Liam’s Liner Notes Volume 15

Liam Carey reviews

LIAM’S LINER NOTES
V o l u m e # 1 5 2 7 A u g u s t 2 0 0 3

NOT NEEDED

There was a time when new Depeche Mode singles were something of an event. Not necessarily chart-wise, as between 1985 and 1993 the majority of them rose no higher than the mid-teens at best, but for those seeking a challenging alternative to the era’s dominant chart fodder. Eventually, the band’s loyal fanbase earned them regular Top 10 debuts during the 90s, but as with peers New Order they produced their most effective work in the previous decade. For years, nobody else sounded like Depeche Mode; the pop scene would embrace the charms of Culture Club, Wham!, Bros and the Stock Aitken Waterman hit machine, but Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher, Alan Wilder and Dave Gahan continued in the pursuit of an increasingly dark and rhythmically dense approach. The results – underrated gems including Shake The Disease, Stripped, Strangelove and Never Let Me Down Again – were always fascinating, and it seemed as though the band could do no wrong.

Having seen U2 appropriate some of their sonic ballast, Depeche Mode upped the ante with 1993’s Songs Of Faith And Devotion, an album borne amid some serious hedonism and followed by an equally lively, and well-documented tour that almost destroyed them. Wilder departed, Gore and Fletcher recuperated, Gahan underwent rehabilitation from a chronic drug addiction. Ever since then, something has been missing from the various releases connected to the band. Ultra, the 1997 album, boasted a brace of fine singles (It’s No Good, Home) but little else. Its lacklustre, subdued feel also blighted the even less consistent Exciter in 2001, creating the suspicion that Alan Wilder’s input was more crucial than anyone had realised.

Neither the recent Martin L.Gore covers project Counterfeit 2 nor Dave Gahan’s Paper Monsters deviate from the Ultra template. High on atmosphere, worryingly light on melody and real dynamics. Paper Monsters, in particular, has received glowing reviews in some quarters of the music press, but it’s hard to see why. The album’s first single Dirty Sticky Floors was Barrel Of A Gun revisited, a fairly pleasing dirge and identifiably of Depeche vintage, but the other 9 tracks reveal Gahan’s songwriting cupboard to be disappointingly barren. So closely do they resemble his band’s latterday efforts, both in musical and lyrical style, one almost wonders what the point of it actually might be.

I Need You, which was released last week and duly gave Gahan another minor solo hit, takes the softer route already showcased on Exciter’s Freelove and Goodnight. Yes, it’s competent and eminently listenable, granted, but given his pedigree there’s an avoidable sense of underachievement in this extra-curricular venture.

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X MARKS HIS SPOT

Some 18 months ago, the Sugababes revived their chart fortunes with a track which welded together Adina Howard’s club hit Freak Like Me and the 1979 UK #1 Are “Friends” Electric? by the Tubeway Army. These apparently unlikely bedfellows merged remarkably well, and it was no surprise when the man behind theSugababes record – producer/remixer Richard X – sought to repeat the winning formula.

Second time around, The Human League’s bubbling proto-electro classic Being Boiled was the backdrop, Ain’t Nobody by Rufus & Chaka Khan the main song, and Reality TV-created act Liberty X the performers. Being Nobody – clumsy title aside – surprised many with its clinical effectiveness; aided by a stylish video that simultaneously played upon the notion of manufactured pop while evoking the stark, grey futureworld beloved of the early New Romantics. The self-styled “X Factor” had done for the credibility-seeking quintet as it had for the Sugababes, although the record books will show that Being Nobody only peaked at # 3, a victim of the pre-release overexposure syndrome which the industry has subsequently reassessed.

Six months on, Kelis was brought in to provide vocals on Finest Dreams; another cross-pollination, on this occasion another Human League track (The Things That Dreams Are Made Of, from 1981’s seminal Dare album) and another mid-80s soul nugget (S.O.S. Band’s The Finest, written by Jam & Lewis). The execution pretty much emulated its predecessors, but its chart position of #8 perhaps inevitably reflects the ever-diminishing returns of the concept.

With this in mind, a whole album of these mix-n-match confections might not seem the brightest idea, but “Richard X Presents…The X-Factor Volume 1” arrives on the scene this week. It reflects the cosmetic alterations to X’s role in proceedings; the artist credit on Freak Like Me didn’t feature his name at all, Being Nobody was “Liberty X vs…”, while Finest Dreams introduced the “….Presents” tagline.

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THE WALL COMES TUMBLING DOWN

A dozen years into his solo career, Paul Weller has now released around 20 or so singles in that time. Fly On The Wall rounds up the best of his B-sides across three CDs and serves as a handily-priced companion to 1997’s Greatest Hits set Modern Classics.

Always a champion of quality material for flipsides of 7″ and 12″ singles with The Jam and then The Style Council, Weller has continued the tradition on his solo CD singles. Among its 39 recordings, there are two previously unreleased tracks on Fly On The Wall; Don’t Let Me Down and a BBC sessions take of Waiting On An Angel from 1997. Three others are taken from the Japanese-only album More Wood, while his interpretation of Lennon’s Instant Karma from an UNCUT cover CD is also included.

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FUTURE SOUNDS

The best music on the horizon:

• SEAL – SEAL IV: WEA will be hoping this carefully-planned comeback will return Seal to the big time, having seen 1998’s Human Beings album bomb quite spectacularly, and then rejected the original incarnation of this fourth record which was to be called Togetherland. In the interim, he has featured on various film soundtracks (Entrapment and The Family Man to name but two) and done some guest vocal duties on albums by Jakatta and Santana.

  Seal and producer Trevor Horn went back to the drawing board to turn Togetherland into something which WEA were happy with, and Seal IV (out on September 15th, trailed by a single Get It Together next Monday) is the result.

  Note that the link from this image is for the import version, but the UK release will be available to order closer to the release date.

• PLACEBO – SPECIAL NEEDS: Third single from Sleeping With Ghosts is business very much as usual. Placebo have established their style and they’re damn well sticking to it, but Special Needs is nonetheless another sparkling release for those partial to Brian Molko and co.

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