When I looked up Wendy Page, the lead singer of this band with a unique album (in every sense of the word), on Wikipedia, I learned that her voice has been compared to that of Kate Bush or Liz Fraser of Cocteau Twins. Which no doubt explains why this album is in my CD collection.
But this is far from new wave or baroque dream pop. This is pure Brit pop rock (vocals + bass + guitar + keyboards + drums).
One song stands out above the rest: the powerful Brillant Shining, the band’s only (minor) hit, and which benefits from a shaky video on YouTube. I hope this song will delight your ears.
Skin games : The Blood rush, released in 989
The vocals are powerful, the bass melodic, the drums powerful and the guitar soaring. It’s like Simple Minds before its parody, or Big Country on the female side.
This song is about a voice inside each of us that asks us to come out of ourselves. At least, that’s my interpretation.
Three other very good tracks, produced by Steve Hillage (Simple Minds, Cock Robin…):
- Cowboy Joe;
- the magnificent Where the Wild Things Are ;
- and the hard-hitting Tirade, in which the full extent of the beautiful Wendy’s voice is revealed.
As one of their fans wrote: ‘Skin Games should have been massive.’
If you want to stick to heroic guitars, stay with me and listen to Money Talks (a critique, no doubt, of the world of money). I’d listen to it on a galloping horse if I could ride. Or on a motorbike in the Highlands if I had my motorbike licence.
Heaven Blessed is slightly inferior, but just as punchy. Big Me and Criminal Minds are still a notch below, but still well produced. Good sound for the time.
To soothe your ears with this wall of beautiful sound, let the ballad Dancing On unfold.
This band split up after this fine work, and that’s a real shame.
Leave a Reply