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Visage is a band I'm guessing won't ring a lot of bells with American audiences although some of you might be familiar with band members who went on to have success in other groups. Visage was a synth band formed at the start of the New Romantic movement. The original members were Steve Strange, Rusty Egan and Midge Ure. Of the three, the most famous is probably Midge Ure who went on to have huge success with Ultravox. The band struggled to put music together after their initial release. Largely due to the fact the band members were all tied up with other groups. Visage became a side project for them. Still, its impact on the New Wave scene can't be denied or undervalued. They had a huge impact on shaping the sound that would dominate British music exports for the next 20 years.
But enough about the band, let's discuss the music. The first track on the disc is probably the band's biggest hit and the one you'd know if you know anything about them. 'Fade To Grey' starts off the album and it's a remarkable tune. I like it a lot, but I have noticed, the tempo leaves a lot to be desired. The song appears again as the final track on the disc in a remixed form and I must say, the tempo seems to pick up a little. The remix version is much more satisfying and worth owning. The second song on the disc is 'Mind Of A Toy' and it's about what a toy might feel when a child outgrows it. It's a metaphor of course for someone in a relationship where one party has outgrown the other. On subject matter alone, I give the song the highest possible ranking. The next track is 'Visage'... Obviously the song the band gets its name from. Steve Strange is the lead singer on most of the songs, with Ure singing background vocals. Their voices blend well together, but Ure possesses the stronger voice and more vocal control. This song is a great example of this. Strange delivers the verses with Ure singing the chorus.
'We Move' is next and it's listed as a remix. It's pretty good and has some percussion playing alongside the drum track. 'Tar' is almost like an Andy Warhol painting. It's like a work of art commenting on a social behavior rather than a traditional pop song. 'In The Year 2525' is a cover but I'm not sure who recorded the original version. It's a rather boring track. I think it was left off the albums and only surfaced on this release. The next track, 'The Anvil' is probably my favorite of the entire bunch. Titled after a gay club in New York City, the song features a punching drum track that sounds slightly industrial. I think this song, coupled with the German industrial bands like Einsturzende Neubautin inspired bands like Depeche Mode who gained notoriety through sound engineering. It certainly is a precursor to later industrial bands who combined these heavier sounds with lighter synth melodies.
The tracks from the second album are different from the material on the first record. The music is obviously more fleshed out, engineered professionally and polished. There are other elements appearing on these tracks like additional background vocalists and traditional instruments like horns and bass guitars putting in an appearance. I'm not as impressed with this material, but it's alright. Of the last four, two are from the second album and two are from the first. 'Night Train' is from the second and it's more heavily produced. It's OK, but not a song I'll listen to on a regular basis. 'Pleasure Boys' is from the first but I can almost say the exact same thing as 'Night Train'. There's not a lot happening here I find exciting. 'Damned Don't Cry' is far more interesting. It starts off with a keyboard motif setting the tempo and rhythm. When the beat finally kicks in, even though it's on a simple four count, it can't stop the momentum established by the keyboards. This is an excellent tune from the 2nd album. The last song before the 'Fade To Grey' remix is 'Love Glove'. The first time I heard this tune I thought I was listening to something by the Psychedelic Furs or Thompson Twins. It's not a bad tune, but not a memorable one either.
Visage never had a chance to be more than a collection of songs that would establish a direction subsequent bands would emulate for the remainder of the 80's. It seems like everyone picked a song they liked and developed a sound based on that one tune. You can hear the whole of British New Wave on this disc and it's fascinating to hear a sound develop. I was too young when the album came out to know about it and I didn't even know they existed until much later. It was during a period of time when I was researching Midge Ure that I discovered this relatively obscure band and I'm glad I did. Although I don't get freaked out by all of their music, the songs I do like, I abso-freaking-lutely LOVE.
My final words: A FORGOTTEN BIT OF HISTORY MORE OF US SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH.
VISAGE - FADE TO GREY THE BEST OF VISAGE
01. Fade To Grey
02. Mind Of A Toy
03. Visage
04. We Move (Remix)
05. Tar
06. In The Year 2525
07. The Anvil
08. Night Train
09. Pleasure Boys
10. Damned Don't Cry
11. Love Glove
12. Fade To Grey (Bassheads 7" Edit)
Traci Lords... Who doesn't know that name? She's infamous. Of course for a gay kid, she was infamous in a fabulous way. I was more impressed that she fooled an entire industry rather than turned on by her. So for me, Ms. Lords was more of an icon.
At the time this album came out, I was really into Juno Reactor. I was desperate for new material. I'd search online for any and all information concerning them. When I found out about this disc I was a bit shocked. For a couple of reasons. 1) I realized I already had it. I'd been given a copy at a release party, and 2) I hadn't listened to it. I immediately put it in and for that year... 1995 or 96, this record was everywhere. At least in Vegas. 'Control' and 'Fallen Angel' mixes were played at clubs and the songs appeared on movie soundtracks. Traci was everywhere.
