David Sylvian "Blemish" (2003)

Blemish
release date: May 2003
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]
producer: David Sylvian
label: Samadhisound - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Blemish" - 8. "A Fire in the Forest"

6th studio solo album by David Sylvian. The album is released on Sylvian's own label Samadhisound (as the label's first release) after leaving Virgin Records for whom he has released his solo albums since his very first solo album in 1984. This is not the "normal" Sylvian solo sound, if ever there was one. Usually, a solo album from his hands is in the style of art pop and sophisti-pop with more or less jazz to it but here he excels in electronic art pop and glitch, although, I guess the overall sensation is one of experimental. The album consists of 8 tracks with track #1 lasting more than 13 minutes. The music was primarily recorded during improvisational sessions live in a studio with few people to support him. Jazz guitarist Derek Bailey feature on three compositions (#2, #5, #7), co-written by Bailey, and Austrian electronic guitarist Christian Fennesz has co-written, arranged and features on the end-track. The music is not easily digested but has its moments, and it was generally met with positive reviews and I find it more than just interesting.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

David Sylvian "Camphor" (2002)

Camphor (compilation)
release date: May 27, 2002
format: 2 cd (LTD.)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: David Sylvian
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Compilation album by David Sylvian. This is rather different from the compilation album Everything and Nothing from 2000 as this is concentrating on Sylvian's more experimental instrumental compositions only and not trying to include all of his many projects into one. The album was released as a single-disc album and a Limited Deluxe Edition with three long bonus tracks. The 'normal' edition feature two tracks from Dead Bees on a Cake (1999), three from the album Rain Tree Crow (1991) with former Japan members, and one track from the solo album Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities (1986).
I don't think, Sylvian's best work is in his instrumental compositions, which explains the 2,5 stars, but the album works fine as a whole, and in that way the music is listenable in one long take.
[ allmusic.com 1,5 / 5 stars, Pitchfork Media 66 / 100 ]

David Sylvian "Everything and Nothing" (2000)

Everything and Nothing (compilation)
release date: Oct. 2000
format: 2 cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]
producer: David Sylvian, Steve Nye
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

2-disc compilation album by David Sylvian. The album covers most of his vast repertoire from his days with Japan, various collaboration works and recent solo works.
I don't think it's as good as it could've been. First thing that bothers me is the way the tracks in chronological order are randomly put together, or so it seems. Another difficult thing is that the album offers room for all Sylvian's various musical styles and experiments, which makes it more of a document than a digestible album; however, the quality of the single compositions do not justify my rating of the album.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

David Sylvian "Dead Bees on a Cake" (1999)

Dead Bees on a Cake
release date: Mar. 29, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: David Sylvian
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "I Surrender" - 2. "Dobro #1" - 3. "Midnight Sun" - 4. "Thalhiem" - 5. "God Man" - 8. "The Shining of Things" - 12. "Wanderlust" - 14. "Darkest Dreaming"

5th studio album by David Sylvian is his first solo album in 12 years, thus following his acclaimed Secrets of the Beehive from 1987. The style is as usual somewhere centered around art pop with elements from jazz fusion and sophisti-pop. Most tracks are written solely by Sylvian and a few co-written with others. The album feature several prominent guest artists including Bill Frisell, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Kenny Wheeler, Chris Minh Doky, and much as usual older brother Steve Jansen on percussion. It's really a fine and laid-back album with a singer / songwriter profile, which is nice for a change after several collaboration works with focus on the instrumental side. In a fine way this is like a synthesis of his abilities: cool crooning vocal, and soul-shaped music with a bold touch of jazz and experimental art pop. It's the kind of music I enjoy in solitude and as background carpet for a nice evening in good company. It's one of those albums that make you wish he'd make more music on his own.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5 stars, Pitchfork Media 73 / 100 ]

David Sylvian & Robert Fripp "The First Day" (1993)

The First Day
release date: Jul. 5, 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: David Sylvian, David Bottrill
label: Discipline Global Mobile - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "God's Monkey" - 2. "Jean the Birdman" - 3. "Firepower" - 4. "Brightness Falls" - 6. "Darshan (The Road to Graceland)" (4 / 5) (live)
[ full album ]

