One record at a time: 22. Björk - Debut

Whilst I bought the original CD of this album back in 1993, I didn't own it on vinyl until 2015. I know this because I posted about acquiring some of Björk's back catalogue on coloured vinyl here. Although I've owned the record for 6 years, I have only played it once to my recollection. I haven't played it much for two reasons. 

Firstly "Debut" isn't my favourite Björk album. Although it starts strongly, it meanders off into weirdness that I can't abide. Everything is going well until we hit "Like Someone In Love" which is a fairly limp interpretation of a dull Jazz standard. Not only is this track inferior, it is also incongruous and ruins the mood that had been building. Things pick up again with a few good tracks before the disjointed mess that is "Aeroplane" sours the atmosphere and "The Anchor Song" vomits everywhere just so we are clear the party is well and truly over. You can tell I hate saxophones.

The second reason I haven't listened this record much is that I had previously played the coloured vinyl of "Post" and "Homogenic" and they had all the sonic fidelity of a hairdryer full of iron filings. Who could have predicted coloured vinyl pressed by GZ media would sound horrible? *sarcasm mode disengaged* But truth be told, this particular record doesn't sound nearly as bad as the others I own and it behaved quite well on this listen through.

Having not heard this album in a long time, I am struck by how 'nineties' it sounds with the guitar samples on "Human Behaviour" and the liberal use of organ being especially dated. My alternate version of this album would jettison "Aeroplane", "The Anchor Song" and "Like Someone In Love" and add in "Play Dead". I would also swap out "Big Time Sensuality" for the Fluke remix that made it a chart hit and substitute "There's More To Life Than This" for its non-toilet version included on the "Venus as a boy" single. It still wouldn't be perfect, but it would be a lot less disappointing than this.

Another disappointment of this re-pressing is the sleeve. I understand that record companies may not have the original artwork for a record lying around twenty years after it was released, but at least make some effort to reproduce it to a reasonable quality. The sleeves on these coloured vinyl versions look like bad scans in places and just aren't very sharp. If you consider the poor sleeve combined with the poor vinyl, it mystifies me why people are asking such high prices for these albums on Discogs and eBay. Acquiring them may have posed me some initial problems but they aren't that rare and they really aren't as desirable as you might think. 2/5

One record at a time: 21. The Beloved - Blissed Out

This is a remix compilation that followed hot on the heels of "Happiness" which was released earlier in the year. My memory of the chronology has faded over time, but I am sure the single "It's Alright Now" was released around the same time and I seem to recall receiving the cassette of this album as a Christmas present in 1990. I asked for the cassette as I had read a review of the album in "Smash Hits" which said the cassette had quite a few extra tracks - value for money was a big concern when you're only source of income was delivering newspapers. I was accustomed to CDs offering extra tracks to lure me to the new format, but cassettes were a dying breed even in 1990, so this decision didn't make sense then or now.

Anyway, the LP of this album starts with the "Happy Sexy Remix" of album track "Up, Up and Away". This is a club orientated mix with a prominent sub bassline and TR909 snares. Whilst the difference to the album version may not be startling at first, Danny Rampling delivers a much sparser mix that retains interest right to the end. The second track is one of my favourite remixes ever: "Hello (Honk Tonk)". The key to the success of this remix is that is it a completely different take on the track. Jon and Helena didn't just tinker with the original but replaced the backing track with a sample laden dance workout that compliments the vocal perfectly. There are many nice flourishes and changes of direction that mean the six minutes fly by. I have always liked "Wake Up Soon (Something To Believe In)" as it features a sample of the Eurythmics song "Greetings From A Dead Man" that I recognised instantly. Aside from giving myself marks for sample spotting, I like this mix as it moves the album version from a very eighties sounding track into something a bit more contemporary without losing its character.  

"Time After Time (Muffin Mix)" shows the pure genius Jon and Helena were capable of when remixing their own material. This version turns the original into the type of ragga dance track that was de rigueur in the early nineties. However, unlike many contemporary ragga mixes, this one hasn't aged at all. Leslie Lyrics proves to be the perfect MC with his tongue in cheek delivery and clever rhymes. Instrumental B-side "Pablo" was always a bit of disappointment to me and the club orientated dub that comes next isn't significantly different from the original. We return to more familiar ground with "The Sun Rising (Norty's Spago Mix)" which is a classic house mix by Tony Humphries. The main change here is to the drums which take on the relentless sound favoured by the early house pioneers such as Tony and Larry Heard. 

