One record at a time: 458. Wang Chung - To Live And Die In L.A. (Music From The Motion Picture)

It’s rare for a renowned Hollywood director to become so captivated by a band that they invite them to compose the soundtrack for a film. Yet that’s exactly what happened when William Friedkin chose Wang Chung to create the music for, “To Live and Die in L.A.” in 1985.

It appears that Friedkin was a big fan of the album "Points On The Curve," with the song "Wait" being a particular favourite. It's unclear whether Friedkin knew that band member Jack Hues was classically trained before approaching them to score the film, or if he simply trusted that they would be up to the task. Either way the band accepted the challenge and they wrote and recorded the music in just two weeks.

The album presented here features songs used in the film on the first side and instrumental pieces on the second. The music is not written for orchestra but realised on contemporary instruments such as the Fairlight CMI, PPG wave and EMU Emulator II. Whilst there is a smattering of very eighties sounding guitar and some nice bass from Nick Feldman, this is a distinctly electronic score.

The title track is a clever song that shies away from the band's usual shiny pop sound and delivers something slightly more disturbing. Unusually the chorus descends in pitch which gives a highly atmospheric and introspective feeling. I'm not a big fan of the second track "Lullaby" as it sounds a little kitsch for my ears but "Wake Up, Stop Dreaming" supplies an overdose of Emulator shakuhachi samples before morphing into a pop song that matches the style of the title track. For whatever reason William Friedkin insisted on using the track "Wait" from their previous album on the film so it is reprised here too.

Amongst the instrumental pieces there is a distinctive track called "Black—Blue—White" which sounds uncannily like Front 242. It is interesting to note that the Belgian EDM pioneers have a similar track called "Black White Blue" and I find it hard to believe that there wasn't some 'cross pollination' going on as Jack and Nick scrambled to generate ideas for the soundtrack. 

There's also evidence of corners being cut with the nine minute opus "City of the Angels" which, as good as it is, simply amounts to an extended deconstruction of the track "Wait". Throughout these tracks you can hear distinctive PPG Wave choirs, Emulator strings and drums from the LinnDrum and its older brother the LM-1 - it's like an eighties synth spotting game. 

The final track "Every Big City" has such a strong eighties sound it could be mistaken for a modern tribute used as library music on YouTube (I'm not sure of this is praise or condemnation). Still, this is a highly entertaining album and the combination of clever songs and dark eighties instrumentals wins me over. 3.5/5

One record at a time: 457. Wang Chung - Points On The Curve

The annals of history might record the transition from Huang Chung to Wang Chung as a simple change in spelling, but for listeners, this shift marked a dramatic evolution in the band's sound and artistic direction.

Huang Chung's self-titled debut album, while competent, often feels tentative. Even the original version of their signature track, "Dance Hall Days," lacks the polish and energy that would later define the band. In contrast, "Points On The Curve" - their first release as Wang Chung - embraces a sleek, electronic-driven pop style that moves away from their earlier new wave influences.

When listening to the original UK pressing of "Points On The Curve" you might be struck by its unique running order, which differs from other international releases and all CD versions. Personally, I find this original sequence enhances the album's flow and cohesion, making for a more compelling listening experience. 

The album opens with the single "Don't Let Go" that features a bassline that is both simple and beguiling. It may not be as instantly catchy as some of the band's biggest hits, but this song does have a good groove and was among the first tracks to resonate with the public.

For many, the opening bars of "Dance Hall Days" evoke memories of 1983; for others, the song is forever linked to 2002's "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City." Regardless of your reference point, the track's quirky lyrics and infectious melody are infectious. There's also something about the descending chord progression of the guitar in this song that is quite fascinating. In fact "Dance Hall Days" is so good I can even tolerate the saxophones.

"Look at Me Now" stands out with its funk influences and wonderful orchestral sounds that are coloured by the distinctive, and rather mushy tones of the Fairlight CMI. That same Fairlight hallmark is present in "Even If You Dream," which also features classic Simmons toms and snare, delivering a true eighties overload. What’s especially remarkable on these tracks is the sound that producers Chris Hughes and Ross Callum coax from the LinnDrum. The reverb, EQ, and compression on the drum machine are expertly handled and among the best I’ve ever heard. 

In terms of the compositions I also like "Wait" and "Don't Be My Enemy" - with an honourable mention to "True Love". And yes, "Talk it out" is supposed to end like that. Whilst this album isn't as perfect as my memory tells me, it remains a cornerstone of eighties pop. 4/5

One record at a time: 456. VCMG - Ssss

In 2012, Vince Clarke and Martin Gore joined forces to produce an album of minimalist dance music under the imaginative monicker VCMG. I am not sure what prompted these former bandmates to collaborate in this manner, but it is worth noting that they have not repeated the exercise. Although the relationship seemed cordial enough at the time, it never stuck me as a natural reunion; more a marriage of convenience.