1st collaboration album by David Sylvian & Robert Fripp. The album is released after several other collaboration projects following his probably best-received solo album Secrets of the Beehive (1987). Before this he made two albums with Holger Czukay (1988 and '89) and one in '91 with multi-artist Russell Mills (who also designed the cover art for Sylvian's '86 album Gone to Earth and Dead Bees on a Cake, 1999), and he contributed on former Japan bassist Mick Karn's second solo album from 1987, a Ryuichi Sakamoto album in '91, the first and only Rain Tree Crow studio album (featuring all former members of Japan) in '91, AND on an album by French composer Hector Zazou in '92, which means: he was extremely productive, although he wouldn't release a new studio album until 1999.
The music on The First Day is yet again "something else" one could be tempted to suggest. Sylvian works his own ways but it's evident that with a progressive rock and jazz fusion guitarist it has to be different from Sylvian's previous releases. It wasn't an immediate favourite but it kept growing on me and simply has its special moments. Initially, I found it fuelled with too much jazz fusion and a certain ambient touch but frankly, I stopped hearing that long ago. All tracks have that Sylvian laid back art pop attitude and then Fripp adds a jazz rock elegance, that both points to his prog rock legacy but on the other hand gives it all a touch of magic with his heavy distorted notes. Especially "Jean the Birdman" and "Firepower" are very fine compositions, but "Darshan (The Road to Graceland)" with its playing time of more than 17 minutes is the album's brilliant stone.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Rain Tree Crow "Rain Tree Crow" (1991)

Rain Tree Crow [debut]
release date: Apr. 20, 1991
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Rain Tree Crow
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Big Wheels in Shanty Town" - 4. "Red Earth (As Summertime Ends)" - 8. "Blackwater" (4 / 5) - 10. "Blackcrow Hits Shoe Shine City"

1st and only full studio album by Rain Tree Crow, a band completely identical to the line-up of the British new wave, sophisti-pop and new romantic band, Japan, which had disbanded in 1982, and therefore it's difficult to label this as a debut. The message is clear then: to mark that the music is not to be confused with the new romantic and synth pop style of the former band, the band members may have decided to make music together again (they regrouped in '89) but as a new band. Rain Tree Crow consists of vocalist David Sylvian who is also credited on guitar & keyboards, Richard Barbieri on keyboards, Mick Karn on bass, saxophone & bass clarinet, and with (Sylvian's younger brother) Steve Jansen on drums. Ironically, the four split after the release of their only album in almost ten years, apparently, due to tensions between Sylvian and the other members of the band who found that he wanted too much control, ultimately, making it a project of his own - the irony is that the same conflict had led the quartet to the disbandment of Japan in '82.

Anyway, the music here is not what made Japan a famous new romantic and synth pop band bond to the 80s but the result of fine musicianship. Karn's bass-lines are like unique fingerprints and a strong trademark of his lifting any music to something else than the ordinary, and Barbieri contributes nicely with his synth-notes, but Jansen is like Karn's musical twin, who lays the perfect match to Barbieri and Karn with anything but traditional drum-lines, and on top of it all, you find Sylvian's melancholic crooning, which makes it all sound more like his solo releases. All in all, it's actually a fine and tight album, and it's quite surprising to read in inlay that: "The majority of the material on this album was written as a result of group improvisations. There were no pre-rehearsals; the improvisation took place in the recording studio and much of the finished work contains original elements of those initial performances."

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

David Sylvian & Holger Czukay "Plight & Premonition" (1988)

Plight & Premonition
release date: Mar. 1, 1988
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,65]
producer: David Sylvian, Holger Czukay
label: Venture / Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Plight (The Spiralling of Winter Ghosts)" - 2. "Premonition (Giant Empty Iron Vessel)"

1st collaboration album by David Sylvian & Holger Czukay. The album is Sylvian's first after his highly successful album Secrets of the Beehive (1987) but this has only little in common with that as it's an instrumental release consisting of two tracks: "Plight" (of more than 18 minutes) and "Premonition" (more than 16 minutes), both composed by Sylvian and Czukay. Holger Czukay is a German artist who played guitar and bass in the German (primarily 1970s) experimental, krautrock and psychedelic rock band Can. There's nothing of those styles involved in this except from experimental, and neither is there Sylvian's usual sophisti-pop, art pop nor jazz fusion to it, but it's more of an ambient album with the addition of sound collages, which isn't really my favourite. The release only demonstrates Sylvian's broad stylistic approach but also his reluctance to popular mainstream music. As his former band, Japan found itself on the verge of an international commercial breakthrough, the band split, and Sylvian took up his long and wide-embracing solo career. His 1984 and '87 solo albums only gained positive feedback from (almost) everyone in the music business but he sought other values than fame and glory with his music, which this basically serves to demonstrate. It's brave, it's honest to the bone, yes, but really not for the broader masses. Czukay is credited for playing organ, piano, shortwave radio, and for... "treatments", and Sylvian for playing electric guitar, keyboards, piano, vibraphone, and harmonium. Aside from the two main artists, also Can-drummer Jaki Liebezeit is credited for handling "infra sound", and Karl Lippegaus for "radio tuning".
I basically find this a difficult listen and don't enjoy the album that much, but with Sylvian there's always "something" to it, which almost never makes it a lesser release. After all, it might be brilliant for meditating, and my experiences with his music always has me letting a door open to it, 'cause I may find myself in a certain mood one day where his music makes sense upon returning to some of his more experimental music.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