"It's Alright Now" was released as a single to promote the album and it featured several fantastic remixes that I play regularly to this day. The pick of the bunch is "Back to Basics" which builds from a sparse, acid tinged dreamscape into a hypnotic colossus. Amazing. However, things go a little awry at the end with "Your Love Takes Me Higher (Calxy of Isis)" which is a 10 minute long instrumental which centres on saucy ad libs and (presumably) fake orgasm noises contributed by a backing singer. Personally I find the mix boring and the vocals very annoying. Thus the vinyl finishes with a bit of a damp squib, but the disappointing ending shouldn't be allowed to detract too much from what has gone before. As remix albums go, you'd be very hard pressed to find a better one. 4/5

One record at a time: 20. The Beloved - Happiness

During my more formative years I played a snazzy yellow and purple TDK cassette of this album in the sixth form common room. I listened to the CD when idling away the hours at university and then whilst travelling to my first job in the early hours of the morning. I've sung along to "I Love You More" in the company of girls who never really loved me back and created a private rave in my bedroom to "Sun Rising". I've listened to this album as mp3s on my phone when walking to my office and I've played it to my children. It would be overly dramatic to say: "this album is the soundtrack to my life," but I'm not sure how else to describe it. It has always been there (well from 1990 anyway) and I have always loved it. Here I am playing an original pressing of the LP but I also have the recent remastered version and their CD equivalents.

The opening track "Hello" is a slice of late eighties pop perfection with its groovy rhythm guitar, DX7 bassline and 808 drums. The lyrics are largely just a list of people Jon is saying hello to, but in a pre-internet era, this was strangely fascinating. At the time I had no idea who the hell Little Neepsie (still no idea) or Sir Bufton Tufton were or why they were worthy of inclusion. Although not on this album, I have to mention the "Honky Tonk" remix of this track which, to my ears at least, is one of the best remixes ever created.

Whilst I clearly remember "Hello" being in the charts, it was hearing the second track "Your Love Takes Me Higher" that pushed me to buy the album. This song is an almost perfect pop/dance crossover that marries the TR909 and TB303 sounds of house music to a melodic and structured song. There are some dated orchestra hits and I've never been a fan of the female orgasm that seems to last through the middle of the song (there are even some remixes which focus solely on the orgasm that are annoying and a bit rubbish), but it remains a favourite of mine. "Time After Time" is a perfect change of pace that shows Jon and Steve aren't a one trick pony. The violins compliment the dub style bassline very well and it should have been a bigger hit. The more placid feel continues with "Don't You Worry" which sounds a bit more eighties with its D-50 "Pizzagogo" strings, but the strong melody wins the day. The first side of the LP finishes with what I consider to be the best song on the album "Scarlet Beautiful". Jon described this song on Twitter as, "The unbridled joy of 1988 compressed into four and a half minutes." This is Detroit house influenced dance pop with the greatest outro ever. It's hard to follow a track as good as this but the strength of this album is undeniable when you consider the next track you are presented with.

"The Sun Rising" wasn't a massive chart hit, but I suspect almost everyone of a certain age will recognise its infectious bassline and THAT sample. A track truly worthy of the tag "Classic". Having displayed their Balearic credentials Jon and Steve serve up a slice of frothy pop with "I Love You More". This really is a joyous song but unfortunately it elicits tinged adolescent memories for me. "Wake Up Soon" is another slower guitar based track that provides great contrast to the joyous acid frenzy that is "Up, Up and Away". The album is rounded off with "Found" which harks back to the sound of the 'old' Beloved and proves to be a fitting ending to a consistent and great album. 5/5

One record at a time: 19. Beck - Hyperspace

In 2020, I hadn't bought an album by Beck since "Odelay" in 1996, so it was going to take something special to get my attention after a gap like that. Happily "Hyperspace" was indeed a special record.

However, I have some strange and contrasting memories of this one. Originally I only downloaded this album and it was quite a long time before I got around to buying a physical copy. In fact, I bought the LP the week before the UK went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result, even the sight of the sleeve brings a tinge of melancholy. This is a shame as this is a great album with some of Beck's best songs. I seem to have acquired a cassette of this album too, which I can only assume I bought as it was cheap (much like the LP was).

