Mark Stewart, singer with The Pop Group died yesterday. He was only 62, a couple of months younger than me, and it's an eye-opener to realise that this album was done by a group of teenagers (under the production expertise of reggae legend Dennis Bovell).
I first heard this album soon after release, and I'm not sure I really got it, but did enjoy the chaos and the beauty which kept emerging, and I went out of my way to pick it up on CD when I saw it.
The CD version, unlike the original LP, opens with the single She Is Beyond Good And Evil, still powerful with the dub beat and instantly recognisable guitar riff. Thief Of Fire rides on a sublime bass line, while Stewart speaks, sings, screams alongside spoken samples. Snowbird flows through chaos, discord and beauty, while Blood Money continues the sound, without standing out, before We Are Time bursts in, a catchy guitar riff linking the noise that surrounds it.
Savage Sea is a much slower, haunting piece, with a lovely piano theme moving over Stewart's muted vocals, and Words Disobey Me feels more dub reggae before the bass line becomes more rock and havoc ensues. Racing towards the end of the album, Don't Call Me Pain combines a bass and sax theme with the vocals, The Boys From Brazil seems to meander around its bass line, before the album finale, Don't Sell Your Dreams, much more thoughtful, the classic slower, deeper end to an album, Stewart's powerful, heartfelt vocal steering us to a conclusion. But here on the CD, we have the extra track, the instrumental 3:38 (which irritatingly comes in at 3:40), and is listenable if unremarkable.
This is a great album, owing far more to free jazz and dub reggae than the punk within which it emerged, and a fitting way to remember Mark Stewart.
4* - I've enjoyed this for decades and will continue to do so. Not without its dips, however the highs more than reward
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