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Rating: "I'm more dope than heroin, sharper than a needle..."
Electro Glide In Blue... 8 minutes and a bit of pure musical poetry, which truly knocks you out in just a few seconds, but in the most positive sense of the term: a perfect fusion of ambient, chillout, and minimal electronics, in a continuous fade of sampled sounds, scratches, and even vague blues guitar licks, that at times peek out from the back and elegantly refine the "nocturnal", relaxing, magical atmosphere that unfolds as the minutes go by. A melody you'd want to loop eternally along with the vocals, which have that indescribably "epic", thrilling quality that sends you over the moon.
This album is a damn masterpiece, and Apollo 440 (a Liverpool band also known as Apollo Four Forty) will never again create anything remotely comparable: a classic stroke of luck, especially coming with the second attempt. After a long sequence of singles and various remixes (all good chart successes), and after debuting with the album "Millennium Fever", Apollo immediately make a leap in quality with "Electro Glide In Blue", without betraying their "danceable" style, which is actually their trademark.
It happens that the incredible title track is preceded by a dub remix of Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love" which for the occasion becomes "Ain't Talkin 'Bout Dub" or you find yourself moving to the adrenaline-pumping "Raw Power" or with a "Krupa" (a tribute to jazz drummer Gene Krupa) which at times seems straight out of any nightclub.
But the best is necessarily found in the more "thoughtful" moments of the album like in the still gripping "Altamont Super-Highway Revisited" (awesome!) which gives a lot of space to the guitar and the harmonica reminiscent of Zeppelin, or in the dark and estranging moments of "Pain In Any Language", sung by an emotional Billy Mackenzie (guest on the record and who committed suicide a few months before its release, sucked into the vortex of depression that gripped him) and especially in the epic "Stealth Mass In FM" with an angelic Betty Gray on vocals. I can't describe this song in words, I'm not capable. Listen to it, in solitude: it's a stunning blow. This song was even put on loop by BBC Radio One the day of Princess Diana's death, which says it all.
I'm not a huge fan of the genre, but with this album, it was love at first listen, and it doesn't happen to me often. Don't be fooled by the dance tangents; this album is so much more. R-e-c-o-m-m-e-n-d-e-d.
"...Hey, you never can tell
maybe you can touch the taste by the sense of smell
who's to say that heaven is in hell
escaping reality's touch
just in time - just in time before the bite gets too much
who's to say that heaven is in hell - can this be hell?"
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Ain't Talkin' 'bout Dub (04:31)
Let’s go back to the rock
Go back to the rock
And see it at fourforty
Ain’t talkin’ ’bout dub
Ain’t talkin’ ’bout dub
Ain’t talkin’ ’bout dub
Rocker to rocker, raver to raver
Turn up the bass why don’t you do us all a favour
Rocker to rocker, raver to raver
Turn up the bass why don’t you do us all a favour
Another danger zone
Red alert, another danger zone
Rrrrred alert
Ain’t talkin’ ’bout dub
Ain’t talkin’ ’bout dub
Ain’t talkin’ ’bout dub
04 Electro Glide in Blue (08:36)
I’m more dope than heroin, sharper than a needle
I’m more dope than heroin, sharper than a needle
Maybe I’m a loveboy, hooked on an aphrodisiac
Maybe I’m a strange one, maybe I’m a twisted maniac
Hey, you never can tell
Maybe you can touch the taste by the sense of smell
Who’s to say that heaven is in hell
Escaping reality’s touch
Just in time just in time before the bite gets too much
Who’s to say that heaven is in hell can this be hell?
