Category: Lost Albums (Page 11 of 14)

Lost Albums: VISAGE The Anvil

12 March 2015 /

By the time that VISAGE’s second album ‘The Anvil’ came out in Spring 1982, things were very different for the cast who had produced the eponymous debut started in 1979, and which in early 1981 spawned the massive European hit ‘Fade To Grey’.

Midge Ure had accepted Billy Currie’s invitation to join ULTRAVOX and were now riding hide internationally thanks to the success of ‘Vienna’; sax playing guitarist John McGeoch left both VISAGE and MAGAZINE, and was now a member of SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES; keyboards man Dave Formula though remained in the Manchester post-punk combo.

Meanwhile, thanks to the success of ‘A Club For Heroes’ at The Blitz in Covent Garden and Barracuda on Baker Street, Rusty Egan and Steve Strange were about to embark on their biggest venture yet with the Camden Palace. Strange, in particular had become a bona fide celebrity and was being snapped by Paparazzi hanging out with the likes of Jack Nicholson, Elton John, Diana Dors, Marianne Faithful and Jerry Hall.

In many respects, it was unsurprising that ‘The Anvil’ appeared to lack the focus of its predecessor, but it was still a very good record. The synthesized European romanticism that had dominated the ‘Visage’ debut was omnipresent, especially with the lavish monochromatic Helmut Newton cover photograph. But a funkier perspective had been introduced to proceedings, thanks to Strange and Egan’s growing interest in the new funk forms that had been emerging in clubland, particularly from New York.

It was a direction that had been indicated on ‘We Move’, the B-side to ‘Mind Of A Toy’ and in order to authentic things further, there had been talk of ROXY MUSIC bassist Gary Tibbs joining, but he was then head hunted by ADAM & THE ANTS. Instead, original VISAGE bassist Barry Adamson rejoined, but this time as a hired hand and his subsequent contribution to half of the album was to have a profound effect.

The funkier direction also allowed Midge Ure to indulge in techniques and styles he would have never got away with in ULTRAVOX. But while VISAGE had been started in 1978 by himself and Rusty Egan as a project to make up for the shortage of suitable Euro styled electronic dance music in the clubs, he had not been naturally schooled in funk the way Rusty Egan had been as a soul boy. While the genre blend was to produce some fabulous music, the continuing musical differences would subsequently lead to a fallout between the two friends.

To the public at least, it was business as usual with the album’s launch single ‘The Damned Don’t Cry’. Very much in the vein of ‘Fade To Grey’, it was set to a drum machine syncopated by Rusty Egan’s percussive mantra while Billy Currie’s piano and ARP Odyssey made its presence felt in the solo. And reprising the prominent female vocals that featured on ‘Fade To Grey’, ex-HOT GOSSIP members Perry Lister (Mrs Billy Idol) and Lorraine Whitmarsh added their own wispy feminine touch, as they were to do throughout the album alongside backing vocals from Ure and Egan.

While ‘The Damned Don’t Cry’ delivered what was expected, the harder edged, Teutonic salvo of ‘The Anvil’ almost certainly was not. Featuring some superb guitar work from Midge Ure and metronomic drumming courtesy of Rusty Egan minus his hi-hats, it was Steve Strange’s tale of a night out in New York’s notorious gay club of the same name. Dave Formula’s superb screaming ARP Odyssey and brassy synth riff completed the industrial revolution. It had been intended as the album’s first single and a German version ‘Der Amboss’ had already been recorded as one of the bonuses.

Rusty Egan said: “For me, ‘The Anvil’ was the lead track, ‘The Anvil’ in German (‘Der Amboss’), the 12-inch remixes… but the record company didn’t support that! They were pushing for another ‘Fade To Grey’ so they were going for ‘The Damned Don’t Cry’!” While, Polydor were not so keen to use ‘The Anvil’ as a launch pad, DIE KRUPPS’ subsequent electro metal cover in 2007 proved belatedly how seminal the track actually was!

Photo by Robyn Beeche

While the following ‘Move Up’ with its hard bass sequence developed on the title track, it suffered being sat next to it, but that set the scene for the rather bizarre but enjoyable sonic sandwich of ‘Night Train’. With Dave Formula’s wobbling, detuned synth line bouncing off Barry Adamson’s bass and Gary Barnacle’s squawking sax, the funky overtones augmented by Rusty Egan’s drumming were then counterpointed by an ULTRAVOX styled piano and violin passage in the middle eight.

