Sarah Vaughan "Crazy and Mixed Up" (1982)

Crazy and Mixed Up

udgivet: 1982

format: vinyl / cd (1985 genoptryk)

[vurdering: 4 / 5] [3,85]

producer: Sarah Vaughan

selskab: Pablo Records - nationalitet: USA

Studiealbum af Sarah Vaughan udgivet på Pablo anses som et af hendes bedre albums fra det sidste årti i hendes lange karriere. Albummet følger umiddelbart lige efter Send in the Clowns (1981) optaget sammen med Count Basie Orchestra, ligeledes på Pablo.

Crazy and Mixed Up er en samling standarder og vokaljazz sange, som tæller to krediteret Rodgers & Hart: "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" og "You Are Too Beautiful", Kosma og Prévet kompositionen "Autumn Leaves" (org. "Les Feuilles mortes") med engelsk tekst af Johnny Mercer, Haymes og Brandt klassikeren "That's All", samt fire andre fine og godt valgte numre skrevet af andre. Alle numre demonstrerer, at Vaughan i sine slut-50'ere stadig var sprællevende og i stand til at fortolke andres sange med stor passion og indfølelse.

Stor anbefaling.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 4 / 4 stjerner ]

The Dukes of Stratosphear "25 O'Clock" (1985)

25 O'Clock

udgivet: 1. apr. 1985

format: cd (2009 remaster - APECD023)

[vurdering: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: John Leckie, Swami Anand Nagara, The Dukes

selskab: Ape House - nationalitet: England, UK

Udvalgte numre: 1. "25 O'Clock" - 2. "Bike Ride to the Moon" - 3. "My Love Explodes" - 4. "What in the World??…" - 5. "Your Gold Dress" - 6. "The Mole From the Ministry" - 13 "Black Jewelled Serpent of Sound (Radio Caroline Edit)" - 14. "Open a Can of Human Beans" - 15. "Tin Toy Clockwork Train"

Debutalbum fra projektbandet The Dukes of Stratosphear - i bund og grund XTC, der her hygger sig med at spille psykedelisk rock, som det lød fra midten til slutningen af 1960'erne. Det originale album udgivet på Virgin Records er et mini-album på seks numre og en samlet spilletid på under 27 minutter, mens 2009-remaster udgaven (udgivet på Andy Partridge's selskab Ape House) tilføjer yderligere ni numre bestående af demo-optagelser og outtakes, hvilket forlænger spilletiden til 49 minutter. På tidspunktet for udgivelsen var XTC en trio bestående af vokalist & guitarist Andy Partridge, vokalist & guitarist Colin Moulding samt lead-guitarist & tangentspiller Dave Gregory, og med inddragelsen af Daves bror Ian på trommer optræder de her som The Dukes, fordi sidstnævnte ikke var en del af XTC. På albummet er de alle krediteret under navnene Sir John Johns, The Red Curtain, Lord Cornelius Plum og E.I.E.I. Owen [!]. Producer John Leckie er krediteret med både sit rigtige navn og sit alias: Swami Anand Nagara.

Stilmæssigt er det et stærkt forsøg på at producere musik med Syd Barrett-udgaven af Pink Floyd i tankerne. Angiveligt blev alt spillet og indspillet på gammelt udstyr [wiki om albummet].

Gennem det meste af karrieren som XTC, har bandet inddraget elementer fra psykedelisk rock - på senere albums bliver XTC mere direkte eksponent for neo-psykedelisk rock, og det er tydeligt, hvordan dette sideprojekt kan ses i XTC's stilmæssige udvikling - især med tanke på trækkene fra de efterfølgende albums, fx: Skylarking (1986), Oranges & Lemons (1989), Nonsuch (1992) og Apple Venus Volume 1 (1998).

Albummet blev promoveret af Virgin som en slags egentlig debut - som en samling 1960'er-kompositioner af et hidtil ukendt band, der endelig ser dagens lys og får sin udgivelse. Mest sigende er det, at albummet solgte dobbelt så mange eksemplarer som forgængeren The Big Express (okt. 1984) af XTC på et tidspunkt, hvor ingen kendte til dette nye bands virkelige identitet.

25 O'Clock er et kraftfuldt album, både som original psykedelisk rock, såvel som i XTC's diskografi, hvor det med nogen ret også kan indplaceres. Det er et album som muligvis kræver noget tilvænning, og selvom det blev udgivet d. 1. april og udstiller masser af britisk humor, så er musikken ikke udelukkende tænkt som en joke.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,7 / 10 stjerner ]

Cornelis Vreeswijk "Cornelis' Bästa" (1985)

Cornelis' Bästa, compilation

release date: 1985

format: 2 cd (2010 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5]

producer: various

label: DB Records - nationality: Sweden

Best of compilation by Dutch-Swedish troubadour Cornelis Vreeswijk is the only compilation released during his lifetime. The album was originally released as a triple vinyl album on the Norwegian DB label. The album is a mighty fine collection, although, it still feels insufficient. A 2003 2 cd-only compilation with the same title but a different release issued by Metronome appears as a better choice in representing his best material; however, in the case of Vreeswijk with his vast repertoire of songs, any compilation would come out as insufficient but if you only want one album this isn't bad at all.

Vreejswijk deserves this type of recognition, although, his studio albums are preferred over the many compilations. His status as singer / songwriter and a genuine Nordic troubadour puts him on the shelf among the best.

