One record at a time: 174. Hot Chip - Freakout/Release

Last year I decided I needed to be more selective about the vinyl I purchased. This decision was partially driven by finances but also by the practical consideration of where to put all of this stuff. Therefore when Hot Chip announced their new album I decided not to pre-order it. 

Therefore, when this copy of the album arrived in the mail (complete with signed art print) soon after release, it came as something of a surprise. Someone really should take my phone off me when I have been drinking.

"Down" is based around a long sample of "More Than Enough" by Universal Togetherness Band. This track features acoustic drums and employs the over saturated vocal sound that Depeche Mode seem to love nowadays. You can tell I'm not a fan. 

"Eleanor" starts very brightly but the acoustic drums sound saggy and drag the whole thing down. "Freakout/Release" is produced by Soulwax and inevitably sounds like it could have been culled from their "Nite Versions" album. 

On the flip side "Broken" is one of the better tracks on the album as it has a lush sound and strong, almost pop, melody. "Not Alone" is a slower and more contemplative effort but it becomes a bit boring. Lyrically  "It's Hard to be Funky" is just stupid but more accomplished from a production perspective.

The second disc kicks off with "Time" which develops into a great dance number that might have befitted from coming at the start of the album. "Miss This Bliss" simply takes too long to get going and when it does gather some momentum neither the groove nor the melody are strong enough to impress. Disappointingly "The Evil That Men Do" sees the return of saturated vocals and seems to borrow the piano riff from Moby's "Honey". 

On the final side of the album "Guilty" has a strong electronic sound and enough eighties touches to be seriously impressive. In fact this is my favourite song on the album. "Out of my Depth" is yet another attempt to produce a flourish at the end of the album. This track reminds me of the sound of early Kraftwerk; all it needs is some flute to complete the sound. A fair effort but not one of their best. 2.5/5 

One record at a time: 173. Hot Chip - A Bathfull of Ecstasy

There are a few Hot Chip albums I only own on CD so we find "A Bathfull of Ecstasy" from 2019 next on the shelf. This is the standard European double album in a gatefold sleeve.

I've not listened to this album much in the last three years as I think the terrible cover and strange title might be deflecting me. The first track "Melody of Love" has a lush production that I don't normally associate with Hot Chip. Closer examination of the credits reveals this album uses external producers which may explain its added sparkle.

The seconds track "Spell" sticks more closely to the band's normal recipe and sounds strong and melodic - even if the Vocoder is a little over used. The title track is a mid-tempo R&B influenced groove that uses auto-tune on the vocals but misses the mark for me. 

When I first heard "Echo" I thought it was about to break into "The Circus" by Erasure, but as the track develops it actually becomes a nice groove with some great drum programming. I own a number of remixes of the next rack "Hungry Child" that develop it into a more immediate dance track, but the original version here is much more satisfying. This track builds the atmosphere beautifully before the beats come in and lift it to another level. Like a lot of the tracks I've heard so far there is a great groove here but I'm not sure the melodies are as strong as on previous albums.

The best song on the album may also be the best song Hot Chip have ever recorded. There's something about "Positive" that appeals to me on every level; the lyrics are the irreverent and yet touching, the drum programming is just perfect and the atmosphere created by the synth textures is sublime. 

Things slow down a little for "Why Does My Mind" and the bossa nova beats of "Clear Blue Skies" but neither are very impressive. The final track "No God" is a clear attempt to generate an epic finish but it is only partially successful. I should listen to Hot Chip more. I think I regard them as being a bit 'hit and miss', but listening to albums like this I realise they are more consistent than I recall. 3/5

One record at a time: 172. Hot Chip - One Life Stand

The release of this record coincided with both my growing appreciation for Hot Chip and a resurgent interest in vinyl. This double 200g pressing is numbered and comes with a 7" single that features a couple of bonus tracks.

This version was exclusive The Vinyl Factory who used to release a steady stream of limited edition pressings that were very finely crafted and clearly designed to appeal to collectors.

