The Raybeats - "Guitar Beat" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1981 (Don't Fall Off The Mountain)

The Raybeats were Don Christensen, Jody Harris, Pat Irwin and the late George Scott.   The music they focus on were sounds of The Shadows and The Tornados, but with the aesthetic of the No Wave era.   Since all the musicians were members of James Chance's The Contortions, or James White & The Blacks, there is a crossover of New York sophistication that reminds me a bit of The Lounge Lizards as well.   All is a very good thing because The Raybeats are terrific. 

The guitar work of Harris and Irwin are twangy, but with distortion effects that brings the picture of the sounds to another level.  For me, I adore The Shadows as well as The Tornados and there is equal respect for the guitarist Hank Marvin as well as a nod by the "Guitar Beat's producer, Martin Rushent to the outer space sounds of Joe Meek.  There have been revival bands devoted to surf/instrumental, but The Raybeats' attitude is different.  They are not here to imitate but to add their own sense of adventure with sound and vision.   If James White & The Blacks commented on the Disco medium, then The Raybeats play with the genre that is surf instrumental.    The Raybeats music is sharp, sophisticated, fun, and an eye out for the avant-garde.  Their music is a heady mixture.  

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.  

The Associates - "Perhaps" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1985 (WEA)

Billy MacKenzie's passions were in this order:  His dogs,  his family, and then music.  And I suspect he hated the music business. Which explains why he didn't go for the gold when it was evident that his talents were placed above so many others in the music world.  Without a doubt, his greatness was magnified by his work with Alan Rankine.  The first three Associates albums were magnificent in its scope, design and of course, the voice of MacKenzie.  When Rankine left the partnership, MacKenzie lost the driver, yet, he still made gorgeous pop music. 

"Perhaps" is the first album without Rankine, and it's produced by various people on different tracks. Martin Rushent did half, and Martyn Ware of Human League/Heaven 17/B.E.F. did the others, with some self-production by MacKenzie.  As a whole, the album sounds like a bunch of singles with the additional b-sides added to the package.   It doesn't have a consistency as the other Associates' albums.  On the other hand, you're going to get pop perfection in all its glory with songs like the title cut "Perhaps," "Those First Impressions," "Breakfast," "Thirteen Feelings," and others.  For one, the songwriting of Billy MacKenzie doesn't falter.  As a lyricist he's superb, but also he can sing the text off a cereal box and make it magnificent sounding.  For sure, with Rankine, he was pushing boundaries, and here he's singing magnificent pop.  The production makes the record sound very 1985, but if you go beyond that, there are incredible songs on this album.   In fact, over time in 1985, MacKenzie did a live concert with just his voice and a piano player.  Hardcore Billy music.  One of the great figures from the Post-Punk world, this album is essential to the Associates' world.  If for nothing else, for the comparison of the two sides of The Associates and just a reminder how great the Rankine/MacKenzie team were.