very early band gig recording stands up pretty well. The live line-up includes Richard Wernham on drums (aka Ricky Slaughter from The Motors).

The 1980 set was broadcast on WLIR FM, from My Father’s Place in Roslyn, New York and is understandably a more polished recording, with a more seasoned performance from the band, who had been touring pretty much non-stop at this point. You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) is an explosive opener, and Get Away William is another highlight. “Accept no substitute” welcomes in the final track on the disc, a live take on Video Killed The Radio Star.

Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club – The Definitive Anthology 1977-1981 is a rare beast – a collection full to the brim with alt-takes and unreleased music, but absolutely no fillers. Given the age of the material, it has remained in pretty good shape, with the risks of baking the master tapes aside!

If you are a fan of the English Garden album, you will love this collection, which also offers plenty to enjoy for fans of the era as well as Trevor Horn/ Buggles and Thomas Dolby fans.

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DISC ONE
English Garden – Expanded Version

English Garden
Video Killed The Radio Star
Dancing With The Sporting Boys
Johnny
No Surrender
Flying Man
You Got Class
WW9
Clean Clean
Get Away William
Goodbye To Yesterday
Goodbye To Yesterday (Reprise)
You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown)
News (Eden Studios)*
The Killers – No Surrender
The Killers – Killer On The Dancefloor
Clean Clean (US Version)
Video Killed the Radio Star (US Version)
Goodbye to Yesterday (US Version)
Bruce Woolley – Bobby Bad
Bruce Woolley – You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) (B-side)
Bruce Woolley – You Got Class (Soundsuite Studios)*
Bruce Woolley – Going To The City*
Bruce Woolley – Needletime*
Bruce Woolley – Sugar Daddy (8 Track Demo)*

* Previous Unreleased

DISC TWO
Polaroid – Snapshots Of Sound

I Set Fire To You*
Bruce Woolley – Ghost Train
Killer On The Dancefloor (Olympic Studios)*
Trouble Is
Only Babies Can Fly
All Real Americans*
Morning Shadows*
Ghost Train (Olympic Studios)*
All At Once
Warning Shadows*
Bruce Woolley – Blue Blue Victoria
Bruce Woolley – 1000 MPH
Bruce Woolley – The Black Girls Understand*
Bruce Woolley – Ghost Train (Club Mix)
How Do You Say Goodbye?*
Too Late For Tears (Demo Version)*
Bruce Woolley – Blue Blue Victoria (Demo Version)*
Bruce Woolley – You Got Class (Revox Demo)*
News (Olympic Studios)*
House Of Wax
Radio Pictures (Bye Bye Love)*

* Previous Unreleased

DISC THREE
In Concert – all recordings previously unreleased
Live at High Wycombe Town Hall 6th May 1979

You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown)
You Got Class
Too Late For Tears
Clean Clean
The Problem
Goodbye To Yesterday
Johnny
Video Killed The Radio Star
No Surrender
Dancing With The Sporting Boys
News
Flying Man

Live at My Father’s Place, Long Island, USA 25th March 1980

You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown)
News
You Got Class
Trouble Is
Johnny
Get Away William
Dancing With The Sporting Boys
I Set Fire To You
No Surrender
English Garden
Video Killed The Radio Star

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Tags: 1979, 1980, 70s, 80s, pop, re-issue, Thomas Dolby, Trevor Horn
Categories : Music, Music Review

The Producers (Trevor Horn / Lol Creme) 5-CD Set: A Detailed Review of the ‘Made in Basing Street’ Album

25 06 2024

The Producers were formed in 2006. They include record producers Trevor Horn (The Buggles, Yes, ABC, Seal), Steve Lipson (Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Propaganda), songwriter/producer Chris Braide (Downes Braide Association) and musicians Lol Creme (10cc, Godley & Creme)) and Ash Soan (Del Amitri / Squeeze).

This new 5-CD set was compiled in conjunction with the band and includes the original album (Made in Basing Street) as well as an alternate version, re-mixes, out-takes and instrumentals all overseen by Steve Lipson.

The extensive booklet features a new interview with the band by Record Collectors Daryl Easlea who details the process of the making of the album.

The original album, released in 2012, still sounds amazing, and is included on disc three in this collection. The 2023 mix is a sympathetic re-imagining. Freeway is more than two minutes longer, with a different drum intro and a lighter mix.

Your Life is also longer in its 2023 incarnation, with a lovely, spacey intro, and a more organic arrangement that lets the song really flow.

The new versions do not detract from the songs if you are already familiar with the album. Man on the Moon has a warm new mix. Every Single Night In Jamaica is a reminder that I am desperate for a Trevor Horn album (either solo or from The Buggles) that features Horn on lead vocals throughout.