Maybe I’m a loveboy, hooked on an aphrodisiac
Or maybe I’m a strange one, maybe I’m a twisted maniac
Hey, you never can tell
Maybe you can touch the taste by the sense of smell
Who’s to say that heaven is in hell
Can this be hell, oh well, oh well, oh well
Escaping reality’s touch, yeah
Now just in time before the bite gets too much
Hey, hey, hey, you never can tell
I said, said, hey, you never can tell
Maybe you can touch the taste by the sense of smell
I said maybe you can touch the taste by the sense of smell
Who’s to say that heaven is in hell
Can this be hell, oh well, oh well, oh well
Escaping reality’s touch
Just in time before the bite gets too much
I’m more dope than heroin, sharper than a needle
I’m more dope than heroin, sharper than a needle
Sharper than a needle
I'm sharper than a needle
Sharper than a needle, needle, needle, needle, no
Yeah, sharper than a needle
Yeah, sharper than a needle
Hey, hey, hey, hey, you never can tell
Maybe you can touch the taste by the sense of smell
Who’s to say that heaven is in hell
Can this be hell oh well, oh well, oh well
Escaping reality’s touch
Yeah, just in time just in time before the bite gets too much
06 Tears of the Gods (06:18)
All right oh babe
Tears
She always talked about the gods
She had a direct line with the gods
You’ve been selected by the gods
She told me
Ok, babe, let’s make it then
(Looking for trouble? Have you got it?)
What a man has to go through for a piece of ass in a modern age it was highly ridiculous
Oh babe
Hey, what’s that shit?
The tears of the gods?
The tears of the gods
Yes, the tears of the gods!
07 Carrera Rapida (06:47)
Apollo forty four forty we gonna rock it
Apollo forty four forty we gonna rock it
(Spanish part)
Bring down shake now
Rapid racer string no chaser we gonna rock it
Chasing, wasting, blooding, hiding, squeezing, squeezing, running, hiding
Stealing, feeling, holding ’n’ dealing the basic chases
Blow out to Miami, riding to the ocean
Blow out to Miami, riding to the ocean
Blow out to Miami, riding to the ocean
Blow out to Miami, riding to the ocean
We gonna rock it
Blow out to Miami, riding to the ocean
We gonna roll it
Blow out to Miami, riding to the ocean
We gonna rock it
Blow out to Miami, riding to the ocean
We gonna rock it
(Spanish part)
Game over
08 Krupa (06:15)
Now back to Gene Krupa's syncopated style
Yeah, yeah - yeah, yeah - Gene Krupa's syncopated style
Yeah, yeah - yeah, yeah - Gene Krupa's syncopated style
Yeah, yeah - yeah, yeah - Gene Krupa's syncopated style
10 Pain in Any Language (08:40)
I’m gonna love you till you love me then no more
You’re gonna need me like I need you right now
I’m gonna screw you for all you’re worth and no more
You’re gonna need me it’s the same in any language
The pain in any language is the same in any language
I’m gonna love you till you love me then no more
You’re gonna need me like I need you right now
You’re gonna need me it’s the same in any language
The pain in any language is the same in any language
I’m gonna love you till you love me then no more
It’s the same in any language
The pain in any language
Same in any language
I’m gonna love you till you love me then no more
Look, you’re gonna need me
They won’t love you, like I love you
They won’t love you, like I do
They won’t love you, like I love you
They won’t love you, like I do
12 Raw Power (03:50)
Raw power, more power, foot to the floor power here we go, here we go
Raw power, your power, out on the floor power
Drum power, bass power, right in your face power, rip it up
Raw power, full power, out on the floor power, here we go, here we go
Like a bullet from the gun, you’re on the run
We got it if you want some, want some
We’ll squeeze it to the last drop, from the bottom,
To the very tip top, hip hop, don’t stop, go!
Go, go, go, go!
Raw power, more power, foot to the floor power
Raw power, full power, out on the floor power, here we go, here we go
We got to give it all or nothing at all
We got to give it all or nothing at all
We got to give it all or nothing at all
We got to give it all or nothing at all
Rip it up come on, come on!
Slam dunking state of mind, every time
Throwing you a life-line, life-line
We’ll leave the group shell-shocked from the bottom
To the very tip top, hip hop don’t stop, go!
G-g-g-g-g-go, g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-go, g-g-g-g-g-go!
Raw power, more power, foot to the floor power here we go, here we go
Drum power, bass power, right in your face power rip it up, trip it up
Raw power, your power, out on the raw power here we go, here we go
We got to give it all or nothing at all
We got to give it all or nothing at all
We got to give it all or nothing at all
We got to give it all or nothing at all
To the next side giving it the jazz rinse
Hey, hey, hey slam dunking state of mind
Hey, hey, hey every time
Hey, hey, hey ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four four forty
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