One record at a time: 185. The Human League - Secrets

I bought this album when it was released in 2001 and I only listened to it a handful of times. In fact, I think I threw out my original CD with a limited edition O-card during a 'clear out' a few years later (don't ask, I'm still not ready to talk about it). I thought this album was a disjointed and inconsistent affair and it didn't warrant my attention.

In recent years I have re-purchased the CD and also acquired the vinyl version released in 2018. I missed the limited edition white vinyl released for Record Store Day the same year, but my copy does have a second disc of additional material not included on the other.

Lead single "All I Ever Wanted" opens the record and is probably the best thing on here. I purchased both CD singles of this when they were released and, despite the disappointing remixes, I was quite impressed.

The second track "Nervous" is an instrumental that only lasts for two minutes and it saps the energy built by the opening track. It might have been better to have maintained the momentum and placed the second single "Love Me Madly?" here instead. 

The next track "Shameless" has a classic Human League sound that is a bit weak in the first chorus but gets beefier as things progress. There's another instrumental titled "122.3 BPM" which is a Kraftwerk inspired ditty that peters out after a minute and a half. There's another typically HL sounding track "Never Give Your Heart" where Susan takes on the lead vocal duties. This is quite a good song that I think I must have overlooked when I first heard this record. "Ran" is nothing more than an instrumental interlude that brings side one to a close.

"The Snake" features some hokey lyrics but, like a lot of these songs, has quite a strong melody. "Ringinglow" is another instrumental but is more substantial at three and a half minutes long. I'm not a big fan of "Liar" as it sounds a little trite and under-produced. Phil's vocal melodies also remind me of another song, but I can't quite place it. 

"Reflections" and "Sin City" are less memorable tracks that seem to just pad out the second side. The last track "You'll Be Sorry" is another good pop song that leaves us on a high. The second disc has a disappointing b-side called "Tranquillity" and some typical millennium era dance mixes that are decidedly annoying.

I think part of the problem with this record is it can be difficult to discern what is going on. The various instrumentals don't really offer much and just serve to confuse things. If we were to discard the instrumentals and revise the running order, we might end up with a more concise album that gives the better songs room to breathe. 3/5

One record at a time: 184. The Human League - Octopus

For some reason Blogger deleted by original version of this post so I am having to rewrite it. This unexpected turn of events has given me the opportunity to re-think how I write about this album.

You see, I like this album and it has some great songs; but I think I am drawn to it as it reminds me of a very specific time in my life.

During the summer of 1995 I played this album as I commuted back and forth to my first 'proper' job. Like a lot of people, my first car was a little dilapidated and it had no in-car entertainment of any kind. In order to hear music I had to use a personal cassette player and some portable speakers. In my memory, the sun was always shining as I swept along empty streets with "Tell Me When" blaring from the passenger seat. Great days.

Yet, when I look back now, I can see that I used to work long hours with horrible people for little money and absolutely no thanks. The car was actually borderline dangerous and, whilst the streets were definitely less crowded back then, the paving stones had also been torn up and thrown at the Police.

In the cold light of day this album seems to lack a little punch. Producer Ian Stanley (I didn't realise it was the Tears for Fears Ian Stanley for a loooong time) seems to have pulled back on the transients and gone for a much more rounded, analogue sound. To this day I prefer the Utah Saints remix of "Tell Me When" to the album version and the Hardfloor remix of "Filling Up With Heaven" wipes the floor with the original. There's clearly some album filler on here too and the last track could never merit its seven minute run time.

When I put my rose tinted spectacles back on, this album can transport me to the warm summer of 1995 when I was young and my future stretched out before me. Some of the songs might be a bit limp, but they are redolent of summer mornings and new beginnings. Which is along winded way of saying my assessment of this album is completely flawed. 5/5

One record at a time: 183. The Human League - Romantic?

I didn't actually own this album until April 2007 when I bought a CD from eBay. Today I also own an original 1990 pressing of the album and the clear version from the "Virgin Years" box set.

