I have no anecdote about first hearing Magazine or this album. It just seems to have always been there, perhaps an influence of university friends from Manchester?
I've enjoyed this debut album from Magazine (formed by ex-Buzzcock Howard Devoto, with future Banshee John McGeoch and future Bad Seed and genius Barry Adamson) for many years, an album where the rawer edge of Roxy-style glam meets the punk sensibility, with some dynamic results.
The album opener, Definitive Gaze, lays out the band's intentions. A thumping beat, layered keyboards, with Devoto's vocals and lyrics leading the band on - great stuff. My Tulpa is solid, without the impact of the opener, but it leads us into the wonderful hit single (no 41) Shot By Both Sides, a Devoto song, based on a driving riff given to him by former bandmate, Pete Shelley. After that Recoil is a bit of a thrash, and the first half ends with the much slower Burst - both listenable, but sounding weak after Shot By Both Sides.
The second half smashes in with Motorcade, then The Great Beautician In The Sky, but doesn't really wake up until The Light Pours Out Of Me, a fantastic song, dark and brooding, finishing with Parade, a much quieter, but equally lovely song.
It's an album which both starts and finishes with great songs, but feels a little limp in the middle.
3* - the great songs are so fantastic, but that lull in the middle!
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