Stay Elaine has replaced Ryan Molloy’s lead vocal with a Chris Braide take, which gives the album more continuity. Barking Up The Right Tree remains a highlight of the album, featuring a wonderful contribution from the always wonderful Lol Creme.

The Producers - Barking Up The Right Tree

Garden of Flowers is another longer take, and a less “bombastic” mix, closer in spirit to Trevor’s work with The Buggles. A heart-breaking lyric and vocal from Horn ensures that this became my favourite track on the album back on it’s original release, and the 2023 mix is now my favourite version of the song.

Watching You Out There is similar in arrangement to the original, whilst album closer You and I is a slightly longer version, with a brighter, more punchy mix and with further processing added to the lead vocal line.

The copious amount of extra material includes a selection of unreleased songs and some extended versions and alt-takes. Looking For Love (2023 Mix) is another fine Trevor Horn vocal, and could easily have fitted on the main album.

There’s Only So Much You Can Do is a mostly instrumental piece, apart from Braides’s vocals on the chorus. Extended versions of Freeway and Your Life are welcome additions to disc two, but the two alt-mixes of Garden Of Flowers offer the most value, with an almost Born To Run era Springsteen sounding arrangement driving the alternative edit.

The version of Two Tribes that ends disc two is a live instrumental version. Disc three contains the original album mix of Made In Basing Street from 2012.

Disc four adds further unreleased cuts from the long album sessions. Broadway is a funky little instrumental piece, with some fine interplay between Horn and Soan, and a go-go / Slave To The Rhythm like percussion track. Come In Elektra is a song about Amelia Earhart.

Give Us A Clue is a laid-back Chris Braide vocal piece, with a lazy summer groove. Home has a Beatles / John Lennon inspired arrangement, and the simplicity and space is a real change for the usual material from the band. As you would expect, the production is sumptuous.

Music From Bel Air is another Trevor Horn vocal. It is lovely to hear his vocals set against a very acoustic backing, away from his usual heavily electronic backdrop. The nostalgic lyrics are a delight.

Summer Rain is a surprising omission from the released album. Breezy guitars and a leisurely beat give the track a unique charm. The Path Of Sydney Arthur is a leftover from the original concept album idea that fed into the early sessions, and would have likely been the opening piece to this discarded alternative album sequence. This is definitely one for fans of the more electronic, synth-heavy side of Horn’s oeuvre. It’s a simple but effective piece.

Disc four has a set of fully realised and produced songs that give a tantalising glimpse into an alternative Producers album, that sadly we will never hear as this release appears to be the final word in the Producers story.

Fans of Trevor Horn / Lol Creme and Chris Braide will find plenty to love with this deep dive, expanded re-issue of Made In Basing Street.

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CHRIS BRAIDE – vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, producer.
LOL CREME – guitars, marimba, bass, vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, percussion, producer.
TREVOR HORN – bass, backing vocals, vocals, acoustic guitar, vocoder, marimba, producer.
STEPHEN LIPSON – guitars, mandolin, percussion, programming, backing vocals

TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE

MADE IN BASING STREET
2023 mix

Freeway
Waiting For The Right Time
Your Life
Man On The Moon
Every Single Night In Jamaica
Stay Elaine
Barking Up The Right Tree
Garden Of Flowers
Watching You Out There
You And I

DISC TWO

Looking For Love (2023 Mix)
There’s Only So Much You Can Do (2023 Mix)
Freeway (Extended)
Your Life (Extended)
Garden Of Flowers (Alternative Edit)
Garden Of Flowers (Radio Edit With Guitars)
Two Tribes

DISC THREE

MADE IN BASING STREET

Original album mix

Freeway
Waiting For The Right Time
Your Life
Man On The Moon
Every Single Night In Jamaica
Stay Elaine
Barking Up The Right Tree
Garden Of Flowers
Watching You Out There
You And I

DISC FOUR

EXTRAS

Broadway
Come In Elektra
You And I (Dada Mix)
Give Us A Clue
Home
Music For Bel Air
Summer Rain
The Path Of Sydney Arthur
Your Life (End Intro Idea)

DISC FIVE

MADE IN BASING STREET

Instrumental – 2023 backing track

Freeway
Waiting For The Right Time
Your Life
Man On The Moon
Stay Elaine
Barking Up The Right Tree
Garden Of Flowers
Watching You Out There
You And I
Looking For Love

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Tags: Classic Rock, music, pop, re-issue, rock, Vinyl
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Heaven Sent – The Rise Of New Pop 1979-1983: UK Musical Zeitgeist

18 06 2024

Heaven Sent – The Rise Of New Pop 1979-1983 is a 4 CD compilation from Cherry Red, released on 26 July 2024. “New Pop” was a term associated with NME journalist Paul Morley, ‘New Pop’ came to describe any forward-thinking British music of the early 1980s which wasn’t ‘rockist’ or overtly punky and anti-establishment in outlook.

