"Like tiny insects on the sands of historyÉ"
The RIAA (Recording Industry Associates of America) announced in May of 1995 that ABC's "Lexicon Of Love" Album was certified Gold or 500,000 copies sold in the US. No word from Mercury-Polygram why they certified the album now (or it may be that it recently sold its half-millionth copy). Still 13 years after its release the album becomes the bands' first US certification. The album was certified gold in the UK shortly after it's release there (Gold in the UK requires 100,000 in sales.)
A report in a recent issue of Billboard on songwriters featured a brief capsule about a publishing company that had just signed Glen Gregory, he of Heaven 17 fame, to a contract. It was reported that Mr. Gregory was writing songs with none other than Martin Fry. They were writing for the "new ABC album" due out later this year or early next. No further information, such as what label etc., was mentioned. So it seems, that despite this publications repeated attempts to get in touch with Mr. Fry or Mr. White, ABC is still a going concern, especially with all the activity of late (see the Review section). As a footnote, Mr. Gregory is also working on a solo album due out soon. It does seem that Heaven 17, not withstanding their new found success a couple of years ago in the UK, has called it quits.
Issue #204 (August 1996) of the Record Collector notes in their "News" section that Martin Fry has returned, in a limited fashion, to live performing in the UK He played at the Blacks Whites and Blues Club in the "Jazz Bistro" in London on August 23. We hope to have more news about this next issue.
Thomas Dolby's place in musical history seems secured more and more by his first U.S. hit "Blinded by Science". An episode of the new television show "Muppets Tonight" this spring featured a segment "Tales from the Vet featuring Dr. Van Neuter.". This episode had the good doctor reading a letter asking how he met his wife, and if he could explain it in a song, preferably one by Thomas Dolby. The foamy physician then launched into "Blinded By Science" replete with monsters and singing test tubes ("science!"). Welcome to pop (or should we say "pulp") culture Mr. Dolby.
Unfortunately, as of this writing, the show has been canceled, so finding this one on a rerun may be difficult.
Early April saw the release of two new ABC CD's, both compilations (of sorts). First up was a collection aptly titled "The Collection" from the German label "Karussell", a subsidy of Polygram. This label's U.K sister label, Spectrum, released "Tears Are Not Enough", a spotty ten track release from the early 90's. Unlike the early one, this new one cobbles together real hits (see track listing below) and some good album sides. Sadly no rare b-sides like the Pickwick releases from the late 80's. The biggest mystery is why the two b-sides "Chicago" and "Minneapolis" keep showing up on best of collections from ABC. They are interesting, yes, but not representative of the band's career.
Karussell has done a better job of packaging than the first go around as well. We get a nice photo of the band on the front and a brief "article" inside. Plus the 18 tracks are a lot better than a measly 10, plus the fact that you get more hits makes it a better bargain. It's a midline so expect to pay only about 12 to 15 US$ for this one. (Or get what is still the best snapshot of the band and still very available, ( as a US release) "Absolutely" .
A much better (although still not perfect) and more exciting release is the reissue and remastering of "Lexicon of Love" on CD from Polygram UK. (We spoke with Mercury records here in the states. They said that they were aware of this release but would probably not release it here.)
The album has been digitally re-mastered. This is great news, but since the album came out at the dawn of CDs and was so well produced by Trevor Horn there is not a huge difference in the sound quality.
The best thing about this re-release are the six added bonus tracks, two of which we've never seen (heard) of before and one other on CD for the first time.
First up is a demo of "Tears Are Not Enough", the bands first single. Although Martin Fry's voice seems a little thin in spots, hints of great things to come can be heard in this demo. Even the aggressive funk of later years shows through here. This version is a bit more disco than the first 45 version and not nearly as polite and polished as the eventual album version produced by Trevor Horn. This is light years beyond anything that Vice Versa ever released and is hard to see that it is even the same band. Makes one wonder how much of this type of stuff is in the Mercury / Neutron vaults.
Next up is "Poison Arrow - The Jazz Remix". This is a sort of marriage between the "Theme from Mantrap" and the US remix of the song. It works very well, being one of the better extra tracks and one of the most strikingly different mixes to come off of "Lexicon". No clue as to where this came from, the copyright date is listed as 1985, which would make it a contemporary to "How To Be A Zillionaire". We've never seen this track on any 7" or 12" in this particular mix.
Also present is the "Theme From Mantrap". A very "jazz" like remix of Poison Arrow from the 12" release of the song. Think Holiday Inn lounge jazz. It's not just a remix but obviously a re-recording (alternate?) of the song and presents the song in a reworked form. Fry's phrasing is molded to the laid back feel of the track. It reveals a facet of Fry's talent that rarely shows up in ABC songs, his ability to work a song as opposed to just singing it. Great stuff.
Also present are three other tracks already available on CD. A long mix of the "Look Of Love" 1990 remix ordered up for the greatest hits package. Plus a live recording of this song from Boston in 1982. Both of these tracks are already available on CD singles (albeit both are out of print). Lastly is the B-side to "Tears Are Not Enough", "Alphabet Soup - the 12" mix" which can be found on the "12" Collection" CD.