Scatterbrain "Strip the Future" (1983), single

Strip the Future, 12'' single
release date: 1983
format: vinyl (neu 80-4405)
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Scatterbrain
label: Neuland Tonträger - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: A) "Strip the Future" - - B) 1. "Diversity" - 2. "Angry Young Men"

Single release by Danish experimental electro-synth and synth rock band Scatterbrain following the release of the album Keep Dancing (Aug. 1981). The line-up has been expanded with keyboardists Jesper Ranum, who took part in the follow-up tour of the album release, and also with Michael Kastrup Hansen. For this recording, also Henrik Heigren and Anders Brill (from Kliche) contribute.
The single was originally released in '82 as a 7'' single on Irmgardz... with this 12'' single consisting of new recordings and new arrangements made for the German market. After this, the line-up changed again with Ranum leaving the band, and drummer Gorm Ravn-Jonsen (later in Gangway) was shortly a new member, then Anders Brill was promoted to new stable drummer togeher with Torben Kirkholt (of Næste Uges TV), and as the band then released its final album Mountains Go Rhythmic (1984) this was made with actual drummers, thus representing a change of sound, which in essence was what would later be labeled as industrial rock, and in that regard the band has as an important part in shaping new stylistic foundation somewhere in the outskirts of new wave and synthpop.

Scatterbrain "Keep Dancing" (1981)

Keep Dancing [debut]

release date: Aug. 1981

format: vinyl (IRMG 3) / digital (10 x File, FLAC) (2005 remaster)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]

producer: Scatterbrain, Anders Lind

label: Irmgardz... / Glorious Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Neo-Love Tango" - 3. "Vatican Reggae" - 4. "Crosses of Verdun" - 6. "Ice Age" - 8. "Insect Danger" - 10. "Keep Dancing!"

Studio album debut by Danish band Scatterbrain originally released on Irmgardz... The band here consists of founding members Jesper Siberg on vocals, keyboards & electronic percussion, Hilmer Hassig on guitars & synths, Jens Erik Mose on bass & synths, and Morten Torp on vocals & synths. Despite only releasing two albums, Scatterbrain has quite a substantial legacy in Danish music history, where the band stands as forerunners and as the first actual synth-rock band coming out on the punk rock scene.

In retrospect, the band appears influenced by Joy division and to what was perceived as a growing art punk scene at the time counting artist like Magazine, Visage, Gary Numan, and Ultravox and apart from these musical contemporaries it also seems that artists like King Crimson, Brian Eno, and Kraftwerk should be included amongst the band's natural sources of inspiration. This also include inspiration from artistic ideas of visual arts and authors, and Scatterbrain build on cold war politics and a de-humanisation of society, which is also reflected in some of the aforementioned artists' music (with bonds to David Bowie and Lou Reed) and also a similar starting point of contemporary Danish author Michael Strunge and his poetry, e.g. "Skrigerne" (1980) and "Vi folder drømmens faner ud" (1981).

Keep Dancing came out to positive reviews but the band and its music didn't attract a wider audience and Scatterbrain was first and foremost a cult-like band. In retrospect, however, Keep dancing and the band's second album Mountains Go Rhythmic (1984) both stands as highly original releases with the debut as an album that has found status as a cornerstone in modern Danish rock-history.

At the time, I came across the debut and I kept an illegal copy of the record, which I both found challenging but also quite fascinating and unforgettable, although, I also saw it as strange and too experimental for my liking. Many years later, as of 2023, I got hold of the original vinyl issue, and it's definitely an album to know of.

Recommended.

The Gist "Embrace the Herd"

Embrace the Herd

release date: 1982

format: cd (2007 reissue)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,55]

producer: Phil Legg

label: Cherry Red - nationality: Wales, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Far Concern" - 2. "Love at First Sight" (4 / 5) - 3. "Fretting Away" - 4. "Public Girls" - 9. "Carnival Headache" - 10. "Concrete Slopes" - 11. "The Long Run"

Studio album debut and only album originally released on Rough Trade is by Welsh band, The Gist, formed after the disbandmentment of Young Marble Giants by the two Moxham brothers, Philip and Stuart with the latter being credited almost all songs and playing most instruments on an album of twelve songs. The trio Young Marble Giants released Colossal Youth in Feb. 1980 to fine reviews, and the album went as high as number #3 on the UK independent albums list. The Gist is often mentioned as a band when in fact it may just be regarded as a one-man project of Stuart Moxham. His brother Philip plays bass on three compositions, guitarist Dave Dearnaley features on another three, Stuarts girlfriend Wendy Smith lends her voice on two tracks and former band member of YMG, Alison Statton, sings on one song, but apart from only few people contributing here and there, the album is entirely made alone by Stuart Moxham.

Stylistically, it's quite simple and yet it incorporates various styles to form a highly original stripped down soundscape. Some tracks points toward later jangle pop and twee pop styles, whereas other songs seem more bonded to a synthpop version of 70s art rock, e.g. music influenced by Brian Eno.

Embrace the Herd hasn't achieved the same status as the debut by Young Marble Giants, and it's quite likely that it goes down in music history books as the album, which includes the hit single "Love at First Sight", which also was my entry to the band after finding it on the compilation album Rough Trade Records / MNW (1983). Several songs on the album stick out as original music, and especially the composition "Concrete Slopes", which was probably inspired by Eno, however, listening to this early electronic piece only makes me think of The Prodigy and the formation of big beat electronica in the 90s.