The introductory track "Hyperlife" provides a gentle introduction to the fabulous "Uneventful Days" which is an absolute diamond of a song. Shimmering electronics and laconic vocals generate an enchanting dreamy pop sound that I can't resist. My only complaint is that this track is only three minutes long. It could be six minutes long and I still wouldn't tire of it. When "Saw Lightning" started for the first time my heart sank. "Oh no," I thought, "he's gone back to indie guitar stuff even if he is working with Pharrell Williams." Happily this song soon emerges from the cocoon of acoustic guitar nonsense into - if not a beautiful butterfly - at least an intriguing moth. "Die Waiting" is another one of those chilled pop songs that I can't get enough of. There's absolutely no way to improve this track (OK if you push me, I'd like synth bass in the verse instead of bass guitar) and as with "Uneventful Days", I will often go back to this track once the album has finished. The overly long "Chemical" is a bit dull in the verses but the chorus just about rescues it - still not my favourite. "See Through" has a fantastic rhythm track that gives the song an infectious R'n'B vibe and unlike the proceeding track, this song doesn't outstay it's welcome. Before we know it, side one is complete.

The title track ushers in the flip side with it's driving beat and lush strings before giving way to more ethereal pop in the form of "Stratosphere". This song sounds a bit like Air, and like all the good songs on this album, it is too short. There's a lot less synth on this song but it somehow retains a majestic, soaring quality. My vinyl seems to reveal some of the limitations of the medium on this song and it suffers from some sibilance and gentle distortion; but it doesn't detract from the song too much. With "Dark Places" the synthesizers make a welcome return (sounds like a Moog and a PPG to me) and whilst this track isn't as good as "Uneventful Days" it carries the same chillwave vibe. The next track, "Star" is a more typical Beck song and provides a great contrast to the more ambient music that surrounds it. "Everlasting Nothing" starts slowly but builds into a weird gospel tinged anthem, replete with analogue drum machine. There is a 'one man band' style reprise of "Saw Lightning" which rounds things out.

As well as this version of the album there is also a deluxe version tied to a collaboration with NASA which has some new tracks and remixes. Whilst interesting, this version of the album isn't essential and my interest is firmly with the original. The Wikipedia entry for "Hyperspace" says some critics found the album superficial and lacking the complexity of previous albums. As I missed 25 years worth of Beck albums, I'm not in a position to make comparisons, but I will say I enjoy this album very much and it sits right on the cusp of joining my top 20 albums. 4/5

One record at a time: 18. Karl Bartos - Off The Record

The next LP on the shelf is the second (and seemingly final) album by Karl Bartos. I ordered both the CD and vinyl of this album when it was released in 2013 not realising the vinyl also had a CD included. So now I have two CDs of this album. Whilst the vinyl pressing was limited to one thousand numbered copies, it doesn't command a high value on the second hand market. The fact that this album isn't highly sought after gives you an indication as to why Karl doesn't seem to release any music any more: nobody buys it.

This album is a collection of tracks that were recorded over many years but never released. Some were written whilst Karl was a member of Kraftwerk, some whilst recording as Elektric Music and some with the group Electronic. Accompanying the discs is a large booklet which provides a wealth of information about each song in Karl's own words.

The single "Atomium" is an ode to the iconic building in Brussels and features the now familiar computer voice effects Karl employs. Next up is the fabulous "Nachtfahrt" which could have been culled from any Kraftwerk album circa 1979-1983. This track is the clearest indication that the sound of Kraftwerk in the early eighties was heavily influenced by Karl. The Mellotron infused "International Velvet" is a tribute to artist Isabelle Dufresne that derives its melody from a Kraftwerk soundcheck in 1981 (I told you the booklet was good). "Without a trace of emotion" sounds like an out-take from the Elektric Music album "Esperanto" - and that's a good thing. The next rack is a short piece called "The Binary Code" which was included on a cover disc of a magazine. One of my personal favourite tracks is "Musica Ex Machina" which is based on the initial idea for the Electronic track "Imitation of Life". Whilst there are some  similarities between the two songs, this is definitely a different composition from the one released by Messrs Sumner and Marr.