David Sylvian "Secrets of the Beehive" (1987)

Secrets of the Beehive
release date: Nov. 7, 1987
format: vinyl (VL 2471) / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,08]
producer: Steve Nye
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "September" (4 / 5) - 2. "The Boy With the Gun" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Maria" (5 / 5) - 4. "Orpheus" (4 / 5) - 5. "The Devil's Own" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "When Poets Dreamed of Angels" (4 / 5) (live) - 7. "Mother and Child" (3 / 5) - 8. "Let the Happiness In" (5 / 5) - 9. "Waterfront" (4 / 5)

4th solo studio album by David Sylvian, former vocalist of Japan. The album has a beautiful atmospheric sound, and is produced by Steve Nye, who has been in the production seat for Sylvian before as a solo artist and with Japan. This was the first album I bought with Sylvian after having listened to his brilliant solo debut Brilliant Trees (1984). Sometimes I can't decide which of these two albums, I prefer, as they're both great and among his three best ever, but mostly I would choose this as his greatest effort ever. This is Sylvian when he is most mainstream. He has experimented with styles and expressions ever since and he has never tried to please record buyers, record labels, nor the critics. His music is always art pop, mostly experimental and sometimes synth pop or electronic. He is always interesting, and never releases the expected, and then he has an ear for spacious sound that require the attention of a listener's ear. Introvert? Nah, just meaningful and delightful music.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"September"

"The sun shines high above
The sounds of laughter
The birds swoop down upon
The crosses of old gray churches

We say that we're in love
While secretly wishing for rain
Sipping coke and playing games

September's here again
September's here again."

~ ~ ~

David Sylvian "Gone to Earth" (1986)

Gone to Earth
release date: Sep. 13, 1986
format: digital (2 lp)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,14]
producer: Steve Nye, David Sylvian
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: disc 1) 1. "Taking the Veil" - 2. "Laughter and Forgetting" - 3. "Before the Bullfight" - 4. "Gone to Earth" - 6. "River Man" - 7. "Silver Moon" - - disc 2) 3. "Where the Railroad Meets the Sea" - 5. "Silver Moon Over Sleeping Steeples" - 10. "Upon This Earth"

3rd studio album by David Sylvian originally released as a double vinyl lp. The album is a mix of styles. On the first cd the music appears as close to that of his music on Brilliant Trees (1984) and to that of the successive album Secrets of the Beehive (1987). It's a nice blend of warm jazz combined with Sylvian's ethereal singing voice and ambient keyboards. The second disc is instrumental only and imho lowers the general impression of the whole. It's more in the spirit of his experimental ep Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities (1985) but also more ambient, which is something I feel that Sylvian sometimes do too much of. Both Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri of Japan feature on the album as do Robert Fripp, Kenny Wheeler, and Bill Nelson.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

David Sylvian "Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities" (1985)

Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities, ep
release date: Dec. 14, 1985
format: digital (2006 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: David Sylvian, Nigel Walker, Steve Nye
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: "Words With the Shaman" (tracks 1-3): 1. "Part 1: Ancient Evening" - 2. "Part 2: Incantation" - 3. "Part 3: Awakening (Songs From the Treetops)" - 4. "Preparations for a Journey" - 5. "The Stigma of Childhood (Kin)" - 6. "A Brief Conversation Ending in Divorce" - 7. "Steel Cathedrals"