I think you can probably tell I like this record. Both 'Control' and 'Fallen Angel' are amazing songs and both are collaborations with Juno Reactor. An instrumental version of 'Control' appears in the "Mortal Kombat" film and 'Fallen Angel' appears in "Virtuosity". The third track is another Juno number, 'Good-N-Evil'. The change on the third is different and relies on some strange beat counts. The music incorporates a horn sound giving it an old film score sound. There's a bass heavy synth sound droning along under the main beat that drives the song forward. I like it, but it's unusual. Next up is 'Fly'. She did this one with Babble, a band formed from members of the defunct 80's trio, The Thompson Twins. 'Fly' lacks a lot of the rave quality of the first three tracks and mellows the album out quite a bit.
'Distant Land' could be considered the first ballad of the album. Mike Edwards of Jesus Jones is up to bat for this one. The tune is subdued and mellow. It's followed by another Juno Reactor collaboration, 'Outlaw Lover'... I kinda consider this song the forerunner to 'Pistolero', a Juno track from one of their albums. It's actually quite exciting and I love it! Next up, you have another Babble tune, 'I Want You'. One thing you start to realize quickly is that Babble and Mike Edwards all contribute slower beats and more trippy tunes than the rave material Juno Reactor provide.
'Say Something' is about as fast paced as it gets for Mike Edwards. It's a lightly arranged tune and quite groovy. I really like this tune. 'Father's Field' is a collaboration with Babble and tells the story of a young woman being raped in a field. It's a stark and abrupt. The subject matter alone is controversial. Whether or not the song is autobiographical is unknown, but if it is... Very disturbing. 'Okey Dokey' rounds off the album and is Mike Edwards final cut. It's a loose, fast paced, fun little number with nonsensical lyrics and Lords giving an impromptu Oscar acceptance speech. It's light-hearted and completely at odds with the previous track.
So Lords is a complicated woman. She transitioned from the porn industry to make an even bigger name for herself in other media genres. She's smart, talented and if this album gives us any indication, she's deep and thoughtful. Instead of taking the sure bet by creating dreamy dance tunes with happy-go-lucky subject matter, she challenges us with controversial tracks like 'Control' (which basically suggests getting over a broken heart by surrendering your will to another person.... Hardly standard or traditionally accepted form of treatment), and 'Father's Field'... Wow.
One thing is certain, Lords is not going to be held to any standard we can think of. She'll choose to challenge and defy. In the grand tradition of Grace Jones, I think Lords could have a very successful career in music if she stayed focused on it. My final words: AN AMAZING FRESHMAN EFFORT... LET'S SEE MORE.
TRACI LORDS - 1,000 FIRES
01. Control
02. Fallen Angel
03. Good-N-Evil
04. Fly
05. Distant Land
06. Outlaw Lover
07. I Want You
08. Say Something
09. Father's Field
10. Okey Dokey
I put this cd in tonight and while the first couple of tracks played, I was transported back to the happiest time in my life. I really loved the 80's. The title of the album is a nod to future days and yet the music on this disc hasn't even remotely stood the test of time. It was awesome when it came out, but years later, it bears the unmistakable tried and true tricks of 80's production. The writing is typical for the time period. Usually, this kind of music doesn't survive well. There are a couple of tunes that seem to transcend, but most don't.
Despite the somewhat lackluster start to this review, let me say in defense of this band, when they were at the top of their game, (which was essentially during this record), they were enjoyable, fun to listen to and down right wonderful. There's a Beatles' cover if you're into The Beatles. It's a fairly straightforward rendition with little to no inventive use of instruments or additional arrangement. It hums along and falls right in line with the somewhat haphazard theme of the overall record.
The highlights of the CD are of course the songs they released as singles and got lots of attention on the radio. 'Don't Mess With Doctor Dream', 'Lay Your Hands On Me' and 'King For A Day' are all miniature masterpieces in a tapestry of boring average tunes. I'm not going to go into this much further because quite frankly, I can't think of much to say beyond this. The rest of the record neither excites or bores me. It simply is, and that's enough for me to leave it as is and move on.
For those of you who really like Thompson Twins, take heart in knowing I enjoyed subsequent albums more and will write more generously about them in the future. As for "Here's To Future Days"... My final word is: A BLAST BEST LEFT IN THE PAST.
THOMPSON TWINS - HERE'S TO FUTURE DAYS
01. Don't Mess With Doctor Dream
02. Lay Your Hands On Me
03. Future Days
04. Roll Over
05. Revolution
06. King For A Day
07. Love Is The Law
08. Emperor's Clothes
09. Tokyo
10. You Killed The Clown
11. Breakaway
