Happy Families... Plus

I loved this album the first time I heard it, with the opener "I Can't Explain" and then "Feel Me Now" just exploding through the speakers. And that was before reaching "Living On The Ceiling"! Having worn out a cassette and then a vinyl copy it was great to see Edsel had moved onto Blancmange back-catalogue after the Thompson Twins.

OK, it's only a single disc (more on that later) but the mastering is excellent here (even if it does show one or two limitations on the original tapes, and the odd 'dirty' fadeout). Everything has balance and the layers of percussion in particular stand out. Even though the first 5 tracks are arguably the best, there isn't a naff one here.

Far less produced than their follow-up, this is quite a raw sound, with Neil barking some of the lyrics, but that's how it was meant to sound, and made this duo stand out from the blander crowd. Even ballads like "Waves" have a dark energetic undercurrent beneath the strings and sound-effects.

The packaging is nicely done, going through the history and influences of the band, including reference to early material not included (different labels ofcourse, which is probably why the didn't make this a double disc). There is an explanatory note as to hwy a couple of b-sides are missing, which implies contractual issues...seems a little odd, particularly as "Running Thin" made it to the budget Platinum Collection a couple of years back with no trouble atall. As such there isn't really enough to make a double set from available material.

But the bonuses that are here are generally well mastered too. My old distorting US 12" of "Ceiling/Feel Me" is now heading to the charity shop, as the sound is so much better on this CD!

Through headphones the last minute of so of "Feel Me Now" 12" mix appears to have a couple of quiet pops, but this is very very minor (not anything like Into The Gap's "You Take Me Up" 12" bonus by Thompson Twins, which has some fairly dire noises in places, sounding a lot like vinyl sourcing). It is also possible masters have themselves deteriorated, however well kept, so there's no reason to suspect "Feel Me Now" 12" is not from the original master tape. The Instrumental version is also great, and the US Instr variation (more like the 12" percussively) is nice to have.

5 out of 5 due to strength of the album, though maybe 4.5 out of 5 for not getting the 2 extra b-sides licensed.

For a while back in the early 80's this album was a semi permanent fixture on my turntable. Blancmange are an enigma to many - silly name, fluffy pop singles, no real image to speak of, had a few hits then faded away. But look under the surface and they were so much more than that.

This, their debut album, is a real mixed bag of musical styles. The only consistent thing about tracks as diverse as Sad Day, Feel Me, Living On The Ceiling and Waves is the peculiar english eccentric streak they all contain. Sort of like a UK Talking Heads with the funky art rock leaning replaced by whimsical english pop sensibilities. Hearing this album now years after its release (its been out of print for ages) its clear this band could only ever have existed in the 1980's. There are no modern equivalents.

Its a bouncy, bright, poppy affair shot through with the occasional Walker-esque shards of melancholy. Its not arty or edgy, even the funky Feel Me is very pedestrain in comparison with the likes of Japans Tin Drum material or anything by Depeche Mode post A Broken Frame. However its gleaming pop at its absolute best - pure, honest and utterly melodic.

This version is a decent digital remaster. Sure, it would have been nice to see a few extra tracks, plus do we really need four versions of Feel Me? But at this price and the quality of the album itself these are minor concerns.

Blancmange had more commercial success with the follow up Mange Tout (also released in this series) but this is the album I always return to. The fact that its fallen so far off the critical radar is a sad day indeed.

A welcome re-issue of these 3 albums which also contain nearly all of Blancmanges recorded output.
I know I'm being a little bit picky here but I am disappointed that these arn't the original album versions. Both Waves and Living On The Ceiling use the single mixes which, at least in the case of Waves, is totally different to the original album version.
Also on Mange Tout they use the much shorter single edit of Day Before You Came.
Surely when compiling these releases they could show a little more attention to detail?