So to anyone who actually cares, today I am reviewing a...*gasp* POP ALBUM FROM THE 80's!! AND IT CHARTED TOO!! OMG!!!!
Not really obscure/curious, but I hope you guys like it...
Level 42 - World Machine (1985)
Track Listing
1. Something About You (4:24)
2. World Machine (5:16)
3. Physical Presence (5:27)
4. Leaving Me Now (5:00)
5. Hot Water (3:37)
6. It's Not The Same For Us (4:37)
7. Good Man In A Storm (4:35)
8. The Chant Has Begun (5:14)
9. Lying Still (5:39)
Some people I know, of which my parents and a number of friends would consitute, have told me that music is something you either listen to, or its something you dance to. That an artist has to choose between success or creativity and can never really have both. That "good" pop music has to consist of pre-recorded beats in studio, samples from better songs, with pimped-up vocal emphasis run through synthesizers and autotune. And, at-least up until high school, I took those assertions as facts and didn't think much of it, even though I wasn't much of a fan of Michael Jackson, Spears or pop in general in the first place. Because I had never heard a pop album whose purpose went beyond merely being catchy or making money, my preconception was that the last 40 years of pop music was simply a reflection of the idiotic consumer culture around me and that there was no such thing as a "good" (by my standards) pop record.
World Machine, Level 42's 6th studio release from 1985 and a crossover hit at the time, turned that entire mindset around within twenty minutes. Compare that to Wolves in the Throne Room's
Two Hunters, which turned me onto black metal in an hour, and you have a record that still hasn't been broken.
Level 42, as I found out after giving this album a few spins and reading up some on their history, didn't conform to any of the above "criteria" for success. Unlike many up-and-coming pop acts, they all handled their own instruments (quite effectively I might add), wrote their own songs, and yet were still managed it hit it big with this watershed 1985 release without sacrificing the distinctive bass-oriented sound (Mark King for the win) from their formative jazz-fusion debut and second albums. Unlike many of their American and English contemporaries though, these guys were driven to make their talent something the masses could take a bite of, and this is the result, for better or for worse (depending your interpretation of selling-out, it could be either one).
Anyway, review time:
World Machine, like many albums with some conceptual thought behind them, has a few running themes throughout its throbbing, pulsating 44-minute run. As the disillusioned title track (my personal favorite) questions throughout its rediculously heavy and catchy groove: When a person integrates themselves into popular culture, is that person really a distinct individual anymore now that he's part of the great 'world machine'? Furthermore, why is the procreation of life itself (see track quote below) even important in a society where one face is easily exchanged for another?
Not too bad for a song intended to push sales, and its bittersweet stuff like this which makes you glad you bothered to listen to the song in the first place. You like the beat, but your brain is still running in the process. Good.
The rest of the songs aren't quite as sharp as the title track unfortunately, but instrumentally its satisfying enough and lyrically the rest of the material is pretty sound too, so what more could you want? In brief summation of the rest of the album, there's the Top 40 hit 'Something About You' which laments over mistakes when it comes to love in a rather poetic way. 'Big Man in A Storm' questions our roles in society and how they can drive us nuts, 'A Physical Presence" deals with rejection and lingering feelings, and so on and so forth. Nothing groundbreaking, but there are some nice touches here and there which hearken back to the days when jazz-fusion and prog. rock were things to be enjoyed in public instead of locked in your dad's old basement collection.
So overall, I'd say this is a good album for anyone who wants to hear what happens when a jazz-funk-fusion band goes Pop. Its tasteful, high-wired, interesting and doesn't feel outdated like the majority of 80's music. And unlike what you hear on the radio and T.V. today, this stuff's got enough heart & soul to be appreciated long after the name "Backstreet Boys" becomes slang for you know what.
All that said, that's the end of this review. I don't need to post videos for a band who have a couple hundred vids on YouTube either, so go hear them for yourselves. Happy hunting!!
Now where'd I put that new obscure album I downloaded yesterday....
Album Verdict: 4.6/7