Opening with the “Full length disco mix” of M’s Pop Music, featuring Wally Badarou (Level 42) on keyboards, and vocals from Robin Scott, the song has aged well, and remains a staple of 70s / 80s themed radio stations. The low-fi charm of The Flying Lizards Money gives way to a pop titan as the 70s gave way to the 80s with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes Buggles and their biggest hit, Video Killed The Radio Star.

Godley And Creme’s An Englishman in New York from their 1979 album Freeze Frame, highlights the duos more experimental side, as compared to their later success with Wedding Bells and Cry.

“They boggle at menus in Olde English verse
“Ode to a burger” by Keats at his worst
The hissing of omelets the breaking of legs
Don’t shoot till you see the whites of their eggs”

Young ‘n’ Russian from The Korgis preceded their biggest hits (If I Had You and the classic Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime), and is an often overlooked part of their legacy. Living By Numbers from Tony Mansfield’s New Musik is, like The Buggles, a sneak peak into the sound that would soon come to define the next decade. Living By Numbers has a charming naivety that holds fast, even after all these years.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Red Frame / White Light is the Liverpool band mixing their early experimentalism with a snappy chorus. Toyah’s Bird in Flight sees the band starting to move away from their new wave roots, displayed on the excellent Sheep Farming in Barnet album, into the more electronic sound that would give them success in the early 80s with Ieya and It’s A Mystery.

One of the highlights of the collection is Dream Sequence from Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls. This classic electronic single from 1980 is a lost gem, from the timeless Pauline Murray and The Invisible Girls album, that was produced by Martin Hannett. Following the split of Pauline’s previous band, Penetration (Come Into The Open remains a favourite new wave single), Pauline and Penetration bassist Robert Blamire were joined by a cast including Vini Reilly, the Buzzcocks John Maher, Wayne Hussey and New Order’s Bernard Sumner on an album that is a must listen from the early 80s.

The Clash offer Hitsville UK from their fourth album Sandinista!, featuring vocals from Mick Jones and US singer Ellen Foley (check out her Strummer/Jones heavy Spirit of St. Louis album from 1981). The Passions I’m In Love With A German Film Star is a staple on new wave compilations, but deserves to be championed and sounds better with age.

“I’m in love with a German film star, I once saw in a bar
Sitting in a corner in imperfect clothes
Trying not to pose, for the cameras and the girls
It’s a glamorous world”

African And White (Inevitable Version) from China Crisis is another sign that Liverpool was one of the strongest regions for late 70s and early 80s music. Is Vic There? was the only hit from Department S, and works so well due to its iconic guitar riff and propulsive beat. The Art Of Parties from Japan was an insistently catchy single highlighting all band members musical strengths. Altered Images are represented with A Day’s Wait, a Siouxsie and the Banshees influenced song, produced by the Banshees bassist Steve Severin.

The early Heaven 17 single I’m Your Money shows the influence they had on the burgeoning electronic music of the decade. Disc one ends with The Associates Q Quarters and its encouraging to hear a less obvious track from the duo. The Situation Two single from 1981 is a dark, brooding piece, with a restrained vocal from Billy Mackenzie. I still cannot believe we have lost Mackenzie and Alan Rankine, both are huge losses to music.

Disc two opens with Eurythmics and Never Gonna Cry Again, produced by Conny Plank, and from the era just before the massive success that followed from Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) onwards. Like a lot of Eurythmics material, time has been kind to Never Gonna Cry Again. Thomas Dolby’s debut single Urges is a more lo-fi release, compared to his majestic later material such as The Flat Earth, but highlights Dolby’s knack for adding layer upon layer of hooks to his songs.

The Slits Earthbeat (7” Version) (featuring future Banshees drummer Budgie) is a welcome addition as one of the post-punk highlights on this collection. Hazel O’Connor was at her best for me with the Breaking Glass album, but this is a respectful cover of the early Stranglers classic. Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call was a wonderful period in Simple Mind’s back catalogue, giving us the majestic The American and the track on this compilation, Sweat in Bullet. The band seem to be having a bit of a critical renaissance at the moment, and about time too.

Bedsitter is one of Soft Cell’s finest early singles and so another excellent addition. Chas Jankel contributes Questionnaire, and brings with him some of the pure, undistilled funk of The Blockheads, with lyrics from Ian Dury. The percussion from Charley Charles is out of this world.

Mad Eyed Screamer brings us back to Budgie and Siouxsie Sioux, and their first hit. Who needs a band when you have Budgie and Siouxsie Sioux at their creative peak (JuJu was also released in 1981). Tears for Fears debut single Suffer The Children is scheduled next to Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) from Haircut 100. Disc two shows a shift away from post-punk into a more dance / Latin infused era for pop music.

