David Sylvian -"Pop Song" 12" 45 RPM, Single, Vinyl, 1989 (Virgin)

"Pop Song"  creeps up on the listener, it's like watching a single fly on a window pane, moving around and not going anywhere.   It's a beautiful song/recording, due to David Sylvian's croon, which is an instrument in itself, where he sings of disappointment and resentment.  "Tell you I love you, like my favorite pop song."  "Pop Song" can be seen as a critique of the nature of commercial music or being in a position where one has to produce a product for the listener or the masses.  With jazz like piano riffs and the tension built in its rhythm, this is classic Sylvian.  

The Cramps - "Smell of Female" Vinyl, 12", 45 rpm, Reissue, 1983 (Big Beat Records)

Is it even possible to dislike The Cramps?  Another definition of 'perfection' is The Cramps.  To call them psycho-billy or rockabilly or even rock n' roll seems to limit their greatness.  "Smell of Female" is a live recording that took place at The Peppermint Lounge, February 25 & 26 1983.  There are many reasons to buy and enjoy this mini-album, but what makes it essential is their version of the Russ Mayer theme song to "Faster Pussycat Kill Kill."  One of the great unknown songs that I don't think ever was properly released is a DNA piece of work for The Cramps.  

Which brings to mind another aspect of their greatness.  Poison Ivy and Lux Interior are tastemakers as well as brilliant curators of everything 1950s culture and beyond.  They are never corny, and I imagine what it must be like to spend an hour in their home in Glendale, California.  A live-in museum, but the fact is, that they are cultural historians of great importance.   The death of Lux is one of the significant losses in the 21st century.  Nevertheless, with the brilliance of the late Nick Knox on drums, and at this point of time of the recording, Congo Powers on the second guitar - they transcend an aural sound that is also visual, and you can feel it in your sexual being.   For me, the two guitars and no bass is the prime Cramps.   

Rain Tree Crow - "Blackwater" b/w "Red Earth" & "I Drink To Forget" 12" Vinyl, 45 rpm, Limited Edition, 1991 (Virgin)

In reality, Rain Tree Crow is the band Japan.  Why they changed their name when they decided to get back together to make an album is a mystery to me.  Still, this 12" single is one of their best songs.  "Blackwater" is a beautiful moody melody that expresses not exactly a romance, but the essence of looking back, and the need to move on.   Mick Karn, Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri, and of course David Sylvian, with assistance from guitarist and Cocteau fan Bill Nelson.  Mellow, with the ultimate Sylvian croon, "Blackwater" is a dream existence or location that one can feel, but maybe never touch or be in that location again.  It's a sad song.  It's melancholy with traces of wistfulness.   

Side two of this 12" single are two instrumentals.  "Red Earth" is on the Rain Tree Crow album, and it's very cinematic I think due to Brian Gascoigne's orchestration, and he also worked with Scott Walker's later recordings.  "I Drink To Forget" (don't we all) is prepared piano played by Sylvian with the rest of the band doing electronics is very slight, and it's almost an afterthought, but it is also very beautiful in its nature.  

Leisure Process - "A Way You'll Never Be" b/w "Love Cascade (Dance Mix)" 12" Vinyl, 45 RPM, 1982 (Epic)

Leisure Process, sometimes billed as Leisure Process International was a duo consisting of studio musician Gary Barnacle and Max Middleton.  As far as I know, they only made two singles, with "Love Cascade" being the song that had a special dance mix.  The early 1980s was the era of the dance mix for British recordings, and one could go broke in collecting these delicate releases from the record companies of that time.   My favorite of those in that special time of perfect haircuts and big shoulders on the suit, is Leisure Process' "A Way You'll Never Be," which is a fantastic piece of music.  If I have to compare Leisure Process with another band, it would be Magazine.  Not as brilliant as Howard Devoto and company, but they share a sense of darkness in a very 'pop' orientated landscape. 

Barnacle was the sax player of choice for a lot of artists in that time, including The Clash.  In fact, if you heard a sax in a British release in that era more likely it's Gary Barnacle.  Middleton is a mystery to me and for some reason, I think of him being a music journalist of that time, but I can be wrong.  Nevertheless, this is a remarkable record, and "Love Cascade" is also a fantastic song - and a good length dance mix of this song.  They were produced by Martin Rushent, who was a great sound maker for a lot of artists such as Pete Shelley, Human League, and including the classic Buzzcocks recordings.  Not easy to find, but worth the trouble.  

Midge Ure & Mick Karn - "After A Fashion" b/w "Textures" 12" Vinyl, 45 rpm, 1983 (Chrysalis)

One of the things I love about the New Romantics period in pop is artists embracing the foreign and at the time, very exotic landscapes on this planet.  In a sense, they take the idea from Paul Bowles, not only as a writer, but his iconic personality as the Westerner in the exotic Middle East, or North Africa.   Bands like Duran Duran, Japan, and Ultravox liked to present themselves as an international artist(s) in a very adventurous world.   Very much of an exploitation in theory, because when you get down to it, we're all tourists.  Which I think is the most honest aspect of The New Romantics era.  Once in awhile great music comes from the juxtaposition of British pop (once part of the grand occupation) and the world that is out there.  We can almost taste it, but at the time we could only admire the tourist postcards, or in this case, album covers or publicity photographs.  Mick Karn is very much the exotic musician who started from one place and ended up embracing the world.  "After A Fashion"a one-off recording by two musicians who were prominent in British pop during the early 1980s.  Midge Ure I suspect was the more successful pop star due to his musical history with other bands, but especially with Ultravox.  