This very album may point in many directions, and it's not a collection of memorable harmonies but it's still a quite simple and unique construct and one of musical historic interest.

Marianne Faithfull "Dangerous Acquaintances" (1981)

Dangerous Acquaintances

release date: Sep. 1, 1981

format: vinyl

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]

producer: Mark Miller Mundy

label: Island Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Sweetheart" - 6. "For Beauty's Sake" - 2. "Intrigue"

8th studio album by Marianne Faithfull follows two years after Broken English (Nov. 1979) and it's produced by Mark Mundy, who also stood behind the production odf the predecessor, although, the album here showcases a different sound.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, Record Mirror 4 / 5 stars ]

Toyah "Desire" (1987)

Desire

release date: Jun. 1, 1987

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,88]

producer: Mike Hedges

label: E.G. Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Echo Beach" - 2. "Moonlight Dancing" - 3. "Revive the World" - 8. "Deadly as a Woman" - 11. "Desire"

2nd solo album by Toyah following two years after Minx (Jul. 1985) and now with new wave and post-punk producer Mike Hedges. The album consists of songs by Wilcox and former members of the band Toyah - two songs co-composed by Simon Darlow, one with Adrian Lee and one with long-time associate Joel Bogen. Apart from these, Toyah wrote two songs with Nick Graham, one with Bruce Wooley, and the title track with husband Robert Fripp. The album also features two covers: track #1 originally a 1980 song by Martha and the Muffins, and track #6 originally a '77 single by Donna Summer.

Desire appears as an attempt to regain some of the aura but also the sound from the heydays with the band Toyah instead of being a natural follow-up to the poppier Minx. In that way the new album sounds more as something stemming from the early 80s with a stronger new wave appeal. "Echo Beach" preceded the album as a minor single hit reaching number #54 on the singles chart. The second single was "Moonlight Dancing", which doesn't reflect any chart entries, and despite I find it the best song here, it might have fitted better on the band's 1982 album The Changeling - and fact is, the song was co-written by two other band members and also contains the lyrics from the song "Dawn Chorus" from that very album.

The album didn't perform too well and basically didn't enter the albums chart, and it mostly sounds as a bit of a dated release when thinking 1987, and Toyah issues this album that sounds more like 1983-ish. Some of the songs are filled with keyboards and a drum sound that makes me think 'early Nena' or 'Toyah 1980s', and I wonder if some of the tracks are outtakes or alternative versions of older songs, because that's mostly what the sound yells. A few songs take up a tone from Love Is the Law (1983) or Minx but the overall sensation goes back to another time - also underlined in the lyrics. It's the pale imitation of a well-documented period and therefore not recommended.

Toyah "Minx" (1985)

Minx
release date: Jul. 25, 1985
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,72]
producer: Christopher Neil
label: Portrait Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Soldier of Fortune, Terrorist of Love" - 2. "Don't Fall in Love (I Said)" - 3. "Soul Passing Through Soul" - 11. "America for Beginners"

Studio solo debut by Toyah Wilcox, although it's also the sixth album credited Toyah. After Love Is the Law (Oct. 1983) the band faced declining sales figures and interest, and most of the band members became engaged in other acts, basically, leaving Wilcox and Joel Bogen alone - once again. Except this time, Toyah Wilcox now signed a contract with CBS subsidiary Portrait as a solo artist. Songwriting duo Wilcox / Bogen is here credited a single song (track #7), while most of the other tracks are credited Wilcox and keyboardist Simon Darlow. The album also feature a total of four covers - songs originally released by Rare Bird (track #4), DATA (track #6), Alice Cooper (track #9), and Latin Quarter (track #11).

Alledgedly, the money men of the label had much to say in terms of details about the sound and style of the album, and also regarding what specific tracks they wanted on an album that appears to have been produced with an American market in mind, i.e. with clear focus on a mainstream style within a pop / rock bubble at a time when synthpop and the contemporary soft version of new wave with toned-down art pop was state-of-the-art. The arrangements show bold use of vocal harmonies, keyboards, and the typical '80s drum sound, as well as the use of strings. Even the front cover highlights a shift towards a different audience in mind with a Toyah Wilcox [in a Sheena Easton / Frida / Tina Turner look-a-like] style and definitely not meant for punk rock associations.

The album actually performed quite well, peaking at number #24 on the national albums chart, and the first single "Don't Fall in Love (I Said)" peaked as number #22. Tracks #3 and #10 were also issued as singles and landed as No. #57 and #93, respectively.

Both musically and stylistically, Toyah simply ceased to appeal to me after Love Is the Law, and this very album just cemented my lack of interest. I believe much of the relatively significant commercial success that she faced after all is largely due to her background as an actor in a number of British films, TV series, and in roles as TV presenter on various BBC-productions. From a musical historical perspective, the band Toyah and soloist Toyah Wilcox released only a few really substantial albums, where Anthem (1981) is the only truly outstanding original.

One year following Minx, Wilcox married guitarist Robert Fripp, and she continued to release solo albums up until '96, after which the pace of new releases slowed considerably. The 2008 album In the Court of the Crimson Queen - paying tribute to husband Fripp's band King Crimson's acclaimed debut In the Court of the Crimson King from 1969 - from the beginning of 2021, is Wilcox's most recent studio album.

Not recommended.

