This is ALSO where I'm from…
Well, okay. This is more like WHEN I'm from. This record is an amazing example of Cold War entertainment. There were a few of those back in the good ol' days. James Bond movies were the best, of course. Anything that scared the pants off of you with THE BOMB was pretty good.
I recall the first time I ever saw "On the Beach," with Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner and thought… "WOW!!! Look at Ava Gardner!!! Hubba Hubba!" But I also thought, of course, "It would be awful if all of humanity were to be destroyed by Atomic Warfare."
By that time, though, I'd also already seen the entire series of "Planet of the Apes" movies and, so, had thought "It would be awful if all of humanity were to be destroyed by a bunch of God-Damned Apes even if Kim Hunter (Hubba Hubba) were there!!!"
So, in the long run, The Entertainment Value of The Cold War turned out to be Greater Than The Warfare Value of The Cold War. If only that could be the case of all wars.
At least we got this record out of it. This is the fella (his name is Robin Scott, actually) that did that cute little song called "Pop Muzik" (New York, London, Paris, Munich...).
This record, "The Official Secrets Act" is his second album (released in 1980). My copy was purchased in "Used" condition and was previously owned by some College Radio Station. The following notes are what a Student Disc Jockey scribbled upon some labels that are affixed to the back of the jacket.
(1) Join the Party - Side 1 Cut 2 - Funny, Good beat, very catchy, great synth work EXCELLENT! Almost silly. Fades.
(2) RELAX - Side 2 Cut 1 -upbeat- very weird, but quite appealing-w/strings Give it a spin! ENDS COLD
2nd album by the man who brought you "Pop Muzik" - This is much stronger than the first album - Many synths, but not so much of a "Gimmick" album as an album of Rock n' Roll dance music. Very Melodic, not too weird, Don't Be Afraid.
- Transmission (The World Is At Your Fingertips)
- Join the Party
- Working for the Corporation
- Your Country Needs You
- M'aider
- Relax
- Maniac
- Keep It to Yourself
- Abracadabra
- The Official Secrets Act
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5 comments:
got this cheap at a Woolworths on cassette and listened to it quite a bit. I liked it more than the first album in many ways. Scott laid the foundation for a lot of synth-heavy music to come, and really doesn't get much credit for it. If this had been released about 5 years later under a different name, it would have been a much bigger hit.
Wow...it's always amazing how much music you never hear or hear of, and it's so good. But now I'll be humming "Pop Muzik" all night, too...
Thanks, Melt Man!
Booyow, Jim! That sums it up perfectly. I say it quite a bit and I'm amazed each time I'm reminded how true it is: Timing is Everything.
NEW YORK - LONDON - PARIS - MUNICH is a much stronger album than this second lp (very poor to my ears). and FAMOUS LAST WORDS the third album is not so famous!
in fact, M was the band of one album, the first! (which is great)
I dunno. I still like this one quite a bit. I have, though, developed a new appreciation for the first record since I posted this 2 years ago. It really is a great record. I need to dig "Famous Last Words" out again and give it a new listen as well...
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