- Audio CD
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Import
- Label: Virgin Records UK
- ASIN: B0000070ZI
- Other Editions: Audio CD
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 253,732 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
After a year or so going slowly nowhere with their manager's independent label Fast Product, the Human League signed to Virgin via a contract that gave them a small advance but almost total artistic control. They delivered their debut album "Reproduction" to an overwhelming response of apathy from a record-buying public who preferred lighter material from the likes of the Buggles and New Musik instead.
Produced by Colin Thurston (who later went on to produce Duran Duran and with whom the League later voiced their dissatisfaction) this is nonetheless a strong debut album.
Containing voices and synthesisers only, the album includes their first proper Virgin single "Empire State Human" (they released "I Don't Depend on You" under the pseudonym The Men) and probably the finest cover version anyone has ever released, a poignant yet mighty "You've Lost That Loving' Feeling" which surpasses the original by a country mile, not only showcasing Phil Oakey's amazing lead vocals but proving beyond a doubt that Martyn Ware was a fantastic backing vocalist for him, with a tremendous vocal range and power to boot (pity the two never really got on with each other).
The stage favourites "The Path Of Least Resistance" and "Blind Youth" are here with a re-recording of "Circus Of Death", and the album proper ends with "Zero As A Limit", again demonstrating Oakey's vocal power and his ability to hold a note (how long does the final word of "Into yoooooouuuuuuuu" last again?)
All of their Fast Product material has been included here, including the original "Circus Of Death" and the infamous flexi-disc given away with vinyl copies of the "Dignity Of Labour" EP (in which the recording is taken up by a taped discussion between the band and their manager about what to put on the disc; by the time the debate ends, they've filled it!), and both sides of their aforementioned single as The Men.
The band later admitted in interviews that they didn't like their album much; whilst it's not as good as the follow-up "Travelogue", it definitely has its moments and is more interesting than their later efforts from 1984 onwards, an.
The cover caused quite a stir for its obvious "meaning" (dancing adults later producing babies), but is notable for the identities of some of the infants' parents (Noddy Holder??)
Produced by Colin Thurston (who later went on to produce Duran Duran and with whom the League later voiced their dissatisfaction) this is nonetheless a strong debut album.
Containing voices and synthesisers only, the album includes their first proper Virgin single "Empire State Human" (they released "I Don't Depend on You" under the pseudonym The Men) and probably the finest cover version anyone has ever released, a poignant yet mighty "You've Lost That Loving' Feeling" which surpasses the original by a country mile, not only showcasing Phil Oakey's amazing lead vocals but proving beyond a doubt that Martyn Ware was a fantastic backing vocalist for him, with a tremendous vocal range and power to boot (pity the two never really got on with each other).
The stage favourites "The Path Of Least Resistance" and "Blind Youth" are here with a re-recording of "Circus Of Death", and the album proper ends with "Zero As A Limit", again demonstrating Oakey's vocal power and his ability to hold a note (how long does the final word of "Into yoooooouuuuuuuu" last again?)
All of their Fast Product material has been included here, including the original "Circus Of Death" and the infamous flexi-disc given away with vinyl copies of the "Dignity Of Labour" EP (in which the recording is taken up by a taped discussion between the band and their manager about what to put on the disc; by the time the debate ends, they've filled it!), and both sides of their aforementioned single as The Men.
The band later admitted in interviews that they didn't like their album much; whilst it's not as good as the follow-up "Travelogue", it definitely has its moments and is more interesting than their later efforts from 1984 onwards, an.
The cover caused quite a stir for its obvious "meaning" (dancing adults later producing babies), but is notable for the identities of some of the infants' parents (Noddy Holder??)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
'Reproduction' was the first release by the original Human League- Oakey, Ware, Marsh with projectionist, Wright...Coming out of the miserable 70's, via the Winter of Discontent & Punk (most of which is terrible these days- it's the attitude that counts!)- The Human League made sense next to Cabaret Voltaire, The Normal & Throbbing Gristle. Strange to say it, but they were more forward-thinking than Joy Division (later hailed as electronic pioneers, New Order)- who dabbled with synths on a few tracks ('Insight') but did not go the whole electronic way a la Kraftwerk. The League did; this was their moody period. Perhaps Sheffield was a grey dump then; perhaps they had assimilated with their grey enviroment- like Henry in 'Eraserhead' or Pere Ubu?...Whatever, this was their long coat, Kafka ('In a Penal Colony'/'The Castle') & Ballard (the urban disaster trilogy:'Crash'/'Concrete Island'/'High Rise' or 'Terminal Beach'/'Voices of Time') reading period...all very Jean Baudrillard & very P K Dick!!!
