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10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly enjoyable, 12 Aug 2001
I had a copy of "The Luxury Gap" when I was 14-15 and, as with much of the 80s music I am now revisiting, it is so tied up with nostalgia that it is difficult to be completely subjective; music can be so emotive has a way of making you *feel* a certain way and bringing back memories. I was never a Heaven 17 'fan' but my friend Clare Rimmer was :-) and this album just takes me back to O'levels and school discos (how sad). However... I am listening to it now and, silly memories aside, feel compelled to try and write something partially rational cause it is quite lovely on levels that I probably didn't appreciate as a teen. Firstly the bad bits (let's be honest)... lyrics are crap, cliche ridden, cringe-worthy. But then that's often the way. It *is* very 80s sounding - terrible artificial beat-box rythmn and, though the production is often excellent for the time, frequently dips into tacky riffs and bridges that spoil quite good songs. However... and a *big* however... I have really enjoyed returning to this as an adult and, with hindsight, appreciate how innovative and completely different this album is to that of its contemporaries... I got a 14 year-old Clare Rimmer (where RU Clare?) to tape this for me after hearing 'Temptation' which is one of those gloriously classic 80s songs - definitely 'pop' but Karol Kenyon's interludes were, even back in '82, quite special for the time ... well, hey, they do make you *feel* good, even if the lyrics are rubbish :-) There are some real standard 'pop' tracks on this album ... very enjoyable but pretty run of the mill... 'Come Live With Me' (I really love this but probably, if I'm honest, for nostalgic reasons only) etc. BUT... Now a 30 something, this is a fascinating album to return to as I realise, despite the unfortunate commercial gloss, that in many, many ways, Heaven 17 was doing something quite special... They have quite exceptional chord changes, really beautiful and often when you least expect them. Any fellow melancholic minor-key lovers will appreciate this. Some beautiful harmonies, some unnecessarily bleurk!, but nevertheless they usually hit the mark. Apart from three or four typically 'well crafted pop songs', the arrangement on the rest is very creative ... verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus-patterns really don't apply here... Heaven 17 have some absolutely delightful wee surprises and frequently break the 'rule' re the 'well crafted song'. It's unfortunate that the 80s synthesiser pre-sets sometimes get the better of them but they do have some quite remarkable breaks and interludes which completely trash the usual formula. Fantastically creative in their own way. 70 percent of the time they will just alter the structure of a song in the most fascinating way. The very end of the last song 'The Best Kept Secret' has to be the most (ignore the lyrics) beautiful chord change ever and just makes you want to play the whole album again, despite any initial reservations. Glenn Gregory does have one of the most luxurious voices ever. I remember from my teenage forays into "Smash Hits" that he came across as a complete t**t but his voice is quite stunning. It really is a 'feel this' rather than 'think this' album. They were never going to change the world with their ideas (did they have any?) but, honestly, if you can see past the dated 80s arrangements and production, they were really quite unique, even at the time. Even the first (initially crappy sounding) 'Crushed by the wheels of industry' (not my favourite) has some quite nice melodic touches. Unfortunately, I still assocate this one with cold February school mornings playing hockey (which I hated!) but it bizarrely brings back great memories. The third song, 'Let me go' is probably the most melodically beautiful (but oooh, that nasty 80s production!) ... gets me hook line and sinker. At the end of the day this is one hell of an 80s album but it manages somehow to transcend this ... there's a lot of beauty to be found there and you just wonder what they *could* have been. They say that there are good records and good songs. 2b honest, (maybe with the exception of 'Temptation'), these are not really good records but they are good songs (if you're deaf to lyrics, which I am mostly). Really makes you think what they could have been. If you took one of say the 4 or 5 really decent musical tracks, you could do a fab cover version (hate cover versions but would be interesting to hear what could be done with these without that 80s tinge). For anyone that is lucky to be young enough to hear this first time round... well, go for the pure pop track and hear 'Temptation' - really is an excellent trad pop number (I laugh at it now but it still gets me)... v. well crafted. Then hear the rest. You will giggle and think this sounds ancient ... but listen again and, amongst the nonsense, you will find something quite beautiful. A lovely treasure of a re-descovery
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