Nu Shooz
Told U So

If it is true that the rapid technological and commercial development in the field of electronic musical instruments made the '80s one of the most exciting and innovative decades musically (not to mention revolutionary), it is equally true that the most significant part of this "revolution" concerned especially the first half of that decade. In the following five years, indeed, the evolutionary path of all the new ideas born from the varied and colorful world of ElettroPop, New Wave, and the more "shred" side of the Pop-Rock universe, entered a sort of saturation, degenerating into increasingly forced and decadent trash technicism; orgies of plasticated keyboards now utterly predictable, drum and drum machine sounds affected to the point of paroxysm and mercilessly thrown in the listener's face, heavy lumps of mid-bass and sounds increasingly aseptic and pumped... a cloying and "hypermatter" sound now (mostly rightly) considered irritating and unlistenable.
The late '80s music scene, therefore, although it was also marked by a slow return to the (not always desirable) path of sobriety, and the (not always appropriate) resurrection of a certain Rock integralism - besides the still raw planet of the House revolution - on the Pop side, it was particularly harsh when viewed from the perspective analyzed earlier, precisely because of a production that to today's ears often sounds like aseptic and plastic trash crap...

This album by Nu Shooz, on the contrary, represents a rare and happy exception, all the more so because it manages to be such without denying the typical sounds of that period, but rather trying to express them through a character and a style never lacking in ideas, class, taste, and vigor. A happy and original combination of Pop, Funk, Adult-contemporary and luxurious baroque atmospheres clearly derived from Fusion, with abundant use of electronics. Almost a strange blend between the eclectic refinements of Joe Jackson and the brilliant SynthPop of the Pet Shop Boys...

The rhythmic arrangements are based on the classic drum-machine sounds of the '80s (like the LinnDrum in almost all tracks, TR 808 in a couple), shaped with abundant use of effects (echo, delay, reverb, noise-gate, eq...) always from the clear '80s school, but distributed in a varied manner with rare mastery. Bass drum and snare, in particular, change a lot from one track to another, ranging from a somewhat "in-your-face" drum sound (dry bass drum and big snare with a vaguely explosion-like sound), to softer and more delicate sounds kept discreetly "back" in the mix.
To the sound of drum machines, in several songs, is added that of various acoustic percussion (especially bongos) skillfully played by Nu Shooz themselves.
The synth-bass sound, particularly deep, wide and vibrant, is another strong point of this album, which although denoting mostly synthetic sounds of clear wavetable-based digital origin (as the fashion of the period required), turns out to be anything but cold when listened to, demonstrating, like few other works, the possibility of making even what was perhaps the ugliest and most plastic generation of synthesizers ever produced by the industry sound great and appropriate...
Among all this electronics stand out several acoustic and electroacoustic instruments, such as electric guitar and sax, besides electric piano and electric organ (even if it is difficult to establish how much these latter are truly "real," or also synthetic or sampled...). The balance between the "programmed" parts (particularly the synth-bass) and the "played" parts (electric piano and organ and all acoustic instruments) here reaches levels of homogeneity and mastery rarely found in late '80s Pop productions...
Among the instrumental tracks stands out the notable "Montecarlo Nite," an intricate "dialogue" between synth-bass, electric piano, and electric organ, garnished with a lively ensemble of acoustic percussion, a track of explicit "night-club" atmosphere, capable of anticipating certain '90s Fusion trends and forgiving the slightly bulky and anonymous electronic drum sounds.
Valerie's voice in many songs sounds slightly thin and a touch "back" in the mix (a technical choice that can be criticized but found in countless more or less important productions from the '70s to today...), which on one hand complements the discrete and refined atmospheres of the album, on the other makes her voice slightly less present, which here instead of taking a leading role seems to want to stay somewhat hidden behind the thick roster of sounds and instruments. This is almost certainly intentional, as in the sung pieces it is not the music that serves as an accompaniment to the voice, but rather the voice that serves as a complement to the instrumental part, with passing and broken melodies that hover over the magical breath of rhythms and harmonies. From this perspective, Valerie proves fully up to the task, interpreting each piece with present discretion and languid sensuality, both in the main singing and in the numerous and fitting overdubs.

A separate discussion goes to the quality of the recording and mastering, with a level of compression that still leaves room for dynamics, and a sound setting ("wide" on the bass and with a particular "enhancing" on the highs) with a vaguely "valve" flavor.
The notes on the back cover, as was customary then, inform the listener that "the music on this CD was originally recorded on analog machines, and due to its high resolution, the CD may sometimes reveal the limits of the master tape..."; today we know well that in reality the opposite is true, and that often it is precisely the very high definition of an analog master that risks being lost in pre-mastering, if the conversion process to digital is not executed impeccably, an eventuality far from remote at the time when this CD was released...
The presence of an analog "master" would therefore suggest a "second level of reading" for this album, a beautiful remastering through which to savor even more "up close" the pleasure of an extremely pleasant and balanced recording. Bearing in mind, in any case, that the quality of the original CD is already widely enjoyable, definitely above the average of the period...

The only criticizable note concerns the second "bonus track" present on the CD, that is the RMX version of "Should I say yes?" made by Curtis Mantronik. A Curtis Mantronik who on this occasion did not quite live up to his fame, replacing the beautiful TR 808 sound that makes the original version of the track so pleasant, with a plastic anonymous drum machine with a harsh and unpleasant sound (although it should be added that the new rhythmic arrangement is undoubtedly well done). A sonic heap, decidedly tacky and almost entirely lacking in stereo openness and depth, that "hardens" the piece and stifles it without adding anything to the original version, whose enjoyment stands at significantly higher levels...

In conclusion, this successful work by Nu Shooz denotes evident "ambient" aspirations, proposed as an ideal archetype of music whose purpose is to serve as a background to those images and atmospheres it manages to evoke in the listener's mind. The idea is that of some imaginary and exclusive night venue, in which the concept of "background" does not imply the reductive and nihilistic role of a minor work, almost downgraded to a simple furnishing complement, but instead takes the tasty and colorful meaning of an engaging musical aesthetic. The soft aestheticism, happily endowed with soul and character, of music that does not want to impose itself on the attention of a noisy screaming crowd, but seeks to be noticed and appreciated by the thoughtful and somewhat distracted mind of an audience suspended between conversation and contemplation, in front of a beer or a cocktail. It is precisely this diffuse scenery that the tracks of this album manage to paint in the mind of those who listen, a discrete, polite, delicate music, that does not want to steal the scene but neither remain apart, and although without protagonism cravings knows how to "raise its voice" in some tracks with a decidedly strong and aggressive mood.

Nu Shooz - "Told U So" (1988):

Told U So
Should I Say Yes?
Are You Lookin' For Somebody Nu
Wonder
Montecarlo Nite
Driftin'
If That's The Way That You Want It
The Truth [bonus track]
Savin' All My Time
Doin' Alright

Should I Say Yes? (The Mantronik CD Love Mix) [bonus track]