While the elements all provided a marvellous musical excursion, Ure’s final production was perhaps not direct enough for the American club market that Egan and Strange now coveted. Ure said to Smash Hits at the time: “During the last album I kept hearing phrases like ‘commercial’ and ‘appealing to the American market’. I don’t like the ‘American market’ much”!

So when ‘Night Train’ was remixed for single release in Summer 1982 by noted American disco producer John Luongo at the instigation of Egan, it spelt the end of the diminutive Glaswegian’s association with VISAGE. “I didn’t like it” he simply said.

Despite an impressive first side, even better was to come on side two with some real lost masterpieces in amongst the throng. First up was the ULTRAVOX meets CHIC hybrid of ‘The Horseman’. It certainly was interesting to hear Midge Ure aping Nile Rodgers, albeit using his distinctive flanged guitar style rather than a more traditional fluid rhythm slice.

And with Ure’s backing vocals so prominent in the mix of ‘The Horseman’, especially in the middle eight, it was almost an ULTRAVOX song in all but name. While Steve Strange’s characteristic, but occasionally dispassionate lead voice was an essential part of VISAGE’s identity, it was Ure’s input that provided the credible vocal musicality, as proven by Strange’s hopeless, undirected vocals that were on evident 1984’s disastrous Ure-less VISAGE album ‘Beat Boy’.

‘Look What They’ve Done’ was a dramatic slice of neu romance, and it was on songs like these where Steve Strange’s less tutored vocals came to the fore, suiting a colder electronic backdrop more than the misguided adventures into rock which came later. But with the glorious ‘Again We Love’, every aspect of VISAGE’s collective talents clicked in unison, both vocally and instrumentally. From the dramatic start and the eerie, atmospheric melancholy to the stupendous percussive climax and echoey fade, ‘Again We Love’ summed up what VISAGE was all about. Yes, they were the New Romantic supergroup and were a formidable combination when firing on all cylinders. And it was this song on ‘The Anvil’ that probably got closest to recapturing the grandeur of ‘Fade To Grey’.

With that impressive trio of songs, the album took a slight dive with ‘Wild Life’. This was disappointing as the B-sides of the album’s two singles, the metronomic instrumental ‘Motivation’ and the proto-PET SHOP BOYS of ‘I’m Still Searching’, were far superior. Typically the type of rushed filler that adorned most albums of the day, ‘Wild Life’ sounded like several musical idea fragments gaffer taped together with a middle section that had Rusty Egan impersonating BOW WOW WOW! It had no proper lyric to speak of either but thankfully, victory was snatched from defeat with the beautiful, dreamy ambience of ‘Whispers’.

Featuring Perry Lister and Lorraine Whitmarsh surreally conversing like five year old girls over a hypnotic piano motif, the track’s chilling shimmers and sad synth replies were interrupted halfway through by a simple, heartfelt melody over a stark funereal beat. Its enigmatic use on a TDK TV advert featuring Steve Strange actually got it a single release in Japan. And ironically, despite Strange not appearing on the track itself, ‘Whispers’ has now sadly gained further poignancy and resonance in light of his passing on 12th February 2015.

‘The Anvil’ is possibly the most under rated album of that Synth Britannia / New Romantic period. Although it went silver in the UK and reached No6 in the album chart, it never got the artistic acclaim it deserved, no doubt overshadowed by the accomplishments of ULTRAVOX, JAPAN, DURAN DURAN, ASSOCIATES and SIMPLE MINDS at the time. While not as consistent as  VISAGE’s debut, there are certainly a number of songs on ‘The Anvil’ that are among the best of the era and truly merit reinvestigation.

