Heaven 17 - "Penthouse and Pavement" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1981 (Virgin)

A bit of social-analysis seen through the noise and head of Sheffield's Heaven 17.  One of the great (and smart) synth-funk- pop albums ever.  One of the beauties of the album is that it's under-cooked with respect to production.  In its own fashion, the 'sound' is minimal, and not fussy.  Very straightforward and in one's face.  Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware were members of The Human League who made two great albums (with them in it) that pioneered the electro-experimental-pop sound. Very urban in a JG Ballard landscape that one imagines Sheffield as in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  They left Phil Oakley (lead singer/co-writer) of the League to form B.E.F. with the singer Glen Gregory,  and in theory, Heaven 17 is an off-shoot of this company/production house/art collective.  In many ways, a pop version of Public Image Ltd.  "Penthouse and Pavement" is an album about Capitalism and everything wrong with it, yet, done with beautiful melodies and a steady dance beat. 

This edition is very vinyl aesthetic.  Side one is the Pavement side (probably Situationist minded), and two is Penthouse side.  As the album format goes, this is very much thought out work of pop music making.  The first song on the Pavement side is "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang," a song that by all means should be the rallying cry in every demonstration against the corporate and political world.  Written in the Reagan/Maggie era, this song still holds up in today's environment. It's impossible not to shake your hips or move your hands up and down when this record is being played. The "Pavement" side is very groove orientated, compared to the pop leanings of the Penthouse, which has five incredible songs in a row.  Starting off with "Geisha Boys and Temple Girls" (a play of gender in that song) that lead to "Let's All Make a Bomb" which is probably the catchiest song about bomb-making ever in the pop music world.  "The Height of the Fighting" is a glam electro song, that also serves as an anthem, made perfectly for the local Football match or a political rally.  The entire side two is extremely focused on this type of music, where one feels 'action' is taking place instead of talking.  The album ends with "We're Going To Live For A Very Long Time" which never ends if you have a turntable that doesn't turn itself off.  The song continues in the runout until one picks up the record needle.    Fantastic end to a perfect album of its time and place (the early 1980s).

The one persistent style or influence that goes through Heaven 17 and early Human League is glam rock.   The Human League covered Mick Ronson's "After Dark" and Gary Glitter's "Rock n' Roll Part 2" and "Penthouse and Pavement" is very much soul meets glam.  Heaven 17 continued to make  good records, including their work with B.E.F. (British Electronic Foundation), but never came close to the brilliance and great songwriting of "Penthouse and Pavement." Also note that the album is engineered and co-produced by Peter Walsh, who worked on the later Scott Walker masterpieces.   And advice to the buyer, do get the British edition of this album on vinyl, just for the fantastic endless groove of "We're Going To Live For A Long Time." 

Bryan Ferry "Frantic" CD, Album, 2002 (Virgin)

For me, it's the last great Bryan Ferry album.  And I suspect that the album was recorded in different locations, as well as with various producers, and with lots of guitarists.  Perhaps all the musicians were not in the same room.  Still, "Frantic" is a remarkable album with some of the great (non)classic Ferry songs.  He covers two Dylan songs here, which seems to be an obsession with him for some odd reason.   I don't fully understand Ferry's take on Dylan's work,  but I suspect that the framework of the songwriter's music is a  huge canvas for Ferry to reflect and find endlessly textures within the veteran songwriter.  His version of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is the absolute best.

The other interesting aspect of Ferry is that he consistently surrounds himself with strong individualistic musicians, who add their specific sound into the mix.  One finds someone like Mick Green who is a remarkable guitarist who worked with the legendary Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, mixing it up with Chris Speeding.   And Eno makes appearances here and there on "Frantic" as well.

The album is a sampler of the Ferry aesthetic, but a very well thought out and planned release. All the strengths are here, and none of the weakness.   I don't think the album sold and did that well, but I highly recommend that Ferry / Roxy fans check out this album.  There are a lot of jewels within its tracks.   

Bryan Ferry "Another Time, Another Place"

Bryan Ferry - Another Time, Another Place

CD, Album, Remastered

Virgin

The second Bryan Ferry album, and on the surface, it appears to follow the first, in that it is mostly all covers, except the title song “Another Time, Another Place.” The album opens with “The ‘In’ Crowd” and this mod soul classic is re-imagined by Ferry.  Here in Ferry’s hands the song becomes a manifesto.  In other words, it is pretty much what the listener imagines the world of Bryan Ferry is like.  “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” is another totally suitable piece of work, due that Ferry has a real understanding of the Great American Songbook.  He knows how to be subversive with the mixture of effortless elegance, with his much studied approach to that subject.  The beauty of this song sounds like Ferry wrote it.   The lyrics are genius.  The image of a heart in flames, which in turn causes the eyes to burn from the smoke, is a great visual ‘romantic’ image.