The fact that the majority of this album was produced by Mark Brydon of Moloko and Robert Gordon of Warp Records blows my mind. Of course, back in 1990 neither Mark or Robert had achieved the notoriety they have today, but it was still quite a revelation when I read the credits.

Unfortunately this album finds the band at rock bottom. Four years had passed since "Crash" and they now found themselves completely out of step with current trends.

Quite how anachronistic the band were at this time is illustrated by the opening track "Kiss the Future". As Philip begins to channel his inner James Brown he emits various grunts and groans which sound ridiculous. Most of the synth sounds on this track are poor and the melody is just plain bizarre.

Susan takes up vocal duties for "A Doorway?" accompanied by little more than a breakbeat and some Memorymoog organ sounds. Whilst this isn't the worst song ever recorded by The Human League, it hardly makes for an inspiring opening.

The first flash of quality comes with "Heart Like a Wheel" which sees the welcome return of Martin Rushent as producer. I've always liked this song and I even saw the video on television a few times back in the day. Yet, when released as a single it only just broke into the top 30 and signalled the end for the band at Virgin Records.

The long outdated BASS 1 preset from the Yamaha DX7 gets rolled out for "Men Are Dreamers" which also has some backing vocals that are completely off key. "Mister Moon and Mister Sun" has some unmistakable William Orbit touches that make it sound almost contemporary, but the wailing guitar drags it down. 

I'd love to have been in the meeting where the record company identified "Soundtrack to a Generation" as a single because there must have been some strong substances on offer. This song is as naive as they come and some of the lyrics are just agonising. Unfortunate producer Bob Kraushaar clearly decided that if you can't polish a turd, you might as well try to roll it in glitter.

One of the songs that struck me when I first listened to this album was "Rebound" which is quite haunting and benefits from William Orbit's mix skills. It is rumoured that "The Stars Are Going Out" was scheduled to be released as a single but was shelved when it was mauled by music critics. For once the label made the right choice and this remains an album track.

In retrospect, a cover of a Glitter Band song seems very ill advised, but in 1990 "Let's Get Together Again" was merely seen as passé rather than toxic. The songwriting powers of Jo Callis and enigmatic funk composer Jesse Rae combine to provide the final track "Get It Right This Time". Not only is this a good composition but it also benefits from the production chops of Martin Rushent. If only the rest of the album had been executed with the same level of skill. 3/5

One record at a time: 182. The Human League - Greatest Hits

I own two copes of this record and they provide a good illustration of the vagaries of grading. One record was bought from a shop and described as in "excellent" condition and the other is from eBay and described as "good." 

As you can see from the images, the gatefold of the "excellent" copy has somehow been stuck together and once I preyed it open, the sleeve ripped. I don't wish to speculate on the nature of the the sticky substance that landed on the image Joanne and Susan.

If we were to apply the record collector standard grading definitions I'd say the "good" copy from eBay is actually in very good condition. Typically it was also was much cheaper than the "excellent" one that was stuck together. Record collecting is all swings and roundabouts.

I remember when this album was released and it felt like it was signalling the end of the band. To promote the album the record company decided to release a two year old album track "Love Is All That Matters". This seems a very odd choice now, but if like me, you assumed the group were pretty much finished at the time, it seems more logical.

Most of the familiar hit singles released by the Mk II version of the band are here along with the original version of "Being Boiled". As a youth unfamiliar with Mk I of the band I thought this song stuck out like a sore thumb and I'm still not sure it fits here. Still, this is a good album that offers the band's best material from the period 1978-1988. 4/5

One record at a time: 181. The Human League - Crash

I have two copies of "Crash", the original UK release and the coloured version from 2022's "The Virgin Years" box set. 

This album is from 1986 and was (in)famously produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. As I mentioned in my review of "Hysteria", the band were really struggling with production at this point in their career and it was thought that using Jam and Lewis would provide the spark required. 