Les Negresses Vertes "Mlah" (1989)

Mlah [debut]
release date: (Jan.?) 1989
format: vinyl / cd (1991)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Clive Martin, Sodi (aka Sodi Marciszewer)
label: Delabel - nationality: France

Track highlights: 2. "Zobi la Mouche" (4 / 5) - 3. "C'est pas la mer à boire" - 4. "Voilà l'été" (4 / 5) (live 2019) - 5. "Orane" - 7. "Les yeux de ton père" - 8. "Il" - 11. "Marcelle Ratafia" - 12. "La danse des négresses" (live)

Studio album debut by French 8-piece orchestra Les Negresses Vertes ['The Green Negresses', or: 'The Green Black Girls'] consisting of lead vocalist Helno (aka Noël Rota, aka Helno Rota de Lourcqua), guitarist and backing vocalist Melino (aka Stéfane Michel Mellino), accordion player and guitarist Mathieu Canavese (aka Mathieu Crespin), bassist Paulo (aka Jean-Marie Dominique Paulus), harmonica player and trombonist Abraham Sirinix, trumpeter and percussionist Twist (aka Michel Ochowiak), pianist and percussionist L'Ami Ro (aka Joël Ruffier Des Aimes), and drummer Gaby le Magnifique (aka Laurent Gabriel). The band formed in the Autumn of '87 in Paris and has roots in the South of France and with many other national ties - e.g. to Algeria, Poland, Italy, and Spain. The album was originally released on French Off The Tracks Records and Razzia Disques, while international editions were released on several labels including Virgin, Sire, Polydor, and Warner Bros.

Stylistically, Mlah represents a huge mix of styles but is primarily bound to French musical traditions. There are obvious parts of folk rock and punk rock, which in places point in the direction of French Mano Negra, and / or British The Pogues, and then elsewhere more in the direction of Madness in a French version of ska. You'll also notice a strong influence from traditional music such as 'gypsy music', flamenco, muzette, and waltz, and the band's music has thus been referred to as 'gypsy punk' - although that designation is far from sufficient. Some have called Les Negresses Vertes a 'global-folk-punk-band', although that only serves to prove it more than ordinarily difficult to categorise the band's style.

I purchased the album back in '89 - and actually played it quite a bit, but unfortunately, I lost the vinyl version along the way. However, I have since got hold of a cd reissue containing two bonus tracks, and a copy of the same vinyl issue I once owned. The original version comes with 12 tracks and a total running length of approx. 42 minutes, while the '91 cd issue is approx. 48 minutes.

Mlah is the band's first, and in my view also their absolute best. There's an immediateness and a joy of playing, and the album mostly sounds like what it is: recorded live in a studio with all members in high spirits, which is aptly conveyed in the official music video for perhaps the their best-known song: "Zobi la Mouche" -  also listen to "Voilà l'été".

Highly recommended.

[ 👍allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Toyah "Love Is the Law" (1983)

Love Is the Law
release date: Oct. 24, 1983
format: vinyl (HOTLP 83003) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Nick Tauber
label: Safari Records / Hot Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "I Explode" - 4. "Rebel Run" - 5. "Martian Cowboy" - 6. "Dreamscape" - 7. "Time Is Ours" - 10. "The Vow"

5th studio album by Toyah [band name] following Changeling (1982) originally released on Safari Records is the final album by the band Toyah. After this, Toyah Wilcox released her first solo album Minx (1985) under the same name. The majority of the songs here are written by Toyah and composed by guitarist Joel Bogen, just as they had shared credits on previous releases, and perhaps there is some kind of hidden sign of an imminent breakup of the band in the fact that the members had come and gone - bass players, keyboardists, and drummers were often different individuals on the band's first four albums. This is also the final album with one of the founding musicians of Toyah: guitarist and main composer Joel Bogen, with whom Wilcox wrote and composed the majority of the band's music. Bassist Phil Spalding (in the band from '81) appears on only three out of a total of ten tracks on the original album. On the remaining songs he has been replaced by Brad Lang, who here is one of three new members only appearing on this. The other two are: keyboardist Simon Darlow, and new drummer Andy Duncan. However, Darlow would later, from around 2007, again assist Wilcox.

In terms of style, it's clear that the band here has taken a significant step into the world of synthpop mixing that with a richly orchestrated art pop à la Kate Bush, and somewhat with the same inspiration as you may hear on the band's most recent two albums - just listen to "The Vow", and here it's most obvious how much synthesisers have come to fill the soundscape. The connection to the '70s is minimized, and the album introduces a new path, which is not quite pure neo-romantic but which may still be classified as synthpop. On Toyah's first two albums, the inspiration blatantly came from German Nina Hagen, and Toyah most of all sounded like an English clone of Nina Hagen Band. And with this new album, I can't quite shake the thought that a new German artist might have been a big inspiration. Nena, or perhaps you may think of Toyah Wilcox as the slightly outlandish image of Kate Bush trying to be Nena - or vice versa.