For some reason I bought both this double album, the compact disc and all of the 12" EPs that were released alongside "Ssss" (maybe the anticipation proved too much for me). As it turns out I didn't even need to buy the CD as it came free with the vinyl anyway - so I really do have far more copies of this album than I need. I wouldn't mind this veracious consumption if I actually liked the album, but I can't recall listening to it once in the last thirteen years. On the plus side the vinyl sounds immense with deep bass and near flawless sound reproduction.

As soon as I drop the stylus, the sound of the first track "Lowly" brings back memories and proves to be surprisingly entertaining. I find these tracks hard to pigeonhole but I'd describe the music as minimal techno or a less angular form of IDM. Their sound is more melodic than Autechre, less acid than Richie Hawtin and not as raw as Aphex Twin. To my ears VCMG have a tendency to float around the same space as Speedy J - but purists will probably tell me that's a load of rubbish.

The Achilles heel of all of these tracks is that they are just too damn long. As you might expect, the ideas are solid and the instrumentation impeccable, but things do have a tendency to just ramble on. "Wind Up Robot" and "Bendy Bass" are a case in point where a good three minute trim would make for a much more enjoyable experience. 

Whilst "Single Blip", "Aftermaths" and "Spock" were released as singles I have absolutely no idea what promoted them above anything else here. Maybe the choice was arbitrary. That's part of my problem with this record: it sounds a like one amorphous mass where its difficult to distinguish one track from the next. I totally get that this is two esteemed songwriters throwing off the shackles of pop and trying something different, but it misses the mark for me. I hope to hear this album again in another thirteen years but I somehow doubt it will come out of the sleeve before then. 2/5

One record at a time: 455. Jon and Vangelis - The Best Of

After Jon Anderson and Vangelis put their collaboration on hold, Polydor Records decided to fill the gap with a compilation. The imaginatively titled "Best Of" gathers together the highlights from the band's first three albums and includes their two top ten singles. Released in 1984 this LP broke the top ten and earned the record company a good deal of money for minimal outlay. 

"Italian Song" from the album "Private Collection" might not be the most energetic opening, but it does at least have a strong melody. The hit single "I'll Find My Way Home" is another strong composition but keeps us in the 'easy listening' space a bit too long. 

Things really start to kick off with "State of Independence" which was originally released as a single in 1981 but it sank without a trace. The song was reissued to promote this compilation and it did manage to scrape into the top 70 at the second time of asking. Despite relatively poor commercial success this is undoubtedly one of the pair's best songs and the success of the later Donna Summer version attests to this. The edited version presented here is nice enough but I'd have preferred the full version that was featured on the album "The Friends of Mr Cairo".

Speaking of "The Friends of Mr Cairo" we actually get the full twelve minute version of the title track on the second side along with the rather limp "Outside Of This (Inside Of That)". There's a nice flourish at the end of the album with "He Is Sailing" and "I Hear You Now" rounding things out in style.

Whilst there are two or three tracks on this compilation that don't exactly set my world on fire, I can't think of much else in the band's back catalogue that would replace them. The record company made a good effort with what they had and this is probably the only Jon and Vangelis album you will ever need. 3/5

One record at a time: 454. Jon and Vangelis - Private Collection

Having achieved commercial success with their two previous albums, Jon Anderson and Vangelis decided to team up again and release "Private Collection". Here I will be listening to what Discogs says is an original UK pressing, but as the sleeve has references to a compact disc version, I am not convinced it is from 1983.

Opening track "Italian Song" has a wonderful melody and as Anderson translated his nonsense lyrics into Italian they are much more digestible. "And When the Night Comes" is a good track right up until the point Anderson starts trying to tell us, "A woman needs to feel alive, a woman needs her sex". Even if I judge these lyrics in historical context I still can't digest such sexist nonsense. 

Whilst the music on "Deborah" is pretty strong Anderson rather lets things down with his clumsy lyrics. Only "He Is Saling" comes up to the mark with its vocoder tinged vocals and superlative CS-80 bass. The final track "Horizon" is a very odd one. Imagine twenty two minutes of fairly tuneless synths and Andersons insistent vocals drifting along with no real purpose and you get an idea of just how boring this piece is. I'm glad when it is all over. Any marks here are for "Italian Song" and "He Is Sailing", everything else in this collection was probably best kept private. 2/5

One record at a time: 453. Jon and Vangelis - The Friends of Mr Cairo

"The Friends of Mr Cairo" was originally released in 1981 but despite the band's high hopes, it did not sell well. The pair's first album "Short Stories" had been propelled to chart success by the hit single "I Hear You Now" but an edited version of the title track from this album didn't even manage a chart placing. 

