Album: Script of the Bridge
Year: 1983
Label: Statik
Producer: Colin Richardson, artist
Best song: "Second Skin," "Less Than Human" OR "View From A Hill"
Their first album. Simply wow.
Sometimes not recognized as much as their other records, it's easily just as good as anything else they did. Some moments on the record are exceptional, even for them. From the movie dialogue that opens the album, you get that hint of melancholy that's always hidden underneath the majority of the band's output. And it's a great starter as well, kicking right into "Don't Fall" very intensely. As the album moves along, things quiet down a bit but the emotional intensity is never once scaled down. From slow, looming, melodically rich songs like "Less Than Human" (with its heartbreaking opening "I must've died a thousand times" lyric) and "Pleasure And Pain" to the epic centerpiece "Second Skin" (one of the group's all-time best songs), the album is an easy front to back listen each and every time. Every song is knee deep in delay and echo effects and it just adds to the impact that of the instrospective issues that Mark Burgess captures so perfectly.
~Austin
ABOUT THE ALBUM'S TRACKLISTING AND AVAILABILITY...
When this saw release in the US on MCA Records, they trimmed the album down to eight tracks from its original twelve on the vinyl and I've never seen an MCA issue of it on cassette or CD so I'm assuming they did the same thing there as well. It was reissued and remastered in 1995 by Dead Dead Good and is currently available as a British import from most online retailers.
Album: What Does Anything Mean? Basically
Year: 1985
Label: Statik
Producer: Colin Richardson, artist
Best song: "Perfume Garden," "P.S. Goodbye" OR "Intrigue In Tangiers"
Another one for the "W" column.
Not really all that dissimilar from the first album. Maybe a little more restrained and reserved overall (and perhaps a tad bit more soaked in reverb), but nonetheless spectacular. The album kicks right out of the gate with one of the band's best opening tunes, "Perfume Garden" after a two minute long Eno-esuqe all-synth instrumental piece ("Silence, Sea And Sky"). But, after that, it's business as usual (and I mean that in the best possible way). There's more of a focus here on ambience and some of the songs take unexpected, abrupt (but always welcome) turns into quiet, melodic, time signature changing outros with Mark Burgess repeating lyrics over the top of the heavenly mix of reverbed guitars (electric and acoustic most times) and thoughtfully arranged keyboards. Because of that one difference between this and the first album, it comes out as maybe the overall stronger record because it maintains continuity a little better because of it. With all the reverb and delay going on, someone might be quick to ring the "overproduced" bell, but no. On the contrary. For the types of songs that the band tackles on this album, it helps everything fit right into its niche perfectly for another great (and infinitely consistent) record.
~Austin
ABOUT THE ALBUM'S AVAILABILITY...
Also reissued by the British label Dead Dead Good in 1995, with the group's first single "In Shreds" and its b-side "Nostalgia" appended. Both songs are terrific, even if they are inconsequential to the original album.
Album: Strange Times
Year: 1986
Label: Geffen
Producer: David M. Allen, artist
Best song: "Soul In Isolation," "Time," "Mad Jack," "Swamp Thing" OR.. ahh, to hell with it. The whole thing's great.
The masterpiece.
Easily the most recognized album in The Chameleons' discography and for good reason because it's arguably their best record. The whole thing is just one big revolution of singer/songwriter themes and big, deservedly gradiose arrangements. The echoes and reverbs get so heavy on some songs, it's hard not to think that folks like My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Sheilds or The Cocteu Twins were directly or indirectly influenced by The Chameleons, and moreso, this record. The original running order of the album is just one highlight after another and the ambience experimented with on the last album is incorporated into entire songs here to stunning results. There's not a bad song on the record. It contains several epics and one flat out classic with "Soul In Isloation." Perhaps it was the major label big budget that could afford producer Dave Allen who consequently influenced the band to meld their rougher side with their prettier side. Whatever it was that made them do it, they did and it worked fantastically. Initial pressings of the album on vinyl were a two record set; the first record being the proper ten song album, the second a five song EP that contained two exclusives ("Paradiso" and "Inside Out"), an alternate (and superior) recording of "Tears" and two brilliant cover songs (The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" and Bowie's "John, I'm Only Dancing"). Excellent.
~Austin
ABOUT THE ALBUM'S AVAILABILITY...
This is the one record from the group's initial run in the 80's that has remained in print. Most reissues have appended the bonus EP as either bonus tracks or an extra disc. I think it's available for a suggested retail price of something very cheap like $7.98 or something, so don't hesitate to grab it.
Album: Tony Fletcher Walked On Water La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La
Year: 1987
Label: Glass Pyramid
Producer: artist
Best song: all
The mini-masterpiece.