Love Is the Law was the only release by Toyah that I purchased when it had only just come out and I've completely forgotten why I found it interesting in the first place. I wasn't a big fan but had listened to some of their hits, such as "I Want to Be Free" and "It's a Mystery" from the fine Anthem from 81, which I purchased much later, but I probably just came across the album in the local music store and noticed the cover and having the familiar songs in mind, and then upon listening through it, I may possibly have been impressed by the fine change in production sound. Also, I may have even listened to "Dreamscape" as the first track on the B-side, which is quite a magnificent cut when comparing to other new wave releases from that year. However, I do remember that I rather quickly tired of / was fed up with Wilcox's vocal and the pompous arrangements, which still reminded me of 1970s progressive pop / rock, although, Wilcox herself with her singing style appeared with the 'right profile' - i.e. a punk rock attitude, which on the one hand linked her with contemporary artists such as Hazel O'Connor and Nina Hagen, and on the other hand also with Debbie Harry and especially Kate Bush, who was actually a form of guarantee that it couldn't be all bad. And Love Is the Law is by no means a poor or mediocre album, even if time has not made it easier to listen to. Back then, I think, it was seen as something innovative and quite modern, but it's also an album that simply doesn't reach the same original quality as Anthem, which imho clearly is Toyah's all-time best.

[ Pop Rescue 3 / 5 stars ]

Toyah "The Changeling" (1982)

The Changeling
release date: Jun. 30, 1982
format: digital (1999 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: Steve Lillywhite
label: Connoisseur Collection - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Creepy Room" - 2. "Street Creature" (tv performance) - 5. "Angel and Me" - 7. "Life in the Trees" - 8. "Dawn Chorus" - 10. "Brave New World"

4th studio album by Toyah following the band's most successful album Anthem (May 1981) and now together with one of rock music's new star producers, Steve Lillywhite, who had only just worked with XTC, Peter Gabriel, Thompson Twins, and U2. Originally released on Safari Records, the album contains ten songs nearly all written and composed by Toyah Wilcox and Joel Bogen - with one track co-written with bassist Phil Spalding. The '99 Enhanced CD edition contains an additional six tracks. As an almost entirely natural development, the band's line-up has changed once more in two positions: keyboardist Adrian Lee and drummer Nigel Glockler, who both only appeared on the '81 album are here replaced by Andy Clark and Simon Phillips, respectively.

Stylistically, it's as if the band is trying hard to stay on the same musical path with its own mix of orchestrated new wave and art pop combo, which at the same time appears to lend from 1970s symphonic rock and progressive rock with a more contemporary uptempo smartness. With this, Toyah produced another top-10 album and the band's second-highest charting album, peaking at No. #6 on the national albums chart, and the only single from the album, "Brave New World" peaked at No. #21.

Although the artistic distance from the band's most recent album is quite small, The Changeling still sounds more like a collection of outtakes from the stronger album, and at the same time you may assume that the success of the '81 release also has had something to do with the good sales figures with which the album was met here, because The Changeling as such, didn't produce any notable hits. Both lyrics and music deal with the mysterious and a fantasy world, which is suggested by the front cover. On the songs, Wilcox narrates about "Gladiators", "War", "Warriors", "Breaking free", "New destinations", " Mysterious world", etc. - something that she should cling to on the successor - and she hangs on to topics related to the future and science - and not really about alienation (as contemporaries like Siouxsie & the Banshees or Nina Hagen), but more like a kind of welcoming towards the new and unknown, and in that way you could point out that in relation to the trends, Toyah went her own way.

The band tries hard to produce a worthy sequel to their fine Anthem but ultimately fails to repeat the success - perhaps because the attempt appears too obvious. The formula and the style are more or less from the same area but the songs are not, and it's reasonable to ask if this album really deserves a reissue edition with six bonus tracks.

Not recommended.

Toyah "Anthem" (1981)

Anthem

release date: May 22, 1981
format: vinyl (VOOR 1) / cd (1999 enhanced reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]
producer: Nick Tauber
label: Safari Records / Connoisseur Collection - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "I Want to Be Free" (4 / 5) (live) - 2. "Obsolete" - 3. "Pop Star" - 5. "Jungles of Jupiter" - - B) 1. "It's a Mystery" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Masai Boy" - 3. "Marionette"

3rd studio album by Toyah [the band] following The Blue Meaning (Jun. 1980) originally released on Safari Records. Here the band again showcases one of its ever-changing line-ups as only lead vocalist and songwriter Toyah Wilcox and main musical composer Joel Bogen on guitar took part in the making of the predecessor, and here they constitute Toyah together with three new members: Phil Spalding on bass, Adrian Lee on keyboards and Nigel Glockler on drums.
Musically, the album is not only Toyah's best charting album (and only album to reach 'Gold' status) but also the band's most famous studio release. Despite only following The Blue Meaning (1980) by some 11 months, this is quite a different tonal experience. The '80 album was made with other band members, and although, the songs were also primarily by Wilcox and Bogen, the songs on Anthem introduce a completely new approach and style, but more importantly: the songs are simply better on every level. The Nina Hagen / Siouxsie Sioux influences are gone, and instead some would argue that Wilcox here instead loans (too) much from songs and the singing style of Kate Bush.
The album spawned Toyah's biggest hit song, the non-single cover song "It's a Mystery" (released on the Four From Toyah ep) - written and composed by Keith Hale (originally for his band Blood Donor), who also co-wrote two songs for Toyah on the debut album, Sheep Farming in Barnet (1979), and the album itself peaked at #2 on the albums chart list only surpassed by Kings of the Wild Frontier by Adam & The Ants [which is a bit of a paradox as that was released in Nov. 1980, hence only featured on the successive year's list]. Also the single "I Want to Be Free" was a commercial success peaking at #8 on the singles chart list.
Anthem may owe much to Kate Bush, David Bowie, Blondie and Patti Smith, but it's still an original mix and a most coherent whole that belongs to the list of truly fine and important albums of the early 1980s, and imho, it should be included in any list compiling the best of new wave.
The 1999 'enhanced' cd issue contains an additional six bonus tracks.
Recommended.