Studio album by David Sylvian originally released as a 5-track ep consisting of the 3-track ep Words With the Shaman (Dec. 5, 1985) as the first three tracks with the addition of two new compositions, tracks #4 and 7. Sylvian and Nigel Walker produced the first three tracks, and Sylvian alone produced the two new songs (tracks #4 and ¤7). The original 5-track ep had a running time at just under 37 mins, whereas the 2003 remaster was expanded with another two additional compositions, track #5 (pro. by Sylvian) and track #6 (pro. by Sylvian and Steve Nye), which raised the running time to more than 48 mins. The remastered bonus tracks edition is the only version I know of. Words With the Shaman is music written by Sylvian and (trumpeter) Jon Hassell (track #3 also with Steve Jansen). Tracks #4-6 are written by Sylvian alone, and #7 is co-written by Ryuichi Sakamoto with whom Sylvian released their first collaboration single "Bamboo Houses" in 1982 and later he contributed on Sakamoto's acclaimed soundtrack album Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) by adding lead vocals to "Forbidden Colours". The two newest compositions (#5 and #6) are clearly of a more experimental and ambient art pop style compared to the other tracks, but the whole album really functions fine as a whole and feature a number of prominent artists. Aside from Sylvian's brother Steve Jansen on drums and percussion, Holger Czukay handles radio and dictaphone. and Jon Hassell adds trumpet to Sylvian's keyboards and guitars. On "Steel Cathedrals", Ryuichi Sakamoto plays piano and strings, Kenny Wheeler flugelhorn, and Robert Fripp guitar. All tracks are instrumental and it's not difficult to understand the reason to reissue the album in 2003 as it was probably intended as a mere experimental release in '85 just after Sylvian's solo debut, which signalled something else. The style is evidently diverse from the two albums it splits. Secrets of the Beehive (1986) was a great album but also more in a natural progression from the debut, whereas this more resembles his later works and side-projects.
All in all a highly original and interesting listen.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

David Sylvian "Brilliant Trees" (1984)

2006 Remaster

Brilliant Trees [debut]
release date: Jul. 7, 1984
format: cd (2006 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,79]
producer: David Sylvian, Steve Nye
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Pulling Punches" (4 / 5) - 2. "The Ink in the Well" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Nostalgia" (4 / 5) - 4. "Red Guitar" (4 / 5) - 5. "Weathered Wall" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "Backwaters" (3,5 / 5) - 7. "Brilliant Trees" (4 / 5)

Solo studio debut by David Sylvian after leaving Japan, which disbanded in 1982. Both Sylvian's younger brother Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri, ex-members of Japan, are credited as musicians on the album alongside a number of acclaimed artists. The style is very different from the music of Japan, and is a highly original blend of jazz, ambient pop, sophisti-pop, and art pop. All tracks are composed by Sylvian alone, and two are co-written with trumpeter Jon Hassell (tracks #5 and #7). I first listened to the album around '85 and found it very interesting but also a bit too ambient, although, I never ceased to play it occasionally, and I have only come to enjoy it more and more over the years.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

org. vinyl cover

Ryuichi Sakamoto "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" (OST) (1983)

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (soundtrack)
release date: May 1, 1983
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: Ryuichi Sakamoto
label: London Records - nationality: Japan

Track highlights: 1. "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" - 19. "Forbidden Colours" (feat. David Sylvian)

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto for the movie directed by Nagisa Ôshima, starring David Bowie, Tom Conti, Takeshi Kitano, AND Ryuichi Sakamoto from '83. The international fame of the movie also brought much attention to its soundtrack composer, and the title track has become a modern classical composition. Most of the tracks are a mixture of traditional Japanese music, modern classical, and experimental art pop and synthpop.
"Forbidden Colours" features Sakamoto's friend and former Japan (the band) vocalist, David Sylvian in one of only a few compositions with lyrics written by Sakamoto, who won the BAFTA Award for best film music in 1983 for the soundtrack.
I enjoy the above two tracks but the album as such is a difficult one, as its primary strength is to underline the action of the film, and therefore becomes no less than a piece of avant-garde or modern classical missing the dimension of images.

The album has been released with various front covers.

   

   

   

   

   

Japan "Tin Drum" (1981)

Tin Drum
release date: Nov. 13, 1981
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Steve Nye, Japan
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Art of Parties" - 2. "Talking Drum" - 3. "Ghosts" (4 / 5 - 4. "Canton" - 5. "Still Life in Mobile Homes" - 7. "Sons of Pioneers" - 8. "Cantonese Boy"

5th studio album by Japan is also the band's final studio album (as Japan). With new romantic exploding in full scale in Britain, Japan, who was perhaps the first band of the genre, has taken its music elsewhere. This is still synth pop but much more art pop-founded than any of their previous releases, and the music has become slower and more experimental. Actually, it has more in common with David Sylvian's solo releases of the mid-80s than the previous releases by Japan. Sylvian has always taken a dominating part in the band but after the departure of guitarist Rob Dean, Sylvian's dominance surely hasn't decreased, although, more tracks than usual are co-written with other members of the band on this. The band now consists of David Sylvian on vocals, guitar, keyboards & keyboard programming, tapes, and cover concept, Mick Karn is credited for playing fretless bass, African flute, and dida, Richard Barbieri is credited for keyboards & keyboard programming, and tapes, and Steve Jansen for handling drums, acoustic, electronic & keyboard percussion. The album is the highest peaking studio album by Japan in the UK, as it reached number #12 on the national albums chart list.
I never found the album interesting until I rediscovered it after the new millennium. Today, I think of it as a near masterpiece, but also more like a David Sylvian solo release, and that may also have been the case and the reason as to why the band split after recording this due to disagreements about leadership in the band (other sources suggest that the actual reason to the split was an affair between Sylvian and then girlfriend of Mick Karn that led to the final split). The album doesn't contain obvious hit singles but there are no fillers and all compositions are truly delicate and almost true symbols of coolness. In 1983 the band's final album, Oil on Canvas, a live album was released; and in 1991 the Japan members from this late period rejoined under the name of Rain Tree Crow to record and release one more album.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Smash Hits 4 / 5 stars ]