Unfortunately the packaging for this release is terrible. The album artwork seems strangely cropped to accommodate a red frame, making the microscopic CD cover even smaller. Inside is a small black and white photo of the band that is the same as the (colour) cover of the "Collection" (lazy record company inter-connection #4535). There is also an OK, tossed of the top of your head, article about the band, carefully glossing over the MCA album (EMI in the UK). Really a shoddy package considering the nice job done with the bonus tracks.
In the ----- issue of Q magazine there is a full two page review for the album with a nice full colour photo of the band. Q positively gushes over the re-release, mainly as a defining and classic album form the early 80's. It gives the album its highest rating, 5 stars. In the July issue of the magazine the album appears in the "Q Recommends"column. The album has not re-appeared in the top 40 albums in the UK.
The CD can be ordered from a variety of Mail-order sources, two of the most reasonable (for the US) are Thoughtscape Sounds (1-800-435-6185) and Siren Discs (213-935-0578). Expect to pay around $20 for each (plus P&H, of course).
Bonus tracks on the re-issued "Lexicon" prove that there are still rarities left in the Polygram vaults. But news comes now of tracks that even Polygram may not have in their cupboard and that may never seen the light of day.
Two different sessions that were eventually scrapped are alluded to in various bits of ABC propaganda. First up are sessions between "Beauty Stab" and "How To Be a Zillioanire". On a promo postcard for "How To Be..." marked, "The Story So Far", it is recounted how Fry and White sought refuge in Los Angels California after the terrible reception afforded "Beauty Stab". The duo started work on a new album while in LA, but these sessions were "violently scrapped" according to the postcard. It is also about this time that Fry's Hodgkin's desiese flared up and put the band on hold. No other mention is made of these sessions or which, if any, songs made it out of this time period.
A second session came after "Up", their last album for Polygram. The duo mentions in a press release for "Abracadabra" (their first post-Polygram release) that they journeyed to Detroit to continue exploring the House music vein mined on Up. But due to label difficulties (as in Label dropping you difficulties) the duo cut the sessions short. They then found a new deal under EM (UK)/ MCA/ (US) and went to work with David Bascombe (Tears For Fears).
A third lost session isn't really "lost", but rather just missing. After "Abracadabra" the band went back into the studio to start recording for the next album. They got as far as one song, at least. "Viva Love" was even scheduled by EMI (UK) for a single release. The label ordered up remixes by Brothers In Rythym (they of the Heaven 17 come back, as well as countless remixes for other people).
Sadly the single was scrapped and the band dropped by EMI before it could be released. Of course the song could still show up on the next ABC project. If any one know where we can get a hold of a test pressing or acitate of this track please write.
If anyone out there knows more about the sessions please drop us a line, we'd love to learn more about them. Meanwhile we promise to try and dig to the bottom of these mystery sessions.
June saw the release of the third Blue Nile album in fifteen years (wow! slow down there boys, let us be able to digest the songs. Almost turning into Prince for goodness sakes). "Peace At Last" made a big splash in the UK (Top 20 Debut) and a less noticeable one here (One week in Billboard's Heat seeker's Chart). The album has been well reviewed in both Billboard and other US publications. Word has also recently come down that the band will tour the US for the first time in over six years this fall. Look for club dates in major US cities starting in September.
Strawberry Switchblade "The Remix Collection" -previously released in Japan Only on vinyl, the Canadian label Communiqué (2102 North Wilma St. Toronto Ontario M5v 2m1 Canada) has licensed the collection for release on CD. A strange little package, almost bootleg in it's lack of information. But a legitimate release (we hope) that contains the following:
1. Let Her Go (ext) 2. Trees and Flowers (Ext) 3. Since Yesterday (Ext) 4. Jolene (Ext) 5. Michael Who Walks By Night 6. Who Knows What Love Is (Ext) 7. Ecstasy (apple Of My Eye).
The artwork is black and white, but the center of the "booklet" is a nice colour picture of the two. A little sloppy and we still can't figure the last track's origins (it was on the Japanese one too), it has the sound of a demo vocal turned into a passable finished track. Still, better than nothing.
The Vapours "Anthology". One Way Records doe it again, ruining what most likely is the one chance to do things right. This anthology is really just their first album, "New Clear Days" with four songs from their second one, "Magnets" tacked on at the end. The Lyric sheet from "New Clear Days" is present but no other information except for a track listing. It seems that the minimum amount of effort has been put into this release. There are no rare tracks, live or B-sides present . And these do exist, most of the UK singles from the band had non album b-sides. Really this is one of the most disappointing release in a long time. Since "New Clear Days" was their most popular album, (containing the hit "Turning Japanese") it is doubtful that the rest of "Magnets", it's self a very fine album, will ever see the light of day. The only redeeming fact about this release is that it is a mid-line CD, costing usual no more than $12 US and you might even find in one sale for $9 whenever Tower or the like does a CEMA sale. A word of warning though, this CD is a little tough to find, mall stores don't seem to carry it and even some Towers and HMV's we've haunted don't seem to carry it. Really a must for fans only. The casual fan should sick to a complilation with "Turning Japanese". Track listing: 1. Turning Japanese 2. Sixty Second Interval 3. Waiting For The Weekend 4. Spring Collection 5. Letter From Hiro 6. News At Ten 7. Somehow 8. Prisoners 9. Trains 10. Bunkers 11. Jimmie Jones 12. Spiders 13. Live At The Marquee 14. Magnets.