1999 enhanced CD issue

Kraftwerk "Electric Cafe" (1986)

Electric Cafe

release date: Nov. 10, 1986

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]

producer: Kraftwerk

label: Kling Klang / EMI - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Boing Boom Tschak" - 3. "Musique Non-Stop" (video-version) - 4. "Der Telefon-Anruf" (4 / 5) (single-udgave) - 5. "Sex Object" - 6. "Electric Café"

9th studio album by Kraftwerk released 5½ years after Computerwelt (1981) is the first album where the whole band is credited as producer - and the whole band is no longer as it used to be. The front cover shows the usual four faces, which are supposed to look like Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos, and Wolfgang Flür, however, only the first three actually appear on the album, while Flür is only credited as a permanent member. On his own initiative, he would leave the band after the album release at some point in '87. Additionally, Bartos has been 'promoted' from solely being credited 'electric percussion', he's now credited keyboards, 'electronics' and as lead vocalist on track #4. All six compositions are credited Hütter, Schneider, and Bartos, and only tracks #1 and #6 were created together with the songwriters Emil Schult and Maxime Schmitt, respectively. The original version counts six tracks with a total running time at just under 36 minutes.

Stylistically, the album doesn't introduce new elements or a change of sound, and the music is easily seen as an extension of the '81 album, and in reality most of the compositions were composed already in '82 but the production and mixing of the new Kraftwerk-album, which was intended to showcase 'top-of-the-art' sound quality was delayed for various reasons - including the fact that Hütter was injured in a cycling accident. The composition "Tour de France" had originally been intended for the this album, but as the album proved to be further delayed the song was instead selected for a stand-alone single and EP, and similarly, various titles for the new album were in play. In 2009, Electric Cafe was released under the original working title: Techno Pop, which came with the addition of "House Phone" and a shorter version of "Der Telefon-Anruf". The album release was met by lukewarm reviews, and nationally it peaked at number #26, at number #9 in Sweden, but at a more modest number #58 on the albums chart in the UK, which by this time already featured big synthpop names like New Order and Depeche Mode, who delivered breakthrough albums. Two singles were released from the album: track #3 "Musique Non-Stop" (Oct. '86) and "Der Telefon-Anruf" (Feb. '87), as the best composition from the album, although, also sounding like inspired by New Order.

Electric Cafe is not really a poor album, but it's yet another step in the wrong direction, where you find much of the compositions sounding like repetitions of previous ideas and parts of familiar songs - in general, the album doesn't stand as something that others could take great inspiration from, and the band appears most of all like a train that has lost its steam and perhaps should consider a (permanent) return to the garage.

[ allmusic.com, Uncut, Drowned in Sound 3 / 5, Smash Hits 2,5 / 5 stars ]

2009 cover

Kraftwerk "Tour de France" (1983) (single)

Tour de France, cd single

release date: Aug. 3, 1983

format: digital (1999 remaster)

[single rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Kling Klang / EMI - nationality: Germany

Tracklist: 1. "Tour de France (Radio Version)" (4 / 5) - 2. "Tour de France (Kling Klang Analog Mix)" - 3. "Tour de France (Remix François K)"

Single release by Kraftwerk, originally intended for the album Electric Cafe (1986) but instead issued as a stand-alone single when the album ran into several years of delay. The single has since '83 been issued in many different versions and the 1999 edition is also an edited version. Originally, the single was released in 7'' and 12'' format versions with the maxi single having a more than 6 minutes version followed by the two tracks from the regular 7'' single - a 3 minutes version and a 2:40 minutes instrumental. The '99 CD edition starts off with an edited version of the original track, followed by an edited mix of a 1984 remix, and it ends with a 1984 François Kevorkian remix.

The single was neither a major hit nor went completely unnoticed when it first came out. It charted as No. #47 in Germany, No. #20 in Ireland, No. #6 in Sweden, and as No. #22 in the UK. When it was reissued in 2003 in a re-recorded version for the Tour de France Soundtracks album, it once again delivered similar chart positions, but the track has nevertheless become almost synonymous with Kraftwerk as the track that links the band's earliest and later phases smoothly together.

Toyah "The Blue Meaning" (1980)

The Blue Meaning
release date: Jun. 6, 1980
format: digital (2002 reissue)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,52]
producer: Steve James, Toyah
label: Safari Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Ieya" - 7. "Visions" - 9. "Love Me"

2nd studio album by Toyah succeeding Sheep Farming in Barnet by less than three months. Here the band already demonstrates its ever-changing line-ups as bassist Mark Henry has been replaced by Charlie Francis.

Apart from the line-up change, The Blue Meaning is very much like the other side of the coin to the debut with ten new pompous arrangements and a little more screaming - Wilcox is credited for "verbals & unusual sounds"... [sic], and she has taken an even stronger theatrical sound, which may have seemed avantgarde and experimental at the time. By doing so, she may have looked to both appearances by Kate Bush and Siouxsie Sioux, but in retrospect it only seems rather forced - to put it mildly.

The album was a minor success as it went as high as #40 on the UK albums chart list - at a time when the public in Britain became familiar with her through her acting career. Wilcox appeared in two movies by Derek Jarman: "Jubilee" (1978) and "The Tempest" (1979), she played a minor role in The Who's "Quadrophenia" (1979), and then she also appeared in several TV-series from the late '70s including "Quatermass" (1979), "Minder" (1980) and she was TV-presenter on the BBC programme "Look! Here!".

