British Electric Foundation - "Music of Quality & Distinction, Volume 1" Vinyl, LP, 1982 (Virgin)

In the late 70s and early 80s, there was this procedure where bands like Public Image LTD and Heaven 17's British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.) were into the corporate identity.  Not only a group but also a company.  I imagine in those days that there were no band meetings, but instead, and in its place, a board meeting took place.   I'm a massive fan of Heaven 17's first album "Penthouse and Pavement," which at its heart is a synth-pop soul sound, but also mixing in real instruments as well. When Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware left Human League to form Heaven 17/B.E.F., it was an ambitious move on their part.  Through Virgin Records, they clearly wanted to have their separate identity as a production house, songwriting group, as well as having a radical approach to corporation life, which I suspect was in itself a critique of that world. 

With that in mind, and also playing the game of marketing an image/music for the consumer, B.E.F. put together "Music of Quality & Distinction, Volume 1" which is a collection of 1960's Motown soul music with 70's Glam era rock.   Each song had a guest singer, and it was usually an iconic figure in the music world.  You have Tina Turner covering the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion," Sandie Shaw doing "Anyone Had a Heart," and Gary Glitter doing a pretty great glam version of Elvis' "Suspicious Minds."  The brilliant aspect of this project is having singers who were fading out in the mainstream music world at the time, and giving them a decent song, as well as a commentary on their era of music making.   The great Paul Jones of Manfred Mann fame does a remarkable version of Northern Soul "There's a Ghost in My House." 

In 1982, the pop singers on the album that were happening at the moment like the excellent Billy MacKenzie (Associates), Heaven 17's Glenn Gregory, and TV announcer Paula Yates (tragic life that one) making mostly classic music from the 60s.  Gregory does the Jimmy Webb song "Witchita Lineman" as well as Lou Reed's "Perfect Day," which is from the 70s.  Ware and Marsh attempt to freeze an era through music, but the brilliant part is their choice of artists doing the material, yet working in the B.E.F. mode of production and vision. 

For me, MacKenzie never fails.  His version of Bowie's "The Secret Life of Arabia" and Roy Orbison's "It's Over" are magnificent due to Billy's voice and approach to these songs.  Having the Shadows' Hank Marvin on the Orbison song is a nice touch as well.  Again, it's the mixture of electronics with real instrumentation, as well as choosing the right iconic singer doing the material makes this album a real joy.