Men Without Hats - The Collection (Oglio). Okay, Oglio knows how to do it right. This best of collection has lots of great stuff, including some long versions and b-sides/album cuts. And word comes that this fall Oglio will release the band's first two American albums on a two-fer CD. There are nice liner notes and full release / chart data for the groups history. This as good as it gets for a career retrospective. Although I would have to argue about the place of MWOH in pop culture, it is undeniable that "Safety Dance" is a spectacular one hit wonder. And "Pop goes The World", a three years later follow up, would be most synth pop bands best work. The rest of the songs here tend to wear thin, and the overwhelming familiarity of "Safety Dance" tends to make everything else look pale. (Tracks 1. Safety Dance 2. Living In China 3. Antarctica 4. I Got the Message 5. I Like 6. Where Do The Boys Go? 7. Messiahs Die Young 8. Pop Goes The World 9. Moonbeam 10. Hey Men 11. Editions of you 12. Safety Dance (ext. Vers.) 13. I Got the Message (Dance Vers.) 14 Where Do The Boys Go? (Ext Vers).
Tears For Fears " Saturnine Martial and Lunatic" (Released in the US in August) - Mercury's last gasp ,contract full-filler, B-side compilation that is actually miles better than "Roual and the King of Spain". Check out the first track, Fluke's remix of "Johnny Panic and The bible of Dreams", a rare single whose original version is the b-side to "Seeds of Love". It's a lost classic from TFF and contains the Style Council slander line "Kick out the Style Bring Back the Jam" Hmmm. Also, at the other end of the album is a dead -on remake of "Ashes To Ashes", not bad, but when you are making a carbon copy of the original how bad can it be? Like any collection of B-sides, which are by definition not -ready-for-album cuts, this one tends to get a little boring, but is still a vital collection for even casual TFF fans.
Pet Shop Boys "Alternative". Now here is how to do a b-side Album, sort of. Is it my imagination or are some of these b-side not the versions that appear on the 12" singles, or at least the US 12" ? Anyway unlike the TFF collection mentioned above this one is never boring. It's a well known fact that the Pet Shop Boys most daring and sometimes most pop work is on their b-sides (just check out "Your Funny Uncle' or "Jack the Lad"). Of course there are a few duds ("The Sound of Atoms Splitting" - , a.k.a., the sound of people filling up a b-side). Still , remember the boys were putting out these great b-sides when the normal practice was to slap an instrumental of the A side on the back. A great stop gap until "Bilingual" is released this fall.
Style Council "The Collection" - By our count the 3rd greatest hits collection from the Council (the first being the Polygram title, the second being a Pickwick title called "Head Start For Happiness" . Nothing wrong here, lots of hits, some b-sides thrown in to entice the fans, but not worth paying $30 in the import bins for. Look for more titles like this as Mr. Weller's popularity hits an all time high in the UK (and that after 20 years of being popular!). Last we checked available only as an import at better shops like Tower and HMV. Also mail order (see "Resources" section on last page). Late word comes that this might be released this fall along with the Jam collection released in the UK this spring. (Also a Jam box set is due in the UK!)
Frazier Chorus "Wide Awake". Our favorite "undiscovered" band, Frazier Chorus has been in rough seas lately. It seems they have been dropped from Virgin UK after "Ray". This effort, an eight track long CD EP, was released by the band in the UK via Pinkerton records. It is still available although it has not surfaced in US shops.
Like any other effort from Tim Freeman this effort has a surface politeness that hides biting commentary and sometimes acid observations. The music is also very polite, but a little more funky than previous outings. The first three tracks are classic Chorus. The CD wisely starts with "Wide Awake", a slinky number more reminiscent of "Missing" by EBTG than anything off "Ray". "If the Weather Was Up To Me" is more like old Chorus with a perfectly place guitar line working it's away around the refrian. ""Drive", the single in the UK is a breezy tune about, well, driving (we think). Really an extraordinary EP considering people believed the band to be washed up after the (commercial) failure of RAY. If you are even a casual fan, check this out now! If you like Lightening Seeds or Pet Shop Boys seek this and the entire Frazier Chorus catalogue out. -Last minute news - "Drive" from the EP has been released as a four track single here in the states. The EP is scheduled to follow this fall.
The Blue Nile - Peace At Last. Okay, we admit, we've had seven years to let the last one grow on us and almost 15 years (!) to let the first one grow on us, stillÉ "Peace At Last", simply put, doesn't have the oomph, the uniqueness that the first two Blue Nile albums captured. There are a few stand out tracks and yes, the drum machines are there, just more in the background. But, tell you what, to be fair we'll just have to let this one sit in our disc player for a few years to see how it ages.
The Beloved " X" - Anybody who knows this band beyond their big college radio hit "Hello" knows that they deliver high quality, smoothed out, highly melodic dance music. They have come closest to the ABC sound of late. "Hapiness" was a fantastic album, even "Consince" had many great tracks. Now, however, we get delivered "X". The first track "Deliver Me" is by far the best, a classic Beloved track, looping along with a drum beat left over from 1989 and a languid melody from Jon Marsh. Even "Satelite" isn't bad. But after that the album tends to blur into air pudding. Several mintues after it's over you sort of notice something is different and you relaize that's because the music has stopped. I guess it's what we've come to expect from the now duo. The CD is available from the UK. Slow sales even there and the lackluster performance of "Consience" here means that it is unlikely "X" will see the light of day here.
