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

Nice idea Shads. I'm going to listen to them all again this weekend and you will have my reply first thing Monday morning.....sir.

I can't believe such a question has been asked! There are no grounds for comparison.

"Cars" IS a pop classic. And probably one of few songs to have been at the top of the charts in three decades.

Oh, what a great pleasure to read your comments, guys...
Enjoy it!!

Martin you are so right about Shifting City played live by John & Louis! It is THE! best track produced by John & Louis I ever heard played live by them. An absolutely killer on every gig!!

It is funny ,core memory how the least favourite of one person grew up to a first place for another one... And we all love the music of the same artist. For me the best album is Shifting City - in fact of it's (hope I find the right words) simple, pure, rough and "unpolished" sound. This has certainly to do 'cause of it is their first album - but I love it so much 'cause exact of these reasons I mentioned before. I really looking forward to the re-release with bonus tracks out of that period.
Great John & Louis decided playing "Shadow Man" on their gigs again!! :rolleyes:

I cannot see any reason to discuss about Automobile and Cars. For me two absolutely different tracks which have nothing to do together except the only fact they are about driving with cars.

But it is very interesting what people think about John's music and it is everytime fascinating how different (or not) they feel about it .

I looking forward to your list, Member D...

Cheers, Andreas

Not out of laziness I assure you, but my Desert Island Selection from John and Louis almost echoes Martin’s choices track for track;

Here We Go (from ‘Shifting City’)

Up there with the ‘classics’ – such a beautiful track; everything about it is perfect. The hairs on the back of my neck just stood up when I first heard it. Some of the best songwriting he’s ever done too. And a mention for the live version which turns this quiet, thoughtful piece into…well, a knees-up; I love that too, so celebratory in feel whilst retaining a sense of the original.


Camera (from ‘The Pleasures of Electricity’)

The standout track on the album – ‘Europe Endless’ becomes a hymn to snapshots. So damn well-written again, so human;

This is you waving
This is the sea
This is you smiling
And this is me

Great bassline as well – perfectly evoking the 70s Neu!/Kraftwerk motorik sound.


Broken Furniture (from ’Crash and Burn’)

For me it sums up perfectly the other side of modern living in a city. There’s also an echo of the lyrics to Just For A Moment towards the end;

A river's running through the floor again
Maybe one day we can swim away
One day we can swim away

(Broken Furniture)

I felt the floor change into an ocean

We'll never leave here never
Let's stay in here for ever
And when the streets are quiet
We'll walk out in the silence

(Just For A Moment)


Underwater Dreamsex (from ‘The Drive EP’)

Can’t really add to what Martin says, which says it all perfectly really.


Impossible (from ‘From Trash’)

I love the way it just builds and builds. I love the almost quiet, frustrated but well-articulated anger in John’s voice, as he tells us not to listen to those who say your dreams and ideas are impossible to reach. And then chorus explodes im shards of synth and FX shredded vocals. Superb.


In A Silent Way (from ‘Sideways’)

It’s just a great big happy pop-song and great to sing along to!

I'd love to add my list here but I've still not heard 3 John Foxx albums.

I'll come back with my list once I'm qualified.

Will have to wait for the new Shifting City before that happens though.

I agree totally with you about Camera,Garry - Think this is the reason it is my fav. too.

And a nice thought about Broken Furniture and Just for a Moment - I haven't realised it until your comment..

3 Albums! So there is something to do for you, Brian...

Looking forward to your comments when you are ready.

Bye, Andreas

I have to listen to all of John & Louis' album's again, too. Difficult to reel them off the top of my head, but 'Here we Go' will NOT be on there. The weakest track from 'Shifting City' in my Ilektrik universe dontchaknow.

3 Albums! So there is something to do for you, Brian...

Too right Andreas,

I've been deliberately waiting for the re-masters.

Its going to be a very busy end of September with the the 2 Ultravox re-masters,4 John Foxx CDs,2 of which are completely new to me.

Brian

Hope you've been saving up, mate! But it'll be very worthwhile.