Had Wilcox not been such a familiar face, it is doubtful that this album would have entered the albums chart list in 1980.

Is it any better or worse than the debut? That's hard to say, really. But as an original piece of music it's not recommended.

[ Smash Hits 1,5 / 5 stars ]

The Fall "Grotesque (After the Gramme)" (1980)

Grotesque (After the Gramme)
release date: Nov. 17, 1980
format: cd (1993 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: The Fall, Grant Showbiz, Mayo Thompson, Geoff Travis
label: Castle Classics - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Pay Your Rates" - 2. "English Scheme" - 3. "New Face in Hell" (Peel Sessions) - 4. "C'n'C-S Mithering" - 5. "The Container Drivers" - 10. "The N.W.R.A."

3rd studio album by The Fall produced by The Fall, Grant Showbiz, Mayo Thompson and Geoff Travis (tracks 1-5), tracks 6-10 are produced by The Fall and Geoff Travis originally released by Rough Trade. The Fall always was Mark's band - here the band credits are as follows: Mark on vocals, tape operation, kazoo (#3) and guitar, Marc Riley on guitar and keyboards, Craig Scanlon [credited as Craig Scanlan] on guitar, Steve Hanley on bass, his brother Paul Hanley on drums and with Kay Carroll on additional vocals, which more or less is the same line-up as on Dragnet (Oct. '79) as well as on the next following albums of the 80s, but the debut album Live at the Witch Trials (Mar. '79), saw the band in a completely different line-up. This is, however, merely an early incarnation of the band and the only stable member of the band remains Mark E. Smith.

Style-wise, this is an example of early post-punk labelled as art punk with influences from pub rock and garage rock and its minimum attention on production layering with focus on 'recording as is'.

The album wasn't met as a landslide album - much unlike what it's regarded as in retrospect. Critics were positive without praising the album and fans were, as they would constantly prove to be with The Fall divided in two groups: either belonging to a strong cult of followers, or to fierce haters; however, the album is generally regarded as one of the band's masterpieces. Unfortunately, I didn't appreciate the album in the early '80s - I did actually purchase the original Rough Trade vinyl issue back in 1982 or '83 and kept it for a decade or so, and then I re-sold it in a small pile with other obscure albums just to afford to buy new music, and what a mistake that was! I have come across this '93 CD reissue but I'd rather have the original vinyl, which by now is a collector's item.

I perfectly know how I was unable to see music in a broader perspective in my teens but it still puzzles me, why I couldn't just regard it as a musical curiosity. Anyway, the music lives on and even from a modern perspective I think the music still stands out as both highly original but also with something to offer. The Fall blends perfectly in with standards of Velvet Underground, The Stooges, Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa as a music collective, who simply ignores all conformities and just do what they think is the right thing to do. Mark E. Smith narrates about English society, working class life, taxes, capitalism, and he often focus on the English class system. Unlike Bob Dylan's social awareness, lyrics on contemporary human conditions, I find the lyrics by Smith to be much more entertaining but also without all the... fuzz [to say it as politely as possible].

Mark E. Smith continued to play with The Fall in various line-ups in the new millennium and also kept releasing new albums being quite keen on not repeating themselves. The last studio album by The Fall is New Facts Emerge (2017), the band's 31st studio album, released only six months before Smith's untimely death at the age of 60, Jan. 24, 2017. The international music press and the entire British press in general were overflown with appraisals dedicated to Smith's legacy as one of Britain's most influential songwriters in 2018, and he is today mentioned alongside the greatest of music.

For those unfamiliar with music by The Fall, it may not seem evident how they ever became such an acclaimed band. It may take some time to get accustomed to - some will never - but from my perspective, the true strengths of The Fall lies in Mark E. Smith's lyrics, his uncompromising attitude towards and against conformity whether concerning music or modern life in general - be it capitalism, class system or politics. The band has its unique sound and its very own conception of musical soundscape, which leaves no listener in doubt of who made it.

[ allmusic.com, Mojo, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, Spin 4,5 / 5, Sounds 5 / 5 stars ]

Kraftwerk "Computerwelt" (1981)

Computerwelt

release date: May 10, 1981

format: cd (1986 reissue)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Kling Klang / EMI - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Computerwelt" - 2. "Taschenrechner" - 3. "Nummern" - 4. "Computerwelt 2" - 5. "Computer Liebe" (4 / 5)

8th studio album by Kraftwerk released three years after Die Mensch-Maschine (1978) - also seen as number five in the list of classic Kraftwerk albums counting from Autobahn (1974), which by Hütter and Schneider is regarded their first, although, they actually released three albums before that. Like the band's recent albums this was recorded in the band's Kling Klang studio in Düsseldorf, and as usual it's the band's founders Hütter and Schneider who are credited as producers. On the 79 album we saw percussionist Karl Bartos as co-composer and on this, he's been granted a more prominent role as composer, and he is thus exclusive composer together with Hütter on all of the album's tracks. Schneider is credited the music on four of a total of seven tracks, and once again Emil Schult is credited album cover and as contributor as songwriter of three songs. And - one might be tempted to add - percussionist Wolfgang Flür is only credited as... percussionist, although rumor has it that he only appears in the credit list and doesn't play on the album at all, but officially it's the band's final album with Flür as instrumentalist.

