Recently been digesting the manuals of my recently acquired synths.
After listening to
Metamatic (Deluxe Edition) over the cold winter months I'm listening now to
Replicas (Redux 3 CD Edition). These albums are definitely post
Systems of Romance, although both have their roots on the overlooked '78 classic. Gary went one step further and released 2 other ground-breaking electronic albums
The Pleasure Principle and
Telekon. All this happened before synth-pop took over the charts towards the end of 1980.
Replicasis as experimental as
Metamatic but using earlier synthesis.
Metamatic took longer to complete and can be looked as Replicas + The Pleasure Principle without guitars or conventional drums.
The Pleasure Principle incorporates the talents of 2 of the finest synth players of all time, Chris Payne and Billy Currie, for the final mixes of the album, adding extra synthetic textures. Nevertheless
Replicas has this unique classic feel that makes it very different to the other electronic masterpieces. It's curious how Gary ends the album with 2 instrumentals,
When the machines rock and the
Low-esqe I nearly married a human. Bowie and indeed Eno and the German pioneering bands Kraftwerk and Neu! were the ingredients of this electronic new wave!
Metamatic using similar synthesis to
The Pleasure Principle takes a different artistic look and takes the listener through a filmic, romantic guide of a 21st Century city as opposed to
The Pleasure Principle which is 100% Sc-Fi, futuristic themes of another world. Both albums beautifully crafted around the Polymoog keyboard.
I'm looking forward to an expanded version of
The Pleasure Principle as early versions and studio takes do exist and have been more widely available around fan circles than the Replicas' ones. Both
The Pleasure Principle and
Telekon deserve their deluxe treatment. (
Steve Malins please convince Gary
)
Once fed up of electronic music a deluxe edition of
The Garden is nice muzak to wake up to in the joyous months of spring.
Happy Easter all!
Chris
