Metamatic Forums John Foxx John Foxx and Louis Gordon Your fav. list of John with Louis !

I know the Virgin re-releases coming out next but there are some days to wait and I'm interested in your fav. lists of John and Louis albums within the fav. track of each . There is a lot of stuff ,so what is your favourite?

For me the list starts with:

Shifting City - Shadow Man ( what a surprise... ) I love the rough sound of this underrated album and Shadow Man blew me away ; so I made my decision of the nickname.

Crash And Burn / Drive EP - Sex Video : I don't know what it is but this album "do it" for me. Think it has something to do with I enjoyed the tour gig so much and met many nice people for the first time + I spoke the first time with John on his signing session next day.Great memories!

Sideways - Neuro Video ( love videos 'eh? )
For me the better one of the both 2006 albums - felt in love with it after the first listens and took longer for me to do the same with From Trash.

The Pleasures of Electricity - Camera
Love the quiet atmosphere of this album. After Shifting City this album was a new surprise in John's music career.

From Trash - Impossible ( Though I prefer the extended version from Sideways)
As I said, it took a while for me to get into but then later it worked!! Great Album!

I haven't included the studio and real live albums 'cause they are not really "new" albums for me, though I love them a lot! Every time I'm very glad and thankfully John & Louis play and old Ultravox classic track!! They did it the last gigs too and it would be great we could find them on another studio or real live album in the future along with some other great versions of the other albums tracks!!! :rolleyes:


I never found a bad album of John (&Louis). They are great and I love them all!

Hope they fascinating us together for many years in future too!!

Cheers, Andreas

John and Louis collaboration has produced the most exciting and interesting music of John's career I think. He found the perfect musical parter in Louis and for me, their work has gone from strength to strength.

Shifting City - Through My Sleeping
A majestic and poetic song... lovely Beatles influence an absolutely great, moving lyrics. One of my favourite Foxx tracks of all.

The Pleasures of Electricity - The Falling Room
It's hard to single out just one song from what I would say is my personal favourite album from John and Louis. "When It Rains", "Travel", "Quiet City", "Camera"... so many greats in there, but "The Falling Room" is the one track that still puzzles me every time, and I find it so addictive. Mega vocal too!

Crash and Burn - She Robot
I was going to say "Broken Furniture", but then I figured I'd gone off it a bit in recent years. "She Robot" is the one that really sums up all that retro fifties sci-fi movie imagery and pulls it all together in a Kraftwerkien way with an injection of Fritz lang. Epic and robotic.

Drive EP - Your Shadow
An emotive piece with John's typically poetic lyrics. You leave your shadow behind. What an interesting concept. Wonderful vocal performance from John too.

From Trash - A Million Cars
I still maintain that this is John and Louis' overall strongest work. A modern and catchy album with great tracks throughout, but I think between "Impossible" and "A Million Cars", the latter gets my vote every time. John and Louis in "riff wars"! Great stuff. Although I think "Impossible" has the upper hand in terms of original arrangement and lyrics, somehow I preferred the way it sounded live prior to the album's release, whereas "A Million Cars" is just as strong overall.

Sideways - Neuro Video
When I first heard the album, it was "In A Silent Way" that stood out. But now I'd probably rank it among my least favourites on the album, along with "Sailing on Sunshine". The strongest track for me is the Bowie-ish "Neuro Video", which having read John's sleevenotes, just works so well. Original, catchy and all round fantastic.

And I can't log off without mentioning Running in Traffic. Had this track been on Trash, then it would have got my vote in the end! A lost classic. Love it.

Shifting City - An ocean we can breathe
I listen to this song and even now manage to discover something new in it.

The Pleasure of Electricity - Quiet city
Utterly beautiful. Tokyo at night or especially early in the morning, just as it's getting light. Romantic, subtle, powerful.

Crash and burn - Dust and light
It got me hooked on first listen and it is still the one song on the album I most look forward hearing.

From trash - Never let me go

Sideways - Neuro video
Would induce movement in a years-dead corpse.

This is a really interesting thread, I'll have a go at mine ....

Shifting City - The Noise
Very simplistic, but so effective. The harmonies in John's voice echo late-Beatles.

The Pleasures of Electricity - The Falling Room The chorus is so hauntingly catchy. A tune that stays with you long after its finished.

Crash and Burn - Ultraviolet / Infrared
Made for a club ..and your headphones! I could really lose myself in this song. Love the bit when the arpeggio's go mental at 2:22 in! It was a tough choice though, the very first time i heard the first few notes of 'Drive' I knew I was gonna love this album.

Drive EP - Making Movies
I heard it live before I heard the studio version. Powerful stuff, again quite clubby -you can almost see Louis bounce around through the speakers! John's deadpan delivery gives it a beautifully restrained feel to it.


From Trash - From Trash
Great sounds, catchy rhythm, superb song.

Sideways - Neuro Video
Pure genius. Incredibly fresh, modern and haunting. John's voice has a distant and yet passionate feel to it. Again, amazing sounds. Possibly my favourite John'n'Louis song of all ...to date.


