One record at a time: 158. The Grid - Electric Head

The Grid's debut, "Electric Head" was released at a time when dance music was beginning to infiltrate the mainstream and become the driving force in electronic music.

This move towards dance music was personified by band member Dave Ball who formed The Grid with producer and DJ Richard Norris following the demise of Soft Cell. It's crazy to think now that this album only came out nine years after "Tainted Love" dominated the charts. Nine years seemed an eternity in my youth, now it passes in the blink of an eye.

I first bought this album on CD in 1992. Having heard (and bought) the single "Figure of 8" I decided to buy this album in the hope of finding something similar. Whilst this album isn't as dance orientated as later efforts, it doesn't lack in imagination or groove.

The opening track "One Giant Step" is a ride through sweeping special effects, piano riffs and samples of astronauts that builds to a satisfying crescendo. "Are You Receiving" is a more laid back and hypnotic track that immediately demonstrates this album is not a one trick pony.  Similarly diverse is "Islamatron" which weds Kraftwerk style beats with Islamic chants to great effect. 

"The Driving Instructor" is a bit of a disappointing and sparse song that features a vocal by Richard Norris. Richard's vocals aren't bad, but equally I can see why this trend didn't extend beyond this album. Whilst "A Beat Called Love" is pure catchy pop, the disappointing verses point to why it wasn't a hit single back in 1990. The synth spotters will notice lots of Korg M1 sounds on this record with the choir patches, piano, finger snap, pan flute and voice wave presents the most obvious.

The press release correcting the release date

One of my favourite tracks is "Intergalactica" which is a hard driving dance track with some great Roland SVC350 vocoder vocals by Richard. Unfortunately, Richard's natural vocal on "This Must Be Heaven" isn't quite as good and it's easy to hear this was recorded in the days before auto-tune. "Doctor Celine" is a bizarre song that moves between synth-pop and weird passages of noisy guitars but it remains entertaining. "Strange Electric Sun" is a jaunty number with another fragile but endearing vocal by Richard.

The highlight of the album, and the track that probably brought many listeners to the record in the first place, is the classic "Floatation". This song is somehow downtempo and driving at the same time. The synths soar as a wonderful clarinet solo fills the air before falling away too soon. Whilst the CD and cassette feature a bonus track not on the LP, it is nothing more than a drone type ambient piece that holds little interest.

I bought my copy of the vinyl from eBay in 2017 and it came with a "Promotional Copy Only Not For Sale" sticker on the back and contained a letter stating the release date for the record had been delayed from 1st October 1990 to the 22nd. Wikipedia and Discogs give the seemingly incorrect release date but I can't face changing it and having to argue with the self appointed guardians of truth and justice that seem to moderate such websites. We dear reader will hold the secret. 4/5

One record at a time: 157. Goldfrapp - Silver Eye

I'd love to tell you that this review is based upon years of listening to this album and that I have exercised due diligence in considering all of its virtues and foibles. However, this is not true.

I bought this clear vinyl when the album was released in 2017 and I have listened to it precisely once. I have subsequently revisited a couple of tracks that initially caught my ear as mp3 files, but I think it would be fair to say this record has, up to this point, made very little impression upon me.

As I play the album now I am very impressed by the opening track "Anymore" which is both catchy and pretty funky too - I seem to remember this is the highlight of the album. The title of the album is derived from the lyrics to the second track "Systemagic" which has a great tune and some fabulous vocal harmonies from Alison. Things slow down for the deep blistering tones of "Tigerman" and its superb synth textures. This may not be the best composition ever recorded but the production is perfect. 

With some of Goldfrapp's previous albums I always got the feeling I'd heard the songs before. "Black Cherry" opened the door but some of the subsequent releases were a mere recreation. With songs like "Become the one" things feel a little more innovative and interesting again. 

"Faux Suede Drifter" is dull and sounds like it belongs on the previous album. The observant amongst you will have noticed we have, once again, skipped an album in the Goldfrapp back catalogue. I don't own "Tales of us" on vinyl as I am not keen on these tracks that are vocalised without real words. As an exceptional talent, Liz Fraser can get away with it, but it doesn't work here.

"Zodiac Black" is a song best enjoyed by more ardent fans and is a disappointing start to the second side. However the instrumentation and production of "Beast That Never Was" is truly remarkable and lifts an average composition to a higher plane. "Everything is Never Enough" employs some of the naive sounds of early eighties artists such as Soft Cell, but it drags on a bit too long. By the time we reach "Moon of Your Mouth" it feels like the ideas are running a bit thin and whilst "Ocean" tries to deliver an epic Depeche Mode style finale it doesn't quite succeed. So this album definitely deserves more than the cursory listen I have given it, but it isn't amongst my favourites. 2.5/5

One record at a time: 156. Goldfrapp - Headfirst

Here I will be listening to a 2017 180g repressing of "Head First". In terms of the Goldfrapp back catalogue, we have skipped "Seventh Tree" as I regard it as pretentious swaddle that I wasn't prepared to buy on vinyl.

