RECORDS

Rip It Up, Issue 50, 1 September 1981, Page 16

RECORDS

Peter Thomson

Joy Division Closer 'Transmission' Factory Apart from the just-released (in the UK) double compilation/live album these two records represent the last two planned releases in the JD schedule. The rampant necrophilia that has surrounded these records has been all a little distasteful and along with the (unwarranted) accusations of chart rigging, has tended to overshadow the music a little. That's unfortunate because these records do deserve a lot of attention, not only because of sheer power and beauty of the music, but also the undeniable influence Joy Division have had on popular music in the last eighteen months. Transmission' 'was the first of the trio of twelve-inch singles to come out in the UK, and is much closer in sound to Unknown Pleasures than the second album. In my opinion, the finest JD single, 'Transmission', a song about the last radio broadcast, and its B-side, 'Novelty' have a very raw feel and need to be played at volume to be appreciated.’ In contrast. Closer, the second album, is.a good deal more sombre and in a way. is the Sgt Pepper of its generation, being indirectly responsible ior the scores of doom laden seriouser-than-thou young men currently treading the boards worldwide. Despite this, Closer is a magnificent album, taking the experiments begun on Unknown

Pleasures one step further. Ihe sound here is denser yet, seemingly more fragile; than on the first album, with Curtis making use of his natural voice rather than the forced Morrisonesque of earlier recordings. It would be easy to search this record for epitaphs, and if you looked hard enough you'd probably find them. But that would be a mistake, this album was not intended. as such. Just listen and appreciate ... and beware of imitators. Simon Grigg ÜB4O Present Arms DEP International Since last summer's Signing Off, ÜB4O have had a tough time, splitting from their record company, and being unable to gig through legal hassles. They've finally resolved this by founding their own label, but they've been -left flat broke in the process. The good news is that Present Arms, with its strength and confidence, proves ÜB4O have survived their trials and |tribulations?|^Bß^B^BßH They plunge ever deeper into roots reggae, getting more adventurous with production, and allowing several numbers to stretch out . instrumentally. These lead often into dubs that, are spare, solid and interesting, with the bass and percussion mixed up good and hard. This makes for smart skanking. The standouts are ‘One In Ten', a savage attack on the statistics of poverty and indifference, and 'Don t|L’etiltj [Pass You By.'; featuring a formidable toast from Astro. The title track is anti-war, as the

name suggests, and 'Lambs Bread' warns of the. dangers of "dope^ealihgS|pßßAH 'Don't Slow Down' and 'Silent Witness' will ’ probably get the most airplay, being the sweetest melodically and the least threatening lyrically. As a bonus, you get a 12 inch dub 45 featuring two brisk and beefy instrumentals, which make a swell introduction for the uninitiated, to the delights of dub. The black and .white boys from Birmingham have done it again. Let's hope our bornagain Rastas will give ÜB4O some attention when they tour here shortly, to show us what a real reggae band is likelJHjj|H Duncan Campbell Pere.Ubu The j Modern Dance Rough Trade Cabaret Voltaire The Voice of America Rough Trade Stiff Little Fingers Inflammable Material Chrysalis Three uncut Rough Trade diamonds finally available for local scrutiny , •, Cleveland's Pere Übu, inspirationally led by the rotund figure of David Thomas on vocals, first notched. up ’ The Modem Dance on Mercury in 1978 (the same year as their second [album, the magnificent ' Dub Housing) and it remains as a brilliant fusion of punk ideals and Beefheart musical structures and delivery. It scratches, scrapes, twists and drives its way to true innovation. Thomas's nerve-end falsetto dips, dives and quivers and

