SPAZ reviews BREATHE's All That Jazz (Deluxe 2CD Edition)

BREATHE

ALL THAT JAZZ

(Deluxe 2CD Edition)

Available NOW!

The late '80s was a strange time in music.  The New Wave movement was already a thing of the past, although many of the bands were still around making music. Metal was now giving birth to a whole new breed of Hair Bands, House Music was big in the clubs, and R&B was all over the charts. With such changes happening seemingly overnight, there didn't seem like there was enough room for a new Pop band to make a dent in the charts.  And for Breathe, it almost didn't happen...

Though they had been releasing singles since 1986, it took two years for the band to release their debut album, All That Jazz.  Issued in the UK on Circa and in the U.S. on A&M, All That Jazz seemed almost dead in the water.  When the trio of David Glasper (vocals), Marcus Lillington (guitar) and Ian 'Spike' Spice (drums) came over to the U.S. to do some promo work, there wasn't much hope.  I met the band when they stopped by Abbey Road Distributors and we had a nice chat about music.  They were a bit disappointed by their lack of success but really appreciative of my enthusiasm for the band and their album. Glasper signed my LP with the words "With a few more like you, it could have happened'. 

Shortly after our meeting, A&M released "Hands To Heaven" as a single and then everything changed.  Now, 25 years later, people may not always remember the band name but "Hands To Heaven" remains a radio staple.  It's one of those songs that everybody knows.  A gorgeous and haunting ballad, "Hands To Heaven" has become a classic slice of late '80s pop that still makes lovers swoon.

And since it's the album's 25th Anniversary, Cherry Pop has released the ultimate edition of the album.  It not only contains the original 10 tracks from the album ("Don't Tell Me Lies" was added to the U.S. edition and later UK pressings as well) but it also contains every b-side, single edit, extended remix and rarity that could fit on a double CD set. This deluxe edition now features a total of 33 tracks with roughly half of them making their CD debut here.

For anyone who loved the album's smooth blend of Pop and R&B are going to love the generous amount of bonus tracks.  The non-album b-sides equal anything off the album, although the production does date some of the recordings.  Sometimes sounding like a mix of Wham and Steely Dan, Breathe wrote some smart and sophisticated yet chart-friendly pop tunes including "All That Jazz", which is the song that first caught my ear all of those years ago when I first laid the needle down on the album.  With two more hit singles, "How Can I Fall?" and "Don't Tell Me Lies", the album was one of the strongest releases that year and earned the band a huge fanbase of devoted fans.

Unfortunately for Breathe, their next album, Peace Of Mind, was released in 1990 to little fanfare and, when the album didn't scale the upper regions of the charts, they quietly split.  But perhaps that was all A&M's fault.  They were already preparing to alter the band's name to David Glasper & Breathe and eventually make Glasper a solo artist.  But alas, that never came to fruition. Perhaps it was their shift in focus that made them drop the ball.  Peace Of Mind was actually a better album as a whole then All That Jazz but had fewer hits (only "Say A Prayer" got much airplay in the States)

This deluxe edition of All That Jazz is everything that a fan could want... and more.  But just because you may not be a fan doesn't mean you shouldn't get it.  If you loved late '80s bands like Johnny Hates Jazz, Go West, and Waterfront, then this is a no-brainer.  It was great Pop music then and it's great Pop music now.  

RIP Spike

Peace,

Stephen SPAZ Schnee

SPAZ reviews IAN McNABB's Head Like A Rock (Expanded 2CD Edition)

IAN McNABB

HEAD LIKE A ROCK

(Expanded 2CD Edition)

Available NOW!

      Former ICICLE WORKS mainman IAN McNABB has created some of his best music since the band split up in 1991.  While the Liverpudlian trio were one of the best and most versatile bands of the '80s, they are best remembered for their self-titled debut that featured the UK hit "Love Is A Wonderful Colour" and the glorious "Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream)".  While other lesser bands achieved fame and fortune, McNabb and bandmates Chris Layhe and Chris Sharrock recorded some amazing albums and singles, all of which have been reissued in expanded form over the last few years. Finally, Ian's solo catalog is getting the attention it deserves, beginning with his best-selling 1994 album Head Like A Rock, which earned a prestigious Mercury Prize nomination (although I believe M People won that year).

      On his 1996 album Merseybeast, McNabb penned a track called "I'm A Genius" and, to be honest, that's not far from the truth!  Wearing his influences on his sleeve, McNabb has been able to channel The Beatles, T.Rex and Neil Young (amongst others) into a piping hot brew of intelligent Rock 'n' Roll without forsaking his own musical identity.  He's a master songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, filled with passion and intelligence that is seldom heard in music these days. Whether he releases an acoustic-based album or a full out rockin' record, McNabb is one of the UK's finest songwriters and performers. He brings more confidence and swagger to his performances than Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow!