What everyone didn't seem to appreciate was that Jam and Lewis are a "production house" that control almost every aspect of the music they create. The tensions this approach created led to the break up of the band and the producers were forced to complete this record alone.

Things begin with "Money" which was written by the band, but the rhythm guitars and shrill brass stabs give it a distinctly American flavour. The change of production style is brought front and centre when the song moves into a funk influenced breakdown that sounds alien on a Human League record.

The worst song on the album is the God awful, "Swang" which is a bad song, that is badly produced and badly performed. We then move from the ridiculous to the sublime with the massive hit single "Human" which has a great melody and sympathetic production. For once the backing vocals on this track sound good but Philip is rather fragile.

For some reason the next song sees Philip in desperate need of preserves as he has, "gotta get some jam". Whilst the music for this song is better than most on the album, the lyrics are just nonsense. Things are more straight forward on "Are You Ever Coming Back?" which was written by the band but given a much more complimentary production sheen by Jam and Lewis. 

On the flip side the first track "I Need Your Loving" wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Janet Jackson album "Control". Whilst there are no additional vocalists credited on this album there is no way the backing vocals here are by Joanne and Susan. This track was released as a single and its relative failure can't have come as a surprise to anyone.

The ubiquitous E.BASS 1 from a DX7 dominates the next song "Party". The first time I heard this I could swear they were singing, "Everyone is going to Cardiff". Once you hear it there is no going back. "Love on the Run" is another attempt by the band to harness the sound of Motown but it falls well short of "Mirror Man". The irrepressible DX7 bass rolls on through "The Real Thing" which is a moderately entertaining song with some terrible vocals. Things end with the Jam and Lewis composition "Love Is All That Matters". This is an fantastic song that leaves me in the mood to forgive some of the earlier transgressions (even if Philip is trying to channel his inner James Brown with predictably bad results). This album is good in places but ultimately it is a case of trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole. 2/5

One record at a time: 180. The Human League - Hysteria

And so we come to the "difficult second album" that isn't a second album. I own two copies of "Hysteria" on vinyl: an original UK pressing and the yellow version from "The Virgin Years" box set.

Following the success of "Dare" The Human League were under considerable pressure to produce another hit album. This pressure seemed to lead to the band locking themselves up in AIR studios and doing little but argue for months on end. There is one, possibly apocryphal tale, that the band were so stymied they spend a whole week just auditioning kick drum sounds.

For some reason the band decided they didn't want to repeat the successful formula that led to "Dare" and dispensed with the services of Martin Rushent. The first producer to be drafted in was Chris Thomas but for various reasons he left the project half way through. It was left to Hugh Padgham to take the half finished multi-tracks and a dysfunctional band and make a record. Yet both Thomas and Padgham are most famous for working with rock acts and their involvement has always struck me as a mismatch. With such a problematic gestation, it is no wonder the end product was so disappointing.

The opening track "I'm Coming Back" has a whiff of "Don't You Want Me" in the chorus but it is far less successful than its illustrious predecessor. The faltering nature of this record is best illustrated by "I Love You Too Much" which was originally produced by Martin Rushent and released on the North American album "Fascination!" The version presented here retains Rushent's original Linn LM1 programming but dispenses with the electronic percussion and churning synths and replaces them with a maudlin pad sound. I can only describe the approach as an "audio smear" which robs the songs of its dynamics and makes it less engaging. 

If using rock producers weren't incongruous enough, the band now decide to cover seventies funk song "Rock Me Again & Again & Again (6 times)". There have been several occasions when Philip has tried to record with an American funk/soul affectation and it turns out badly every time. The whole thing is just an auditory car crash.

The single "Louise" sounds a bit sparse but there is enough melody to carry it along. The big hit single "The Lebanon" is a pulsing composition that uses the Lebanese civil war as its subject matter. I read somewhere that the bass guitar on this track was sampled into various AMS DMX units and triggered manually; an indication of how over thought this album was. Yet, as Phil was using a Synclavier II at the time of this album, I think it much more likely that this was used.