The 1st 9-tracks are the album reproduction- moody, doom-drenched synths that extend on the sound of the 1st Suicide album (along with 'Trans Europe Express' inflections). 'Almost Medieval' & 'Circus of Death' gaze back at primal notions in a futurist manner- from the present tense of post-punk. The latter is like a JG Ballard short story!...'Blind Youth' & 'Morale...' are hinting at an obscured pop sensibility...'Austerity/Girl One' & 'Empire State Human' are better still- the latter displaying Nietszchean ambition years before we would hear the name, 'Madonna Louise Ciccone'...We get 'Empire's b-side, 'Introducing'- which could sit next to anything on 'Low' & 'The Dignity of Labour'- a definite precursor of the ambient work of Moby & DJ Shadow...The flexi disc is a post-modern exercise, yes they had a sense of humour...We finish on their 1st single, released on Fast Records: 'Being Boiled' & 'Circus of Death'. The latter is longer than the 'Reproduction' take, while the former is better than the John Leckie re-working on 'Travelogue'....This is a historical document- as vital as the 1st 2 Suicide LP's or 'Trans Europe Express'...And at this budget price, great value- the only problem is the current unavailability of the follow-up, 'Travelogue'. Looks like a job for 2nd hand shops or Z-shops!.The follow-up is even better, a big influence on Soft Cell ('Life Kills') & Daft Punk (the extra track, 'I don't depend on You' released as The Men, sounds like Kraftwerk fusing with Chic. Or anything off the Daft Punk albums. In 1980!!!)...'Reproduction', 'Travelogue', 'Dare!', 'Penthouse & Pavement', 'Love & Dancing', 'How Men Are', 'The Luxury Gap', the BEF records, 'Human League Greatest Hits' & 'Secrets' are all other reccomended follow-ups to this classic debut!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
As a 27 year old child of the 80s I grew up listening to bands like Duran Duran, Madness, The Jam, Depeche Mode, Wham and of course The Human League. Although every single they released was enjoyed by me and many others my age, I was too young to realise all those great tracks were by the same great band - the release of Greatest Hits in 1988 brought this to my attention when I bought it and it made me a lifelong fan - after the subsequent release of their next album Romantic in 1990 I had a desire to hear everything else they had produced and by 1991 I had a copy of REPRODUCTION which I bought from HMV while on holiday in Kent. My main memory of first listening to that album was begging my mum to stick it on the car stereo whilst driving somewhere and her ejecting it disgustedly about 1 minute into EMPIRE STATE HUMAN, the track released as a single in 1979. With an incredibly repetitious chorus (Tall tall tall I wanna be tall tall tall, as big as a wall wall wall as big as a wall wall wall) and crazy backing vocals this was possibly the poppiest track on offer, although still very dark sounding with the rest of the album being even more so. The trade mark sound of the album is drum beats which sound like a tin tray being struck repeatedly working very effectively combined with dark sythesiser melodies and phil oakeys moody and ghostly vocals. As the other reviews suggest this is nothing like HLs mainstream output and is a fantastic album. The stand out tracks are Blind Youth, Austerity and Circus Of Death. Although you can draw obvious comparisions to bands like Kraftwerk and Visage this album has a very difficult sound to describe and is unique in itself. As a moody 17 year old this album effected me immediately and I embraced Blind Youth and other tracks as my top anthems of 1991. The rest of the world excluding 20 somethings old enough to have bought it in 79 remained ignorant to its brilliance. Well worth a listen.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Better things to come...
This wasn't a bad attempt at a first album, especially considering the fact that the band was so beset with problems up until they secured their Virgin deal. Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2002 by michael_m
curiously delicious...especially if you're a synth lover
human league went on to make DARE....and never recovered from the brilliance of that achievement (martin rushent, who produced it, retired shortly afterwards... Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2002 by Mr. S. R. Dhain
A moody and magnificent debut album
I adore and worship the present day incarnation of the Human League, from the universally adored Dare to glittering finery of Secrets. Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2002 by mirrorball21@hotmail.com
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Intriguing dark synth debut of the 80s pop group
Before the New Romantic era came along and rolled back the punk revolution, several bands - Wire, PiL, the Pop Group, Joy Division, Section 25 and others - were moulding punk into... Read more
Published on 1 April 2000
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