Sometimes I wish I could listen to John's stuff again with 'virgin' ears.

Well here are the votes of the memberD jury (earlier than expected) with all my douze points tracks:

Shifting City
Through My Sleeping
- a toss-up between this and 'Ocean' which was greatly improved on in the live recordings.

Pleasures of Elec.
Nightlife
- Camera a close second

Crash & Burn
Sex Video

Drive Ep
Drive (single edit)

From Trash
A Million Cars
- not an easy choice as for me it's where the pair start to get interesting. Runners up: A Room as Big as a City, The One Who Walks, Impossible

Sideways
Underwater
- again, not an easy choice with 'Silent Way' and 'Sunshine' also on the medals podium.

That concludes the voting. Did I miss any out?
I didn't put the live recordings in.

So we are keen to see your fav. list .

I have to buy these packet too + the Burning car remix vinyl - but will wait for Cargo in October and go direct in the shops..

I assume the both albums of John are "The Golden Section" and "In Mysterious Ways"?


Thanks for your list Member D !
Nightlife is a nice track for a live gig. The later version ( to hear on "...as Big as a city" ) is great too!

And Underwater was an outstanding track on Sideways for me too on my first listens - but later it became a change and now it is Neuro Video for me.

Cheers, Andreas

Andreas, since I first read your post a couple of days ago I've been mulling over this and it wasn't easy to pick out the most outstanding tracks off of each album as I love them all. Louis certainly brought back John from the cold and musically the two together have worked well. So here goes

Shifting City - The title track Shifting City because when I first heard this on Modern Art it blew me away and I like the studio version along with the live version.

Pleasure's Of Electricity - Falling room because I feel John puts his heart into his singing

Crash & Burn - She Robot

Drive EP - Underwater Dreamsex

From Trash - A million Cars

Sideways - Nuero Video.

It's surprisng just how people on this forum differ in their opinions.

Peter

Yes Peter, I know it is a hard work to make the decision for the best track.

Shifting City ... do you remember the great evening we heard this track live for the first time? We were totally enthusiastic and you bought a lot of CD's on that evening. I assume you had only dry bread with water the next days?...


For me, my favourite track was replaced by another one over the years. So my fav. list from today is not the same I had after the first listens.

Had anyone made the same experience?

Andreas

I agree, I do this all the time.

But what I find tends to happen is that after a period of time ( a few weeks/months), I return to my previous favourites!
These don't tend to change much over a long period (I'm talking a year or more...) and form the basis of my All Time Top 100.

Which reminds me, I haven't revisited this for over three years.

Time to start again

This is interesting . I never made this experience for me too. What was happen to me was I find fav. tracks after a few listens - then after some weeks or months and a lot listens it changed to another track. But this track was THE! track for me and it never changed again. But what was happen is I found another nice track which second the fav.one over the years - and this track was replaced from time to time.

Andreas

Calls to close to make But I'll go for" Cities of Light" from TPOE surely this is what John is all about the perfect dichotomy berwen detachment/fascination , I'll go with the majority vote for everything else

This has happened to me with a couple of Foxx tracks, as well as several other examples.

When Your Dress was released and getting radio airplay etc I bought the single and played it hundreds of times, almost 'endlessly' in fact for months. It was far and away the best track John Foxx had done since I had the same experience with Burning Car a few years previously.

Years have passed, and I have listed other tracks among my favourites, but it is the longevity of these two in particular (and perhaps the memories evoked by hearing these tracks again) that makes me never tire of listening to them.
That's maybe because they were SINGLES ??? and written, produced and recorded to be heard in isolation - especially Burning Car. To capture a moment in time. I don't know, but I expect that has something to do with it.

I think that since John Foxx is now an 'album only' artist since his second coming, it has become much harder (and ultimately unrealistic) to lift particular songs out of context and identify them as 'favourites'.

Which (to an extent) explains the difficulty we all faced - and perhaps the artists themselves will - when compiling our hypothetical 'Best of John and Louis' lists.
It may also be a contributing factor among the reasons he and Louis have not released a single.