Wow! That wasn't easy to do. Think i'll have a lie down

Thanks for your lists Alex, Poyns and Ion-ah !

I enjoyed it so much to read your comments. Seems we all have the same Fav.track for Sideways!!

You made an extra comment for the Drive EP - so I will do it too and my fav. track is "Your Shadow". Love it!

And yes, Alex - we shall not forget "Running in Traffic"; though it is a non album track. Superb!

Like you Jeff, I heard "Making Movies" first live before I listened to the studio version. I remember it blew me away on the Concert. I had the Drive Ep in my jacket and the first I done as I came home was listening to this great EP.

Andreas

Hmmm. A rather difficult choice.

Shifting City - Through My Sleeping
Kaleidoscopic. Hypnotic.

The Pleasures of Electricity - The Falling Room
Vintage Foxx.

Crash & Burn - Ultraviolet/Infra-red
A Moroderesque adventure through sound and vision.

Drive ep - Your Shadow
A romantic odyssey in the dark.

The Hidden Man - Running in Traffic
A hidden gem.

From Trash - A Million Cars
A million thanks!

Sideways - Car Crash Flashback v2
21st Century electro-pulse.

It's a great joy to look back at these recent classics!

Chris

What a great description of this track, Chris!
You wrote the words I feel too...

Great topic for a thread!


Shifting City:

The album I play least of all, too much of a mixed bag for me to really warm to the album as a whole. Not really keen on the Beatlesque tracks, or the somewhat forlorn atmosphere of some of the others, and the nation12 style techno/rave beats just feel very un-Foxxian.

Best track for me is Here We Go, dreamily hypnotic, faraway, and ever so slightly sad at the same time,
(also, on re-listening to the album I now find that 'Everyone' has unexpectedly come to grow on me, I can just imagine David Sylvian singing this).

Least liked track for me is ‘Forgotten Years’, the crooning voice pushed back into the music just gets irritating.


The Pleasures Of Electricity:

Unfortunately I don’t play this album as often as maybe I should, and there’s really great music on it, and its much more adventurous than Shifting City, but I’m not too keen on John’s vocals on a few of the tracks, and I start thinking (just a bit) of the fantastic Klaus Nomi, not that that’s a bad thing, but on a Foxx album its just a little too cabaret for me.

Best Track: Automobile,
For me this is one of John’s best ever, music, voice, so completely part of the Foxxian landscape,

“There’s a beautiful face, behind the pale green glass”
“There’s a time of life, when you need to choose”

(Is ‘Automobile’ better than Gary Numans ‘Cars’? Discuss…)


Crash And Burn:

Best Track: Sidewalking, I love it, I love it, I love it, for me it successfully crosses the bridge between John’s music and a lot of the dance/trance music I listened to prior to, and after his return to my CD player.

“Man falling as you walk on by…”


Drive EP:

Best track: Making Movies, just brilliant, lots of things in this I like, the marching lyrics, the beat, and even the silly twiddly bits, and that beautiful Gardenesque section at the end is the cherry on the cake.


From Trash:

Best Track: A Million Cars, (I like this for much the same reasons as I like 'Sidewalking’)

“Ten thousand ways we can go from here…”


Sideways:

Best Track: And The World Slides Sideways, its just bloody fantastic, so glad it was released on CD. This track started the From Trash 06 gig in Glasgow, John walked on, and my excitement level went straight through the roof…

(I’d also put ‘Neuro Video’ as a close second here).

Least liked track for me is ‘Walking On Sunshine’, ??? (and that’s all I can say about that )

Yes indeed, a good idea for a thread. But with John's work especially it is very difficult to isolate specific tracks from an album which was conceived as a whole project.

That said - my selections are these. I disagree with most of you, which is always fun. Not on purpose, but its the diversity of appeal that makes John's music so interesting

Shifting City Shifting City
This has gone on to become my own favourite live track. A real monster that could go lumbering on for hours and still offer something new every time

The Pleasures of Electricity Camera
I just love the relentless gentility of it. Reminds me of 1982's Endlessly in places and the ending is perfect. Haunting, standout track on their most atypical album..

Crash and Burn Broken Furniture
I chose this one because I relate very closely to the lyrics, and the metaphorical poetry describes my life so well. Interesting point Alex made, but I am far from tired of it yet.

The Drive EP Underwater Dreamsex
This is gritty, grainy, scratched and brutally sensual. No secret on this forum that I rate this as THE best track they've recorded. It's not afraid to be loud for the sake of it and always slightly out of focus. Like me...

From Trash From Trash
I'm going for the title and opening track because I think playing your highest trump card first is an unconventional strategy. Strong melody, a thumping upbeat rhythm and astutely observed lyrics

Sideways In A Silent Way
There's so much creative freedom running through this album, and this track captures all that from the opening blast. Always unexpected and delivered with a big smile. This really is John AND Louis working together separately and capturing a moment of effortless fusion.

Not even close