Dedicated to the memory of STEVE STRANGE 1959 – 2015

‘The Anvil’ is available on CD via Rubellan Remasters at https://www.rubellanremasters.com/online-store

http://www.visage.cc/

http://www.billycurrie.com/

http://www.daveformula.com/

http://www.midgeure.co.uk/

http://rustyegan.blogspot.co.uk/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
12th March 2015

Lost Albums: IAN ANDERSON Walk Into Light

13 January 2015 /

“In 1981 or 1982, this digital technology was creeping in and it was clear a sea change was occurring. It would roll over everything and everyone, so you had to be part of it or not. I wanted to give it a go, but no-one else in the band did. It was exciting, musically enjoyable and very quick, but it wasn’t what people expected of JETHRO TULL. I was influenced by Thomas Dolby. He fitted the bill perfectly. He had that credibility… That electronic world was very exciting. Howard Jones was good and Gary Numan was amazing. He nailed it… I saw him on ‘Top Of The Pops’ and wanted to hate him, but I realised how important he was. And he was British!” – Ian Anderson, Word Magazine (April 2012)

Right, first things first, in the interest of full disclosure: I am the token ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK rocker. I love metal (it will always be Maiden before Mode for me), grunge, AOR and most of all Progressive styles of the genre. I say this happily; not for me hiding in a darkened room listening to ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ or ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’, though parties at my house tend not to be as filled with joyous dancing as say those at site founder Chi Ming Lai’s…

People sneer at Prog due to the, I will agree in places, ludicrous song subjects and lengths, the dressing up and noodling of the players. However also note that the punks that kicked against the musical systems of the mid 70s of which Prog was a cornerstone had as many GENESIS albums in their collections as releases from MC5.

But after punk, many of the classic Prog bands had changed significantly from their heydays. ELP had spectacularly imploded (it’s doubtful though if any band could survive the horror of the sleeve of ‘Love Beach’, let alone the contents of said album), GENESIS and Peter Gabriel had parted company in 1975 and were further dividing with the ongoing solo success of Phil Collins. This would lead to all individual GENESIS parts having their most successful period sales wise and with a move towards the ultimately more commercial sound of the monster selling ‘Invisible Touch’.

YES were once again a bit of a rudderless ship that would come roaring back as a straightforward rock outfit with former member, a certain Mr Trevor Horn at the production helm by the middle of the decade and in the interim Jon Anderson would write and record with fellow Prog musician Vangelis, no mean shakes at creating the odd synth tune himself, with a certain amount of success. Another Anderson, JETHRO TULL’s Ian, was looking to move in another direction in the early part of the decade too.

Photo by Martyn Goddard

In 1980, Anderson had been persuaded to release his planned solo album ‘A’ as a Tull album. The album and resulting tour featured Eddie Jobson, who had replaced Eno in ROXY MUSIC, on keys and was an altogether more current sounding offering. The live video ‘Slipstream’ showcased this perfectly not just on ‘A’ material but also classics such as ‘Locomotive Breath’.

The pieces which lead to the album being examined here fell into place when JETHRO TULL recruited Anderson’s fellow Scot Peter John Vitesse for the 1982 album ‘The Broadsword & The Beast’. This was a more conventional album than ‘A’, albeit with a fair amount of synthesizer work across its tracks. Anderson was fascinated by the possibilities offered by the technology PJV had at his fingertips and began work with him on what would eventually become 1983’s ‘Walk Into Light’.

‘Walk Into Light’ is a bit of a weird album, even for one both from the period and also from the bonkers musical mind of Anderson. As an electronic album from 1983, there are the usual tropes in place (the loneliness brought from technology, disaffected youth and the colourless aspects of that Winter Of Discontent era) but also much that fans of Tull would recognise, some weird time signatures, a smattering of guitar and yes flute!

I bought the album on its release back in 1983 on the strength of an interview with PJV in ‘Electronic & Music Maker’ magazine where he discussed using the Rhodes Chroma and Roland MC-202 sequencers extensively. This very much sounded like my sort of thing and was not disappointed. Opener ‘Fly By Night’ kicks on with arpeggios and sequenced strings before settling into a Linn driven groove complimented by trade mark Anderson flute. With dramatic piano chords and insistent strings and sampled vocal loops this is both accessible and edgy.

‘Made In England’ is the proggiest track on the album with time changes and guitars. Again the trademark flute is there and the vocal delivery is the most Anderson too, with multi-tracked parts and almost but not quite harmonies. Anderson himself is on record saying he feels the album was too cold and could have benefited from some live drumming. By and large I disagree, but do think that this could track could have come alive with some real percussion.