The second side kicks off with "Betrayed" which sounds naive and a bit like someone doing an impression of The Human League rather than the band themselves. I'm sure there is a good song somewhere within "The Sign" but the execution is so bad it's hard to tell. "So Hurt" is another limp pop song propped up by Ian Burden's bass and the familiar Linn drum machine. History tells us the drum programming for single "Life On Your Own" took a whole week and whilst there are lots of other nice touches that make this an entertaining track, you can't help think it was a little overthought. The final track "Don't You Know I Want You" is a fittingly disappointing finale that only serves to show off the presets in their new Yamaha DX7 .2/5

One record at a time: 179. The Human League - Fascination!

"The Human League: The Virgin Years" box set includes a copy of the North American release "Fascination!". I'm guessing that this record is included as it provides a convenient way of presenting non-album material from the band's commercial peak. 

This compilation is a product of a time when music wasn't released globally and the output of an artist varied from territory to territory. In order to release material available in other countries, record labels would sometimes make unique compilations. Examples include "In Depth" by Pet Shop Boys which was produced by EMI Japan, "People are People" by Depeche Mode which was made by their American record company Sire or even "Yesterday and Today" by The Beatles.

This particular compilation kicks off with the extended version of "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" which made for a catchy and memorable single. This track represented something of a change of sound for the band with Ian Burden's classic bass guitar adding to the synth and vocals.

"Mirror Man" was the follow up single to the phenomenally successful "Don't You Want Me" and we are presented with the familiar single mix here. I seem to recall Philip revealed the song was written about Adam Ant but my memory may be defective. Regardless of the subject matter this is a great tune that somehow harnesses electronic instruments to give a new take on the Motown sound. I don't like Motown much, but I do like this.

Next up are two b-sides that hadn't previously been released in North America: "Hard Times" and "You Remind Me of Gold". "I  Love You Too Much" was re-recorded for the next album "Hysteria", but this original version produced by Martin Rushent is much more compelling. Things finish off with the "Improvisation" mix of "(Keep |Feeling) Fascination" which was originally released on the 12" single in the UK and Europe. This mix is akin to the dub mixes featured on the "Love and Dancing" remix album and makes a fine ending. 4/5

One record at a time: 178. The Human League - Love and Dancing

Whilst this record is credited to The League Unlimited Orchestra, I consider it to be The Human League's fourth album. Here I am playing an original copy of the album from 1982 which is in very good condition.

As I've mentioned in these posts before, there were lots of remix albums in the eighties, but along with "Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing", this album is a progenitor. Remix albums were such a new phenomenon in 1982 that they even felt they had to add the following text to the sleeve, "This Album contains instrumental versions of previously released songs by The Human League specially remixed and produced by Martin Rushent". 

The album starts with the "Instrumental Remix" of b-side "Hard Times" which was previously included on the 12" single of "Love Action (I Believe In Love)". This mix has a great bassline which drops off just before it becomes annoying and there are various synth squiggles and vocal lines flying in and out to keep things interesting. 

The running order of the "Love Action" single is reversed and the instrumental remix of the title track comes next with its dubby drum delays and edits. "Don't You Want Me" is a bit too long but has some great effects that might be considered standard now, but were difficult to execute in the early eighties.

One of the more extreme remixes on the album is "Things That Dreams Are Made Of" which is stripped back to its Linn LM-1 rhythm and each element of the backing track given a moment in the spotlight. These 'dub mixes' are a bit like peeling back the layers of an onion - they reveal elements of the original song that you may not have heard or fully appreciated before. The version of "Do Or Die" sounds much faster than the album version and is a little bit messy. The tempo does relent a little bit for the remix of "Seconds" but the delay unit is still getting a severe workout. The last three songs are all under three minutes in length so songs like "Open Your Heart" and "Sound of the Crowd" don't quite get the same room to breathe as earlier tracks. Whilst some of the aural gymnastics and edits may not sound as impressive today as they did in 1982, this album is both entertaining and culturally significant. 4/5

One record at a time: 177. The Human League - Dare

Whilst the reasons for the break up of the original band are variously documented, they remain strangely opaque. Whatever skulduggery that brought about in the line up changes, there is no doubt the version of the band that produced "Dare" in 1981 were not the earnest young men writing songs about Philip K Dick novels and clowns on drugs. 

