Day 0532 - Welcome to the Pleasuredome

Frankie Goes to Hollywood "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (1984)

Much more than just "Relax".   Produced by gloss pop maestro Trevor Horn (ABC, Spandau Ballet and Malcolm McLaren's Duck Rock), this album takes that gloss and rubs it in the smutty dirt.

The album manages to deliver some catchy pop while also delving into sonic experimentation such as on the meandering cover of "War" or the sprawling, bouncy epic "Welcome to the Pleasuredome".

Elsewhere the album has fairly loyal covers of Bacharach/David's "Do you know the way to San Jose" and Springsteen's "Born to run".  It's a bit of a musical smorgasbord and I'd happily listen to it again.  Might even pick up a copy at some point.

Fun fact: the band's name was taken from an entertainment headline regarding Frank Sinatra.

Day 0474 - Kilimanjaro

The Teardrop Explodes "Kilimanjaro" (1980)

The book makes several comparisons between Teardrop Explodes and Love... I'd say there are some parallels with Love's "Forever Changes" album as far as the use of orchestral flourishes and building some of the songs from innocent, simple beginnings to lush crescendos.

The album is still of its time though, so has less of an acoustic folky bent like 'Forever Changes' and more of a post-punk (heading towards new-wave) sound. Definitely wouldn't mind another album from this band to show up on the list.

Day 0445 - Entertainment

Gang of Four "Entertainment!" (1979)

 
A band from (my one-time home) Leeds named after a group of Chinese Communist Party officials... hinting at the band's left-wing sympathies.

Another one of those bands that mixes the attitude and melodic minimalism of punk with a bit of white-boy funk (though here the funk element seems to have been ramped up considerably). Another of those bands that most likely stylistically inspired some of the early 00 indie rock bands like Bloc Party or Gossip.

Listening to the angular funk sounds here, I wouldn't be surprised if the Gang were listened to by Les Claypool or his band Primus.  They were certainly an influence on the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who drafted the Gang's guitarist Andy Gill to produce their first (self titled) album on the basis of the "Entertainment!" album.