Today vinyl is no longer a niche product so most labels seem content to get GZ Media to knock out some cheap copies and count the cash. Heavyweight, numbered items like this have disappeared. They certainly don't appear on The Vinyl Factory store any more anyway. Now all their shop seems to list is sold out items, 12" singles for an eye watering £20 or obscure stuff you've heard of (and unlikely to even want to hear).

As you might expect of an album that was cut at Abbey Road and pressed on the EMI 1400 it sounds good. In fact, the first disc is an almost perfect collection of songs that must rank amongst the band's best. Unfortunately the second disc has a couple of more disappointing tracks in the form of the overly long and rather boring "Slush" and the disjointed "Alley Cats".

However "We Have Love" and the uplifting chorus of "Take It In" are quite brilliant and come close to matching the quality of the material on the first record. Neither Hot Chip nor The Vinyl Factory make records like this any more and that makes me sad. 4/5

One record at a time: 171. Heaven 17 - Naked As Advertised

To be honest, I had no idea I owned this many Heaven 17 records and at this point, I'm growing a little tired of them. Maybe this album of re-recordings is just the tonic and will let us finish off these reviews on a high.

Proceedings don't get off to the most auspicious start when the dodgy saxophone presets of "Being Boiled" emerge from the speakers. Yes, Martyn may have heard this song as a funk odyssey when he wrote it, but the Human League recording we all know and love is an electronic tour de force. This is just poor.

There is some improvement with "Geisha Boys and Temple Girls" which is given a contemporary workout that sounds pretty good. Thankfully "Temptation" leans on the original rather than the Brothers In Rhythm version, but I'm not sure it does enough different to justify its existence.

The ubiquitous "Penthouse and Pavement" finally gets the funky synth bass it always deserved but those block piano chords of the chorus annoy me intensely. Next up is a cover of The Associates song "Party Fears Two" which is quite mesmerising. I am guessing the piano performance is by programmer Keith Lowndes as it is quite accomplished; but this is just a guess. "Don't Fall" is a new track that continues the slower and more reflective style without impressing much. We get another unnecessary rendition of the terrible breakbeat version of "Fascist Groove Thing" before a more successful rendition of "We Live So Fast". 

Things finish with a new version of another Human League track "Empire State Human" which is competent without being impressive. Today was the first time I noticed that Vince Clarke is credited with programming on this track. 

This is a perfectly adequate album but I'm confused what is it supposed to be. It's not a remix album, its not a covers album and it only has one new track. I still have no idea what the album title is all about either. Another thing that disappoints me with this album is backing vocals. As good as Billie Godfrey is as a singer, her contribution sits too high in the mix and dominates Glenn at every turn. It's a shame this album isn't more focussed as there are flashes of inspiration here. 2/5

One record at a time: 170. Heaven 17 - Before After

After a nine year hiatus, Heaven 17 returned with "Before After" in 2005. This album proved to be Ian's last involvement with the group and he left soon after it was released. The version I am playing here is the coloured vinyl from the "Another Big Idea" box set from 2020.

The album gets off to a promising start with the energetic "I'm Gonna Make You Fall In Love With Me". Second track "Hand Up To Heaven" is well produced, but its too melancholy to be the uplifting dance anthem it aspires to be. The CD version of the "Another Big Idea" box set has 17 edits and remixes of these two songs but none really hit the mark.

The retro synth style of "The Way It Is" is entertaining but the backing vocals become too dominant. There are some great beats on "Freedom From Love" and Glenn's baritone is given room to breathe. There's an ill advised cover of rock classic "Don't Fear The Reaper" which comes replete with outdated plastic Korg M1 house piano. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad effort, but it lacks zest.

After all of this disappointment we are greeted with what is probably the best thing Heaven 17 have ever recorded, "Into the Blue". I love this track so much I wrote a post about it ten years ago. There is a surprising amount of guitar here but it somehow suits the mood perfectly. I can't place my finger on why I love this song so much, but it has always been a firm favourite..