Briefly noted releasesÉMen At Work -Best Of-ContrabandÉSusie Quatro - Best ofÉ Pet Shop Boys "Bilingual" (New Stuff)ÉHuman League "The Future" (B-sides and rarities)[At press time this had been canceled and delayed indefinitely]ÉThe Eels (featuring E) "Beautiful Freak"É.Thompson Twins "Love Lies and Other Hits" due from US Arista in OctoberÉBoth the Jam and theStyle Council have "Collections" due out from Polygram US this fall, most likely domestic issues of the UK collections relapsed this past year (see article in "In Brief" section)É.One Way records in releasing an Ultravox! Collection (or is that Ultravox.?)
Now, we here a rumor that EMI Netherlands was going to put out Talk Talk, the A and B sides (!!!?!). If you have any info can you please enlighten us?
In this section we hope to highlight classic albums that have yet to appear on CD in the US or may need re-issuing in general. If you have any suggestions please drop us a line. Thanks
ACT / CLAUDIA BRUCKEN
Act arose from the ashes of Propaganda during the last days of the original ZTT label. Propaganda had been ZTT's best seller beside the giant Frankie. "Duel" and "Dr. Mabuse" were big chart hits and "A Secret Wish" a popular european album. But almost a soon as the band had started, it fell apart. Two members keep the name and left ZTT. Years later they would pop up on Virgin and have a minor hit in both the US and the UK, but they had lost all vestiges of the sound that had made them a great band.
Act, however, took this sound. Claudia Brucken and Thomas Leer soon proved that they were the musical backbone of the original Propaganda. Their first single, "Snobbery and Decay" sounded like vintage Propaganda. Several singles followed ending with the appearance of a full length album. But the singles never broke through as hits and the album failed to make an impression in the UK. No material was ever released in the US from Act.
Shortly after the album's release Act itself fell apart and Claudi Brucken was left to go it alone with a solo career. By this time ZTT had entered it's dark period, having lost it's ill advised battle to keep Holly Johnson. She did release an album, but it was all but lost due to the inability of ZTT to market it correctly.
Strangely enough today, dispite the fact that neither Act nor Claudia Brucken were hits, their releases are some of the most collectable items around. This is mostly due to the ZTT marketing of the releases. Many different formats exist for each single. For Instance "Snobery and Decay" was issued as one of the first CD singles, as a regular 12" single, as a gate fold 12" single (the "Liberace" cover), as a 7" and probably several other editions as well.
MARI WILSON
In the summer of 1982, when ABC were getting their first taste of success and were bringing to the top 40 of England and Europe a taste of the night club sophistication, a singer by the name of Mari Wilson took her and her band, the Wilsations into UK living rooms courtesy a BBC singing contest show. A throw back to a more glamourous era, Mari looked like she stepped off of the Ed Sullivan show circa 1954. It was as if the intervening 25 years of Rock and Roll had never happened. Her band was horn heavy and full of strings. She herself had a remarkably good voice and a knack for picking good songs.
She was signed to the Compact label, a label basically set up just for her. She released a series of singles, the most popular of which was a cover of "Cry Me A River", her only UK top ten. A full length album followed, "Show People" and even a few more singles, but she soon faded away as the novelty wore off. The only survivor of this whole deal was a back-up singer by the name of Julia Fordham, who would go one to a greater degree of success in the US and the UK.
Ironically Mari Wilson set the stage for a full force revival in the UK of that certain 50's jazz/swing/pop/easy listening sound. Roman Holiday would be next and superstars like Sade would take notes and follow.
Today Mari Wilson is all but forgotten in the UK. "Show People" was never released here in the states. The Compact group went out of business, curiously enough, before Compact Discs became big news, so we've never seen any Wilson on CD (not even compilations).
None the less, "Show People" is a great album. If you see a copy in the used bins pick it up by all means. Look for a more detialed history of Mari in a future issue.
THE ADVENTURES "THEODORE AND FRIENDS" (A.K.A. THE ADVENTURES)
We first caught this great group in concert with Tears For Fears on the "Big Chair" tour. They were awesome in concert and even better on record. Released by Chrsylis during one of that label's chronic shake-ups the album disappeared in the US quickly. However the group, over the years, has managed to stay afloat, issuing albums in the US on Elektra (they also released an album two years ago on Polygram UK that has not seen light of day here).
So far, however, this is their best and most enjoyable album. Stand out tracks include the gorgeous "Feel the Rain Drops".
TIC-TOC - "PICNIC"
RCA could stand to release it's own early 80's collection to compliment their 80's "Nuggets" set. They had not only the Eurithmics stuff (now controlled by Arista), but also "Einstein A Go-Go" by Landscape, Minor Detail, Taco's "Puttin On the Ritz, M+M's "Black Stations/ White Stations", etc. They also have this gem of an album from 1983. The art work itself is great. It's a clean new romantic style that in a way presage's New Order/ Peter Saville's heavy typography style.