A despondent but determined Vangelis set to work writing a new single and after a brief recording session with Anderson, "I'll Find My Way Home" was born. Once the sides of the disc were flipped and a photo sleeve was added alongside the new single, the album finally charted in the top ten and achieved the sales originally expected. 

Today I will be listening to the original six track version of the album with the white cover. Whilst I had owned the newer version of the LP for a long time I was intrigued by the original cover and decided buy a cheap copy from eBay. Unfortunately the wonderful people at Evri managed to partially destroy the sleeve on its journey between the eBay seller and my front door which made my purchase somewhat pointless. However, the disc itself is near perfect and is one of the best I have ever encountered. I have no idea what makes this copy sound so good but it has very little background noise and Vangelis's instruments spring across the sound stage as if they are in some kind of pseudo 3D format. 

Aside from the single "I'll Find My Way Home" this album seems to be the sound of Jon Anderson having some sort of a mid-life crisis. The lengthy title track is essentially a reminiscence about the gangster movies he watched in his childhood and comes replete with impressions of Jimmy Cagney and James Stewart that stretch the credibility of the song to its absolute limit. "Back to School" (or "Back to School Boogie" depending on which version of the artwork you are looking at) is a load of old 12 bar blues nonsense where Anderson tells us he wants to go back to school where it was safe (inconceivably this was actually released as a single!). "Beside" seems to be an aimless story about reflecting on the past but none of the lyrics really make much sense. 

"Outside and Inside" is a fairly unremarkable ballad but Vangelis adds some nice synth flourishes that elevate is just enough to be worth a listen. The pulsating "State of Independence" is the highlight of the record and the version here is somewhat longer than the single cut. "The Mayflower" is a bit of a Marmite track: some will love it, others loathe it. Vangelis's music is pretty good, but the sci-fi nonsense theme and the butt-clenchingly bad voice over do drag it down. 2.5/5

One record at a time: 452. Jon and Vangelis - Short Stories

I know, I know. If I was following my self imposed alphabetical system this record should have been looked at over two years ago; but for some reason I keep Jon and Vangelis filed under V. So here we are.

The collaboration between Jon Anderson and Vangelis lasted throughout the nineteen eighties and resulted in the release of four studio albums and one compilation. "Short Stories" is the first album released by the duo in 1980 and this is a copy of the original UK pressing.

The opening track "Curious Electric" features a long introduction with lots of keyboard parts and live percussion. After about three minutes Vangelis takes to the ring modulator on his trusty Yamaha CS-80 and Anderson chimes in with some nonsensical lyrics about sitting inside a television. A little while later another piece seems to emerge where Anderson throws down some ad libs as Vangelis fires up the sequencer. After nearly seven minutes things grind to a halt and the listener is left wondering what the hell they just heard.

Anderson features more prominently on the second track "Each and Every Day" which has a more contemporary (contemporary for 1979 anyway) pop feel, but it lacks a strong hook. This song is a fine example of the inherent weakness in improvisation as everything sounds a bit aimless. I also find that Anderson's nonsense lyrics can be a real roadblock to enjoyment. 

Yet somehow Anderson and Vangelis managed to pull a hit single out of this auditory chaos and "I Hear You Now" is actually quite catchy. Clearly this song is more than an improvisation as there are a considerable number of overdubbed backing vocals and, unless Vangelis has four arms, dubbed drums. Side one rounds out with a very strange track called "The Road" where an acoustic guitar and Vangelis's "Blade Runner" synths take turns to drown out Anderson's vocal. 

There's little respite on the flip side as "Far Away in Baagdad" (sic) and "Love Is" do little to right the sinking ship. There's a Rhodes infused ballad called "One More Time" that seems to creep onto "Best Of" compilations, but I have absolutely no idea why it warrant such adulation. Penultimate track "Thunder" is just absolute nonsense that sounds like it was written for a failed stage musical. The final number "Play Within a Play" is a rather limp affair for the first three minutes but suddenly a sequence and some energetic drumming emerge in a true prog-rock juxtaposition. Unfortunately this burst of excitement is soon snuffed out and we return to the more languid mood of earlier. Strange and confusing stuff. 1/5