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Rating: "To Cut A Long Story Short": the opening single, which was released a few months before the album, synthesizes in 3 minutes and 20 seconds the musical line of the entire work, sharp and minimal but rich in great imagination and elegance. The sound has evident references to Post-punk which prevailed in those early '80s days, but on the whole, it is revisited in a decidedly Pop-rock key, which, with a few too many synthesizers, comes to define a new fresh and immediate sound, labeled as "New Romantic." The explosion of this phenomenon was made famous, besides Spandau, also by the mythical success of the fake-rivals Duran Duran, who at the same time were releasing their self-titled album on the market.
"Journeys to glory" still presents a simple musicality and a somewhat minimal taste for arrangements, especially in the guitar parts, as evidenced by the catchy "Reformation", followed closely by the minimal Post-punk of "Mandolin". "Muscle Bound" is a sort of marching whine, with our guys' choruses defining a fairly convincing refrain, even if made disorienting by the particular musicality of the track. The course of the album then seems to be descending, but here the instrumental "Age Of Blows" (a wonderful demonstration of epic melodies) and "The Freeze" bring the sound back to satisfying levels, suspended between minimalism, romanticism, and freshness. In my opinion, the best tracks of this sharp debut are the last two: "Confused" and "Toys". The first is a melodic rock laden with synths and dominated by the theatrical (and underrated) voice of Tony Hadley, while the second immediately starts with an epic tone, with a chorus performed without a voice and replaced by a fantastic guitar riff, which gives the track a strong triumphant component, made explicit in the finale dominated by choruses and synthesizer.
A record that I liked instantly, and which in my opinion is much more original than it seems at first glance. Certainly, it won't touch the perfection (in terms of production and writing) of colleagues like Duran Duran, Japan, and Talk Talk, but still proves to be an important piece for the explosion of a new subgenre that influenced dozens of artists in the years to come.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 To Cut a Long Story Short (03:20)
Soldier is turning
see him through white light
running from strangers
see you in the valley
war upon war
heat upon heat
To cut a long story short
I lost my mind
Sitting on a park bench
years away from fighting
to cut a long story short
I lost my mind
Standing in the dark
oh I was waiting for man to come
I am beautiful and clean
and so very very young
to be standing in the street
to be taken by someone
Questions questions
give me no answers
that's all they ever give me
questions questions
oh look at the strange boy
he finds it hard existing
to cut a long story short
I lost my mind
02 Reformation (04:55)
Reformation
Bleak and tired Western skies
Silence crashing with quiet lies
Shattered glass reflects elation
Reformation, Reformation.
I saw you running through my dreams
Question held me to the scene
Your face was wet with perspiration
Reformation, Reformation.
There’s something wrong
There’s something wrong
Man is something that must be overcome
Quick, snap, break, crack, complication
Reformation, Reformation.
I saw you running through my dreams
A sun that burst through a cloudy scene
Shattered glass reflects elation
Reformation, Reformation.
Bleak and tired Western skies
Silence crashing with quiet lies
Shattered glass reflects elation
Reformation, Reformation.
03 Mandolin (04:08)
Oh Mandolin, oh mandolin
Waiting in the dark
Centuries passed down upon
Your smooth Venetian skin
Memories oh memories
Lay stains upon your heart
When lovers dance into the trance
You weaved by candlelight
Oh I saw a sunrise like never before
As mandolin played I cried for more.
Oh Mandolin, oh mandolin
Waiting in the dark
Centuries passed down upon
Your smooth Venetian skin
Incessant sound, incessant sound
That stirs the young and pure
Incestuous I kiss my hand
And play the calling drum.
The lover cried into the silk
Many years ago
Your voice laid comfort down upon
His European skin.
Oh I saw a sunrise like never before
As mandolin played I cried for more.
Oh I saw a sunrise like never before
As mandolin played I cried for more.
Oh I saw a runrise likenever before
As mandolin played I cried for more
Oh Mandolin, oh mandolin
Waiting in the dark
Centuries passed down upon
Your smooth Venetian skin.
06 The Freeze (04:36)
Blue sing la lune sing lagoon,
these visions are making me stay,
the artist pretending it's art,
the question is where do you pay,
unpack my case one more time,
i'll cancel my train once again,
destiny give me a day,
erogenous zones win again.
Blue sing la lune sing lagoon,
these visions are making me stay,
the artist pretending it's art,
the question is where do you pay,
unpack my case one more time,
i'll cancel my train once again,
destiny give me a day,
erogenous zones win again.
Blue sing la lune sing lagoon,
these visions are making me stay,
the artist pretending it's art,
the question is where do you,
do you pay.
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