Pauline Murray & the Invisible Girls: Pauline Murray, The Invisible Girls: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Pauline Murray emerged with Penetration in the white heat summer of Punk. After Penetration's demise Murray teamed up with Salford punk-poet John Cooper Clarke's occasional backing band The Invisible Girls and, guided by the production skills of Martin Hannet (who himself was one of the Invisible Girls), set about recording what, for me, is one of the finest pop albums to emerge from the post-punk era. This record sounds like one of the very best albums the Factory label never released (it originally appeared on the RSO label) - but with Hannet at the controls it was bound to have a Factory feel. But where it differs from the standard Factory fayre (if there is such a thing) it is that there is a definite pop sensibility running throughout the album. Dream Sequence, all breathy vocals and majestic keyboard swirls is like no song that Factory ever released but it still somehow manages to sound like a Factory single from start to finish - maybe its the production, doomy and dense but managing, within the tangled web, to allow breathing space. The catchiness of the mostly upbeat melodies never quite manages to let the listener escape the feeling of dread and foreboding - altogether an unsettling and strange experience.

The album sank without trace on release despite being warmly received. It also has one of the best album covers you will see anywhere - beautifully designed by Peter Saville (another Factory link). The version of the sleeve used on the CD is a much reduced and less impactful version than that on the original vinyl album - seek out the vinyl version if you can.

It is a great pity that this album is out of print in any format at the moment (2006), so if you see it, in any format, buy it, listen to it, love it, make it feel wanted. It deserves it. I submit reviews to Amazon fairly regularly and it is very rare that I give anything other than a 4 star rating. This is a lost classic that deserves the best rating available.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Too far ahead of its time, 29 Jun 2005

By	ascensus - See all my reviews

After Penetration collapsed under the weight of crude heavy metal guitar playing on their second LP ("Coming Up For Air", 1979), Pauline Murray and Robert Blamire hooked up with producer Martin Hannett and a varying selection of Manchester musicians (e.g. Vini Reilly, the odd Buzzcock).

This 1980 LP does three things: it provides another setting for the trademark gated drum sound that Hannett introduced and which became a definitive mark of early 80s pop: it makes copious use of then still relatively novel synthesisers: most importantly, it showcases Murray's voice like no other material she performed.

This was therefore an LP about two years ahead of its time. The audience that would buy Human League and later Simple Minds LPs by the thousands hadn't yet formed. Unfortunately, its ethereal sound and dancing rhythms were not punk and not yet popular, so it did not sell well.

So fresh was the approach for the times Murray occasionally struggled to find a melody to suit some of the songs and her voice, but when it worked ("Dream Sequences", the bonus "Waiting For Heaven") the effect was nearly sublime.

This is the best of Pauline Murray and a document of the emerging sound that would come to dominate 80s pop. It's well worth your money - if you can find a copy.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for every collection, 3 Oct 2001

By	brianpwharton@yahoo.co.uk (Liverpool, England) - See all my reviews

This album is brilliant. Pauline Murray at her best. The album was critically aclaimed when it first came out, but never reached the success it deserved. This album is a must for every collection. Buy it now and transport yourself back to the early eighties with tracks like Dream Sequence and Time Slipping. The production on this album was unusual for its time but now seems bang up to date. Oh Pauline where are you now ?

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Crossover between touching pop and a Joy Division-production
I really love this album. I bought it in 1980 as friends of mine played songs of this album on their pirate radiostation at the time. Read more

Published 16 months ago by C. J. Van Hall

5.0 out of 5 stars Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls
Pauline Murray must have been the most underated singer of her era, she had the voice of an angel and this album utilises it to great effect. Read more

Published on 1 Feb 2003 by Von Pip

5.0 out of 5 stars The most magical and atmospheric album of the 80's.
For anyone who doesn't know already, Pauline Murray was the heroic survivor of the Punk band Penetration. Read more

Published on 27 Sep 2000

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Pauline Murray & the Invisible Girls

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