Title track ‘Walk Into Light’ is something Robert Palmer could have easily released around the same time, an excellent pop / rock track with some scat singing on it, now that’s something don’t hear that often, a man with a mighty beard getting his free form jazz vocal stylings on.

‘Trains’ and ‘End Game’ are a taste of what the next JETHRO TULL album ‘Under Wraps’, would sound like although lacking the latter’s guitars. Sequencer driven and spikily electronic, the heartfelt lyrics are sung in a style that work surprisingly well with the musical backing.

The second half of the album is more knowingly electronic. ‘Black & White Television’ muses on modern living even warning that the Suzuki corner boys in the lyric “will still fade to grey…”

‘Toad In The Hole’ and ‘Looking For Eden’ continue the themes of the challenges of modern life underpinned by cold choral sounds and very European bass synth programming. This accuracy that was brought by the technology at hand was part of the attraction for Anderson, as Vitesse explained in that 1983 interview I found so compelling: “The Roland MC-202 kind of frees my hands and we can have an absolutely accurate backing track done even within a few seconds… The way I do this is by writing the music, discussing the part that I should be playing with Ian then entering the pitch data, gate data and the step data and we’ll have an accurate and groovy bass track in the first take!”

Ian-Anderson-Walk-Into-Light-216515

Photo by Martyn Goddard

Closing pair ‘User Friendly’ and ‘Different Germany’ hint at how the project could have developed if given another run out… ‘Different Germany’ especially embraces both the electronic and progressive sides of Anderson’s career perfectly with a marvelous middle section featuring a bristling keyboard solo. The end result is not unlike JETHRO TULL fronting ULTRAVOX; of course, the circle was completed when Midge Ure covered Tull’s ‘Living In The Past’ in 1985.

So in the grand scheme of things where does ‘Walk Into Light’ sit? Certainly it’s a release anyone interested in synthesizer music should give a listen to, for the list of equipment featured on the sleeve alone (Rhodes Chroma and Expander, Yamaha CP80, Roland JP8, Roland Promars, MC202, Emulator, Linn Drum Computer) and also as a document of a time where the technology on offer was almost but not quite what it would be a year or so later with the advent of MIDI. This is the sound of a time where analogue and digital synths were crossing over.

I haven’t yet mentioned the obvious contemporary comparison, BUGGLES and their pair of releases from around the same time. They too had Prog credentials as former members of YES and harnessed the technology available to make Prog infused pop, to more commercial success. ‘Walk Into Light’ is similar in approach but sits separately in that it lacks the warmth of ‘The Age Of Plastic’ and ‘Adventures In Modern Recording’ that Anderson bemoaned. This does not do it down, as it is the sound of an artist reinventing and finding himself in a new decade.

Moving forward, the acts mentioned at the top of this piece would use the technology available and move their sound in new and exciting directions (I will argue that Tony Banks of GENESIS is the greatest exponent of the synthesizer the UK has produced and dare you to take me up on that!) that would give us classic releases such as YES’s ‘90120’ and Peter Gabriel’s ‘4’ and ‘So’ Albums.

Anderson would continue with JETHRO TULL to ongoing success and return to his more folk roots as the decade progressed. As I say above, ‘Walk Into Light’ is a great might have been and deserves to be celebrated for what it ultimately is, a cracking album.

‘Walk Into Light’ is available on CD and download via EMI Records

http://jethrotull.com/ian-anderson-bio/

http://www.discogs.com/artist/85485-Ian-Anderson

Text by Ian Ferguson
13th January 2015

Lost Albums: PAUL HAIG Rhythm Of Life

21 June 2014 /

1983’s ‘Rhythm Of Life’ was Edinburgh born singer / songwriter Paul Haig’s one and only attempt to crack the pop mainstream.

The former front man of the gloriously hip JOSEF K had tired of suffering for his art and not selling any records. Along with ORANGE JUICE and AZTEC CAMERA, JOSEF K were part of the Postcard Records roster than had been hailed ‘The Sound Of Young Scotland’. When their label mates signed to Polydor and Warners respectively, JOSEF K imploded with just one album ‘The Only Fun In Town’ to their name.

