Level 42
World Machine

THE REVIEW

Everyone, absolutely everyone, bought their first album, had their first kiss with a girl and consequently ended up with dark circles after their first handjob, their first joint, their first beer, and so on for many more things. In short, everything has a beginning and naturally an end.

I was 13 in '85, and while I was playing ball indoors, smashing ornaments carefully placed by my mother on the furniture, I heard the song "Something about you" on the radio for the first time. I was immediately captivated by it. I later wondered what makes us prefer one type of music over another, whether it depends on the number of neurons in our brain, and what are the real electrical impulses that influence them, whether it's the kicks in the ass our father gave us or what our mother cooked for us. The fact is that after listening to that song, I decided to go buy my first record. I kept the crumpled money in the front pocket of my jeans and presented myself in front of the shop assistant, saying with a nerdy adolescent voice: "I want the Level Fortytwo record" and spitting saliva in her face due to the difficulty in correctly pronouncing the word "two" in English.

When I got home, I put on the record and was so fascinated by it that I think I played it over and over on the turntable at least five times on the first day. It's hard to describe what you feel the exact moment you discover art and confront its emotions for the first time. The discovery of beauty and its relationships and manifestations. But let's get to the point, I wouldn't want you to mistake me for a pathetic Pascoli or Leopardi: the record, then.

"World machine" is an extremely well-crafted work, complete in form and harmonic. The band's leader, Mark King, outlines with his bass swirling grooves upon which easily elaborated melodies rest, resulting in a sense of cleanliness and balance during the listening. I believe this record is one of the highest points of 80s pop, where the simplicity of the songs is enriched by dance and funky influences and in some passages even Jazz. The most representative and engaging tracks, however, are not the most famous "Something about you" and "Leaving me now", but rather engaging tracks like "I sleep on my heart" and "Dream crazy", moving to more intimate ones like the slow "Good man in a storm" and "Lying Still". A necessary mention, finally, for the track "Physical presence", a song with vaguely 70s sounds, crafted on a precise and impeccable melodic line. In short, it's a "aesthetic" record, the perfect union between form and content and then easily accessible, which, in my opinion, is a feature that is welcome when deciding to listen to something.

The record in question, alongside the live "A physical presence", remains their masterpiece, where besides the already mentioned leader Mark King, the other band members also demonstrate all their value as musicians, from keyboardist and singer Mike Lindup to the Gould brothers, Phil and Ronald, respectively the drummer and guitarist of the formation... At 19, I had sex for the first time, not sure if you care to know, but by then I had already discovered De André, Pink Floyd, and Miles Davis and it was a whole other matter.