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Chuck Foster’s Top Ten — February 7
7 February 2010
Catching Up
I was sick for a while, so I’ve fallen behind, but here’s the stuff I’ve been listening to lately.
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The Stranglers – discography up to Ten (EMI)
Duh. Do I really need to tell you about The Stranglers?
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Ultravox! – Hahaha (Island)
This is only at number two because The Stranglers dominate out of sheer volume. Take the fast Roxy Music songs like “Editions of You”, speed them up a bit and you pretty much have one of the most energetic albums I’ve ever heard in my life. I get sweaty just listening to it!
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Savage Republic – discography (various labels)
About ten years ago, Savage Republic were the soundtrack to my life. I’ve happily rediscovered these brilliant albums by one of the most underrated bands in existence.
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Goblin – discography (various labels)
I spent my time sick in bed watching my favorite Italian horror and “giallo” movies, and I remembered how much I like Goblin’s music, so I pulled it out again. What a great band!
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Alternative TV – The Image Has Cracked (Anagram)
Savage Republic’s cover of “Viva La Rock’N‘Roll” reminded me of ATV and their great first album and early singles.
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Various – Dawn of the Dead: Unreleased Incidental Music (Trunk)
Hey, it’s my favorite movie of all time (seriously). Of course, I know the Goblin score very well, but I was always curious about the other music. Turns out “Cause I’m a Man” was by The Pretty Things and my favorite piece of music from the film is called “Sun High” and it’s by Simon Park.
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Simon Park – Something in the Air (EMI)
So the guy who did my favorite track from Dawn of the Dead was also known for funky instrumental lounge music in the ’70s. I grabbed a few other albums by him, but this one’s my favorite. From the overly dramatic “Funeral for a Friend” to the bizarro covers of “I Am the Walrus” and “Honky Tonk Women,” it’s a masterpiece.
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Ultravox – Systems of Romance (Island)
They’d dropped the exclamation mark from their name and slowed down their sound a bit, but this Conny Plank produced album is still very powerful.
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John Foxx – Metamatic (Virgin)
After he left Ultravox, vocalist John Foxx made this solo electronic album, which is more along the lines of Gary Numan than Bryan Ferry.
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Cherry Five – Cherry Five (Cinevox)
Before they were Goblin, they released this album as Cherry Five. It’s actually one of the better prog albums I’ve heard, reminding me of the best parts of ELP and Curved Air.
Comments
Very interesting list, Chuck. The Chameleons used to cover ATV’s “Splitting in Two” in their live sets all the time. Mark Burgess also played it when we saw him last August.
What’s your favorite Stranglers Lp? I’ve gotta go with No More Heroes.
Also, I need more Ultravox! I’ve only got the 2nd Lp.
— Matt Berlyant 2010-02-07 12:16 #
hey chuck,
“dawn of the dead” by romero is also my favorite horror film.
i saw it for the first time at my neighborhood theatre and i was the only one in attendance, except for the guy running the projector.
btw, the famous film critic, roger ebert, gave “dotd” 4 stars.
i thought the remake was pretty good,
what with the speeded-up zombies, but not as great as the original.
— ed h 2010-02-08 10:04 #
Chuck, I need to correct what I wrote earlier re: Ultravox! I’ve actually got the 1st, s/t album. I gave it a spin yesterday (side 1) and this morning (side 2) and your description is pretty much on the money. It’s like Roxy Music or Ziggy-era Bowie transplanted to ’77 UK punk, but with flourishes of prog-folk, too (that awesome violin). I’ve never heard HaHaHa, but now I really want to.
— Matthew Berlyant 2010-02-08 10:26 #
Matt – RE: Stranglers – I think my favorite album is Black & White, though my two favorite songs are “(Get a) Grip (on Yourself)” and “Five Minutes.”
HaHaHa is simply orgasmic, I think.
Ed – Yeah, I liked the Dawn of the Dead remake, too. It certainly lacked the profound social commentary of the original, but it was still a lot of fun. I’m wondering how this remake of The Crazies will turn out. Romero’s ’70s movies are among my favorites. I think his “cover-your-ass” style of film-making made for more interesting movies as they constantly moved – I don’t think he stayed on a single shot for more than 20 or 30 seconds. Also, a lot of the camera set-ups remind me of odd still photographs you’d find in a thrift store. By the time he did Day of the Dead he had enough money to remain on static shots. I still like it, but it’s not nearly as interesting to look at.
— Chuck Foster 2010-02-08 18:24 #