But wanting to work outside of the restrictive band format, Haig had aspirations to sign to a major label and make a record that could get radio play. Following the lead of acts such as HEAVEN 17 and ABC, Haig pursued a more soulful club friendly direction and recorded a beat box assisted version of SLY & THE FAMILY STONE’s ‘Running Away’ which was released by Belgian label Les Disques Du Crépuscule to great acclaim. One of Haig’s champions was NME’s Paul Morley who declared him “the enigmatic fourth man” in a New Pop quartet that also included Billy Mackenzie, Jim Kerr and Martin Fry.

The media hype led to the single reaching the top of the Independent Charts and a lucrative licensing deal for Paul Haig and Crépuscule with Island Records. With a large injection of cash, Haig could now make the modern pop record he desired and ultimately squash the cockroach that he felt JOSEF K had become. Venturing over to Sigma Sound in New York, he set to work with the producer of the moment Alex Sadkin to fashion a collection of sophisticated electronic dance tracks with nods to funk and disco.

However, this was every much the Antithesis to the frantic guitar driven angst that the raincoat wearing JOSEF K fans were used to. The resultant album was named ‘Rhythm Of Life’ after the conceptual collective that Haig had initially sought to work under post-JOSEF K but that ultimately mutated into a solo career.

The opening track and lead single was ‘Heaven Sent’, a superb reimagination of SIMPLE MINDS’ ‘I Travel’ for the New York dancefloor; it had also originally been one of the ever last JOSEF K tracks. With Haig sounding not unlike a growly Jim Kerr crossed with Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, ‘Heaven Sent’ reached the lower reaches of the UK chart and fuelled some cautious optimism for the next single ‘Never Give Up (Party Party)’. This was a superbly catchy number with a great chorus and glorious middle eight.

Highly percussive and lifted by some sub-ASSOCIATES rhythm guitar and big layered synth riffs, ‘Never Give Up (Party Party)’ showed great promise. But despite being visually bolstered by Haig’s smooth Italian suited look and a lavish pop video, it failed to be the hit Island desired. This soured relations with the label; “They wanted a pop image to sell… and they didn’t get one” said Haig later.

Around this time, Alex Sadkin’s productions for THOMPSON TWINS and DURAN DURAN were becoming massive hits and Haig’s work drew unfair comparisons along with accusations of a sell-out. Sadkin had worked with GRACE JONES and TALKING HEADS so Haig’s motives had been artistically driven and whatever, ‘Never Give Up (Party Party)’ was certainly a more superior song to either ‘Love On Your Side’ or ‘Union Of The Snake’.

However, while Haig wrote the songs, played guitar and programmed the drums, he became very much a puppet on his own album as assorted musicians including PARLIAMENT / FUNKADELIC’s Bernie Worrell (fresh from his work with TALKING HEADS on ‘Girlfriend Is Better’) and THOMPSON TWINS’ Tom Bailey were brought in to add the synthesized gloss. A third single ‘Justice’ was lifted from ‘Rhythm Of Life’; while less urgent and dancefloor based than its two predecessors, ‘Justice’ was full of tense drama and contained a fabulously freeform synth solo. But it failed to ignite further interest in the album.

Of the other tracks on ‘Rhythm Of Life’, the polyrhythmic ‘Blue For You’ and the oriental flavoured ‘Adoration’ (another track from the JOSEF K days) maintained the standard of the three singles while ‘Stolen Love’ pointed towards NEW ORDER’s Italo disco interests. However, as with any debut album, there was filler. But the excellent closer ‘Work Together’ pushed Sadkin’s experiences of working on TALKING HEADS’ ‘Speaking In Tongues’ to the fore with its pumping electro funk and soulful backing singers complimenting the fulsome groove.

Photo by Sheila Rock

The album did not sell well on its UK and European release and ironically for an album that was largely aimed at the American club market, Island Records then opted not to issue ‘Rhythm Of Life’ in the US. A 1984 mini-album ‘New York Remix’ of extended dance versions by Big Apple DJ Bruce Forest was belatedly made available and signified some of the original Trans-Atlantic intent. But in the end, Haig’s work got sadly got lost.