Whilst the next track "Deeper and Deeper" has a great groove and some great melodic ideas it sounds dated. Next up is an embarrassing copy of "Gangsta's Paradise" called "What Would It Take" which is pretty awful. The next track "Someone for Real" represents the low water mark and you get the impression the band had run out of ideas by this point. Things improve with the final track "Are You Ready?" which is yet another competent stab at nineties dance music released ten years too late. 3/5

One record at a time: 169. Heaven 17 - How Live Is

In 1998 Erasure threw their old friend Martyn Ware a bone and invited Heaven 17 to be the support for their Cowboy tour. Up to this point, Heaven 17 hadn't played live for many years, so they decided to record the shows for posterity.

Confusingly this recording has been released under various titles including, "How Live Is", "Live at Last", "Absolutely The Best Live" and "Deluxe Heaven 17 Collection" - but they all have the same content.

I'll be upfront and say that this is one of the cheesiest live albums you are ever likely to hear and I only own it because it was included in the box set "Another Big Idea".

Whilst this isn't a total car crash, the crowd is clearly overdubbed and no matter how enthusiastically Glenn may shout between songs, there is absolutely no atmosphere in the recording. The music and vocals are competently recreated but everything sounds flaccid and lifeless.

The highlights are the Brothers In Rhythm arrangement of "Temptation" and a faithful rendition of "Come Live With Me" but the breakbeat version of "Fascist Groove Thing" is a confused mess that comes nowhere near to the Big Beat sound it aspired to. There's an ill advised stab at "Let's All Make A Bomb" and The Human League's "Being Boiled" is butchered live on stage. 

The sleeve notes say that nothing the band created between 1984 and 1996 could be moulded into the electronic sound they were looking for, so we are presented with a 45 minute set culled from their first two albums and their then current offering "Bigger Than America". On this evidence the other songs had a lucky escape. 1/5

One record at a time: 168. Heaven 17 - Bigger Than Americs

Ultimately this version of "Bigger Than America" is a demonstration of how successful Record Store Day is as a marketing tool. This orange tinted vinyl was released as part of the annual eBay scalpers event in 2019 and it was the only vinyl pressing available at the time. As with all Record Store Day releases, we are made to feel these records would only be available for a short period and in limited quantities. 

Yet in reality there were lots of these records pressed and you can still pick it up cheaply today. To add insult to injury, another vinyl pressing was included in the "Another Big Idea" box set the following year; so now I own it twice.

For some reason the vinyl has a different sleeve to the CDs released in 1996. The images in the artwork repeat the same ideas as "Penthouse and Pavement" by portraying the band as businessmen or diplomats engaged in international affairs. Whilst his album also continues the band's obsession of appropriating soul/R&B motifs, this time it tries to marry them to a more refined brand of synth-pop than they were capable of in 1981.

Today, this album has something of a dated nineties sound. The high pitched bass drum on single "We Blame Love" sounds like that used by Snap! on "Welcome To Tomorrow" or "Get-a-way" by Maxx - both of which were released two years prior. The backing vocals on the album are provided by Angie Brown who is probably best known for singing on some of Bizarre Inc.'s biggest hits and almost every song has a dance friendly beat. In fact this album is probably the first time Heaven 17 consistently employed strong beats and basslines on a recording. The annoying slap bass and session musicians of the eighties have been dispensed with leaving an album that returns the band to their synth-pop roots.

Whilst of its time, this record is well produced and imaginatively realised. One thing I have noticed about Heaven 17 records is that you don't hear any synth presets; everything is crafted by the band. Generally these songs are pretty good with only the awful "Big Dipper" pulling things down with verses that sound like a bad poem written by an angry teenager.

Contemporary reviews of this album were not kind and it sold poorly. Whist this isn't exactly an album full of hits it deserved better than to be ignored. This record probably had no promotional budget and poor distribution; I certainly wasn't aware of its existence in 1996 and I probably would have bought it given the opportunity. Still, I own it twice now. 3/5