The music isn't bad either. Very early 80's (read heavy on the synthesizers) in their approach, but good tune smiths none the less. "20 Questions" is the best track, but there are plenty others. We don't know much else about the band except that they appear o be Candaian and that they never did make much of an impact over here in the States. Still, it is something of an over looked gem. Try to pick it up if you see it on vinyl.
It was announced that this spring Bernard Edwards was found dead in a Tokyo hotel room, apparently of natural causes. Edwards was a founding member of the band CHIC and was on tour at the time with Nile Rogers, another member. Edwards had produced many artists, among them Power Station. He was also instrumental in producing ABC's fourth album Alphabet City". ABC's respect for Edward's band CHIC spilled over to the Chic remix of "When Smokey Sings" which sampled CHIC's "Le Freak".
* Issue # of Q listed the Top 50 worst follow up albums of all time. ABC was first on the list (alphabetically, of course) with Beauty Stab. Q noted the abrupt change of style that left many fans adrift and the general public bewildered. Martin Fry is quoted as saying " If the Lexicon of Love' was an album of A-sides then "Beauty Stab " was an album of B-sides". Also on the list from the 80's was Human League's "Crash" (amen to that).
* Human League released a non album single this past winter in the UK by the name of "Stay With Me Tonight". It entered the UK singles chart at #40 and was gone the next week. The CD single has several remixes, including the outstanding "Space Kitten Remix". The band also has a new collection out (in addition to the recently revamped "Greatest Hits") called "The Future", a gathering of B-sides and rare tracks. No word on track listing at press time. [At press time this album had been indefinitely delayed by Virgin UK] Stay tunedÉ.
* The soundtrack to "ELECTRIC DREAMS" has been pressed into CD finally in the UK (at a midline price, which is good news for US fans). The classic mid eighties soundtrack includes the great coupling of Phil Okley and Grigio Morooder for the title track. Also present are a couple of Culture Club tunes and two Jeff Lynne Tunes (one of which, "Let It Run" sounds like the last great ELO single that never was). Also present is an instrumental form Heaven 17, "Chase Runner". Parts of this does not hold up, but over all, an interesting project.
* Lighting Seeds latest "Jollification" was still going strong in the UK this spring. It went platinum in the UK (300,000 sold) and spawned several hit singles. A greatest hits (actually a compilation of the first two albums) also charted as did several singles from that package. To top it of the "band" joined two other artists to have a no.1 single early this summer, something about football (soccer) called "3 Lions". (sports songs at #1, humph!). Meanwhile back here in the US Trauma records, home to the 5x platinum Bush and the platinum No Doubt has quietly allowed "Jollification" to go out of print. No word on the Seeds US plans, but they embark on a large theater tour this fall in the UK (as headliners!).
* Dr. Robert, formally of the Blow Monkeys, has a solo album out in the UK. It has been very well received (although not a fast seller). Mr. Weller helped out considerably (they are both on the Stone Pony label in Japan). No word on a US release yetÉ.
* Thompson Twins have a single out in the UK this summer on the Old Gold label ,a double A side affair with "Doctor Doctor" backed with "Hold Me Now". Meanwhile Babble, the current Twins project, had a chart hit recently on the US dance Club Play charts and have a new album out as well. Also, on Arista's release roster for October is a new greatest hits package from the Twins (to repleace the at best annoying "Greatest Remixes")É.
* Look for the current Pet Shop Boys CD single - all four of them. "Before" has been issued in three main forms so far. Two from the UK, one of remixes, the other with three B-sides. The b-sides are great! One, "The Truck Driver and His Mate" has been pushed as an A-side in the UK, although on Promo Vinyl only. Another is an update of "In the Night". In the US, Atlantic, the Boys new label has ordered up 8 new remixes for the CD single (plus the album version). The song hit #1 on the Billboard club play chart and as of this writing the Maxi single was in the Top ten Maxi single sales. Word also comes that "Before" has been released as an enhanced CD 5 in the US. [note, we have Windows 95 and this CD ROM did not read due to changes in the Windows Programming, so be warnedÉ] This version contains a CD ROM version of the VideoÉ. The next single is "A Si Vida E" (a corruption of the Spanish phrase "That's the way life is.") Expect more remixes and for it to be out by the time you get this (in the UK anyway). One track on the b-side is "Why I learned to Hate Rock n Roll". One of the benefits of deadlines being pushed back is that you keep getting great news, to wit we have seen the news singles for "Si A Vida E'". The first one has two b-sides, the jungle influenced "Betrayal" and the more or less techno "Rock nRoll", plus two mixes of the a-side. The second single has four mixes of the single.
* Electronic has a new album out "Ease the Pressure ". Johhny Marr and Bernard Summers are back but no signs of any Pet Shop BoysÉ..
