tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38352025.post8203564309095774072..comments2007-10-22T13:43:12.660-07:00Ron Kanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07085455226260859567ronkanefiles@gmail.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38352025.post-24003191631242011462007-10-22T13:43:00.000-07:002007-10-22T13:43:00.000-07:00Re: Bill Nelson<BR/><BR/>I've been a Bill Nelson "New Wave" fan too. I had never heard BBD in spite of seeing the LPs for years [Orlando radio never played 'em]. I can't remember what made me pick up Bill Nelson solo material in 80-81, probably an intriguing review. <BR/><BR/>One of the first things I got was a 7" box called Permanent Flame: The Beginners Guide to Bill Nelson - a 5x7" box of BN & BBD material - all pretty good sounding to me! I went off and started buying everything that I saw. <BR/><BR/>Of course the Red Noise album sounds not unlike Devo-informed synth punk - great prickly stuff, but a few smooth tracks are in the mix. This was followed by "Quit Dreaming & Get on The Beam" a few years later. Comparisons to Devo are natural since Nelson favors geeky, sci-fi lyrics and social commentary. "Quit Dreaming" is from whence "Banal" hails and was his response to Mercury asking for single material!<BR/><BR/>A classic album to me is his next LP, "The Love The Whirls - diary of a thinking heart" that originally came with a bonus instro LP of music he composed for a Yorkshire Theatre Company play of Cocteau's "Beauty & The Beast." Crystalline machines and beautiful melodies. A little guitar seeps into the mix but he was deliberately avoiding guitar at the time becasue that's what everybody expected from him. <BR/><BR/>I always really liked the final BBD album, "Drastic Plastic" too. I have the US LP and the early 90s UK CD - they each have some different tracks. By 1985, Nelson stopped recording anything but demos. 95% of everything since then has been quickly composed and recorded material; some with found vocals, no vocals or his vocals. 3-4 hours from start to finish. Or so he says. <BR/><BR/>Most of it sounds good but it can get overwhelming, since he is insanely prolific! As in multiple boxed sets per year prolific. I did prefer music he labored over for a longer time but in reality, there's not a vast difference in quality between the two approaches. I suppose he'd rather slam out an album in a week instead of taking a month or two. <BR/><BR/>One later album of demos that sound as "cooked" as his major label solo records of the early 80s is "Blue Moons & Laughing Guitars." It was material composed and recorded to function as demos for a never-happened Be Bop Deluxe reunion in 1992. This is highly recommended. <BR/><BR/>I have not picked up anything since that time [ie. the last 15 years!] Why? I can't afford it all! What - 34 discs since 1992?! Heck, a lot of this output is now OOP and when Bill Nelson goes OOP, fans have to pony up the bucks! My friend Tom gave up on getting a CD of "The Love That Whirls" and paid $180 online to get a copy only to have it finally re-issued the following month! OUCH!!<BR/><BR/>None of it totally wastes your time but the instro stuff does tend to blend together. Caveat Emptor.Jim Donatonoreply@blogger.com