Tiny Children remains one of the highlights from the too short career of Liverpool’s Teardrop Explodes. Mari Wilson seemed to disappear from the charts almost as soon as she arrived, but the 50’s musical influenced Beat The Beat is a good, nostalgic pop single. The Day My Pad Went Mad from John Cooper Clarke is filled with JCC’s typically witty wordplay, delivered in his trademark Salford drawl.

Disc three opens with the mighty ABC, and their Trevor Horn produced single Poison Arrow. It still sounds sumptuous all those years later. The De Harriss led version of Fashiøn contribute their influential electronic single Streetplayer (Mechanik). How this Birmingham band were not global megastars is a mystery to me. If you ever come across their 1982 album Fabrique, I can heartily recommend it. All killer….

Culture Club are represented with the percussion heavy White Boy (Extended Mix), here in all its 6 minute plus glory. Scritti Politti offer the seemingly plastic soul / Young Americans Bowie influenced Faithless, a fine single, but the band really hit their peak for me with the glossy pop of Cupid & Psyche 85 three years later. Swamp Children and Taste What’s Rhythm is one of the tracks I was not familiar with from Heaven Sent – The Rise Of New Pop 1979-1983, and is performed on top of a delicious percussive backing.

Iron Out The Rough Spots was one of the few singles on Paul Young’s No Parlez that did not chart. I went to a recent Dolby Atmos playback of the album, organised by Super Deluxe Edition, and the Dolby Atmos mix adds a fresh excitement to this familiar album. Any compilation that highlights the finest band to come out of Sheffield, The Comsat Angels, is an instant friend of mine. After The Rain (single remix) showcases the band as they were shifting on their axis, from heavy post-punk towards a more commercial mid-80s rock / pop sound. After The Rain is a classic single. I miss the band so much, I wish we had more material from them.

Pale Fountains and Thank You is up there with Wah’s The Story of the Blues as one of the great Liverpool singles. The Pale Fountains released two fantastic albums over the next few years, with Thank You being a radio hit, but the commercial breakthrough never materialised, but the beautiful music remains. Glasgow’s Set The Tone and Dance Sucker still sounds as funky as hell. Beat Surrender ‘b’ side Shopping is an interesting inclusion from The Jam, with Weller’s horizon widening as The Style Council loomed ever nearer.

The final disc is the most “commercial” in this compendium of musical delights, with Lets Go To Bed, one of my favourite singles from The Cure. The 12″ version (not included here) is a delight. The Stranglers and their acoustic meets electronica period from the Feline album, with lead single European Female, fits the new pop aesthetic perfectly. The barracuda bass and jagged guitar replaced by a more sophisticated 80s palette.

Tracie Young delivered some warm pop / funk, and 1983’s The House That Jack Built was a slice of breezy pop that still sounds so optimistic. Paul Weller appears again with The Style Council’s Headstart For Happiness, an acoustic and Hammond driven pop song. County Durham’s Kane Gang have their 1983 single Brother Brother included, a song I missed on its original release, but one that I would have bought if I had been aware of it. A wonderful piece of UK funk / pop with a lovely refrain towards the end of the song.

The jangly guitar pop of Friends Again and State Of Art features two artists whose later work moved me greatly, James Grant and Chris Thomson, whose band The Bathers have released album after album of high quality, orchestral soulful pop. State of Art is very much of its time, but still a quality song. The final tracks on the compilation highlight the alternative indie-pop of Furniture and the sample heavy Colourbox and the still haunting Moments in Love from Art of Noise, with the technological advances of the 80s now in full effect.

Heaven Sent – The Rise Of New Pop 1979-1983 is a fascinating snapshot of an interesting period in the UK’s musical history. Fans of the late 70s and early 80s will find plenty to love in this expertly compiled collection.

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TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE
M – Pop Musik (Full Length Disco Mix)
The Flying Lizards – Money
The Buggles – Video Killed The Radio Star
Godley And Creme – An Englishman In New York (Single Version)
The Korgis – Young & Russian
New Musik – Living By Numbers
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Red Frame/ White Light
Toyah – Bird In Flight
Grace Jones – She’s Lost Control
Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls – Dream Sequence (One)
The Clash – Hitsville U.K.
The Passions – I’m In Love With A German Film Star
The Human League – Boys And Girls
China Crisis – African And White (Inevitable Version)
Fad Gadget – Make Room
Department S – Is Vic There?
Japan – The Art Of Parties
Altered Images – A Day’s Wait
Heaven 17 – I’m Your Money
Thomas Leer – Letter From America
The Associates – Q Quarters