Undeterred by his experiences in New York, Haig opted for a harder but still electronic sound augmented by more guitars for his next album ‘The Warp Of Pure Fun’. It was headed by his greatest moment ‘The Only Truth’ which was co-produced by NEW ORDER’s Bernard Sumner. But when it came out as a single in 1984 and failed to be a hit, it led to Island severing their links with Haig and Crépuscule. The album was finally released independently in 1985 by Crépuscule.

Haig eventually signed to Virgin offshoot Circa and in 1989, he released the album ‘Chain’ which yielded ‘Something Good’, a minor hit in Germany. But after that, Haig maintained a lower profile while taking an interest in the dance scene.

He later worked with the late Billy Mackenzie of ASSOCIATES on what was to become the ‘Memory Palace’ posthumous album as well as presenting his acclaimed ‘Cinematique’ series of instrumental works. Still active, more recently in 2013, Haig released a new experimental electronic album ‘Kube’.

While patchy in places and very much of its time, ‘Rhythm Of Life’is an enjoyable listen that features some extremely high quality songs. A recent review on Amazon sums things up best: “If you’re looking to find some synthpop you may have missed back in the day this is a good place to start…”

‘Rhythm Of Life’ featuring the ‘New York Remix’ EP as a bonus is re-released as a remastered CD by Les Disques Du Crépuscule on 23rd June 2014

http://www.paulhaig.com/

http://lesdisquesducrepuscule.com/rhythm_of_life_twi188cd.html

Text by Chi Ming Lai
21st June 2014

Lost Albums: BRIAN ENO Another Day On Earth

3 October 2013 /

eno another day on earth

Released in 2005, ‘Another Day On Earth’ was Brian Eno’s first full vocal offering for many years although there had been the 1990 collaboration with John Cale ‘Wrong Way Up’ and 1991’s disappointing, partially voiced, solo effort ‘Nerve Net’.

It displayed an emotional connection with the second, more esoteric side of his highly regarded 1977 album ‘Before & After Science’, in particular songs such as ‘Spider & I’ which was later covered by DEPECHE MODE’s Martin Gore for his ‘Counterfeit 2’ album.

Recorded over four years, on the gap between vocalised albums Eno explained to Sound-On-Sound magazine: “Song-writing is now actually the most difficult challenge in music”. Although often regarded as a synthesizer pioneer working notably with ROXY MUSIC and David Bowie, Eno’s experimental approach often centred around being a non-musician and working to limitations of the instruments being used, be they “simplistic keyboards”, guitars with strings tuned to the same note or found sounds like typewriters.

This methodology often extended to the techniques of the players themselves. On the 1974 track ‘Put A Straw Under Baby’ from ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’, Eno famously employed the Portsmouth Sinfonia, a classical combo who were noted for not being able to technically play their instruments. This suitably achieved a naïve string palette for the song’s almost nursery rhyme feel. With his noted allegiance to the avant garde and use of his Oblique Strategies cards, his philosophy was to use all methods, whether musical, technological, motivational or concrete to achieve a final outcome, as opposed to purposely sounding electronic.

After ‘Before & After Science’ (which incidentally was partly engineered by the legendary Conny Plank), Eno concentrated on acclaimed ambient instrumental output such as ‘Music for Airports’, ‘Another Day On Earth’, ‘Thursday Afternoon’, ‘The Shutov Assembly’ and ‘Neroli’ for his solo work. While ‘Deep Blue Day’ from ‘Apollo: Soundtracks & Atmospheres’ was famously used in the toilet scene of the drug drama ‘Trainspotting’, ‘Neroli’ in particular drew harsh criticism.

One observer noted ‘Neroli’ made ‘Thursday Afternoon’ seem like thrash metal while Q Magazine said: “Eno makes a muted synthesiser go bong for a couple of minutes short of an hour!” During this period, Eno’s song based interests were confined to production work for bands such as TALKING HEADS, U2 and JAMES. Eno’s influence on U2 in particular was startling, encouraging them to tone down their more overtly rockist leanings and coating their work with his self-programmed Yamaha DX7.

The organic intro of songs like ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’ was clearly rooted to ‘An Ending (Ascent)’ from ‘Apollo: Soundtracks & Atmospheres’… U2 would ape Eno’s Berlin period with David Bowie on ‘Achtung Baby’ and ‘Zooropa’ before then going the full Eno-esque hog with the polarising PASSENGERS project in 1995.

