Best Post-Sulk Associates/Billy Mackenzie Albums

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Let's just state at the outset that Billy's work with Alan Rankine was utterly unique and nothing he ever did again approached the careening beauty of Affectionate Punch, Fourth Drawer Down or Sulk.

But as noted here, Billy's post-Sulk gets a very unfair rap. I recently picked up the Glamour Chase/Perhaps two-fer, and while I've always liked what I knew of the latter, some of the GC is absolutely wonderful (if a bit schizo).

Personally, I think Wild and Lonely is masterful. Hardly the "garish eurodisco" Trouser Press said it was, the record is like Kraftwerk producing Scott Walker, marrying a very detailed Julian Mendelssohn production with some of Billy's most aching tunes. "Strasbourg Square," "Calling All Around the World," the title track, "Where There's Love" are all among the best things he ever did. (and of course, he disowned it)

But I'm also interested to know if anyone knows Billy's 90's work very well, where he started to embrace dance music head on...

What say ILM of post-Sulk Billy?

Poll Results

OptionVotes
Perhaps (1984) 1
Wild and Lonely (1990) 1
Outernational (1992) 1
Beyond the Sun (1997) 1
Memory Palace (1999 w/ Paul Haig) 1
The Glamour Chase (1988 -- unreleased until 2005) 0
Eurocentric (2001 w/ Steve Aungle) 0
Auchtermatic (2005) 0
Transmission Impossible (2005) 0


Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 28 April 2009 02:04 (seventeen years ago)

I know you have opinions, ILM -- air them!

Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 28 April 2009 11:35 (seventeen years ago)

outernational is fantastic, a very lush and dramatic house record part produced by maurizio and thomas fehlmann. also includes my favourite billy ballad "baby" and his excellent stevie cover ("partime paradise") (both produced by boris blank)

i'm not really familiar enough with the rest of his solo output to vote here, though i also love the "ice cream man" single (billy sings orbidoig from 1982) and "whippets" w/ holger hiller

would be interested in hearing the album w/ paul haig

a somnambulist in an ambulance (r1o natsume), Tuesday, 28 April 2009 11:51 (seventeen years ago)

seems most of the collaborative partners through his career are some of my favourite producers ever

a somnambulist in an ambulance (r1o natsume), Tuesday, 28 April 2009 11:53 (seventeen years ago)

fuck that should read "ice cream factory" obv

a somnambulist in an ambulance (r1o natsume), Tuesday, 28 April 2009 12:38 (seventeen years ago)

The Paul Haig album got reissued on One Little Indian, should be easy to find.

Too early in the morning for me to come up with proper takes on all these. (Read Andy K's and my reviews in the AMG for more, but Dr. C has a great positive take on Wild and Lonely on here somewhere.)

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 28 April 2009 12:50 (seventeen years ago)

AMG has nothing on Glamour Chase, btw, Ned.

I just heard the bonus tracks on the reissue of Wild and Lonely this am -- his version of "1, 2, 3" (which could have been risible) is really enjoyable.

Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 28 April 2009 13:50 (seventeen years ago)

Just pulled Eurocentric down last night. Still digging into it, but "Falling Out With the Future," the opener, is awesome -- hard, acid-y techno (not exactly my cup of tea, usually), but with a great melody. Elsewhere, some very off-kilter instrumentals that suggest in Steve Aungle he'd found his new Alan Rankine. And some excellent, torchier material on the other songs.

Shame Billy died when he did — from this, it sounds like he would've fit in during the 2000's a lot more than he did for most of the 90's and 00's.

Nothing on AMG about this record either, Ned.

Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 30 April 2009 19:17 (seventeen years ago)

Make me feel bad oh wait. (Part of the thing is that Eurocentric's contents were mostly divided between the two OLI compilations that came out a couple of years back, the bulk ending up on Auchtermatic -- and THAT I did review!)

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 30 April 2009 19:34 (seventeen years ago)

(As well as Transmission Impossible FWIW.)

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 30 April 2009 19:35 (seventeen years ago)

Are they the same recordings? I wasn't sure.

Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 30 April 2009 19:53 (seventeen years ago)

Yup.

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 30 April 2009 19:54 (seventeen years ago)

Still no excuse for Glamour Chase, tho...

Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 30 April 2009 20:34 (seventeen years ago)

Hmm...the fantastic Eurocentric closer, "Return To Love," isn't on either. Bummer.

I really can't say enough about Wild and Lonely — it's actually a little amazing to me that anyone who was turned onto it in the last ten years could have been disappointed. The production is borderline Scritti-esque in its precision and detail. The songs are uniformly catchy and affecting. And his vocals are as good as ever.

I get why someone wouldn't have liked it in 1990 — it sounds like an 80s record, it's as far removed from Sulk as I can imagine, and it's much more heavily produced than anything he ever did. But to these 2009 ears, it's pretty close to a flawless record.

Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 1 May 2009 19:43 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah, I first heard it around 1993 or so and was all 'uh, what?' Since Outernational didn't get released at all here I had nothing more recent than that to compare it to.

Ned Raggett, Friday, 1 May 2009 20:08 (seventeen years ago)

three weeks pass...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Sunday, 24 May 2009 23:01 (seventeen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Monday, 25 May 2009 23:01 (seventeen years ago)

one year passes...

i've had wild and lonely and outernational hidden in the archive since the release of the reissues.
more fool me.
no idea what spurred me into action, but today they were dusted down and have been on solid rotation since.
they are truly fantastic.
having loved billys vocals on various yello tracks, i had no idea outernational had more slices of such brilliance.

mark e, Monday, 9 August 2010 14:05 (fifteen years ago)

Yup!

Ned Raggett, Monday, 9 August 2010 14:12 (fifteen years ago)

have you come around more to wild and lonely since your amg review sir ?
i think this has definitely stood the test of time with its production excess.
tis very ZTT/Act-esque .. which is only to be expected given Ann Dudleys involvment.

mark e, Monday, 9 August 2010 14:22 (fifteen years ago)

The remaster/rerelease was good stuff but I can't say I break it out often. Glad it happened, though!

Ned Raggett, Monday, 9 August 2010 14:40 (fifteen years ago)

billys vocals on various yello tracks

Which tracks does he guest on?

Gerald McBoing-Boing, Monday, 9 August 2010 15:29 (fifteen years ago)

oooh never thought i would be asked that !

to the attic i must go...oh sod it .. here's discog to the rescue :

http://www.discogs.com/Yello-One-Second/release/513908

http://www.discogs.com/Yello-Flag/release/94355

http://www.discogs.com/Yello-Baby/release/97248

as you can see, they were pretty close.

mark e, Monday, 9 August 2010 15:34 (fifteen years ago)

two years pass...

What are the best guest vocal appearances from Billy?

Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 00:04 (thirteen years ago)

This Apollo 440 track from 96 is probably my favourite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDPH9tQFZ14

Kitchen Person, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 00:46 (thirteen years ago)

Yeah, that's pretty stellar. One of the very last things he formally recorded.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 02:44 (thirteen years ago)


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