      With Head Like A Rock, Ian not only released the best Rock album that Neil Young never recorded, but he did it with the help of two members of Young's part-time backing band Crazy Horse (bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Mollina).  But the album is not a Neil Young pastiche: it is a loud and thunderous musical statement from Ian McNabb.  From the stunning opener, "Fire Inside My Soul" (which, at 8+ minutes is still too short) to the beautiful Gospel-tinged album closer "May You Always", Head Like A Rock is a flawless album that not only beats you senseless in it's guitar-fueled power, it also reaches deep down and wraps itself around your heart and soul.

     "You Must Be Prepared To Dream" is a true Rock 'n' Roll anthem for this generation.  While McNabb may not approve, I'm surprised that it hasn't been used to help sell cars or other necessary 'evils' in this world. The lyrics are as inspiring as anything McNabb may have been influenced by: "You're going where the sun beats down/On previously barren ground/You're going where the blue sky meets the ocean/You're going to a special place/It's written all over your face/But you must be prepared to dream".  If it won't motivate someone to buy a car, perhaps it will inspire them to follow their...er...dreams.

     "This Time Is Forever" is a beautiful slice of Country Rock.  "Sad Strange Solitary Catholic Mystic" is built around gorgeous, atmospheric Beach Boys-like harmonies. "Go Into The Light" is as funky and soulful as Rock can get. Oh, I could go on and on... this is one hell of an album.

     The bonus CD contains an additional nine b-sides including three rearranged Icicle Works tunes that are mostly acoustic and far more intimate than the original recordings ("Love Is A Wonderful Colour", 'When It All Comes Down" and "Stood Before St. Peter"). The remaining six tracks include non-album rockers, an acoustic track and a remix.  All of them are worthwhile and only add to the glory that is Head Like A Rock. My only complaint would be that they didn't include the shorter edit of "You Must Be Prepared To Dream" but that is about the extent of my moaning!

     So, now you know the truth, why aren't you heading down to your local shop to buy this.... or clicking THIS link that I've so kindly provided?

     Oh, and visit Ian at www.ianmcnabb.com and purchase his last few albums as well.  He's a genius.  There, I said it.

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD/First Issue: Available for the first time in the U.S. on June 18th, 2013!

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD

FIRST ISSUE

2CD set

180gm Vinyl LP

6.18.13

Marking the 100th release on Light In The Attic Records and following the Record Store Day reissue of PiL's debut single 'Public Image',  LITA are set to reissue the pioneering group's debut album First Issue, available for the first time ever in the US. 

In 1976 Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols set the agenda for punk's year zero with 'Anarchy In The UK', a song that summed up the spirit, sound and attitude of the band in one shocking package. Two years later, the Sex Pistols were in tatters, but Rotten was as unsentimental as you'd hope. He reverted to his real name - John Lydon - and set about forming a band whose very identity kicked against press and media manipulation. Featuring bassist Jah Wobble, drummer Jim Walker and guitarist Keith Levene, his new group were Public Image Limited. The public image would be limited. 

PiL were a very distinct prospect from the Pistols, founded with a greater thought for rhythm, and with a sound that turned the page from snarling punk to a more experimental sound fusing rock, dance, folk, ballet, pop and dub. But that's not to say Lydon's new outfit lacked vitriol. 'Public Image' hits out against the notorious British tabloid press, who never gave Lydon an easy ride, and against his own Sex Pistols public image - "You only saw me for the clothes I wore". 

The debut single (and the album that followed) operated as a theme song and a manifesto: "…my entrance/My own creation/My grand finale/My goodbye," as the lyrics had it. It is, essentially, the sound of four people letting loose in a studio - and not caring what anyone else thought. 

The album was never officially released in the USA back in the day, its sound considered too un-commercial by major-labels for an American release. 

First Issue has been lovingly reproduced from the original UK 1978 release and this expanded reissue also comes with a clutch of post-punk era treasures. The CD edition is an expanded, two-disc set with an almost hour-long (unedited) October 1978 BBC audio interview with John Lydon, plus rare B-side "The Cowboy Song" from the period, and two stickers. The LP release includes an archive replica fold-out poster, archive replica tabloid adverts, a set of stickers, and Download Card for the album, the archival BBC interview, and 'The Cowboy Song'. All of which were approved and coordinated with John Lydon and his personal management.