Japan "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" (1980)

Gentlemen Take Polaroids
release date: Oct. 24, 1980
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: John Punter
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" (4 / 5) - 2. "Swing" - 4. "My New Career" - 5. "Methods of Dance" - 6. "Ain't That Peculiar" - 7. "Nightporter" (live) - 8. "Taking Islands in Africa"

4th studio album by Japan and the last to feature the band's usual guitarist Rob Dean (who would leave in the spring of '81). With this the band continue its art pop and new-found style of new romantic, which would become a mainstream pop style within a year with bands like Depeche Mode, Visage, Spandau Ballet, ABC, and Duran Duran. The glam rock and Bowie-inspiration has been left behind, and the album comes out as highly original. All tracks except from a cover (track #6 by Smokey Robinson, Warren 'Pete' Moore, Marvin Tarplin and Bobby Rogers) are written by David Sylvian - track #8 being co-written by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Gentlemen Take Polaroids was well-received by critics but failed to reach the public attention. In retrospect, however, and alongside its predecessor, it has been hailed as a cornerstone in the whole new romantic era.
[ allmusic.com, Smash Hits 4 / 5 stars ]

Japan "Quiet Life" (1979)

Quiet Life
release date: Dec. 1979
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,55]
producer: John Punter, Simon Napier-Bell, Japan
label: Hansa Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Quiet Life" (4 / 5) - 2. "Fall on Love With Me" - 3. "Despair" - 4. "In Vogue" (live) - 6. "All Tomorrow's Parties" - 8. "The Other Side of Life"

3rd studio album by Japan who has taken another stylistic move. The first two albums are both playing with funk rock and variations of glam rock and new wave but with this the band focuses more on art pop adding a layer of synths to the sound and by doing so, the album has been recognised as one of the very first albums to introduce and ignite the new romantic era. Another change to the band's sound is the vocal performance of lead vocalist David Sylvian. On the first two albums he appears heavily inspired by David Bowie, but now he has taken on a darker, more sincere, and also a much more original and contemporary tone. All tracks except the cover song "All Tomorrow's Parties" (Velvet Underground track written by Lou Reed) are credited David Sylvian.
The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Here Before You Die". Unfortunately, the album didn't gain much success at the time of its release but in retrospect it has become one of the most acclaimed albums of its time.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Japan "Obscure Alternatives" (1978)

Obscure Alternatives
release date: Oct. 27, 1978
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]
producer: Ray Singer
label: Hansa Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Automatic Gun" - 3. "Love Is Infectious" - 5. "Obscure Alternatives" - 6. "Deviation" - 8. "The Tenant"

2nd studio album by Japan. The band has changed its style by moving away from glam rock and founded its style on art pop new wave and funk rock, thus being even more at the forefront of new musical styles. A few tracks are also avant-garde art pop pointing to later solo works by lead vocalist David Sylvian e.g. the title track but most significantly "The Tenant". Sylvian still sings in a way that mostly sounds like a Bowie clone. As on the debut album, Sylvian is credited for all compositions.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Japan "Adolescent Sex" (1978)

Adolescent Sex [debut]
release date: Apr. 8, 1978
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,04]
producer: Ray Singer
label: Hansa Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Transmission" - 2. "The Unconventional" - 8. "Adolescent Sex" - 9. "Communist China"

Studio album debut by Japan consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist David Sylvian (aka David Alan Batt), lead guitarist Rob Dean, bassist Mick Karn, keyboardist Richard Barbieri, and with drummer and percussionist Steve Jansen (aka Stephen Batt, younger brother of Sylvian). All tracks are composed by David Sylvian.
The style is primarily glam rock with some art pop and funk rock elements, and differs from the band's later albums. Some tracks are dominated by a fusion of funk glam and r&b styles, whereas others are more new wave-based, which makes it hard to describe fully. There's also a distinct inspiration from David Bowie, who had fusioned styles on his Young Americans 1975 album.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]