DISC TWO

Eurythmics – Never Gonna Cry Again
Thomas Dolby – Urges
The Slits – Earthbeat (7” Version)
Monsoon – Ever So Lonely (Indipop version)
Hazel O’Connor – Hanging Around
Anthony More – World Service (Single Version)
A Flock Of Seagulls – Telecommunication
Simple Minds – Sweat In Bullet
Soft Cell – Bedsitter
Chas Jankel – Questionnaire
The Creatures – Mad Eyed Screamer
Tears For Fears – Suffer The Children
Haircut One Hundred – Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Liars A To E (Single Version)
The Teardrop Explodes – Tiny Children
Rip Rig And Panic – Bob Hope Takes Risks
Mari Wilson – Beat The Beat
TV21 With The Cannizarro Strings – All Join Hands
The Undertones – Beautiful Friend
Blue Rondo A La Turk – Klactoveesedstein
John Cooper Clarke – The Day My Pad Went Mad

DISC THREE

ABC – Poison Arrow
Fashion – Streetplayer-Mechanik
The Fun Boy Three – The Telephone Always Rings
Culture Club – White Boy (Extended Mix)
Scritti Politti – Faithless
Elvis Costello & The Attractions – You Little Fool
Haysi Fantayzee – John Wayne Is Big Leggy
The Apollinaires – The Feeling’s Gone
Weekend – Past Meets Present
King Trigger – River
Swamp Children – Taste What’s Rhythm
Dead Or Alive – The Stranger
Paul Young – Iron Out The Rough Spots
Wide Boy Awake – Chicken Outlaw
Comsat Angels – After The Rain (Single Remix)
The Higsons – Tear The Whole Thing Down
The Pale Fountains – Thank You
Set The Tone – Dance Sucker
The Jam – Shopping

DISC FOUR

The Cure – Lets Go To Bed
Malcolm McLaren And The World’s Famous Supreme Team – Buffalo Gals
The Stranglers – European Female
Madness – Tomorrow’s (Just Another Day)
Tracie – The House That Jack Built
Hey! Elastica – Suck A Little Honey
Paul Haig – Heaven Sent
Eyeless In Gaza – New Risen
The Style Council – Headstart For Happiness (Single Version)
JoBoxers – Johnny Friendly
The Kane Gang – Brother Brother
The Special AKA – Bright Lights
Dislocation Dance – Show Me
Friends Again – State Of Art
Ian Dury – Really Glad You Came
Colour Box – Shotgun
Furniture – Robert Nightman’s Story
Swallow Tongue – Animation
The Art Of Noise – Moments in Love

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Tags: 70s, 80s, pop, Synth-pop
Categories : Music Review

Regan & Bricheno – APPARITIONS track-by-track album review

6 05 2024

The Regan & Bricheno bandcamp page sets the scene for this album:

“With Julianne Regan as a green-eyed Elizabeth Taylor to Tim Bricheno’s temperant Richard Burton, All About Eve rides again – in spirit if not in name.”

This is a great scene setter, as APPARITIONS is clearly not just a continuation of the All About Eve songbook, but an expansion of Julianne and Tim’s songwriting and arrangement skills. It would have probably been very easy to rehash past glories, and tread a safe path, but any fears of this being the case are smashed to pieces within a couple of songs.

The album opens with the only “old” track, RAINDROPS, which was released on the now out-of-print 2006 Keepsakes All About Eve compilation, and at the time was one of the first tracks to feature Tim Bricheno playing on an All About Eve song since 1989.

RAINDROPS deserves to be heard again away from the compilation, and is a lovely pop song, underpinned by jagged guitar lines.

Out with the old and in with the new. PALE BLUE EARTH feels like it is referencing Bowie at several points in the lyrics, and again with the affectionate musical nod to Heroes towards the end of the track. The playful, widescreen production is what I hoped to hear, after soaking up the sneak previews we were treated to prior to the albums release on the duos social channels.

PALE BLUE EARTH is the first song on the album to draw its inspiration from the past – with late 50s / 60s space race references indicating the endless possibilities of the future. The experimentation in performance and production is a clear step-up from Julianne’s and Tim’s past collaborations.

SÉANCE widens the musical palette further, with a psychedelic, trippy soundscape, and Twin Peaks referencing keyboard lines. Before the drum machine kicks in, I get hints of early John Foxx in the use of space and minimalism.

“Is there anyone there?
Silk echoes, electric, on paper thin air
A soft phosphorescence, a liminal presence,
The scrape of a chair”

There is a real maturity in the arrangement on SÉANCE, with the track twisting and changing pace, but it never feels forced or un-natural. Throughout the whole album, the guitar is a natural part of the equation, used sparingly so when it appears, it cuts through to maximum effect.

With LUXURY OF REFLECTION, nostalgia seeps through every single note of this beautiful track. Falling snow (referenced in several songs), wistful strings, bells and an icy, Goldfrapp Felt Mountain melody are key ingredients that will surely tug at your emotions.

