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Rating:
Riddle: what is the girl next door doing, no, not the pretty one, but the other one with some metabolism issues and sky-high cholesterol (the medical-scientific term is: fatty), amidst hyper-technological instruments, synthetic keyboards, and sampled sounds?
Answer: nothing.
It's probably the same answer the buxom Alison Moyet gave herself when, limited and diminished by a musical genre that compressed and flattened her excellent vocal qualities, she decided to break free from the restless Vince Clarke (who, by the way, had picked her out of nowhere) to start walking on her own. Thus, the partnership between them, under the name Yazoo, lasted little more than a morning: just enough time to climb the charts of half of Europe with a techno-pop perfectly immersed in the tastes of the period but not lacking originality, especially thanks to the vocal twists and turns of Moyet.
In 1984, Alison, blond and already with a very black voice at the time, debuted as a solo artist, happily orphaned from her former partner Vince. And she did it with this fresh and enjoyable album, titled "Alf" like her nickname, an album of which, besides being a (superb) singer, she is also co-author.
Eight tracks, in which soul, funk, dance, and a hint of blues serve electronic pop. Or, if you prefer, the opposite: electronic sounds mix and blend with noble "black" influences. It's precisely this blend of musical genres that, even after so many years, has made this album "age" so well and creates a general sense of pleasantness that still makes it enjoyable to listen to. With a few exclamation points: the leading song is "Love Resurrection", the first, danceable single, in which the powerful and deep tone of Alison stands out along with a cute and catchy refrain. "Invisible", a huge success in the States as well, follows the same themes. But my favorite is the sinuous "All Cried Out", truly stunning, with remarkable vocal blends and a "doc" arrangement. The farewell is entrusted to "Where Hides Sleep", an enveloping 3/4 with great atmosphere.
Moyet's subsequent works will be good but inconsistent, and among other things, will suffer from disagreements, which later resulted in legal disputes, with her record label. There will also be a whole album of covers, which will bring her back, in 2004, to general attention. In 2008, however, there was a forgettable reunion with Vince Clarke, with a related tour.
Today Alison is a middle-aged lady; she has made peace with the scale (but not too much), dabbles in theater (but not too much), and still sells records (but not too many).
Three stars, yes, because five stars go to masterpieces, and I give four to great albums. This one is good, 3 and a half, which I round down because sweet Alison, in her respectable career, could and should have dared a bit more after this debut.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Honey for the Bees (04:12)
Hey!
Here I am
And I want you to see baby
I wanna watch you watchin me in motion
To taste the secret side of me
Every time I look at you, I know
You're fighting your emotions
Now you have no choice but to let go
And dive into my ocean
Chorus:
Honey for the bees
Sugar never was so sweeeeet
Honey for the bees
Sugar never was so sweet
Yeah
Hold my hand
I'm going to set you free baby
I'm gonna let fly all over me
Show me a lock, I'll show you the key
Every time you feel like holding back
I'm gonna pull you deeper
Always straying from the beaten track
And I will be the reaper
Chorus X 2
Sugar............, Sugar............, Sugar............, Sugar............
Every time I look at you
I know you're fighting your emotions
Now you have no choice but to let go
And dive into my ocean
Chorus X 2
04 Invisible (04:00)
You've got me so confused and there's word I could use
But I'm afraid to say them.
I feel I've been had and i'm boiling mad
Still I can't live without you.
You don't have the time and you won't spend a dime
Not even to call me.
You don't know I exist and I wouldn't be missed
If I had the nerve to quit you.
Invisible - I feel like I'm invisible.
You treat me like I'm not really there
and you don't really care.
I know this romance
it ain't going nowhere.
Invisible just like my love. You treat me like I'm invisible.
When you get the need to flirt you do your worst
You just don't care how much it hurts.
I can never reach you on the phone
it rings and rings
But I know you're home.
It may be naive but I just want to believe I'm the only one.
I tell myself lies and give you alibies
Knowing your promises you'll never keep
like the merry go round
I'm going up
I'm going down
I'm on a dead end street.
Invisible just like my love
I feel like I'm invisible.
You treat me like I'm not really there
and you don't really care.
I know this romance
it ain't going nowhere.
Although I know it's not a lot
don't want to lose whatever we got.
I keep hanging on knowing I can't win
'Cause it's too hard start over again.
Invisible - I feellike I'm invisible. . . .
Invisible just like my love.
