I remember picking up the vinyl album of ‘Reproduction’ back in 1980. Now, 25 years later I decided to pick up the CD version with the wonderful inclusion of the Dignity of Labor 12″ E.P. (Even including the Flexi-Disc) that I didn’t get with my copy. I have had about 10-15 albums on vinyl that I went on to get the CD version of & this is one of them. Back in 1979 believe me this was a really new sound. Synthesized pop for a new generation. Actually pretty dark pop with heavy lyrics reflecting Philip Oakey’s take on death and the human condition. Just check out ‘Zero As A Limit’ which is my favorite track. A slow echoing hand-clap repeating begins the song with Mr. Oakley’s deep voice telling the story of someone going through the unfortunate motions of being run over by a car. The urgent increase in the simple hand-clap as the car approaches and the frenzied urgency of Oakey’s voice brings the song to its inevitable conclusion. The whole album shows so much imagination & musical confidence and to my mind is a lesson in how to craft simply structured songs that can still work on a deeply emotional level. The whole album has great beats with beautifully programmed Synth lines. There really wasn’t much else out there in the electronic field that was anything like this. Remember this is 1979. Strangely though this kind of music wasn’t taking off commercially and it wasn’t until some 2-3 years later with ‘Dare’ that the ‘Human League’ became popular, being lumped in with the ‘New Wave’ crowd. But for me this 1st release was their best. Both in terms of lyrical content and musical proficiency. And lets not forget the Cover, which at the time it came out i think was though of as rather controversial. Babies being danced on by late 70′s yuppie’s….Wonderful PS: Check out too the awesome rendition of ‘You’ve Lost that Loving feeling’ also. A wonderful remake.
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Human League is usually synonymous with dodgy 80s pop but this is rather a surprising listen and a has a lot of bite to it. Odd lyrics with cold, almost ice glacier like synths and all in all a lot of fun to listen to. It really is a Human League album for non Human League fans
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I was extremely skeptical of this album. I had the notion in my head that since the album was made almost 25 years ago it would sound like a rehash of Kraftwerk singles I already owned. Much to my surprise, it does not adhere to the minimalism one might expect in the late 1970s. This album has not only catchy pop music with wonderful harmonies and beautiful melodies, but some great instrumental ballads that might make even Vangelis jealous. The boys of Human League were quite ahead of their time.
There is little from this album that would not hold up throughout most of the 1980s, and even to today’s ears with the resurgence of analogue synths in pop music. If you really love electronic music, this remastered copy is an album to own.
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Dark Synthesised Pop,
I remember picking up the vinyl album of ‘Reproduction’ back in 1980. Now, 25 years later I decided to pick up the CD version with the wonderful inclusion of the Dignity of Labor 12″ E.P. (Even including the Flexi-Disc) that I didn’t get with my copy. I have had about 10-15 albums on vinyl that I went on to get the CD version of & this is one of them. Back in 1979 believe me this was a really new sound. Synthesized pop for a new generation. Actually pretty dark pop with heavy lyrics reflecting Philip Oakey’s take on death and the human condition. Just check out ‘Zero As A Limit’ which is my favorite track. A slow echoing hand-clap repeating begins the song with Mr. Oakley’s deep voice telling the story of someone going through the unfortunate motions of being run over by a car. The urgent increase in the simple hand-clap as the car approaches and the frenzied urgency of Oakey’s voice brings the song to its inevitable conclusion. The whole album shows so much imagination & musical confidence and to my mind is a lesson in how to craft simply structured songs that can still work on a deeply emotional level. The whole album has great beats with beautifully programmed Synth lines. There really wasn’t much else out there in the electronic field that was anything like this. Remember this is 1979. Strangely though this kind of music wasn’t taking off commercially and it wasn’t until some 2-3 years later with ‘Dare’ that the ‘Human League’ became popular, being lumped in with the ‘New Wave’ crowd. But for me this 1st release was their best. Both in terms of lyrical content and musical proficiency. And lets not forget the Cover, which at the time it came out i think was though of as rather controversial. Babies being danced on by late 70′s yuppie’s….Wonderful PS: Check out too the awesome rendition of ‘You’ve Lost that Loving feeling’ also. A wonderful remake.
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|Lovingly rereleased for your electronic pleasure,
Human League is usually synonymous with dodgy 80s pop but this is rather a surprising listen and a has a lot of bite to it. Odd lyrics with cold, almost ice glacier like synths and all in all a lot of fun to listen to. It really is a Human League album for non Human League fans
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|Synthetic Masterpiece,
I was extremely skeptical of this album. I had the notion in my head that since the album was made almost 25 years ago it would sound like a rehash of Kraftwerk singles I already owned. Much to my surprise, it does not adhere to the minimalism one might expect in the late 1970s. This album has not only catchy pop music with wonderful harmonies and beautiful melodies, but some great instrumental ballads that might make even Vangelis jealous. The boys of Human League were quite ahead of their time.
There is little from this album that would not hold up throughout most of the 1980s, and even to today’s ears with the resurgence of analogue synths in pop music. If you really love electronic music, this remastered copy is an album to own.
Was this review helpful to you?
|