And on ‘Another Day On Earth’, it was the Eno-steered U2 who were the immediate reference for the album’s wonderful opening track and calling card ‘This’. Based around a distorted percussive loop, minimal harmonic guitar by Leo Abraham shimmered around the song’s surreal synthesizer textures. The infamous William S Burroughs cut-up technique was employed to formulate some of the lyrical content via a computer programme while a repeating “this” sample sent the listener into a beautifully induced state. The majestic middle eight was also something to savour.

Eno’s dry vocal style was an acquired taste. Profoundly English and always in tune but almost non-descript, it was this that probably contributed to Eno’s reluctance to use it over the years. However with voice colouring technology having moved beyond the vocoder in the 21st Century, Eno now had an opportunity to play more with overall atmospheres while incorporating a larynxed hookline. The vocals on the album as a result were quite deliberately abstract: “There’s just enough voice in there to make you hear it as a song, making it a bluff, a deceit” he pronounced.

This was most apparent on the dreamy sparseness of ‘And Then So Clear’ where using the gender-changing function on a Digitech Pro-Vocalist box, Eno was pitch-shifted up an octave for quite a spacey, yet humanoid effect. Additional human touches were provided courtesy of Korg’s Kaos pads. There was more inventive playfulness in the vocal department with the processed neo-acapella of ‘Bottomliners’.

The sparse ambience of ‘A Long Way Down’ and its tinkling ivories over backing generated by the Koan software used on 1997 album ‘The Drop’ kept up this exploratory stance while ‘Going Unconscious’ recalled the artful demure of Laurie Anderson courtesy of some vague monologue by Inge Zalaliene.

A number of the tracks on ‘Another Day On Earth’ recalled his many collaborative adventures in previous years. ‘Caught Between’ drifted between MOBY and PASSENGERS ‘Beach Sequence’ with its beautiful piano and guitar while ‘Passing Over’ harked back to Eno’s Germanic period with CLUSTER.

Held down by a synth drone, the resigned ‘Just Another Day’ maintained the meditative qualities of the album despite being beat driven.  Featuring percussionist J Peter Schwalm who Eno recorded the ‘Drawn From Life’ album with, it was proof that rhythm could be constructed without being imposing.

This drifting quality was also apparent on the electro-nautical journey of ‘Under’, a recognisable cousin of ‘And Then So Clear’. Those who wished to hark back to Eno’s early solo works got what they wanted with the melancholic folkisms of ‘How Many Worlds’. Recalling the ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’ album, this thematic link was particularly apt with the busy Chinese street market on the cover of ‘Another Day On Earth and the observations on Chinese Communism (seven years before JAPAN’s ‘Tin Drum’!) of the former.

And further highlighting Eno’s political and social concerns, a musically incongruous item closed the album but it was appropriately impactful; the unsettling ‘Bone Bomb’ was a narrative collage voiced by Airlie Cooke with a suicide bomber contemplating their death and their bone becoming shrapnel…

‘Another Day On Earth’ was a pastel palette reflecting on the human condition over beautiful audioscapes that could have been the follow-up to ‘Before & After Science’ had the technology been available then. In this hectic world, it still is a satisfying and thought provoking listen providing auditory relief and gentle reflection.

‘Another Day On Earth’ is still available on CD via Opal Music at Amazon

http://brian-eno.net/

http://www.enoshop.co.uk/

http://enoweb.co.uk

Text by Chi Ming Lai
3rd October 2013

Lost Albums: MAISON VAGUE Synthpop’s Alive

3 August 2013 /

“Living in a dream since 1983”, MAISON VAGUE’s ‘Synthpop’s Alive’ was one of the surprise albums of 2011 and possibly the best wholly independent release of that year.

Paying homage to Synth Britannia and in particular, Gary Numan, it was the work of Clark Stiefel, an Essen domiciled American musician based in a modern day Neudeutsche Schule. A classically trained virtuoso who studied piano and electronic music at a conservatoire, it was there that where he got to grips with both the Moog and Buchla modular systems that lit his passion.