Happily "Head First" is a good album that dispenses with the artistic statements and concentrates on delivering eighties tinged synth pop.

The first single from this album, "Rocket" seemed to be everywhere back in 2010 and its infectious melody and sing along lyrics were perfect. There is a Richard X remix of this track that is also fantastic. This is a seriously catchy song.

Two more singles follow in the form of "Believer" and "Alive" which remain in the upbeat retro style of the opening - all be it with guitar smeared across the latter. "Dreaming" almost sounds like peak Giorgio Moroder with its seventies tubular bells and pulsing synth lines. The title track is an upbeat affair that has a good dollop of ABBA (don't let that put you off), a sprinkle of ELO and a touch of  Erasure: a more heady mix you could not ask for.

When you're confronted with an album full of shiny pop songs, you need something to offer respite and contrast. This is why I like "Hunt" as it builds an atmosphere without being over complicated (and it uses synth toms, so what's not to like). "Shiny and Warm" falls back into the seventies tinged sound of the "Supernature" album with predictably mediocre results. "I Wanna Life" is essentially a rehash of "Rocket" and "Voicething" is the kind of self indulgent rubbish that proliferated on the previous album. I'd summarise this album as having a very good start before a disappointing ending. 3/5

One record at a time: 155. Goldfrapp - Supernature

This copy of Goldfrapp's third album is pressed on 'translucent' green vinyl and was released in 2020 as part of BMG's ongoing exploitation of the Mute back catalogue.

I bough this album on CD back in 2005 and found it less satisfying that its predecessor. Whereas "Black Cherry" sounded effortless and innovative, "Supernature" sounds contrived and overtly commercial.

Lead single "Ooh La La" sounds like seventies glam rock recorded on a Minimoog, but it somehow became a top 5 hit in the UK. Second track "Lovely 2 C U" fails as it is twee and pretentious. "Ride a White Horse" resurrects the TR-909 beats but Alison's vocal sounds like she stuffed cotton wool in her cheeks like Marlon Brando in The Godfather. 

One of the highlights of the album is "You Never Know" which drops the four on the floor beats and features lush synth washes alongside amazing orchestral swells. "Let It Take You" is a downtempo plod that proves a good counterpoint to the much superior melodies of "Fly Me Away". As good as the next two tracks, "Slide In" and "Koko" are, the constant barrage of sawtooth waves is beginning to grate on me a little. There is some sonic variety on "Satin Chic" which is also the band's favourite on the album. The song is OK but it sounds a bit like a homage to Sparks.

There is another more ambient track in the form of "Time Out From the World" which provides welcome relief from the pounding beats. The single "Number 1" sounds a bit like a rehash of "Ooh La La", but it does improves on things. The album rounds out with the inconsequential "Beautiful" which continues the trend of seventies glam rock style rhythms and rasping sawtooth patches. This isn't a bad album and you couldn't wish for anything more electronic; but it sounds forced and formulaic in places. When it is good, this record is very good. When it is bad.....2.5/5

One record at a time: 154. Goldfrapp - Black Cherry

This copy of Goldfrapp's second album "Black Cherry" is pressed on purple vinyl and sounds very good indeed. When it was released in 2019 I assumed this was a limited pressing and felt lucky to own a copy. The fact that you can still buy this record today for £15 is testament to the skills of the marketing team at BMG. 

I have never felt the same compulsion to buy debut album "Felt Mountain" as it is both relatively expensive and not as suited to my taste. I find Goldfrapp very hard to pin down: they are capable of producing the most sublime and enchanting music yet are equally capable of serving up dross with lyrics like, "Titties that live on and on forever". 

For me the trouble is there's a bit too much pretentiousness going on. I went to see this band live in 2010 and as we entered the venue the doormen were shouting, "The artist has requested that nobody take pictures tonight. No pictures during the performance". 

This whiff of artistic temperament caused a ripple of discontent amongst the crowd: we had paid our money and expected a pound of flesh in return. As it turned out, most people ignored the instruction and took pictures anyway (including myself). The punishment for ignoring the artist's instruction was metered out via the PA which was turned up to 11 in an attempt to deafen us. I've been going to gigs for over 30 years but this remains the loudest I have ever heard.

Whilst some of the details of this incident might be exaggerated, the core elements reinforce the notion that Goldfrapp consider themselves as "artists" and not mere musicians. Whilst they have a tendency to take themselves too seriously and go off the rails, that isn't the case with this album.

The record opens with the excellent "Crystalline Green" which pulses with analogue synths and sweeping effects. Alison sings some perfect top lines as Will builds the backing track into a soaring colossus - this is nothing like the previous album "Felt Mountain".

