One of the standout tracks from ‘Magic, Murder & The Weather’, for me at least, as it used to be on heavy rotation in the various bedrooms of my late teens. Plucked from Magazine’s last studio album, and one which saw the disbandment of the group before it was released, ‘Suburban Rhonda’ has a laconic charm, brought into existence by Devoto’s characteristically sharp wit and a very relaxed backing.
From ‘Slates’ one of the key Fall releases on their long and varied existence, ‘Leave The Capitol’ is an intense, electric throb upon which Mark E. Smith’s lyrics sit. It feels totally improvised and together at the same time. Hearing this in 1981 was a bit of a revelation. It feels forward -looking, but also trapped within the sum of its parts. MES’s voice as unrestrained as it gets, corralled within an effervescent broadside of garage band ballyhoo.
An amazing piece of music from a superb release. The ‘Every Dog Has its Day’ series should have got more coverage. This untitled track really is the music of the spheres. It’s the techno equivalent of Larry Heard and feels very spiritual. The ambience of an acoustic cave where all the rocks have a different sound as long as you touch them in the correct sequence. It feels very much like ‘Gamma Player’ which, in my humble opinion, is the best techno track ever made. And all of this release is in a similar vein. A cosmic fusion of electronics and soul, and not quite of this world.
Typical Ambrose. Will work equally well in a house or techno set, although my feeling is it would be better in the latter. Anyway, I guess that’s why the tech house genre started isn’t it? And once Ambrose started releasing music he became a major player within that sphere. This is madness. And there’s nothing like a party horn keeping time just to tip you over the edge. Which is where the synths come ion to widen the state of play. It’s the eponymous sample which gives the track more momentum than anything else though. Great for raising dance floor intensity and keeping it there as an underla
Great piece of Italo here. Wonderful melody, arpeggiating into the distance. The vocal sounds a bit ruffled, which only adds to its charm. And once the chorus kicks in and the intensity is raised, it’s almost Japanese. Everything hits the right note on this track. Music doesn’’t get more synthetic than this, yet its soul is tangible.
The title track from Salif Keita’s breakthrough album, ‘Soro’ is typical of the rest of the album in that it feels a little over produced. That’s not an issue as such, at least not when everything harmonises so well together. Keita’s voice stands out of course, as does the underlying rhythm which is a sonic pan-African potpourri. It’s a bit dramatic towards the end, m which is something that may have sounded better had it been rawer. It certainly made its mark though, and takes me back to when I went to see him live touring this at the Astoria back in 1987.