The memories are warm and sepia-tinged, apart from the quite sharp line towards the end.

“Of all the songs I’ve written for you
Here’s the one you’ll never hear”

RADIUM already seems to be an early fan favourite from reading the comments on social media. An unconventional love song spraying its deep longing amongst the mushroom clouds, sadly RADIUM was released a little too late to be included in the soundtrack to Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, as it would have been a perfect fit.

AMERICA is perfectly placed in the running order next to RADIUM. Both are similarly paced and are both paeans to the culture and idealism of the ghost of America. Amongst the beautiful, delicate arrangements on AMERICA comes a discordant guitar line that jars and jolts you, before quickly giving way to mellotrons and atmospheric, spacey guitars.

The love and endless exploration that has gone into the production on this song makes it a pure joy to listen to. Real hairs on the back of your neck stuff, as instruments pan back and forth across the rich soundscape.

At the time of writing, this is my personal favourite from the album.

“And I’d have liked to have found
Wild blueberries after the first frost
And I’d have dressed warmly
Brought my camera along”

ROSES ROUND THE DOOR, with guitars set to stun, has all the ingredients of a classic All About Eve song of old. Sad songs say so much and boy, is this a sad song. A key takeaway from ROSES… is to always tell the ones you love how you feel about them. Before it’s too late…

“Won’t you promise me that you won’t make the same mistakes
And that you honestly
Won’t forget to tell your darling you adore them
And get to smell the roses round the door”

DEAR LONELY HEART is a song that appeals to my inner goth and my dark, twisted heart, grabbing the All About Eve template to simply rip it up and start again. Featuring some of Mr Bricheno’s finest guitar lines, and a chorus to die for from Julianne, it is an instant classic.

Just as the song hits its peak, it’s over, leaving you wondering if the scars were ever healed? A heart-breaker.

“Someday a girl will come who doesn’t love guitars”

HONEY’S OCEAN is built from sparse acoustic guitar, mellotron and an 80s drumbeat that gives way to a sumptuous chorus, and Ray Bradbury referencing sci-fi lyrics.

The ghost of David Bowie haunts several tracks on APPARITIONS, and his influence on Julianne and Tim feels strong on HONEY’S OCEAN. As throughout the whole album, the production and the arrangement is as much of a star as the two artists themselves.

WHAT TO WEAR TO A FUNERAL closes APPARITIONS. Any song that mentions the sublime Wichita Lineman is instantly a friend of mine.

The reference to funeral playlists in WHAT TO WEAR TO A FUNERAL reminds me that I need to write my own funeral playlist down. I was discussing mine recently with my better half, and mentioned that Follow You, Follow Me was one of my requests for when I shuffle off my mortal coil. On discussing at a later date, I was presented with “you wanted a Genesis song, I can’t remember which one”, so I’ll probably get something horrific like Jesus He Knows Me. A haunting, I must go.

Sorry, I digress. Back to WHAT TO WEAR TO A FUNERAL, it rounds off a perfect album. So much attention has gone into the sequencing of the album, with 5 or 6 second gaps between tracks, giving you the time to recover and reflect before the journey continues.

Julianne has one of the most unique and recognisable voices in pop. Add to this her production, bass / keyboard / programming and arranging skills that work so well alongside her rekindled musical partnership with Tim, it helps the duo deliver a perfectly crafted album, that is lyrically strong and builds on their significant past history, whilst laying strong foundations for an exciting future.

APPARITIONS is available to purchase now as a download via Bandcamp, with a physical release to follow, hopefully later this year.

Buy APPARITIONS on Bandcamp

Tracklisting

RAINDROPS
PALE BLUE EARTH
SÉANCE
LUXURY OF REFLECTION
RADIUM
AMERICA
ROSES ROUND THE DOOR
DEAR LONELY HEART
HONEY’S OCEAN
WHAT TO WEAR TO A FUNERAL

Recorded by Tim Bricheno and Julianne Regan at Shabbey Road Studios, London, and Little Box Studios, Somerset.

Singing by Julianne Regan.
Electric and acoustic guitars by Tim Bricheno.
Bass guitar by Tim Bricheno & Julianne Regan.
Keyboards and programming by Julianne Regan & Tim Bricheno.
Co-produced by Julianne Regan & Tim Bricheno.
Mixed and mastered by Tim Bricheno.