The title is nod to the group's acting manager and good vibe provider, who died merely days before the band went into to track their latest creations. As Fletcher was literally the last dwindling string holding the band together in the midst of endless in-fighting, they broke up immediately after these recordings were made, leaving them on the shelf for a few years. Mark finally leaked them out and started selling them in limited runs at live shows until Dave and Reg threatened legal action and he subsequently stopped. The EP finally saw an official release on the compilation of rare recordings called Northern Songs in 1994. Even that was difficult to find and the EP wasn't really widely available until 1995, when the Dead Dead Good label issued it as a bonus disc with their Return of the Roughnecks best of set (more on that in a minute). As for the four songs contained on this EP, they simply find the band elaborating on the revelations of Strange Times. "Is it Any Wonder?" has been dubbed as Mark's personal favorite Chams song ever, and it's easy to see why. "Free For All" is one of Mark's most intense vocal performances, while "Healer" is arguably his finest set of lyrics since "Perfume Garden." "Healer" and final track "Denims and Curls" are especially fine moments for Reg and Dave, making for some of their best guitar work and really getting more heavily into shoegaze territory. These would be the band's last recordings for over a decade and, while the disintegration was bitter and upsetting, it's a pretty damn admirable way to leave things. The potential contained within these four songs is almost scary and the quality of the abandoned album can only speculated upon; surely it would have been a rock and roll monument. But instead, they quit, breaking under the personal and professional pressure. Even now, after years of singing along to these songs, I have a hard time coming to grips with the overall quality and resonance of the music packed into just over twenty minutes. Absolutely outstanding.
~Austin
In the wake of their breakup, there was the Tony Fletcher EP and a slew of vault and live recordings released. I now have them in my collection and the write-ups are shortly forthcoming. For now though, let's move on to the reunion...
Album: Strip
Year: 2000
Label: Cleopatra
Producer: artist
Best song: "Soul In Isolation," "Less Than Human" OR "Indiana"
Like peeking into a rehearsal.
To announce their official reunion in 2000, the band recorded this collection of mostly old songs acoustically (John Lever couldn't make the session due to prior engagements) to get themselves back into the groove of being a band again. All of the songs receive fantastic renditions. Most of them take on entirely new meanings in such an intimate up close setting as this one. They did debut two new songs here: the instrumental "Road To Remo" and an early version of "Indiana." A wonderful table setter for their proper comeback album a year later, but also a fine album on its own.
~Austin
Album: Why Call It Anything?
Year: 2001
Label: Cleopatra
Producer: David M. Allen, artist
Best song: "Miracles And Wonders," "Shades" OR "Indiana"
This is why reunions shouldn't be frowned upon.
In a word, stunning. Stunning that they could pick up right where they left off and still sound as fantastic (and as relevant!). Reunions in the rock and roll world (especially new wave bands) are generally not given much thought or merit as potentially great encounters by previously great bands. In this case, they never stopped being great, they just stopped being a band. Time proves to be no hurdle at all here as the atmospherics and beautifully rich melodies drowned in gallons of reverb are present; the material sounds like it came out of one of their productive sessions in the 80's. But it didn't. That's the remarkable thing about the record. They come out rocking the hardest they ever have on "Shades" and from there on out, it's just one layered masterpiece after another. At the same time it will remind you of their past material, they throw in just enough curveballs and shake up the formula just enough times to give the album an intriguing indentity within their discography. It's easily their most layered and intricate album. Not to mention that it's arguably their most consistently rocking and epic album (with most of the songs clocking in at between 5 and 6 minutes in length, some exceeding that by quite a bit). Though they've been reunited since 2000 and have subsequently released a lot of material, this is the only record full of nothing but new, original songs; it's also the best record to result from their reunion. And it's their best overall album. Like I said, stunning.
~Austin
Album: Live At The Academy
Year: 2002
Label: Paradiso
Producer: artist
Best song: So many classics!
Brilliant live account.
As most live albums go, this probably won't be of interest to casual fans but for us obsessive types, this is absolutely essential. Pretty much all of the group's albums get represented here. You get most of the essentials: "Second Skin," "Pleasure And Pain," "Swamp Thing," "Perfume Garden" and so on. You also get over half of the then newly released Why Call It Anything? album and a cover of the Alternative TV song "Splitting In Two." Initial pressings of the album were two CD's worth of material, including three bonus acoustic takes on some of the better tracks from Strange Times from a seperate gig. This is worth hearing if for nothing else than hearing them accurately replicate the depth and echoey walls of sound that the studio albums achieve. The addition of Rastafarian vocalist Kwasi Asante on some tracks makes them all the more interesting.
~Austin
Album: This Never Ending Now
Year: 2003
Label: Paradiso
Producer: John Delf, artist
Best song: "Second Skin" OR "Miracles And Wonders"
Mostly acoustic reworkings of classics.
Sounds like a cheesy idea on paper: re-record a bunch of old songs in a mostly acoustic setting. But it actually comes out as one of the band's most unique albums for the simple fact that they are self consciously underproducing all the songs. Only a few of the songs contain their trademark reverb soaked guitars. In addition to hearing the band in such an intimate and different setting, you get two semi-obscurities: "The Fan And The Bellows" and the Tony Fletcher track "Is It Any Wonder?." Also, one new track, a cover of Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" that is absolutely great. More than just footnote in the band's discography.
~Austin