05 Steal Me Blind (03:18)
Well my friends I feel it's time
To reassess the situation and decide what's mine
Every time you steal me blind
With no consideration for the way I feel inside
And you just look at me like you don't understand
How could we, how could we let it get so out of hand
Don't steal me blind
You my friends would bleed me dry
And with no hesitation you would pass me by
And you keep telling me that you don't understand
What's the use there's no point in building on sand
Don't steal me blind
Well my friends I feel it's time
There's a fortune in friendship
06 All Cried Out (06:50)
(Around around around around around
Around around around around around
Around around around around around
Around around around around around)
You took your time to come back this time
The grass has grown under your feet
In your absence I changed my mind
And someone else is sitting in your seat
I know that I said there'd be no one else
I know that I said I'd be true
But baby, I've burned out cupid's arrow
And here's the short and the narrow
I've nothing left to offer you
I'm all cried out
You took a whole lot of loving
For a handful of nothing
(All cried out)
It's hard to give you something
When you're pushing and a-shoving me around
So don't look surprised
There was no disguise
You knew where I stood from the start
So stop
Look around you
You're right back where I found you
Take back your cold and empty heart
(All cried out)
I'm all cried out
You took a whole lot of loving
For a handful of nothing
(All cried out)
It's hard to give you something
When you're pushing and a-shoving
(All cried out)
I'm all cried out
You took a whole lot of loving
(All cried out)
I'm all cried out
It's hard to give you something
When you're pushing and a-shoving me around
(Around around around around around
Around around around around around)
(You go your way)
You go your way
(I'll go mine)
I'll go mine
(I won't stay around here)
I wont stay around here
Don't you waste my time
(Waste my time)
(All cried out)
You took a whole lot of loving
For a handful of nothing
(All cried out)
It's hard to give you something
When you're pushing and a-shoving
(All cried out)
I'm all cried out
You took a whole lot of loving
(All cried out)
I'm all cried out
It's hard to give you something
When you're pushing and a-shoving me around
(Around around around around around
Around around around around around
Around around around around around
Around around around around around)
You go your way
I'll go mine
I won't stay around here
Don't you waste my time
(All cried out
All cried out)
You took a whole lot of loving
For a handful of nothing
(All cried out
All cried out)
You took a whole lot of loving
(Around around around around around)
(All cried out)
You took a whole lot of loving
For a handful of nothing
(Around around around around around)
(All cried out)
It's hard to give you something
When you're pushing and a-shoving
(All cried out
All cried out)
You took a whole lot of loving
(All cried out).
07 Money Mile (03:44)
Into your car park drive obsolete motors
With petrol consumption at too higher price
Sell us through windows at backroom board meetings
Blindfolded and handcuffed and in single file
On your money mile
We are the faceless, the nameless, the homeless
On your money mile
There in your fortress where you couldn't care less
On your money mile
We are the caseless, the raceless, the hopeless
On your money mile
You were caught in the crossfire hauling the flag right down
Send us to battle send us to the frontline
Point us at the enemy
Lest we forget
It's for our protection that we lay here slaughtered
It's for our survival we bury our dead
On your money mile
We are the faceless, the nameless, the homeless
On your money mile
There in your fortress where you couldn't care less
On your money mile
We are the caseless, the raceless, the hopeless
On your money mile
You were caught in the crossfire hauling the flag right down
On your money mile…
08 Twisting the Knife (03:28)
I watch it trickle from your lips
Pearls of ruby red soaking up your head until you want to push through
And then the world turns red
And the wine tastes sour
Pushing back the hand until the midnight hour
Every door is closing behind you
There's no one left to come and find you
You're soaking wet but the file won't dry you
I'd like to help but I cant stand by
And watch you twisting the knife
They've got you wasting your life
Can't stop you twisting the knife
Id rather turn out all the lights than see you like this
Caress me with your anger
Sting me with your kiss
You've been pushing too hard
I've been trying too long
Now I don't believe I have the will to carry on
You take it one step forward
Then it's two steps back
I'd jump the wire but I'm feeling trapped
Its other people make you insecure
I won't surrender like I did before
And watch you twisting the knife
They've got you wasting your life
Can't stop you twisting the knife
Surrender like I did before
Twisting the knife
Sting me with your kiss
You take it one step forward
Then it's two steps back
I'd jump the wire but I'm feeling trapped
Its other people make you insecure
I won't surrender like I did before
And watch you twisting the knife
They've got you wasting your life
Can't stop you twisting the knife
09 Where Hides Sleep (04:17)
Where hides sleep is she watching me
Don't desert me now
Where hides sleep you're tormenting me
Don't forsake me now
Take hole of my soul and pull me into darkness
Cover me over and styfle my anguish
Where hides sleep she's avoiding me
Don't evade me now
Where hides sleep please don't torture me
Don't forsake me now
I open my lips to your warm ancient potion
I would be still and devoid of emotion
For I would be slumber that I could be rest
Curl in warm embers of such peacefulness
Caressed by oblivion and swallowed by dreams
I want you to hold me and cover my eyes
From the cold distant daylight
Holds no surprise
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