Artwork:
Lana Bricheno – Cover art photo collage
Julianne Regan – Design and lyric booklet artwork

Additional contributions:

Toby Bricheno:
Co-mixing on Roses Round The Door and Pale Blue Earth
Co-arrangement of strings on Luxury of Reflection
Kevan Gallagher:
Acoustic Guitar tone on Honey’s Ocean
Tony Kiley:
Drums on Roses Round the Door and Dear Lonely Heart

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Tags: 80s, Alternative, music, pop, reviews, rock
Categories : Music Review

Patterns On The Window – The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1974 review

18 02 2024

Patterns On The Window – The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1974 is a new 3 CD set from Cherry Red, featuring big hits, intriguing misses and key album tracks from 1974 as well as a clutch of alternative versions and unissued-at-the-time gems. The set is housed in a clamshell box that includes a heavily annotated and illustrated 48-page booklet.

The collection features many songs I have not heard before, along with lesser known tracks from the more well-known artists of the era. 1974 was not a golden year by any stretch of the imagination. Along with the three day working week and power cuts in the UK, the best selling singles for the year included Mud with Tiger Feet alongside hits from Paper Lace, The Osmonds, Charles Aznavour and The Rubettes. Some classics did make their way into the top 20 best-sellers – including Terry Jacks Seasons In The Sun and The Hollies The Air That I Breathe, but luckily for us, Patterns On The Window digs a little deeper than the top 20.

Disc 1 in the 3 CD collection opens with Bryan Ferry’s The ‘In’ Crowd from May 1974, and is followed by the lyrically intriguing Hasta Mañana Monsieur from Sparks, who are still releasing fine music to this day. Cockney Rebel’s Judy Teen was a non-album 45, and remains one of the catchiest songs from the Steve Harley songbook.

David Bowie fans will enjoy hearing former Spiders From Mars bandmate Mick Ronson and the light-hearted Billy Porter. Be-bop Deluxe (featuring the mighty Bill Nelson) feature with the glam-influenced Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus from their Axe Victim album. The band really came into their own with the altered line-up that released Futurama in 1975.

Brian Protheroe’s Pinball has become a latter-day classic, due to its appearance on an 2004 Guilty Pleasures album, alongside more recent patronage from Noel Gallagher. The Poacher from Ronnie Lane is a perfect example of the progressive element that slipped into a lot of music in the mid-70s. Its a charming, warm song that sadly did not reach the Top 30. Philomena, Phil Lynott’s tribute to his mother, comes from Thin Lizzy’s Nightlife album, with their classic period arriving a couple of years later. The seeds of that future greatness are audible on this interesting arrangement.

The Spencer Davis Group track Another Day is like a time capsule from 1974, the bar-room piano, saxophone trills, accordion and rich harmonies instantly take me back to that period. I love the production on National Flag’s take on Tim Hardin’s If I Were A Carpenter, whilst UFO and Doctor, Doctor seems to have arrived fully formed from the future, with a sound that would really kick in from around 1976 with Rainbow and later period Thin Lizzy. Its a great pop / rock song.

Bryan Ferry, Brian Protheroe and UFO 7" single sleeves

Jona Lewie and the b-side Papa Don’t Go is a world away from the electronic driven You’ll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties and the Christmas staple Stop the Cavalry from the late 70s / early 80s, and shows Lewie’s more blues / boogie beginnings. Disc 1 ends with the West-Coast harmonies of Starry Eyes and Laughing and their late 1974 single Everybody, a track I heard (and really enjoyed) for the first time on this compilation.

An early highlight on disc 2 is a Roxy Music album track, A Really Good Time from Country Life. Ron Woods I Can Feel The Fire sees Wood sharing vocal duties with Mick Jagger.

Van der Graaf Generator leader Peter Hammill’s solo album cut Again, from In Camera, is a stark arrangement, initially recorded on basic 4 track equipment with layers added at Trident Studios. Again is a concise and moving performance.

Rough Kids from Kilburn & the High Roads, featuring a pre-Blockheads Ian Dury, is a vintage rock’n’roll / Rocky Horror sounding track, with little hints of Dury’s future direction in the new wave era. Brinsley Schwarz are represented on this compilation with The Ugly Things, a highlight of the second disc. Produced by Dave Edmunds, this Nick Lowe sung album track comes from the bands final album, The New Favourites of… Brinsley Schwarz.

My favourite track on the compilation is the Dr Feelgood classic debut single, Roxette, driven by one of Wilko Johnson’s most iconic guitar riffs.

Stackridge and the album track The Road To Venezuela, from the George Martin produced The Man in the Bowler Hat album, offers an enchanting mix of progressive and folk elements. Post-Stackridge, James Warren and Andy Cresswell-Davis from the band formed The Korgis in the late 70s, who are known for the wonderful single Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime from 1980.

Disc two ends with Prince Of Heaven from Irish band Fruupp. Some great guitar lines feature on this non-album single.

Marc Bolan & T.Rex kick off the final CD, with Venus Loon, the opening track from the 1974 album Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow. This catchy song should have been released as a single.

