> LUXURY OF LIFE - THE TFSS REVIEW
> Taken from TFSS 7 Archive
>
Track Listing
1) Love Take Over
2) All Fall Down
Written and Produced by Bernard
Oattes and Rob Van Schaik
Written by Barry Blue and Robin Smith.
Produced by Nick Martinelli
3) Let Me Be The One
4) System Addict
Written by Ian Foster. Produced
by Nick Martinelli
Written by Billy Livesy and Gary Bell. Produced by Billy Livesy
5) Hide and Seek
6) R.S.V.P
Written by Gary Bell and Anne
Dudley.
Written by Paul Gurvitz. Produced by Nick Martinelli
Produced by Steve Harvey
7) Now I’m In Control
8) Say Goodbye
Written by Mick Leeson,
Peter Vale and Steve Jefferys.
Written by Lorraine Pearson.
Produced by Nick Martinelli.
Produced by Steve Harvey and Richard Hewson
9) Crazy
10) Winning
Written by Gary Bell. Produced
by Nick Martinelli
Written by Gary Bell. Produced by Steve Harvey.
>
Luxury Of Life was Five Star’s debut album. Released in August 1985 it
spawned
seven singles, and
saw Five Star establishing themselves as pop stars,in preparation for their
phenomenal success the following year. It reached number 12 in the UK charts
and was certified platinum (over 300,000 copies old) by 1987. It reached
57 in the US.
> The first
album. A bit duff right? No, actually it’s not. Although very much
an album of it’s time, the actual tracks and production, pre-empt the soul
sound that Five Star would return to for their 1994 album Heart and
Soul. Thesongs themselves are particularly strong, with Let Me Be The One
and All Fall Down being exceptionally memorable. Tracks like the excellent
System Addict and R.S.V.P are pure pop, and it is easy to understand why
the former was Five Star’s first top ten hit. The album has a variety of
different sounds, all of which go back to the pop/soul formula, which goes
to show the
versatility of
the group even then.
>But they look
really out of date on the cover! But that was what pop stars looked
like in 1985! (although maybe without the braces)! But if the album was
re-recorded again today, it would still be just as strong an album as it
was then. It’s power lies in the songs. Deniece’s vocals are good, but
we know her voice improves on later recordings, whilst Lorraine’s self-penned
Say Goodbye is still regarded as a hallowed classic by fans years later.
Love Games, the R.S.V.P b- side, recorded at the same time, is just a little
too 70s/80s soul to merit inclusion on the album, proving the desire to
make the album as current sounding as possible.
> Aren’t some
of the songs a bit Nursery Rhymey though? That is part of the strength
of some of the non single tracks on the album. The simple melodies of Winning
and Now I’m In Control, is what makes them appealing.
> But tbere
must be something wrong with it! OK. The sound quality of the recording
is not as sharp as it could be, and it does have a bit of a ridiculous
photo on the inner cover, and the main cover has long been a perfect choice
for a caption competition (our favourite being “Deniece refused to speak
to the others after they told her that she looked like a helicopter”).
But for a first album, it shows promise, and potential, and sets a high
standard that Five Star worked hard to improve upon.
> What did the
critics think of it though? One critic claimed that “The three Pearson
girls, especially the immaculately presented Deniece, monopolise the vocals
to the extent that the two brothers only appearance is on the record sleeve.”
So, nothing new there, but as we were soon to learn, there was more to
Sted and Del, than just vocals. The same critic (Roger Holland) concludes
with “ With tracks of the quality of All Fall Down and Let Me Be The
One you simply sit back and enjoy.”, giving it a well deserved 3.5
out of 5. The majority of other reviews are extremely favourable, mentioning
“outstanding female vocals” and “polished production”
. Particular attention is paid to the well known producers, and it says
something about the quality of the production, when Buster was rumoured
to be asking Nick Martinelli to produce the group’s 1999 recordings.
> So you like
it then? Yes I do. But then I like all of Five Star’s albums. This
one has an air of innocence and youthfullness about it, and provides us
with musical evidence of how Five Star were meant to be seen by us. Just
to court controversy again though, I would like to state, for the record,
that I don’t actually like Love Take Over and All Fall Down all that much
. . . but maybe that’s just due to repeated listening.
> And finally?
Often described as a “bubble-gum pop” album, with hindsight it stands out
as being a production that forms the foundation of Five Star’s musical
journey ; strong, original songs, with a stong leaning towards pop, but
also intertwining the beginnings of soul.
********
(8/10) Let it be the one (just call me a top advertising agent then!)
“ I know
it doesn’t seem too modest, but it’s one of my favourites “ Stedman,
1986.