Doesn't mean that this hasn't been a fun exercise, but I'm wondering if this is why I found it so difficult...

Shifting City - "Here We Go": by track 3 I found something to tell me for sure this was John back from the wilderness.

The Pleasures of Electricity - "Quiet City". Canary Wharf in January after the madness of Christmas gives way to blank cold undecorated nights, but the days begin to start earlier again.

Crash and Burn - "Smoke": a recent revelation, something someone said on here about it being the aftermath of the car crash that is "Ray 1/Ray 2".

Drive EP - "Your Shadow" although "Making Movies" has become a live favourite. I think of "MM" as the real A side of this single.

From Trash - "Impossible", possibly.

Sideways - maybe "Sideways", moody intro followed by ecstatic half-chant.

That was me

An interesting thought. Perhaps you are right with the singles.
For me it was hard to take my fav. track of every album too but I'm sure I would find a track for a single. Perhaps this had to do with I haven't had any singles of John & Ultravox! at the time the albums were released. I got the singles many years later on E-bay or as some trade items for other things. I think this is the reason it isn't much difficult for me to find a single track.

But I agree with you we all would have different tracks for a single.
I remember the discussion for a single of the Crash& Burn album and some people agreed (incl. me!) for "Drive" as a single track. Some time later the Drive EP were released as a bonus special to the Crash&Burn Tour.
I would love to have more EP's like this - a good way to get some bonus stuff. And I think the Drive EP works perfectly - music and artwork. I love it!

Andreas

Fantastic, Mark! A great comment to the track (which I love too). It describes the atmosphere of this masterpiece perfectly! During I heard Quiet City for the first time my hair stood up on my neck...

Cheers, Andreas

and here it be...

Shifting City:
CRASH

The Pleasures Of Electricity:
UPTOWN/DOWNTOWN

Crash & Burn:
DUST AND LIGHT

DRIVE e.p:
MAKING MOVIES

From Trash:
NEVER LET ME GO

Sideways:
NEURO VIDEO

Thanks Mr. Ilektrik!

I love this track too and it seconds my fav. track "Shadow Man". Would be great if we could enjoy "Crash" live one day. I think it would work very well on a gig.


Cheers, Andreas

I agree, but for me the exception is Shifting City, its the only album that I am not totally convinced is a whole project. I think of it as an eclectic transitional work, with tracks either reconstructed from, or stylistically inspired by former projects or periods.


It’s certainly a low energy track compared to some of the rest, and I can understand why it would not be seen as a flagship choice.
The reason it stays with me, and why I choose it here, is that it perfectly sums up how I felt emotionally about this album, or more so, about John’s totally unexpected ‘first proper’ reappearance since ’85.
It just fits the whole experience for me.

“Ever wonder just which way to go...?

…I never, ever found the way back home,
Goes to show I didn't want to know”

At that time I was just completely astonished that John was back at all, but there was also a kind of slight unease for me about it. Musically it all sounded a bit anachronistic and displaced, and I was left feeling uncertain about where it was all going, little could I realise of course that we’d all end up several years later with many fine new albums by John!

“Days and nights and years all come and go…

…I always lose the thread but catch the flow”

I wouldn’t necessarily have chosen any of the ‘Beatlesque’ tracks on SC for this thread, but I do really prefer the Omnidelic versions of these much more.
I’m also intrigued by SC’s future reissue, hopefully an expanded version will give me more insight into that past time. I think when it happens I’ll be in a better position to re-evaluate it as a whole concept.


I’ve enjoyed focusing in on the album’s for this thread, and it’s made me go back and re-listen to TPOE, and I honestly don’t know why I sort of mostly ignored this album.
True, I was a bit unconvinced by certain things, some of John’s vocals, the too obvious Kraftwerkian beats and the salute to their music, but I really love this album right now, and find myself excited by it. For me it’s the most interesting, and esoteric of the John/Louis albums.
Okay, I’d still probably say that ‘Invisible Women’ is the weakest track for its lazy musical recycling of Underpass/This City, but TPOE has now sneaked its way into third position of my all time top three JF albums.