* Due out in the UK is more mining of the Weller gold mine by Polydor, this time another live collection from the Style Council (remember "Home and Abroad"?). This on is to be titled "In Concert" and features the following tracks: "Long Hot Summer", "Le Depart', Spring Summer Autumn", "It Just Came To Pieces In My Hands", "Here's One That Got Away", "My Ever Changing Moods", "Man of Great Promise", "Boy Who Cried Wolf", "A Stones Throw Away", "Speak Like A Child", "Mick's Up", "Your The Best Thing" It will also feature several cover version "Meeting Over Up Yonder "(The Impressions), "Move On Up (Curtis Mayfield), "One Nation Under A Groove" (!!) (Funkadelic), Hanging on A Memory " (Chairmen of the Board.) Plus a few more Council favorites, "Down the Seine", "It's A Very Deep Sea", "Heaven's Above" and "Up For Grabs" (this being a previously unreleased tune from Mr. Weller).
Of course now that Weller is next to Godliness in the UK expect more Jam and Council rarities to surfaceÉ
* Look for a new single (12", maybe CD 5) from Think Tank, Paul Robb's (He of Information Society) new "band". The single has been described as good techno. If the name sounds familiar think back to the second Information Society album and the great track "A Knife and A Fork". It was remiexed and released on 12" (HA1000) by Tommy Boy under the name - Think Tank.
This month we look at some great 45's as rarities. The first is really a 7" flexi issued by Neutron as a preview for ABC's "Beauty Stab". MADDOX 1. As a taster to the album it has six songs- 1. Unzip, 2. Love's a Dangerous Language 3. Bite the Hand 4. King Money 5. SOS 6. That Was Then But This Is Now. It is round yellow eva-tone flexi (not square). A good number were issued in the UK but one in good condition is fairly hard to find. Expect to pay over 8$ US.
Strawberry Switchblade - Two items this month, the first being a fairly common commercial release the other being a rumorÉ
"Let Her Go" 7" Picture Disc in a strawberry shape. A fantastic item, somewhat available (Esprit in the UK was offering one for $15 in August Goldmine). It has a b-side of -------. Really one of the better picture discs we've seen out of this era.
The second item is a strange item we've seen advertised in the pages of Goldmine; a flexi that is a preview for the Straws album. We've, of course, immediately called to secure the item but were told it had flown out the door very quickly. No word on track listings, etc. We also saw it advertised in the Esprit catalog. Please write if you know of this rare gem (and where one can be had!)
"MUSIC OF QUALITY AND DISTINCTION" 7" Box Set. (Catalog#2219)
This extremely rare find is from the release of B.E.F.'s first full length (and so far only) lp, "Music of Quality and Distinction". Most notable for including BEF's first Tina Turner collaboration "Ball of Confusion", it also had two Glen Gregory (future Heaven 17 lead) tracks. Other artists included are Gary Glitter, Sandi Shaw, and Paula Yates.
This nice boxed set contains 6 7" singles, each with an A and B side track from the album. All 12 album tracks are represented. Each single is housed in a different coloured generic "BEF" sleeve. Also included is a full colour reprint (7"x7") of the inner sleeve that the regular 12" album came housed in. The set sits in a black box with the front of the album reproduced on the front of the box.
The singles try to group artists together logically (i.e. Glen Gregory backs him self on single # 2219-1). A really great repackaging of the album. There's nothing new here, but a beautiful example of marketing from the early 80's. We've only ever seen one of these offered for sale and it fetched 20US$ five years ago. Expect to pay upwards of 30US$ to 40US$ for this set now. The album was released by Virgin in the UK on CD several years ago. It is not as rare and has been offered as a cut out by several shops.
FANTASTIC COMPOSITIONS BOX SET
In 1991 Nippon Phonogram Company LTD of Tokyo and Mercury Records released a box set series in Japan of various artists like Tear For Fears and ABC. The ABC set was called "Fantastic Compositions". This is really a nice set that pulls together several albums and many album tracks, remixes and rare live tracks. It's beautifully bound in a heavy cardboard box with the dimensions of a CD (not the newer "book" style now popular in the U.S.). It also has a nice booklet that has lyrics, track listings and photos. The only major faults with this set is the lack of original cover art work (all the CD covers are the same: a "King Without a Crown" 12" photo of Fry and White) and the lengthy article on the band in the booklet is in Japanese! The other aspect of this set is that is seems at first glance to have the full albums from Lexicon to Up, however, as you can tell by the track listing, only Lexicon and Beauty Stab are complete.
Still, the Remix CD is nice. It has many remixes of material from How to be A..., Alphabet City and Up. It also has the "Look of Love" remix from 1990 that is also available on the greatest hits. The most interesting tracks on here are two live tracks that first appeared as the B-Side to the "King Without A Crown" 12". ("All of My Heart" from the 12" is left off this box set).Both the "Look of Love" and "Poison Arrow" are from a 1982 concert in Boston at the Metro (Now the Axis Club). These tracks are really very interesting, although you can see why the weren't about to give the Grateful Dead a run for their money on the concert circuit. Track by track;
CD 1)- Lexicon of Love (entire Album)
CD 2)- Beauty Stab (entire Album)
How To Be A Millionaire (only the following tracks; Fear of the World, Be Near Me, Vanity Kills, How To Be A Zillionaire, Tower of London, So Hip It Hurts)
CD 3)- Alphabet City (only the following tracks;
When Smokey Sings, The Night You Murdered Love, Rage and Then Regret, King With Out a Crown, Jealous Lover, Minneapolis).