Unicorn deliver the country-tinged Ooh Mother from Blue Pine Trees, an album that was produced by David Gilmour, who also featured on pedal steel guitar / guitar on several of the albums tracks. The mid-70s saw The Pretty Things moving away from their psychedelic roots, with Is It Only Love from the Silk Torpedo album, featuring an early 70s staple ingredient, a brass / colliery band!

Ace, Bridget St John and Stackridge 7" single sleeves

Ace are represented on this compilation with their classic How Long single. How Long is not a jilted love song, but a tale of bassist Terry Comer briefly moonlighting with rival band The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. A wonderful vocal from Paul Carrack and some of the finest Rhodes piano committed to vinyl propelled this song to no 20 in the UK and no 3 in the US and Canadian singles charts.

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band are an often overlooked part of the 70s musical landscape. The progressive rock of Be Not Too Hard from their self produced album The Good Earth features on Patterns On The Window. Make My Bed from former Merseybeats vocalist Billy Kinsley is another song I was unaware of before hearing this compilation. Its a well-crafted and addictive piece of mid-70s pop, that hooks you by the end of the first verse. A long-lost classic that will hopefully gain some love from people who discover this compilation.

Dave Edmunds Need A Shot Of Rhythm ‘n’ Blues features in the final disc, in the form of a previously released alternative version. A more reflective than usual song from Slade, Far Far Away, was still a big hit, reaching No 2 in the UK singles chart in late 1974.

The UK band Tranquility deliver one of the most memorable but least known tracks, with Midnight Fortune, a track that boasts strong harmonies, and reminds me of the sophistication of 10cc.

Patterns On The Window – The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1974 offers an alternative look at the music released in 1974, and whilst not every track hits the mark, it does offer an alternative to the often light pop music that made up the charts that year.

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Buy Patterns On The Window – The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1974 on CD from Amazon

Buy Unicorn – Blue Pine Trees (produced by David Gilmour) on CD from Amazon

Buy Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – The Good Earth on vinyl from Amazon

Disc: 1
The ‘In’ Crowd – Bryan Ferry
Hasta Manana Monsieur – Sparks
Judy Teen – Cockney Rebel
Billy Porter – Mick Ronson
The Man Who Couldn’t Afford To Orgy – John Cale
Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus – Be-Bop Deluxe
She Was Just A Young Girl (No Way) – Simon Turner
Pinball – Brian Protheroe
The Poacher – Ronnie Lane
Philomena – Thin Lizzy
Break The Rules – Status Quo
Cajun Kick – Medicine Head
Another Day – Spencer Davis Group
Poor Ditching Boy – Iain Matthews
If I Were A Carpenter – National Flag
Doctor, Doctor (Single Edit) – UFO
Lock And Key – Snafu
Papa Don’t Go – Jona Lewie
Put A Record On (Single Version) – Tramp
In My World – Chalice
As Long As You Want Me To – Rescue Co. No. 1
Everybody – Starry Eyed And Laughing

Disc: 2
When I Get To The Border – Richard & Linda Thompson
A Really Good Time – Roxy Music
Only You – Fox
Farewell – Stewart, Rod
I Can Feel The Fire – Ron Wood
Everlovin’ Woman – Georgie Fame
Na Na Na – Cozy Powell
One More Chance – Man
Again – Peter Hammill
River Of Sin – Kevin Coyne
Rough Kids – Kilburn & The High Roads
No More Whiskey – Compass
The Ugly Things – Brinsley Schwarz
Roxette – Dr. Feelgood
Curious And Woolly – Bridget St. John
I’ll Just Take My Time – Byzantium
Beyond The Pale – Procol Harum
The Road To Venezuela – Stackridge
Gemini – Holy Mackerel
Flamenco Fever – Carmen
Getting Through To Me (Demo Version) – Dana Gillespie
Prince Of Heaven – Fruupp

Disc: 3
Venus Loon – Marc Bolan & T. Rex
Tell Him – Hello
Touch Me – Fancy
Ooh Mother – Unicorn
Is It Only Love – Pretty Things
How Long – Ace
Be Not Too Hard – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
Make My Bed – Billy Kinsley
Costafine Town – Splinter
Avalon – Deep Feeling
Bobby Dazzler – The First Class
Have Love, Will Travel – Prophet
Need A Shot Of Rhythm & Blues (Alternative Version) – Dave Edmunds
Shanghai’d In Shanghai – Nazareth
Tomahawk Kid – The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Far Far Away – Slade
Midnight Fortune – Tranquility
There’s A Wall Between Us – Stavely Makepeace
Soho Jack – Paul Brett
Lemon Pie (Home Demo) – Dave Cousins
Everything Changes – Lesley Duncan
Gypsy Mountain Woman – Farm
Radio – The Medium Wave Band

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Tags: 70s, pop, re-issue
Categories : Music, Music Review

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