Easter-themed music part 3 – Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter Festival Overture
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Easter-themed music part 2 – Haydn: ‘The Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross’ (orchestral version)
Easter-themed music part 1 – Wagner: ‘Good Friday Music’ from Parsifal
On Record – A Certain Ratio: 1982 (Mute)
by Ben Hogwood
What’s the story?
At first glance, an album with the title 1982 might be seen to be wearing rose-tinted spectacles. In the case of A Certain Ratio, however, it is nothing more than a mischievous curveball, for they renounce any links with nostalgia on the surface at least – apart from in the song of the same name.
Instead they go about their business with a continually refreshing disregard for genre boundaries, creating where the music takes them in the course of ten songs.
The line-up remains constant, with Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson working alongside Tony Quigley, Matthew Steele and Ellen Beth Abdi, with a guest slot for Chunky the rapper.
What’s the music like?
Varied and vibrant! This is an album that pulses with activity and good vibes, right from the off.
When the easy beat and upward looking chorus of Samo sets out the band’s stall, the signs are good – and as 1982 progresses they only build on that good feeling. The title track is a blend of German pop music homage and loping Manchester groove, while Constant Curve features exalted levels of funk thanks to a guest turn from Emperor Machine.
Waiting On A Train mines a sweet melancholy thanks to a slower groove and Ellen Beth Abdi’s wonderful voice, complemented by the more nasal tones of Chunky and a dreamy piano prologue. Abdi takes over on Afro Dizzy, too, a dreamy mix of Afrobeat and sultry vocals.
Meanwhile Tombo in M3 is an ultra-cool instrumental, powered by liquid keyboard lines and a springy rhythm, while Holy Smoke bubbles up when Tony Quigley’s saxophone gets involved. Tier 3 finds Abdi on flute duties, behind the album’s catchiest riff.
Finally Ballad of ACR is an experimental sign-off, part song and part modern jazz workout, closing the album in a haze.
Does it all work?
It does. An open musical book is the best way for A Certain Ratio to work, and yields thoroughly invigorating results here.
Is it recommended?
Enthusiastically. If you’re a fan, you know exactly what to do – but if you’re new to ACR, this is a great place to start too.
Listen
Buy
Switched On – Various Artists: Musik Music Musique 3.0: Synth Pop On The Air (Cherry Red)
by Ben Hogwood
What’s the story?
So good they named it thrice! Cherry Red build on the success they have enjoyed with the first two compilations in this series, which takes its name from the track of the same name by Zeus. On the first triple album they looked at music in 1980, and ‘the dawn of synth pop’ – followed by the rise of the same style in 1981.
Now we reach 1982 and synth pop is ‘on the air’ – and the shift in musical style as it starts to take over the airwaves is tangible.
What’s the music like?
A fascinating electronic diary. There is lots to discover here, whether you approach the collection as a knowledgeable pop music fan, or if you come in from the cold. It gets off to the best possible and most appropriate start, too. Radio Silence starts the first of three instalments, a great, deadpan start with Thomas Dolby‘s plea to ‘tune in tonight’. Elsewhere the joyous song The Passage, from XOYO, makes a strong impression, as does the poise of Talk Talk‘s Mirror Man. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark make a majestic contribution with, as do Blancmange, who bring some gravitas with I’ve Seen The Word. Streetplayer is a bright and brassy number from Fashiøn, before Tears For Fears bring the emotion and the harmonic twists with Pale Shelter. Arthur Brown, Planning By Numbers and Ultravox complete a winning first part.
Part two starts strongly too, with Dramatis‘s The Shame and Fiat Lux‘s surprisingly graceful This Illness. New Order‘s Temptation could hardly be bettered in ’82, but cuts like Dead Or Alive‘s What I Want show there was plenty in reserve elsewhere. Soft Cell‘s Sex Dwarf and Yello‘s Heavy Whispers show just what variety there was too! The Human League‘s offbeat You Remind Me Of Gold shows a darker side, while the rougher sounding Hold Me by Section 25 shows electronic music in a murkier state, finding the middle of a darker dancefloor.
Clattering drums give way to elegance in Heaven 17‘s Let Me Go!, again a complete polar opposite to the scuttling beat of Siegmund Freud’s Party from Telex. Falco proves in the course of Maschine Brennt that he was capable of much more than one big hit, too. On this third part Cherry Red push the boat out further, Mikado‘s Par Hasard making an elegant impression, in contrast to Those French Girls and Sorry Sorry. Ukraine‘s Remote Control is brilliantly lo-fi, with cavernous production and a funky bass, but then Sergeant Frog‘s Profile Dance is compact and nippy. A final surprise awaits in the form of Omega Theatre‘s decidedly odd Robots, Machines and Silicon Dreams, moving between intimacy and choral bursts.
Does it all work?
Yes, mostly. The surprising aspect of this compilation is just how modern and fresh everything sounds, as though producers had just been let through the doors of their own studios. Not everything has aged ideally, but because the track ordering is so well thought out, there are natural peaks and troughs.
Is it recommended?
It is – and so is the series, going from strength to strength.
Listen
Buy
You can buy this compilation on the Cherry Red website
