Four Albums

I've invested in four long playing records over the the past couple of weeks and want to tell you about them.

ABC - 'Traffic'

'Traffic' is the new 'un from ABC (or rather from Martin Fry) and it is good. I've always liked ABC and their singles were part of the soundtrack to the first half of the '80s with Martin in his gold lurex suit and classy tunes. The class is still there, mature lyrics and killer tunes. It's ABC's first album of new material in over 10 years and it's a welcome come-back. They're on the 'Here and Now' '80s revival tour at the moment so it's a good time to release a new album.

Some of the tracks smack of classic ABC with the lush production, plucking violin strings, piano chords and thumpy-thump drums and some are pure now. When I hear the opening track, 'Sixteen Seconds To Choose' I leap to Siouxsie's 'Into A Swan' with the almost industrial electronica sound - it's not similar at all, but that's where my ears take me.

The first single from the album, 'The Very First Time' is classic ABC, with all the production and sonic hooks you'll remember from their massive hits. But what I really like about it for some reason is the chorus where Martin sings, 'I'm not stupid, I'm not smart, I'm not arrogant enough to suffer for my art'. I like that line.

I've played the LP a few times since buying it yesterday and I'm really getting into it. The only downside is the awful packaging. No photos, no gloss, no lyrics, no nothing except an uninspired design of a 'thing' on the front and an extended 'thing' spread over the inside of the triple gatefold cover. The lushness of their early albums seems to have escaped them for this record. But it's the music that matters and that's ace.

It's not nostalgia, it's music for now. If you liked ABC back in the day, you'll love this record.

Jean 'Binta' Breeze - 'Tracks'

I saw Jean 'Binta' Breeze a month or so back on the bill with Linton Kwesi Johnson, liked what I heard and bought the album in the Barbican record shop. Unfortunately the wrong disc was in the case and it's taken a while for the right one to arrive, but I've finally got it. Jean is a dub poet from Jamaica and all tracks are credited to Jean, Linton and Dennis Bovell, with Dennis's excellent Dub Band playing the music.

Jean has a lovely way with words, a poet indeed, and, although I can't claim to understand all the patois, her voice is soothing and sexy with words just dripping from her tongue. The album opens with a short poem from Jean followed by a musical track and this sets the scene for the rest of the record, spoken poem followed by musical poem throughout. It works well. Linton and Dennis are credited with the music and the Dub Band is excellent. It's not all reggae, not dub, it's more lazy, sun-filled jazz than anything else, with an emphasis on horns. This is perfect sunny, lazy Sunday afternoon stuff.

The lyrics are printed in the cover and they're written in patois. The opening poem, 'Dreamer' reads,

roun a rocky corner
by de sea
seat up
pon a drif wood
yuh can find she
gazin cross de water
a stick
eena her han
tryin to trace
a future
in de san

Simply Jean's voice in an echoey studio. It sounds lovely. And relaxing.

Jean's published a few books over the years but she should do more records. I'd buy 'em.

Madonna - 'Hard Candy'

Madonna's latest album came out this week and I was terribly disappointed when I opened it and no candy flew out at me... I even licked the CD and it tasted of CD rather than sugar. O well.

'Hard Candy' was touted as Madonna's hip hop/R&B album and yes, it has those themes weaved into it, but it's not a hip hop album (thankfully, in my view). We've all heard '4 Minutes' and I downloaded 'Candy Shop' a few weeks ago and, to be honest, I prefer 'Candy Shop'. It doesn't have Justin Timberlake in it so that's a good thing. Why on earth she's included him and 'the thief' is beyond me. And I think that sort of sums up my problem with the album as a whole, it doesn't really sound like a Madonna album. She's handed over control to others and it's *their* sound rather than *hers* that I hear. The individual songs sound great as 'singles' but put them together back to back on a record and I start to lose Madonna and my attention wanders.

Madonna has forged her own way over the last 25 years, a strong woman not afraid of sexuality or individuality, moving where she wants to both musically and personally. She's been in control of how she looks and how she sounds, a powerful and unafraid woman, pushing a few boundaries here and there. Reinvention sums her up, and sod off if you don't like me. But, despite how good some of these 'Candy' songs are, she's let someone else take control. Or at least that's how it sounds to me. Don't get me wrong, it's still a good album, it's just that something's missing.

On the other hand, I'm looking forward to the tour and how she'll present these new songs - it'll be a *big* show, no doubt, and I want to see it.

The Human League - 'Romantic?'

A dash back in time to the '90s to one of the Human League's come-back albums that I've finally tracked down from Germany, 'Romantic?'. I was turned on to these songs when I got their 'hits' DVD for Christmas and a session from the '90s was included as a bonus section. It's fab! I don't understand why the Human League aren't still a big name. They've produced some fantastic songs over the years and they're still doing it, very danceable, very electronic, very radical, but, for some reason, we don't really hear of them much. Seeing them play 'Dare' live last year was definitely a highlight of the year for me.

'Romantic?' is a good mix of electronica and dance, with Phil and the lasses doing their thing. I love 'The Stars Are Going Out', an atmospheric, repetitive trance song, and 'Soundtrack To A Generation' is a piece of infectious dance-fluff and truly gorgeous. We need more Human League in our lives.