His records never troubled the charts in a massive way, but he did pull off a dream many of us had while still rearranging our cassette collections and promising ourselves we’d “make it one day”. Dave started as a bedroom muso with ambitions of releasing records and, rather than waiting for a fairy god-producer to knock, he went out and made it happen. It also helps that he’s talented, which is an irritatingly useful trait in a musician.
This deluxe edition of “Future Boy” arrived in 2023 and was a far more comprehensive take than any of the previous versions that had been issued. You get a DVD featuring the promo videos for the singles plus a short live set recorded at Heaven nightclub in London, which is exactly the sort of extra that makes you feel smug about owning physical media. Because CD ruled the world in 1992, very few LPs were pressed, so original vinyl copies now cost the sort of money that makes you consider taking up a cheaper hobby, like yachting. Sensibly, this set plugs the gap with a white vinyl LP.
As for the album itself the singles, “Heaven Must Have Sent You Back To Me” and “That Loving Feeling” are easy highlights, but I’m giving the loudest applause to “Love Is Everywhere”. There are also two cracking instrumentals, “Cloud 9” and “Sonic Malfunction”, which do more than simply make up the numbers. Dave’s own favourite, “Then”, was almost picked as a single and I’ll admit I always braced myself for its gleefully unhinged lurch from tender ballad to full on techno monster.
On this new edition there's a bonus track recorded during the original sessions but left off the album, called “Pretend”. The production doesn’t quite match the polish elsewhere, so I understand why it was given the chop, but as a peek behind the curtain it’s genuinely fascinating, like finding a deleted scene that explains why a character suddenly owns a dog.
My only gripe is the closing track, “Future Generations”. Not only does it overstay its welcome but the lyrics feel a bit too contrived, and the vocal performance sounds like it could have done with a few more takes and a slightly firmer producer’s raised eyebrow. It drags the ending down, which is a shame after so much strong material.
After “Future Boy”, Cicero moved into the Eurodance sound that dominated the mid-nineties, without much luck. Despite never quite escaping the shadow of his early mentors, Dave seems to treat his association with Pet Shop Boys as a blessing and is happy to acknowledge what they taught him. Still, it would be unfair to judge him only on his output from the early nineties. His recent albums, "Today" and "For Broken Hearts", somehow sound contemporary while still paying homage to his synth-pop roots. Sadly, neither is available on vinyl, which feels like a snub to those of us who like big sleeves and small amounts of dust. It's not just nostalgia that compels me to rate this album highly. 4/5
