I'm amazed that this album isn't available in the UK separately. You can get it as part of the "Product" box set, but the album certainly deserves a remastered release in it's own right.
OK, this is the original lineups last album. Released in September 1979, it shows that the band were heading in a new direction. Though behind the scenes, the band were slowly falling apart, their recorded offerings were still of the highest quality.
Side one is shared between Shelley and Diggle. Pete offers us the catchy "Paradise", the gorgeous "You Say You Don't Love Me" and it's b-side "Raison D'etre". Steve gives us some of his best and strangest material to date, the great "You Know You Can't Help It", complete with dodgy lyrics, "Sitting Round At Home" and the insane "Mad Mad Judy".
This album really comes alive on side two. I've always thought of side two as Pete Shelley's Depression Suite. Pete was obviously starting to go a bit barmy around this time, though his songwriting was going from strength to strength. "I Don't KNow What To Do With My Life" starts the whole proceedings off. Next we get "Money" with it's almost Funky Drummer rhythm. This segues into "Hollow Inside", which if isn't written by a manic depressive then I'll eat my hat! The title track is just, though I don't really mean "just" a list of opposites sung by Shelley. He even goes all Kraftwerk on us at one point with a use of a vocoder, though it's hardly Man Machine, so Ralf and Florian didn't have to worry too much. Next comes the albums Tour De Force, the fantastic "I Believe". A seven minute wonder which includes some of Pete's finest lyrics. His pain clear at the end with a monologue of "there is no love in this world anymore".
Finally, we get the fifty second "Radio Nine", a brief radio transmission where we hear "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" and "Why Can't I Touch It" through the static.
Come on EMI, re-release this great album.
My tip for the day: just don't play it when you're feeling down.