With the eccentric demeanour of Hungarian 19th Century composer Franz Liszt, Stiefel added some quality musicianship and a wry sense of humour to the quirkily authentic proceedings. ‘Synthpop’s Alive’ was very much an album with air synth potential. The title track with its arching battlecry was initially a reaction to a YouTube video entitled ‘Synthpop Is Dead’. Totally disagreeing with its creator, Clark responded but instead of protesting via the comments section, he composed a song in a classic synthpop style.

Like the result of coitus between DEVO and PLACEBO, the opening Sci-Fi synth salvo and the line “Everyone’s entitled to opinion…you have yours and well, I have mine” was wryly countered with a retort of “And though it seems that our opinions differ… you’ll agree in time!” The blistering solo using an Oberheim OBXa is a total delight: “The OBXa has more of a rock’n’roll tone to it. I like that!” Stiefel told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK

Another familiar, stirring sound came courtesy of the Arturia Virtual Minimoog and its meaty octave bass drive. “One of the most brilliant pieces of software ever” added Stiefel. That particular VST dominated many of the album’s chunky riff laden tracks such as the immediately enjoyable ‘Pixelated Lover’. The combination of OBXa and Moog colours effectively revived The Gary Numan Principle and on the bouncily brilliant ‘Give Them Away’, ‘Observer’ from ‘The Pleasure Principle’ was developed into a far more complete composition. It also climaxed with a simulated violin solo that recalled ULTRAVOX’s Billy Currie who incidentally played on that same album.

Its more steadfast cousin ‘Buried In Sandstone’ was also decidedly Numan-esque in a ‘Conversation’ style while ‘My Situation’ took its inspiration from THE HUMAN LEAGUE but presented itself with a more symphonic overlay. Voiced by Stiefel’s snarling mid-Atlantic tone, it was as if PLACEBO had come from industrialised Sheffield.

Slightly punkier, ‘We’re Not Human’ was also cut from a similar cloth. The album however was not all Numanoid pastiche. Changing the rhythm stance slightly, the superb reggae inflected electro of ‘Tunnel Vision’ featured a terrific chorus high which was punctuated by lovely string layers and some fluid bass guitar. Meanwhile, ‘Colored Glasses’ journeyed into more cerebral depths via some terrific classical interludes in the muse of Beethoven but using multi-tracked Roland Jupiter 4s.

Affirming the multi-dimensional aspirations of the album, the hilarious and appropriately titled ‘No Show’ was a fine example of Bette Midler gone electro or even ‘Bugsy Malone’ with lasers instead of splurge guns… inspired by death of Michael Jackson, its sense of irony was an amusing musical diversion and wholly fitting in the context of MAISON VAGUE.

But to bookend ‘Synthpop’s Alive’, album closer ‘Living On Ice Cream’ returned to the former Gary Webb and looked back at his TUBEWAY ARMY days to ape ‘Replicas’ outtake ‘We Have A Technical’. As icy and surreal as the title, ‘Living On Ice Cream’ was a terrific closer that was both exhilarating and fun. As a whole, ‘Synthpop’s Alive’ combined midlife paranoia with fish-out-of-water eccentricity but a tongue-in-cheek slyness allowed the listener not to take it all too seriously…

The future could be seen though ‘Colored Glasses’ but for the follow-up, there may be some other plans as Stiefel has surmised: “I definitely feel musically I’m heading in a more minimal and transparent direction. This is an extreme example but if you could imagine Leonard Cohen playing synths. When one thinks of singer / songwriters, the first thing that comes to people’s heads is a guitar. You don’t really think of a singer/songwriter with a synth. But if the song is strong enough, then maybe you could just have a minimal accompaniment – perhaps only a Jupiter 4 and TR 606 drum machine? It’s only a dream at this point but this is definitely brewing in the back of my head.”

MAISON VAGUE ‘Synthpop’s Alive’ uses the following synthesizers and drum machines: Oberheim OBXa, Roland Jupiter 4, Roland Promars CompuPhonic (MRS 2), Roland MKS 50, Roland JP8000, Roland XP60, Arturia MinimoogV, Digidesign Xpand, Roland CR8000 CompuRhythm, Roland TR606 Drumatix, Native Instruments Battery and Submersible Kitcore Deluxe.

‘Synthpop’s Alive’ is still available as a download album via Amazon

http://www.maisonvague.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maison-Vague/43000159265

Text by Chi Ming Lai
3rd August 2013

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