This album is something of a landmark in the history of The Human League but also synth-pop in general.  Suddenly Philip is singing about love and relationships in a way that would never have been allowed in The League Mk 1. Whilst Susan and Joanne were probably the most striking visual change to the line up, the addition of Ian Burden and Jo Callis carried most impact on the songwriting. The final piece in the puzzle was producer Martin Rushent who seemed to be able to wrangle electronic instruments to craft perfect pop.

I own an original UK pressing of this record from 1981 and a blue vinyl which was included in the "Virgin Years" box set from 2022. As you can see in the photo, the forty year old copy is looking a little bit grubby and has a few light scratches here and there. The new record is pristine and sounds pretty good to say it is on coloured vinyl.

Opening track "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of" made a big impression on me when I first bought this album on CD. Whilst this song wasn't released as a single it was somehow familiar to me and I thought the synth used on the chorus was amazing. Even though these songs use the Linn LM1 drum machine, Rushent makes it sound infinitely better than on contemporary releases by bitter rivals Heaven 17.

Listening to this album also reminds me of the night I found myself in a nightclub on a "Student Night" where they seemed to play nothing but dismal indie or grunge. Quite what kept me in the club I can not say, but sometime around 01:00 am the DJ suddenly dropped "Open Your Heart". At this point the indie brigade vacated the dance floor and those of us who had been pulling faces in the shadows emerged into the light. The DJ took note of our validation and continued to play dance and electronic music to a sea of happy smiling faces. If only for one night this song fought the good fight and proved that the world didn't revolve around Nirvana in 1992. For that reason alone I will always love "Open Your Heart".

The song that signalled the commercial breakthrough of The Human League was "The Sound of Crowd". The version presented here is a remix with a new bassline but it remains a perfect brooding pop single that has stood the test of time. The next song "Darkenss" sounds like two different songs that have been welded together but the melodies are memorable and it's great to hear Jo Callis on backing vocals. "Do or Die" is a playful number with my favourite lyric on the album: "I'd like to leave, so would you kindly look the other way".

The second side opens with a bizarre, but mercifully short version of the theme to the film "Get Carter" which along with, "I am the Law" make a nice change of pace. Any song that centres on the assassination of President Kennedy has the potential to be pretty disastrous but "Seconds" is both respectful and entertaining. An insistent Linn drum machine and Roland Jupiter 4 propel "Love Action (I Believe In Love)" to dizzying heights of synth pop perfection. Just as you think this album can't get any better you hear the final track "Don't You Want Me" and realise this album is an embarrassment of riches. 5/5

One record at a time: 176. The Human League - Travelogue

"Travelogue" is the second album by The Human League and here I am playing the 2016 180g repressing. As with "Reproduction", this album was made by a different line up to the one that exists today and sits in a kind of limbo. This album wasn't included in the recent "Virgin Years" box set and the current band don't play these songs live (although Heaven 17 played the album its entirety for its 40th anniversary).

The album starts in the same vein as the first with nonsensical space-age lyrics sung over the clacking analogue synths. There's a very enjoyable version of Mick Ronson's "Only After Dark" which only needs a kick drum to be perfect.

Another highlight for me is the magical instrumental "Toyota City" which draws on the influences of Bowie, Eno and the band Japan to great effect. But nothing else on this album really catches the ear in the same way.  