The album continues deom where the '78 ended, and may at first sound like a mere extension of that, but Kraftwerk basically defined their strength in the present by composing small hooks and catchy melodies, made sharper as pure 'pop' tunes. This is best expressed on "Computer Liebe", as song Coldplay has used on its 2006 hit "Talk", just as La Roux incorporated parts of the track in the song "I'm Not Your Toy" (2009), and LCD Soundsystem has used a sample of "Heimcomputer" (track #6) on the song "Disco Infiltrator" from its debut album LCD Soundsystem (2005).

Reviews were again quite positive and in Germany the album reached number #7 (as Autobahn had done back in '74), and number #15 in the UK. Four tracks in total were selected for singles release: in order tracks #2, #5 , #3, and #1, with no significant rankings. The second single "Computer Love" didn't initially perform significantly, but when it was re-released later that year as the B-side to "The Model" (from the 78 album Die Mensch-Maschine), then it topped the singles chart in the UK (although it was more likely "The Model" pulling that home). In retrospect, the album has achieved a fine position as an influential album, appearing on a number of lists counting the best albums of the 80s.

In my opinion, the album is a classic Kraftwerk album, although without reaching the same heights as the previous four. In the early eighties, the band was overshadowed by bands and artists who managed to write better hooks and music that wasn't so strictly electronic, although most of them drew great inspiration from Kraftwerk's back catalogue. I don't find a lot of recycling in many of the album's compositions, and it may be seen as the band's first step away from the strong influence they have otherwise had in shaping synthpop.

The title track makes it essential.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, Mojo, Select 4 / 5, Uncut, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

Toyah "Sheep Farming in Barnet" (1980)

Sheep Farming in Barnet
release date: Feb. 22, 1980
format: digital (2002 reissue)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,48]
producer: Steve James, Keith Hale
label: Safari Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Neon Womb" - 2. "Indecision" - 5. "Victims of the Riddle" - 8. "Danced"

Studio album debut by British band Toyah - named after the band's lead vocalist Toyah Ann Wilcox. The album was originally released as a 6-track ep in '79, which six months later was expanded to an 11-track album. Already as of '80 it was released as a compilation with the band's second album The Blue Meaning (Jun. 1980). The band consists of vocalist Toyah Wilcox, guitarist and main composer Joel Bogen, bassist Mark Henry, keyboardist Peter Bush, and drummer Steve Bray.

Toyah began as a punk rock band and quickly combined all sorts of contemporary influences from post punk, art punk, art pop and new wave with Toyah Wilcox, to a large extent, impersonating German punk queen, Nina Hagen.

I didn't came across this album until the early '00s, and being familiar with Anthem (1981), Changeling (1982) and Love Is the Law (1983) it is a strange experience to go through the band's first two albums. Sheep Farming in Barnet, to me, sounds pretty much like a British version of Nina Hagen Band in a bizarre cocktail with synthesizer inputs from Brian Eno.

The band was probably given a great deal more attention than their music deserved, and it's likely that the band's initial success was linked with Wilcox participating in national TV-series. Imho, the first two albums by Toyah are not more than historical artefacts and only serve to show us from what they spawned.

Not recommended.

[ 👎NME 3 / 5 stars ]

Magazine "The Correct Use of Soap" (1980)

The Correct Use of Soap
release date: May 2, 1980
format: cd (2001 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Martin Hannett
label: Virgin / Universal Music - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Because You're Frightened" (4 / 5) - 2. "Model Worker" - 3. "I'm a Party" - 4. "You Never Knew Me" - 7. "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" - 8. "Sweetheart Contract" - 10. "A Song From Under the Floorboards" (5 / 5)

3rd studio album by Manchester quintet Magazine originally released by Virgin is the band's only album to be produced by Martin Hannett, and it's the last to feature guitarist John McGeoch, who would leave the band after this. Fact is, two other acts had sought his expertise - together with both bassist Barry Adamson and keyboardist Dave Formula, McGeoch also took part in the early formation of Visage, and he already was engaged with Siouxsie and the Banshees for the recordings on the album Kaleidoscope earlier in 1980, and from the Summer of '80 he became a stable member of the more guitar-fuelled The Banshees while continuing as full-time member of Visage, and you may say that Magazine ended up losing a key member.
Without being the most obvious post-punk band, Magazine has been recognised as one of the most original and defining acts of the post-punk era. On The Correct Use of Soap the band consists of lead vocalist Howard Devoto (formerly punk rock band The Buzzcocks), guitarist John McGeoch, bassist Barry Adamson (former stand-in with The Buzzcocks), keyboardist Dave Formula (aka David Tomlinson), and drummer John Doyle. The band's style is a blend of genres and styles where post-punk is the easiest label when no other really suffice. They are known for a highly original rhythm section with avantgardist bass and drum-lines, and both bassist Adamson, keyboardist Formula and guitarist McGeoch have all gained artistic acclaim for their contributions, and on top of this vocalist Devoto surely has his own distinct sound. There's hardly any links to the punk rock era here but somehow this band works in its own dimension of art rock, new wave and avant-garde building on elements from soul, synthpop and... who-knows-what?!
The album peaked at number #25 on the UK albums chart list but both band and album were met by critical acclaim without reaching top popularity.
From a contemporary perspective this very album hasn't aged as much as most other releases from the 1980s, and Adamson, Formula and McGeoch have all rightfully been hailed among the most influential British musicians of modern ages.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, 👍Uncut 4 / 5 stars ]