OK,
Collectors: this is the original Disques du Crepuscule
album of the same name (1987) plus all tracks from the
"Paris en Automne" mini album, a stray and exotic 12"
vinyl release "Bizmallah", a remix of "Rolf &
Florian Go Hawaiian" and a raw but well-turned demo
version of "Radio Ectoplasm".
OK, Average Punter:
this is where the New Romantic sound might have got to
by about 1985. BLAINE L.REININGER had left (the recently
reformed) TUXEDOMOON and was pursuing a solo career in
Brussels and other places, with trademark panache and
citric violin playing. Various hellhounds were also on
his trail.
As a reviewer from the average punter
side of things, I first off have to say that the general
formula of articulate, semi-spoken but well-pitched
vocals, with alienated digital percussion and wilfully
strange synth sounds worked very well indeed, and had
reached a high point by 1985. "European" is a word you
might slap onto it. Carnival stilt walkers in Paris,
rain-shined cobbled squares in Vienna, long leather
coats in Leipzig … yeh, all that. And good tunes. The
marvellous "Teenage Theatre" is exemplary in all these
respects. Had a contemporary signing launched something
of this quality last week, the Guardian would have
already had it on their free CD offering, and queues
would be round the block for the new sensation (the
coolest band in the world, or some such
bollocks).
Pop music had shifted it's dreams
elsewhere by the second half of the eighties, but good
music was still emerging from the devotees of the
clipped moustache, the expensive suit and the faraway
eyes.
Good though it is, this 70 minutes of
studio recordings does not pack the aural thrill of
REININGER'S live album from the same era or excite the
blood like TUXEDOMOON'S brand new "Cabin the Sky".
Nevertheless, Reininger's artistry still outstrips its
temporary genre by a long way. Maybe not in every case,
and sometimes he seems weary and the technological
solutions have too well-worn a sound. As evidence, just
listen to REININGER'S worst-ever version of LEONARD
COHEN'S "Bird on a Wire". COHEN sets up fabulous
opportunities for original covers, but this manages to
takes the life out of the tempo and the poignancy out of
the tune while killing the lyric stone
dead.
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But
it doesn’t define the album. For the best of it go back
to "Teenage Theatre" and marvel. Even the basic
"trumpet" setting on the synth (a Yamaha DX7?) sounds
fresh and exciting. It’s spiky and sophisticated and
poppy all at the same time. I also love the doubled up
twelve string guitars on "Some Fine Day" - another
little pop gem, with an endearingly weird balance of
guitar and voice that moves a long way from the MIDGE
URE/DURAN DURAN axis. "Too Cool To Die" is an up-tempo
classic whose narcissistic exuberance transcends all
genres – as all the best music does. This track alone
makes the reissue worth the investment
In the
archaeological landfill site that is post-1956 popular
music, this is a rich but minor treasure. Hats off to
the good people at LTM who toil on the restoration work
and who stick with the quality they love. Their website
is very good: www.ltmpub.freeserve.co.uk.
If
you're not too sure: listen to REININGER'S glorious
violin on "La Più Bella Reprise" from the new album,
then go back and snuffle with intoxicated glee in the
roots that we have here.
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