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