"Crow and a Baby" sounds like a prototype version of "The Sound of the Crowd" and there's a sub-par re-recording of their first single "Being Boiled". The rest of the album consists of a cover of the theme tune to a TV commercial and various unremarkable attempts at synth pop. I have a CD version of this album which features some contemporary non-album singles and the rather funky "I Don't Depend n You", but none of this is included on the vinyl.

The relative commercial failure of this album caused some anxiety within Virgin Records and a split of the band was engineered to try to garner more sales. As the next post will reveal, the plan succeeded. 2/5

One record at a time: 175. The Human League - Reproduction

This is the debut album by The Human League which was originally released in 1979. I own a copy of the 180g repressing from 2016 which sounds clear and has no surface noise or other issues. Purists may note that this record uses the 'remixed' masters which omit the sound effects heard on the original pressing.

I'm not really sure if Philip, Joanne and Susan regard this album as part of their oeuvre nowadays as it wasn't included in the recent "The Virgin Years" box set. However, they have played tracks like "The Path of Least Resistance" and "Empire State Human" live so it must be considered canon in some way. 

To me this record sounds rather naive and certain sources would have us believe that this is because it was created at a time when electronic music was in its infancy. Yet by 1979 Kraftwerk had already released the highly polished "The Man Machine", Daniel Miller had created the seminal "T.V.O.D." and people like Jarre and Vangelis were nearing their commercial peak. 

I think it is probably more accurate to say that the sound of this album is driven by something more fundamental: money (or lack thereof). Martyn Ware himself has pointed out that some of his contemporaries could afford much better equipment and were able to create better sounding records as a result. There are a lot of good ideas and strong melodies on this album, but the band didn't quite have the resources to polish their creations. Martyn Ware also suggests producer Colin Thurston diluted the sound of the band in what was his first outing as a producer.

"Almost Medieval" dates back to the very earliest days of the group and is a tangled tale about moving back in time. Much like early Heaven 17 material, this song doesn't flow and stutters along whilst Phil sings couplets like, "Jump off the tarmac there's no stagecoach speed limit. Outside the office hangs the man on the gibbet."

"Circus of Death" was originally a b-side but is presented here as a new mix which incorporates a few edits to reduce the running time. Once again Phil spouts some contrived sci-fi themed lyrics as Ian and Martyn tinker away with their synthesisers. The next two tracks "The Path of Least Resistance" and "Blind Youth" continue to deliver stuttering, angular rhythms set against ridiculous lyrics such as, "Dehumanisation, Is such a big word, It's been around since, Richard The Third."

In his autobiography, Martyn says "The World Before Last" sounds weak compared to the version they played live at the time, but I think this track is amongst the best on the album. Another stand out track is the single "Empire State Human" which was a concerted effort to create a hit single that failed. 

One the b-side, "Morale...You've Lost That Loving Feeling" is not a track I enjoy. Whilst I know the band members found inspiration in blue eyed soul and R&B, it isn't a passion I share. I'm not sure where each of the two original compositions included in the medley "Austerity / Girl One" begin and end, but there are some really interesting ideas in here. Things end with the accelerating tempo of "Zero as a Limit" which lacks melody and is a bit of a disappointing end. 2/5

Literary disppointments

I'm reading two books at the minute. Both are related to electronic music and both are pretty poor.

I imagined "Computer World" by Steve Tupai Francis to be a detailed discourse on the album of the same name by Kraftwerk. In reality this book is yet another biography of the band that rehashes the same old sources and tells the same tales.

In fairness, I think my opinion of this book suffers because I am reading it immediately after devouring Karl Bartos's memoir "The Sound of the Machine – My Life in Kraftwerk and Beyond" which contains valuable insight and fascinating stories about the creation of the album. I can recommend the Bartos book without hesitation.

It's a similar position with the second book "The Human League and the Sheffield electro scene" which I am reading soon after finishing Martyn Ware's autobiography.

