Music listened to in the last few days has again been an eclectic mix.
Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair, album
The second album from this wonderful band, led by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, and portrayed as a duo, but actually a four piece band with Ian Stanley and Manny Elias taking background roles. This was possibly the biggest album of 1984/85. I must say I prefer the more simple synth pop sound of their debut album, The Hurting. This album has a more expansive and sophisticated sound with a number of eclectic influences, most notably jazz, making their way into the mix. For me it's the first four singles of this album that are the highlights. Mothers Talk, Shout and Head Over Heels are great songs. And then there is the best moment of their entire career. One of the most wonderful pieces of music that I have ever heard and one guaranteed to lift one's spirits to the heavens, on even the blackest of days. Everybody Wants To Rule The World is just the most sublime slice of happiness ever put onto a piece of round vinyl plastic. Very thought provoking lyrics combined with a simple but uplifting tune. The video featured Curt Smith driving an open top Corvette along the Pacific Coast Highway, and whenever I hear this song I can imagine myself doing the same.
Whitesnake - Ready And Willing, album
I have a few records by Whitesnake, the heavy rock band led by ex Deep Purple lead singer, David Coverdale. I have seen them live on four occasions. This was their international breakthrough album released in 1980 and features the big hit Fool For Your Loving. The line up of the band at the time included ex Purple members, Jon Lord on keyboards and Ian Paice on drums. It's good blues influenced hard rock. The lyrics haven't dated that well because they contain a lot of misogyny references, as was common in heavy rock back then. But that aside it's a good record that I enjoyed listening to.
Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen, album
The second album release by this wonderfully unique band from the North East of England. Wonderful jazz tinged songs written by the bands creative leader, Paddy McAloon. The lyrics are wonderful and some of the musical arrangements are breathtaking, with wonderful vocal interplay between McAloon and the female backing vocalist, Wendy Smith. This album is definitely a favourite of mine. They really are a wonderful band.
King - Bittersweet, album
The second album by this short lived 80s band from Coventry, who described their sound as Multi Tone, to contrast with the Two Tone movement from the same city. King were incredibly successful for just one year,1985. They released their first three singles in 1984 but they all bombed. But they were persistent and re-released their debut single, Love And Pride in January 1985 and saw it climb to Number 2 in the UK charts, after heavily promoting it on children's television shows. The band had a colourful image. Big hair, bright bold suits and spray painted Dr Martins boots. The music was very simple and upbeat, with lots of sing along chants. All good fun. Following their breakthrough success, they re-released the other singles from the previous year and released their debut album Steps In Time which gave them a Gold record. After an extensive tour they returned to the studio and quickly recorded this album, Bittersweet. Again it sold well and and although the single releases didn't chart as highly, they did all make the Top Twenty in the UK. Another tour at the end of 1985 and that was it. The band split in 1986. Listening back, I found this album is very much if it's time. Mid 80s pop.
Ultravox - Systems Of Romance, album
The third album by the original line up of the band, which featured John Foxx on vocals for the final time and the guitarist Robin Simon for his only album appearance with the band. Ultravox with original guitarist Steve Shears alongside John Foxx, Billy Currie, Warren Cann and Chris Cross had released two post punk albums prior to this release. This album saw them incorporating a lot more synthesiser and electronic sounds into the mix and it was produced by Conny Plank, who had worked extensively with German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk. It's a wonderful album that mixes the new electronic elements with the post punk sound to create a new sound. It very much pointed the way to the sound that the later version of Ultravox would find great success with in the early 1980s. Lead vocalist John Foxx wanted to move towards a fully electronic sound and felt that being in a band didn't suit what he the music he wanted to make and so after this album was released he left and went on to have a very influential solo career. Ultravox were dropped by their record company, Island and effectively split up. Billy Currie joined Gary Numan's backing band and toured with them in 1979 and early 1980. At the same time Currie was recruited to play on an emerging project by ex Rich Kids Midge Ure and Rusty Egan, who were making music with the face about town and club night promoter Steve Strange. Along with various members of Magazine they became Visage. While recording the album that would eventually become Visage's debut in 1980, MIdge Ure bonded with Currie and having expressed admiration of Ultravox, they decided to see if Ure joining Ultravox as both vocalist and guitarist would work. And it did. Ultravox reformed with Midge Ure alongside Billy Currie Warren Cann and Chris Cross to record the album Vienna in 1980. This album became a huge success. On the first tour promoting it, Ultravox played a few of their older songs, but Ure struggled with some of them and the crowd would shout out John Foxx's name. So after that, Ultravox distanced themselves from their Foxx era music. They went on to huge success throughout the early 1980s before they split in 1987.
Marillion -Script For A Jester's Tear, album
The debut album by the prog rock revivalists. This album is clearly heavily influenced by early Genesis and Yes. But it sounds new amd fresh, and apart from lead vocalist Fish, occasionally sounding uncannily like former Genesis front man Peter Gabriel, it definitely adds to the genre and doesn't plagiarise it. The opening title track is very over the top and perhaps to clever for it's own good. The Web also throws all of the contents of the prog rock box of tricks at it. But songs like He Knows, They Know, Garden Party, Chelsea Monday and Forgotten Sons are fantastic pieces of social commentary. It was good to hear a band making this kind of prog rock, after the likes of Genesis and Yes had moved towards a pop rock sound.
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