Sadly the rest of the album doesn’t match the two songs above.  The thing is I think he sees these songs as irony-free, but the enjoyment of a Bryan Ferry project is the projection of his pop aesthetic on a song form.  At least with his solo projects.   By no means is this a failure of an album, but compared to his initial solo, and of course Roxy Music, it is minor stuff.   Well, that’s true till  we get to the end of the album, when all of a sudden we get an original song by Ferry.  Not only an original, but a masterpiece by Ferry.  “Another Time, Another Place” is the iconic Ferry subject matter of time standing still, which is woebegone island for him.

Ferry doing covers as a solo project makes complete sense to me, but I am surprised that he put an original song on this album.   Even though it is the best thing cut, why not save this song for a Roxy project?  

Brian Eno - "1: Instrumental" 3 x CD Box Set, UK

Brian Eno - 1: Instrumental

3 x CD, Compilation Box Set, UK, 1993

Virgin

The completest that is in my DNA core needs this box set of instrumental cuts from Eno.  Even though I have some strong doubts about his instrumental work in the long run.  Discreet Music and the instrumental parts of Another Green World are masterpieces, but everyone has their peaks and valleys, and although Eno’s work in general is very successful with the music world, I find it a tad conservative. 

It is hard to criticize his work, because it is alway well-made and brilliantly played, but I find the concept or thinking behind the pieces not that strong or consistent.  Although not spoken, and perhaps this is totally from my perspective, I just don’t think he is challenging himself in the long run.  Which is a weird thought when you look at his career on a piece of paper or computer screen, but the first two Roxy albums, and of course the first four solo albums were such a great force, almost a kick in the stomach feeling - where things can never be the same anymore.   But alas, Eno has been dishing out the same material at least in style for a long time now.  There is no doubt that he is border-line genius and often hysterical in his work as well in interviews, but as an avant-garde artist he’s not out there like Christian Marclay or Rutherford Chang and I think someone in his field of interest should be really cutting-edge.  

Of course as an artist he should listen to his inner-voice, but as a listener I am often disappointed with the later results.   Especially the signs of his brilliance from the first Roxy Music to the Obscure record label releases, and now he produces Coldplay…

But still, this instrumental box set which came out in 1993 is an impressive package.   If you are a hardcore Eno fan you would need to own this. 

Benjamin Biolay - "Négatif" 2 X CD album, France

Benjamin Biolay – Négatif

2 x CD, 2003, France

Virgin

The melodies come easy with Benjamin Biolay, it seems to fall out of his mouth when he sings. Effortlessly yet that can't be possible. Yet, no doubt one would want to hear this music, especially around 1 AM. He also seems to channel Serge Gainsbourg, not for the obvious reason, but with the skills of the arrangements, which like Serge recordings, is rich and lush.

The beautiful portrait of Biolay on the cover really conveys the music inside that cover. The seduction is ripe that it almost seems to be a cliché, but Biolay really delivers on every count or platform. Sound wise it is the French brother of Bryan Ferry's “Boys and Girls” album. While I think Ferry is obsessed with perfection, and it shows by its passion in details, Biolay is more natural in that type of music. Also there is a chamber-like aspect to some of his recordings.

My one complaint is that he has too many songs on the album. On the surface this is weird criticism, but the lushness of his music needs more space, and I feel that if the album had 10 songs instead of 14, it would have more room to breathe.  

Benjamin Biolay - "A L'Origine" CD Album France

Benjamin Biolay – A L'Origine

CD Album, France, 2005

Virgin

He doesn't have the scope of Serge Gainsbourg (who does?) but Benjamin Biolay's music has been seductive, beautiful, tuneful, and grown-up sounding. Odd enough I don't speak or read French, which is weird because I have spent my adult life publishing French literature translated into English, but Biolay's music conveys the 1:00 AM essence of soul searching.

What I like about French pop music in general is their tradition of well-arranged recordings. Biolay is the real deal because his orchestrations are classy that serves the melody. His whispering vocals float over the music backing and he's not afraid of the brash guitar, which I think he plays. The slickness of the production doesn't cheapen the music, but it does convey an ideal environment.