"Train" is a monster of a track that left me a changed man when I heard it live at the afore mentioned concert. One day last summer my eldest daughter was complaining about the incessant sound of crickets chirping in the fields; but thanks to "Train" I don't hear much above 2,000 Hz and was immune. But make no mistake, this is a great song.

"Black Cherry" is a nice change of pace and features some great orchestration alongside the synths and downtempo beats. The driving synths are reintroduced by "Tiptoe" which bleeps along with the kind of perfection only achieved by people on top of their game. Side one finishes with "Deep Honey" which is more akin to the ambient sound of the first album and reminds me very much of Portishead (a group that band member Will has been associated with in the past).

My favourite track is "Hairy Trees" which has a great hook and an etherial quality that really appeals to me. We get some TR-909 beats alongside the squelchy synths on "Twist" but unfortunately Alison indulges in her occasional penchant for nonsensical and frankly bizarre lyrics.

I originally bought this album on CD in 2003 based upon a TV performance of the next track "Strict Machine". Whilst familiarity means this track has has lost some of its initial impact, it remains a great piece of electronic music. The last two tracks are a little disappointing but they don't detract from the majesty of what has gone before too much. 4/5

One record at a time: 153. Glass Candy - B/E/A/T/B/O/X

Sometime in 2009 I was watching "Bronson", a biographical film about British criminal Charles Bronson. In the film there was a scene that featured some great music and a quick Google search led me to the track "Digital Versicolor" by Glass Candy and its parent album "B/E/A/T/B/O/X". 

I think I must have only acquired the mp3 files of the album at the time as this clear vinyl didn't come into my collection until 2013. I bought this record in the flagship HMV store at 363 Oxford Street in London (now sadly closed). As this historic shop had recently re-opened I was keen to mark my visit with a purchase, but I was struggling to find much of interest until I stumbled across this. Discogs says this is a US import (not sure if that is correct) and was limited to 3,000 copies. 

Ultimately there is nothing else on this album that quite matches the electroclash perfection of "Digital Versicolor" but "Beatific" and "Life After Sundown" come a close second. "Candy Castle" is another dance floor friendly jaunt that proves to be very entertaining. "Etheric Device" and the instrumental "Last Nite I Met A Costume" provide some contrast to the more dance orientated material and "Rolling Down The Hills" is a commendable 70's funk pastiche. 

Only the seven minute cover version of Kraftwerk's "Computer Love" disappoints. Cover versions that tend to succeed offer a radical reinterpretation of a song or remould it in the distinct style of the artist recording it. Think of Pet Shop Boys "Always On My Mind", Michael Andrews and Gary Jules "Mad World", Soft Cell "Tainted Love" or even Johnny Cash "Hurt". Unfortunately Glass Candy's take on "Computer Love" is just a limp retelling of the same story that was perfected on the original. But if we put this weak cover to one side, this is a good album. 3/5

One record at a time: 152. Genesis - Abacab

I find looking for vinyl in charity shops a very depressing experience. Oxfam and the like seem to be dumping grounds for dead people's records and I don't like to think of my collection eventually languishing alongside endless unwanted copies of "The Sound of Bread".

Anyway, sometime this spring I found myself leafing through the usual selection of Perry Como, James last and Dean Martin records and was surprised to find this copy of "Abacab" for about £2. I'm not a massive Genesis fan but the surprise of finding something half decent led to an impulse purchase.

Another reason for buying this record was that I had just read Phil Collins's autobiography and wanted to hear a little of the music he talked about in the book. I was familiar with most of the band's later hits, but this phase where they crossed from prog rock to pop was new to me.

The title track opens with a pulsing synth bassline and is augmented by an organ and stabs from a Prophet 5. This intro suggests this isn't a conventional 'band in a room' recoding and there may actually be something of worth on here. This song is catchy in places and ticks along quite nicely. As I remember, "Abacab" is a nonsensical phrase that was an invention of the band. So essentially I've just spent seven minutes of my life listening to a song about nothing.  

One thing I've learned from listening to various podcasts and reading Phil Collins' autobiography is that he was a bit obsessed by using horn sections in the eighties. "No Reply at All" features horns, guitar and some strangely incongruous TR-808 claps. The song is OK but it seems to stutter along and doesn't ever really get going. "Me and Sarah Jane" uses the CR-78 for percussion for the first minute or so before the acoustic drums come back in. The chords on this track are initially reminiscent of The Beatles before things go off the rails in a confused ball of reggae and prog rock.

For whatever reason I hate the opening riff to "Keep It Dark". I can't put my finger on why I don't like this track but it offends my ears. "Dodo/Lurker" instantly screams 'prog rock' before it too slips into a vague reggae groove that takes too long to end. "Who Dunnit?" is an awful slice of repetitive album filler that is best left ignored. "Man on the Corner" heralds the sound of Phil Collins as a solo artist and "Like it or Not" is palatable without being good. Things close with "Another Record" which is a bit vanilla and passes by without making much impression. At least it only cost me two pounds. 1/5