There's nothing new in the book's examination of the songs and things feel rote compared to Ware's analysis. The author repeatedly refers to Sheffield as a "small city" and seems to regard the subject matter with mild disdain. This book feels like a commission rather than a labour of love. When I read about the influence of "Eileen Derbyshire" who worked for the "Doctor Who Sound Workshop" (p41) the credibility of the author evaporated completely.

Whilst it may make sense to the author to include an examination of Heaven 17 material until the release of "How Men Are", his decision to stop at this point feels arbitrary. The assertion that The Human League and Heaven 17 became "too divergent" at this point doesn't make sense. Both bands were set on very different courses from the moment Phil and Virgin Records fired Martyn and made an all out assault on the charts. I also think the approach of this book is quite disrespectful to Heaven 17 who merit a book of their own rather than being rolled up as an adjunct.

Into the blue: a loved track

OK. So what happened in 2005 that was so important? Pope John-Paul II died. Tony Blair was returned as Prime Minister. The Live 8 concerts were held. Some wacko surgeons in France performed the first face transplant and we decided to put Saddam Hussein on trial. Strangely none of these events have left a mark on me and never enter my daily life. So if nothing of extreme importance happened to me in this year, why in the name of God did I miss the release of the Heaven 17 album “Before After”?

You may find this a curious statement; so let me explain.

I like music, more specifically I love electronic music and I adore good electronic music above almost anything else. I have ‘loved’ 123 tracks on last.fm and they are all worthy of this accolade. However, few are more admirable than the 124th and latest selection: “Into The Blue” by Heaven 17. Whilst this track was released 7 years ago, I only heard it in the last few weeks and I can't explain why this should be.

Martyn and Glenn. Nobody is sure where Ian is.

Heaven 17 were always The Human League’s weirder half brothers and nobody pretends they sold anything like the same number of records. But then they never really set out to be especially commercial. Heaven 17 seemed to record the music they liked and waited for the rest of the world to catch up. Like many others I never really did catch up and left them behind in the early 90’s – dance music exploded and I got lost in 'The White Room'.

In the new millennium I delved into the electronic music that influenced me and the dance music I had become enamoured with. Yet Heaven 17's more recent work seem to have remain at arms length and “Before After” went un-purchased. It turns out it was my loss.

A recent buying spree (yes, CD’s not mp3s) saw me purchase the missing albums from Heaven 17's back catalogue. Ironically, the album "Before After" consists largely of dance music that sounds ten years out of date for 2005 but is actually pretty damn good when I put my rose tinted spectacles on in 2012. There are many good tracks on this album but I am consistently drawn to “Into the Blue” like a moth to a flame. It's difficult to define what draws us to one song in particular. I'm sure some will listen to the track and wonder why I would become so obsessed by it. I could see why you may think it is a one trick pony and is nothing without Glenn's sampled "doo wap" refrain. But I don't care: it's my new "You Grow More Beautiful". Bliss.

Credo is a credit to the league

The Human League’s “Credo” is a welcome return from obscurity. Having been severely disappointed by 2001’s “Secrets” (I’ve played it 3 times at most) I wasn’t expecting much following a 10 year hiatus - but “Credo” delivers some great moments. “Breaking the Chains” “Sky” and “Get Together” are really good tracks that highlight the cohesive and minimalistic style of producers I Monster. The majority of tracks are well produced and interesting with some real moments of genius.

However you would have thought that Oakey would have learned. Ever since we suffered the butt clenchingly bad lyric “Before he leaves the camp he stops, He scans the world outside, and where there used to be some shops, is where the snipers sometimes hide” I have prayed for The Human League to get some help writing lyrics. Alas, “Credo” continues in the same vain as its predecessors: “”Put on your best frocks and blouses, time to go out from your houses, must we creep round like the mouses?” What????? 

Putting the lyrical clunks aside, I am really pleased that at least one electronic ‘old school’ (I refuse to pigeon hole anyone as an 80’s group) band can still make a decent record that I don’t begrudge having paid money for. Blancmange take note.