Reformation [Box set]

I've always had a soft spot for Spandau- many a youthful drunken session was accompanied by 1985's Singles Collection ( reworked as the recent Gold compilation). Gary Kemp has compiled this excellent triple set of Spandau Ballet, focusing on the early work before they went a bit stadium and banal (see Heart Like a Sky). When they came out they were adventerous and exotic, playing gigs in cinemas and submarines and daring to dress in a cool manner (oh, but fashion dates...) Spandau Ballet were closer to early Associates (Fourth Drawer Down) and early Simple Minds (Sons & Fascination/Sister Feelings Call) with their initial releases. These are collected on disc one, which opens with a pretentious, yet sincere speech by journo Robert Elms. The sub-Rimbaud poetry gives way to the early ambition and formative electronica inflected by Bowie's Berlin Trilogy and Giorgio Moroder. Here we get demo's of The Freeze and To Cut a Long Story Short- which are moving towards the funk inflected perfect pop of Scritti Politti, Kid Creole & New Gold Dream. Key track Glow stands out and is as potent as The Associates A Matter of Gender or Suicide's Shadazz. Much better than pish like Ultravox and Visage. Kemp & co were moving towards a clubby sound, centred around Soho's Beetroot club and pre-dating club culture by several years. Coffee Club and Chant No 1 are anthems of youth celebrating itself- if Chic read Vile Bodies? Great , great tracks - and I have a soft spot for Instinction- despite it not being a word (they created their own language, man!).

Disc 2 takes in a concert from 1983, by which time they had assumed the white-soul sound of True- still Gold, To Cut a Long Story Short & True are still ultra-classic (the latter famously sampled by PM Dawn- Set Adrift on Memory Bliss).

Disc 3 takes in the 12" mixes, of which Spandau were intergral in the development (it being more the domain of dub/reggae - such as that on the Jetstar label). Personal faves here- well, all of them- particularly The Freeze and Lifeline. Best is Highly Strung, a storming funk/rock fusion with some of the worst lyrics this side of People are People, The Lebanon and The War Song (1984 a bad lyric year it seems): "she used to be a diplomat, but now she's down the laundromat...highly strung/she's a nun". It's either genius or idiocy- the intertextual allusion to their own Chant No 1 suggests the former...

So, take another look at Spandau Ballet- but avoid those last two albums; Reformation is an excellent compilation worth investigating...

Firstly, we get the fantasrically raw demos of the lead singles from their never bettered debut album "Journeys To Glory" (TCALSS and "The Freeze"). Critics more familliar with their later work dismiss this album as "soul-less soul music" but they are missing the point, they wern't making soul music, but light, electronic, funky dance. It's a shame "Mandolin" was choosen though, OK track but "Reformation" or "Confused" would have been much better. After this we get "Glow", a non-album track released as a Double A-Side with "Musclebound". It recieved some airplay at the time, but was more or less forgoten until included here, a shame as it id possibly their best track.

The legendary "Chant No. 1" "upped the funk quotant" as did the attendent album "Diamond", which underperformed due to being released too long after "Chant". "Instinction" is quite different from the Trevor Horn remix which became one of their best singles, but OK. "Coffee Club" is possibly their most famous album track. Though not up their with the funk masterpieces by Simple Minds and Scritti Politti being made at the time, the album still sounds quite unique today.

Steve Norman switched from Guitar/Preccussion to saxophone, and with this the band changed is direction from dance/funk to soul/stad-rock. "True" was an OK album with some good songs, and some good songs spoilt slightly bu musical indulgences such as... well sax solos. "Parade" however, was a very dull album, as middle of the road as any British 80s band coulf get. Thankfuly the even duller albums from their Virgin years are not represented.

Disc Two is an enjoyable live concert with ten songs, the first six from "True".

Disc Three is the high point, with several Twelve Inch mixes including "Coffee Club". The high points are "The Freeze" and "Glow". The mix of "Highly Strung" is much better then the duller original, although I would have prefered there being at least one mix of "Round and Round" on this set (my favourite song of theirs post-Diamond)

Overall, "Reformation" is worth getting if only for the demos, the two mixes of "Glow" and the excellent 24 page booklet that comes with it. Only one problem: where is "Musclebound"?