"The Tuning of the World" is melancholy, brittle and strangely affecting. The instrumental "Instant Bayreuth" continues with the slower pace of the proceeding track and is recognisable as being recorded on analogue equipment. I'm less enamoured with "Vox Humana" which is a series of drum patterns from an old beatbox with scattered electronic sounds and vocal snippets. The familiar Kraftwerk Polymoog organ is coupled with the rhythm pattern from "Numbers" to create "Rhythmus" - but it doesn't quite hit the mark. "Silence" is actually 6 seconds of very quiet ambient noise which is followed by the the final track "Hausmusik". Don't expect a 'hands in the air' piano tinged dance stomper, this a song about the music people make at home and it wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Depeche Mode album "A Broken Frame". A good album that is highly recommended for Kraftwerk aficionados who will find the music, and the accompanying booklet, both fascinating and entertaining. 4/5

One record at a time: 17. Karl Bartos - Communication

As an admirer of Karftwerk (I'm not a 'fan' in the truest sense of the word), I found it only natural to buy the Karl Bartos album "Communication" when it came out in 2003. I really enjoyed this record as it was one of few truly electronic albums being released at the time. This was also one of the first CDs I remember which contained a link to download additional tracks - which I duly did over my shiny new 1 mbps broadband connection. As a bonus the CD also came in a funky 'drawer' card sleeve (no doubt it has a proper title but I have no idea what it is). I wasn't an avid consumer of vinyl in 2003 (apart from Pet Shop Boys releases) so I had to wait until the album was re-released in 2016 to acquire this remastered LP. 

Things kick off with the single "The Camera" which is a traditional Kraftwerk/Electric Music jaunt with cliched lyrics about taking a picture of the world. "I'm the Message" is a good track that uses the same computer voice that we will hear on the majority of tracks. "15 Minutes of Fame" is another single and is one of the highlights of the album for me (I must track down the CD single some time). "Reality" is a bit more contemporary and provides a nice change of timbre. The first (of many) digs at former bandmates starts with the catchy "Electronic Apeman" which remains a good song below the veneer of cynicism. The second barb is delivered with "Life" where Karl tells us he has to get on with his life; which seems a bit late to say it was recorded more than 10 years after he left Kraftwerk. But there you go.

As we flip over the vinyl I'm beginning to tire a little of Karl's continued use of the same sounds. This album employs the same sonic palette as the first Elektric Music album and, whilst it is strongly derivative of Kraftwerk, it gets a bit wearing. Don't misunderstand, it's not that I dislike the sounds, its the lack of variety that gets a little boring. Which is a bit depressing as all of the remaining songs seem to use the same patches and voice effects. I like this album but a little variety wouldn't have gone amiss. 3/5

One record at a time: 16. The Art of Noise - Noise In The City: Live In Tokyo, 1986

Record fourteen is the last LP in my collection by The Art of Noise. Despite being recorded in 1986, "Noise In The City" was only released in 2021 on CD and this limited edition white vinyl. I have mixed emotions about Music On Vinyl. Whilst they continue to nobly release music on physical formats, they don't always make the best job of it. Take the re-release of "In Visible Silence" which looked beautiful but had the sonic fidelity of a potato. 

However, the trouble here is largely the actual recordings themselves. Whilst the 'limitations of the source tape' are revealed here and there (this is the same on the digital version) my issue is more with the performances. Sometimes a live event can seem wondrous when you're there, seeing and hearing it for the first time, but it doesn't necessarily translate into a good recording. Put it this way, I can see why this album wasn't released when the band where at their commercial zenith back in 1986. The combination of live percussion, Fairlight backing tracks and terrible backing singers doesn't make for the most wondrous soundscape. The chat and introductions between songs are excruciating and raise the alarming prospect that Paul Morley may have actually brought something to the table.

Tracks such as "Eye of the Needle" "Paranoimia" and "Opus III" are frankly a mess. Whilst "Legs" and "Moments In Love" remain credible representations, its not hard to see why other electronic artists just played (or mimed - I'm looking at you M. Jarre) to a tape machine when trying to recreate their music back in the 80's. So whilst his album doesn't succeed as a listening experience, it serves as an honest historical record of the tour it was made on. And at the end of the day, I know I should be pleased that someone has taken the time to create a new release by The Art of Noise - I just wish it was better. 2/5