Up (only the following tracks; Never More Than Now, The Real Thing, One Better World, Where Is The Heaven, The Greatest Love of All, I'm In Love With You)
CD 4-
Remixes and Others (with the following tracks; 1. Look of Love 1990 2. Be Near Me (Munich Disco Mix) 3. How To Be A Millionaire (Bond St. Mix) 4. Vanity Kills (Abigail's Party Mix) 5. When Smoky Sings (Detroit Mix) 6. King With Out a Crown (Monarchy Mix) 7. The Night You Murdered Love (Sheer Chic Mix) 8. One Better World (Pickering / Park Mix) 9. The Greatest Love Of All (Kraushaar Mix) 10. Never More Than Now (Kraushaar Mix) 11. Look Of Love (live in Boston 1992) 12. Poison Arrow (live in Boston 1992)
You can expect to pay upwards of $75 US$ for this set. It is fairly rare, but this is more from lack of demand than a limited number of copies. When last we checked Michael Kanter at 14 Milford Lane, Melville, NY 11747 was offering a copy (as well as other ABC items).
Polka dots and ribbons in their hair, the Switchblade came rumbling out of Scotland in early 1984 and with in a year were gone again, consigned to the dust heap of pop history. But, as with most cases, there is more to their story than that. The group has become one of our favourtites over the years. Despite the fact that they have never had anything released in the US and only had only one top 5 hit in the UK they are one of the most collectable bands from the 80's. A small but devoted following descends like a rabid pack on any scrap of stuff that comes on the record collecting market. So on with the storyÉ
Flashback, if you will, to the year 1977, the year Punk broke in the UK ( and then took the looooong way to America). Two Scottish women became friends, joined together by their love of the new wave hitting Scotland and the rest of the UK. Jill Bryon and Rose Mcdowall hung around Glasgow pubs and halls, catching many of the local bands that would rise to prominence in the very early 80's. One of them was Orange Juice, fronted by James Kirk. They befriended Kirk, who not only suggested that the girls should form a band, but had also started writing a song called, you guessed it, "Strawberry Switchblade".
Bryon and Mcdowall started the band with two other women, who, in short order, quit and left. Remaining behind the two decided to remain a duo and piled into a friends car, with backing tapes and guitars and headed out into the British country side, opening for Orange Juice and getting to see the sights outside of Scotland.
Although they were signed with Postcard Records, a great, tiny, Scottish record label that had Orange Juice as its single claim to fame, they failed to record anything just yet.
That changed when they got signed to Zoo music publishing and met up with Bill Drummond, then the manager for Echo and the Bunneymen and soon (well fairly soon anyway) to be one of the ring leaders of the KLF/JAMMS/Timelords axis. He got Ian Muculloch (the lead singer of Echo), who had started his own label to press the Switchblade's first single, "Trees and Flowers". It was also, coincidentally, the label's first single.
"Trees and Flowers" came out on 92 Happy Customers in July of 1983 and in short order made the label's name obsolete. They sold through 10,000 copies, not bad for an independent release in England. Backing the Switchblade on this great single was an all star cast: Two members from Madness, the Fun Boy Three back up singers (not Bannanrama!), and Roddy Frame (who is basically Aztec Camera). The song, incidentally, is about agoraphobia, fear of open spaces. One of the women suffered from it, but had overcome it.
They then did some Janice Long sessions for Radio One and had, in fact, a minor hit on the radio with their version of "Femme Fatale"( which has never been pressed to wax as far as we know). The women were big fans of Velvet Underground, covering "Sunday Morning" as well. They later said that while act like Orange Juice and Blancmange were big contemporary influences, older acts like Love, Simon and Garfunkel and the Lovin Spoonful were also influential.
Finally Drummond got them signed by Warner to Korova proper, the Bunnymen's full time label. They then set down with David Motion to record the album, moving from studio to studio in an attempt to find the best sound. They ended up not finding it per se, but they did end up with an album.
Unlike the "Trees and Flowers" single they didn't get all that much help from outside all stars. Motion did most of the programming that makes the album such a beautiful snapshot of the contemporary techno pop movement in the UK. Some outside help with the strings was provided by Andrew Poppy, who would go on the record a couple of instrumental LPs for ZTT.
"Since Yesterday" was the lead off track from the album and it was a hit, eventually winding up at #5 on 4/17/84 in the UK. The video achieved some note for it's animation effects. It was directed by Tim Pope, who would do all of The Cure's videos and quite a few Talk Talk ones as well.
For reasons unknown the album was never optioned for release here in America. Perhaps the outlandish costume the two wore and the sliding fortunes of Culture Club made for a nervous Warner Brothers. Whatever the cause the Switchblade never got further than import dance club cult favourites. They did get their picture in Rolling Stone though.
After "Since Yesterday" the fortunes of the band went down hill. "Let Her Go", "Trees and Flowers" (again) and "Who Knows What Love Is?" were all released after that, each to diminishing returns.
A cover of "Jolene" (written by and originally a hit in the UK for Dolly Parton) was tried next, as a warm up/ stop gap until the next album, but that got even less reaction. Jill and Rose decided to call it a day.
Rose would go on the release a 45 with a cover of "Don't Fear The Reaper" backed with "Crystal Days", a song that Rose wrote herself. The single was not much of a success and neither of the women have released anything since then.