songs like 'Life Stinks', 'Humour Me', 'Real World' and 'Non-Alignment Pact'. ! remain as some of the most expressive examples of rock-is-life. The Modern Dance is simply .one of the best albums of the * last five hectic years. The same extreme plaudits can't be showered on Sheffield's Cabaret Voltaire, but their Voice of America, released last year, is proof enough that they've at last managed to channel their restlessness and impetuousness into a coherent and provocative album. Their music is fashionably] stark, electronic I and impressionistic but on , the taped segments, repetitive motifs and general moodiness of this album they manage to construct a series of perceptive songs ranging from the building intensity of 'Damage Is Done' to the pathological tones of 'Step Out of It' and 'Obsession'. This album can be slotted ahead of Byrne and Eno's Bush of Ghosts, and that can't be bad. jPBHitHHE And so to Stiff Little Fingers, [whose]: Inflammable . Materialf released in 1979 . on Rough Trade, was their first and best shot. The first side in particular is an eight round magazine, rapid-fire and no duds. The second side bogs down on a lengthy version of • Marley's 'Johnny Was' but is redeemed with 'Alternative Ulster', their most potent and dynamic anthem. George Kay : . ' ... Duran Duran EMI English quintet Duran Duran English quintet Duran Duran? came out of Birmingham,

Newcastle ; and London and took their name from the Barbarella flick. Currently hailed as leaders in • the New Romantic movement, the term I seemingly referring, to their high fashion chic and flashy disco beat. Duran Duran themselves scorn labels, but manage to work the key phrase into their much-liked single 'Planet Earth'. And they certainly dress U [Keyboardist -Nick Rhodes Keyboardist Nick Rhodes "we're just trying to make a more interesting dance music as well as keeping a foot lodged into the more obscure end of things." Accurate enough. The beat is ever-solid, the bass ! player is clearly enjoying himself ('Girls On Film') and the keyboards surround everything with an encompassing dry-ice shroud of sound. A band who blend well together, guitar especially, and when the i melodies - leave the mundane ('Friend Of Mine', 'Careless Memories' and 'Planet Earth') then the formula wins. Work to be done still, but a good debut. Roy Colbert Iggy Pop Party Arista Iggy's importance in rock'n'roll lay in his outrageousness and associated ;mystique. He went through wars and wore the scars and his bravado inspired many a young stunt man. His tough living, drug problems and machismo were the things rock'n'roll legends lived on and he [ wasn't slow at picking up'on passing trends and helping hands (Bowie) ~. that cruised by. in his showbiz career. That was then. Now Mr Pop is beginning to look and sound like any other entertainer who has lost the ability to] ignite, the old spark. Last year, on the day, Soldier impressed, now it's weak, the first in a series of seemingly faltering steps of which Party is the second. His new; album is good-time American indulgence from the horn-packed 'Pleasure' to the conventional chunky raunch of 'Pumpin' For Jill'. Songs - like 'Bang Bang' and Rock and Roll Party' deceptively twitch the old cheek muscles into that knowing smile of 'That's Iggy,

that's : my boy', the world's most goddamned in fact. But the whole deal- reeks of stale, myth-perpetuating egoism. Iggy is now in Jagger's leathers: to keep: going means certain self-parody but to stop means defeat. Whatever, only Iggy sycophants need apply. George Kay Rupert Hine Immunity A & M - So who is Rupert Hine? Even his record company don't seem to know. On the evidence at hand he's obviously very bright, very talented and . almost certainly British. . So what's his music like? A friend who heard the album (and consequently bought his own copy) quipped, 'Pink Floyd with brains' but that's hardly accurate. While Hine is certainly working within a conceptual . framework';; . his disciplined intelligence u and superior ideas recall Peter Gabriel or even David Byrne more than they do Roger Waters. Yet Hine's work is tangential to all of the above. For example he continually avoids orthodox jinstru mentation. Rhythm tracks, for instance, may be processed from such 'found' sounds as traffic noise, water dripping or a human scream. Yeah, I know it sounds pretentious But it works to'fascinating effect. What's more the music is extraordinarily varied in mood: I from expansive warmth to jagged and quirky humour, to almost frightening tension. It is also fairly readily accessible due to both . its considerable rhythmic force and captivating melodies. „ .' , Hine's post-Bowie vocals are well suited to the surreal lyrics although the tantalizingly brief vignette from Marianne Faithful makes me wish he'd used her more. (Maybe he'll produce ' her next album.) |,| Uljjl UIH 1 Immunity has been packaged for the robot-rock market ;and so can easily be overlooked in the glut. Rather, it is synthesized, . coriceptualist rock of such high quality as to win over those who normally shudder at . the very implications of the term.