Sigue Sigue Sputnik
21st Century Boys : The Best of

Item: Sigue Sigue Sputnik - 21st Century Boys : The Best of
Rating: 4
Author: Danny The Kid

Danny The Kid

20 apr 15 • Rating:

Ratings: 11
Average: 4,55
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"Ask who Sigue Sigue Sputnik were"; well, that's an interesting suggestion, try guessing who gave it to me. Well, there's not much to guess, it's always the same person, but this time the hint isn't as obvious as a cover might be. After a few years of stasis, Marc Almond came out with a couple of albums, "Fantastic Star" in '96, followed three years later by "Open All Night"; personally, I find them two excellent records, perhaps a bit lengthy overall but full of great highlights, largely contributed to by someone named Neal X, as a guitarist and also co-writer of almost all the songs. Neal X? Hmm, interesting, who might he be? Formerly with Adam Ant in the early '80s, then went on to this Sigue Sigue Sputnik; a career marked by glam in various forms, then.

Neal X was a second fiddle even in Sigue Sigue Sputnik; the compositional mind as well as founder of the group is named Tony James, a multi-instrumentalist and former bassist of Generation X; punk background, therefore, exploited in a way that many will surely find horrifying, but with great intelligence and irony, very well in my opinion. I confess a strong indecision about which subject to review, the debut album "Flaunt It" or this 2001 compilation? After a long and intense summit between me, myself, and I, I opted for the compilation, why? Strange to say, but I consider it a much better approach to the group's music, much more "palatable" even for those who generally disdain this type of sound. First of all, it's not a typical best-of; the songs are remixed, refreshed, sped-up, a definite step forward in terms of style and impact, but first, let's take a step back. 1986: Sigue Sigue Sputnik debut with "Flaunt It," provoking a near-unanimous revulsion in the more "serious" music critics (which is already a big plus point); fake commercials between songs, randomly inserted samples of famous operatic arias, Barbarellas, laser swords, inflatable puppets resembling Ronald Reagan popping out everywhere. Sigue Sigue Sputnik basked in the hedonism of their era, parodying it, bringing it to the stage without filters, in all its kitsch excess; how can you not love them?

It turns out that the critical squareheads of the time weren't entirely wrong, despite the great idea at its core, a pleasantly sparkling style, and a little help from Giorgio Moroder, "Flaunt It" cannot be considered a successful album: "design over function," this is the main stylistic feature, with all the contraindications, meaning an excess of rogues that compromises the final outcome and the credibility of the work itself. "Flaunt It" sounds terribly cumbersome, contrived, ruined by a conceptual pretentiousness that completely clashes with what Sigue Sigue Sputnik proposed, that is to say, guitars practically rock 'n' roll, keyboards almost from '80s video games, and a lot, a lot of irony. Under the guise of a best-of, this record is, in fact, a revised and corrected version of Sigue Sigue Sputnik's sound, as if Tony James, Neal X, Martin Degville, and company wanted to say: "this is our true essence, without tricks and deception."

And here one can have real fun, you can appreciate all the energy and the band's take-it-easy attitude, its almost Ramones-esque spirit: very simple structures and an innate predisposition for anthems; "Love Missile F1-11", their only hit, "Massive Retaliation", "Rockit Miss USA", "Teenage Thunder", and "Sex Bomb Boogie", all from "Flaunt It," all significantly streamlined, much more enjoyable and direct in this renewed guise, a "Buy EMI" with a more distinctly new wave approach, very watered down of course, and then a hilarious "Frankenstein Cha Cha", which effectively sums up their original offer. Not just synth 'n' roll though, Sigue Sigue Sputnik also expressed themselves on slightly more ambitious registers, testified by some gems like "Dancerama", synth-pop with great scenic impact, the disorienting and visionary "Barbarandroid", a triumph of vocal effects and sci-fi imagery, and the classically grandiose "Albinoni Vs Star Wars", a thoroughly enjoyable miniature rock-opera, pompous just right.

A group already born with a short-term expiration date, that's for sure, an '80s meteor that more meteoric and more '80s you die; Tony James has repeatedly disbanded and reformed Sigue Sigue Sputnik in subsequent years, without any significant response and media attention, yet originality and brilliant ideas are certainly not lacking, as well as an excellent dose of highly catchy melodies. Personally, I consider this group an excellent example of kitsch modern antiques, with considerable potential unfortunately not fully expressed; among the assorted malaise of the early '90s, the "institutional" icons of '80s mainstream still riding the wave today, and Sigue Sigue Sputnik with their plastic and irreverent rudeness, I have absolutely no doubts about what to choose, then you see for yourselves.

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Sigue Sigue Sputnik 21st Century Boys : The Best of

Danny The Kid

Tracklist Lyrics and Videos

01 Video Trailer Mix (01:14)

02 Love Missile F1-11 (03:47)

03 Hack Attack (03:55)

04 21st Century Boy (04:11)

05 Buy EMI (03:54)

06 Rockit Miss USA (Death Wish IV mix) (05:26)

07 Teenage Thunder (Sputstyle) (05:04)

08 Suicide (Live in London Sept' 86) (05:13)

09 Massive Retaliation (The Massive edit) (03:53)

10 Sex Bomb Boogie (Magic Flute) (03:31)

11 Success (03:49)

12 Frankenstein Cha Cha Cha (03:40)

13 Dancerama (7" mix) (03:45)

14 Barbarandroid (04:23)

15 Albinoni vs. Star Wars (Part 1) (05:12)

16 Albinoni vs. Star Wars (Part 1 & 2) (04:31)

17 Rio Rocks (7") (04:42)

18 Aliens (02:38)

19 Love Missile F1-11 (Westbam Remix Short version) (03:27)

20 Sputnik Advert (00:34)

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Sigue Sigue Sputnik
21st Century Boys : The Best of