Several years later WEA Japan released the album on CD (under the Young At Heart series) with a nice article (in Japanese tho'). Last year a Canadian record company released on CD the 12" The Japanese CD version of the album is still in print as far as we know.
Later looking back they both said that they had a great time doing everything, but that by the time "Jolene" came out it had ceased being fun. Suddenly they were under the gun to perform, to sell records, and they both decided that it simply wasn't for them. Since then the two have lived the quite life in England and at last check were in no hurry to get back together for a "reunion" tour. So instead we remember them frozen in time and polka dots.
We would like to do more on Strawberry Switchblade. If you know of rarities, news or have personal insights please drop us a line. Thanks.
Next Issue - a Complete (??!!) Discography.
You'd think that releasing an album, slaved over for months until every note was perfected, would be a simple straight forward affair. However, when you're dealing with Frankie Goes To Hollywood, nothing is ever simple or straight forward. For their debut FGHT and Trevor Horn put together a sound collage entitled "Welcome To the Pleasure Dome", a brilliant album, depending on which copy you have.
You're fairly safe with the original vinyl copy. A double set this contains the "original version" of the album. It has on it the a brief version of Ferry Across the Mersey, which sort of defeats the purpose really. The full length version (available on the CD5 UK edition of Relax, original release, on Island UK and as a b-side to one of the US 12" version of "relax"), is really a great cover (most likely their best). On the vinyl it's barely allowed to start before it's cut off. Also present on vinyl is "Do You Know The Way to San Jose?", missing from the US CD. The only flaw of the vinyl is that "Happy Hi Ho" is missing (it is present on the US CD and the UK CD). A great tune that was originally the B-side to "Welcome to the Pleasure Dome", but added to the album when it went to CD.
If you have it in CD, that's where it starts to get sticky. There are at least three different CD versions, the US/Island version, the Japan/WB version and the UK/ZTT version (Made in France). (The UK version has recently started showing up in stores and is the closest to the vinyl copy).
First the US version ,most likely the most prevalent here in the US, but it is now out of print. In some ways this is the most nicely packaged. It has a full colour booklet that mirrors the vinyl art work fairly closely. (No order form though). It's the back of the CD that really makes it however. It lists not the regular time of each track, but a running time based on the digital down load from the digital recorder. Also listed are "unwanted 'clicks'" that occur in four places due to static on the master. "An Eye For Detail" indeed! The US CD does append "Happy Hi" to the album but sacrifices "San Jose" and the "Ferry" bit. It also carries the full title of each track, lumping together some tracks that are melded together on the album.
The UK version seems a bit more sloppy, especially on the back cover. Most of the "Detail" so prominent on the US version is gone. The tracks are more formally broken out and "San Jose" is added back (as is the "Ferry" snatch). Other than that the two appear to be identical. This version is really the most complete version and is worth seeking out.
There exists also a Japanese version of the album. This is not "Welcome ..." strictly speaking and in fact goes under the name "BANG!". The nice thing about this CD # ANOT ÆïÇF d is that it has several mixes of the main singles that were not available in the UK or US on CD. Now, however, with the release of the singles these remixes have been committed to CD. Still this was a nice and rare CD, even when it was issued it sold for upwards of 40US$. Now it is most likely worth two to three times that.
Now that Atlantic/ZTT have released FGTH's greatest hits here in the US we think it would be great to see a re-released "Welcome...". Maybe ZTT could do a nice job with it, maybe even have it be a two disc set, not only with all of the various tracks inserted and deleted over the years but also some of the rare FGTH b-sides like the interview snippets or the full length "Ferry".
We hope you have enjoyed this first issue of the new Lexicon. We had a trial run in Boston last year and are now back as a quarterly mini mag (we might go bi-monthly if the response is good, let us know what you think).
I wanted to start this because in looking through magazines like Goldmine and even Record Collector I would rarely see anything about bands from the early 80's. Lots of Madonna or Prince, but only rare glimpse of ABC or even collectable bands like Talk Talk (even Duran Duran is kind of underrepresented).
In case you couldn't tell I lean mightily towards the band ABC, but also tend to favour The Style Council, Strawberry Switchblade, Human League, Heaven 17, etc.
So I hope that this can be a resource for people who are into and collect music from the early 80's. I list resources not as advertising but because I would like to think people want to know where they can find this stuff.
AnywayÉ please drop us a line here at Ninthwave (yes there is an "us") and tell us what you think. Better yet maybe give us view, reviews, stories, etc from your favorite 80's band.
n Dave Richards
Here we try to let you know about resources for more information on acts from the 80's. If you have a good resource let us know.
FAZINE-
"ABC / MARTIN FRY" Send IRC to; Melvin Welters, Melis Stokelaan 2412, The Hague, Netherlands" A four page newsletter full of great detail. A real find, done by people who really love ABC. In English. More next issue!
Sources for Records / CDs
On the inter-net try "CDNOW", a great CD resource that is also a real store in Connecticut. They offer reasonable prices and good selection. Also try either of the two sources listed in the article about the recent ABC reissues.
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NEXT ISSUE - "Lexicon of Love" dissected, the Human League, BEF, Heaven 17 axis, more news on the new ABC project and more news!