Karn was the brilliant fretless bassist, and who added exotic color to David Sylvian's Japan.  The sounds he made from his bass was like liquid being poured into a glass, or on the sand.   His textural playing and compositions (especially on his early solo albums) reflect on a world that was exciting, and sexual.  Midge Ure in his fashion (no pun intended) also explored the same landscape but through a more pop format than Karn and Japan.  What makes this 12" single fascinating is the combination of Ure's pop awareness with Karn's outer world sounds.  

The 7" single is very different than the 12", in that the song is expanded in a textural manner that flirts with the main chorus.   Almost a dub version, but not quite.  I have to imagine that it's only Karn and Ure on this recording, doing all the instruments.  It has that 'studio' feel and truly the image on the cover of this long single, is quite accurate.  The picture of Ure and Karn in Egypt is both a postcard as well as a visual interpretation of the sounds with on the record.  Paul Bowles had taken numerous photos of himself among the desert of North Africa, and for the literate or aware, this is clearly the influence of Ure and Karn's "After A Fashion."  The b-side is an instrumental that is a sound piece that reflects the aesthetic of travel and being aware of one's limits.  

Liquid Liquid - "Successive Reflexes" 12" 45 rpm, Vinyl, EP, Reissue, 2015/1981 (Superior Viaduct)

Liquid Liquid is a remarkable band from New York City, and they made noise in 1981.  "Successive Reflexes" is an EP of five tracks.  They're really not songs, but more of a groove with tons of percussion instruments. There's a tiny essence of a piano, but mostly it's bass and drums.  In a sense, they remind me of ESG, another band from the New York area of that same time/era.  Clearly, LCD Soundsystem is very much influenced by Liquid Liquid, which is a hybrid of post-punk, dance music and disco - yet, more geared in the dub era of Public Image Ltd.   They also remind me a bit of the Factory Records band A Certain Ratio.   

They made live recordings, but I prefer this EP of studio work, due to the experimentation of the sounds they are making.  There is something clinical but raw sounding about their approach, but it is clearly music to make you hop, twist, and shake your body parts.   

Swans Way - "Soul Train" b/w "Summertime" & "Gloomy Sunday" 12" 45rpm Vinyl, 1983 (Exit International Records)

It's a bit of mystery how I came upon this 12 single in 1983.  I don't believe it was a hit in the UK, nor in the States.  I was working at a record store that year, so I suspect that it came upon the turntable in a mysterious fashion.  "Soul Train" is your typical 1980's British white guy soul, but, I think a brilliant song/recording.  Swans Way (named after Marcel Proust) is a trio that consists of singer/guitarist Robert Shaw, Rick P. Jones on stand-up bass, and percussionist Maggie De Monde, and that is all I know of this band.  "Soul Train" is full of images of despair.  "I don't wanna walk in the rain," or "I tried and tried' mixed with  "I'm tired, I'm tired" and "I know I know" The strings match the rhythm of a train getting started, and it's going somewhere not nice.  "It's Midnight, it's midnight."  And "I'm almost there."  This is a song that is very reflective, and the mood is dark.  Suicide is on this young man's mind.  It's an excellent record.  It should have been a huge hit here in the States as well as in the rest of the world. 

The b-side is two live recordings of classic songs.  "Summertime" and "Gloomy  Sunday."  What's interesting is their instrumentation which is very minimal and allows Shaw's vocals plenty of room to roam, but not far away from the subject matter of the songs.   They added a horn section for "Summertime," and I presume that when they did play live, it was just the three of them. I think I like the minimal sound of Swans Way, because it really focuses on the song, and with this EP as an example, they have excellent taste.  They did release a full album but never heard it. Come back Swans Way! 

Public Image Limited - "Metal Box" 3 x Vinyl, LP, Album, 45 rpm, 2006/1979 (Virgin/4 Men With Beards)

For me, this is the greatest album from the post-punk era: PIL's "Metal Box."   The first Public Image LTD. album I thought was pretty good.  Way more interesting than the Sex Pistols.  I like how Johnny Rotten (Lydon) took it up a notch with his ability not playing to the fans of the Pistols.  He was going to explore new worlds, and through "Metal Box" he not only entered a new space but kicked the door to that area and entirely caused a large entrance, where one can't close that gate anymore.  

This is a band that couldn't do wrong.  Keith Levene a brilliant guitarist and Jah Wobble, who re-invented the bass for me, were a band that was the definition of perfection. It couldn't last.  And that's OK.  When I think the word 'original,' it apparently means this album and its package.  For my all thumbs style of opening anything more complicated than a can of beans, this album was a real test for me. It must have caused Virgin Records a series of nightmares that is probably still in their conscious years later.  Minimal with maximum results. 

The music is incredibly touching, I even come to tears time-to-time when listening to "Death Disco" (Swan Lake) and "Poptones."   Who would think a Sex Pistol would draw so many tears on my face? "Death Disco" with it "Swan Lake" melody sneaking into the hard mechanical funk is a wonder.  One of the great meetings between rock and classical music ever.  It's almost like a memory that is too powerful to forget.  For me, the album is about memory and how one digests the pain over the years. In that sense, it reminds me of John Lennon's first solo album "Plastic Ono Band."  Not only in sound, but it's emotion right on the top of the tongue.  

Thanks to Geo Blance, who out of the blue, sent me the new edition of "Metal Box" a few years ago. One of the great gifts ever.