Il mio primo "incontro" con il duo britannico è stato assolutamente casuale: sono morbosamente appassionato di musica e mi capita spesso di curiosare nel mio negozio di dischi di fiducia alla disperata ricerca di qualcosa di nuovo, di particolare... e spesso mi capita di acquistare un disco poichè ne rimango attratto dal titolo o dalla copertina.
E così in una giornata di pioggia mi portai a casa "Pop Art", ignaro di avere tra le mani il disco che avrebbe dato una svolta decisiva alla mia vita... Ricordo di aver guardato a lungo la copertina del cd in questione, rimanendo ammaliato dalla sconnvolgente semplicità della stessa: le parole "Pop" e "Art", in un carattere tipicamente anni '80, si stagliavano su uno sfondo completamente bianco.
Piuttosto distrattamente inserii il primo dei 2 cd nel lettore: le prime tracce trascorsero senza troppe pretese, ma ricordo come se fosse ieri l'incredibile emozione di sentire in successione capolavori come "Suburbia", "What i have done to deserve this?", la recente "Home and dry", ma soprattutto la meravigliosa "Love comes quickly", una delle mie preferite...
Secondo cd, seconda scarica di emozioni: la bella "Flamboyant", la trascinante "Can you forgive her", "Paninaro '95", ma soprattutto "West End girls", vero manifesto della pop music anni '80, con il suo ritmo ipnotico, la sua atmosfera, le percussioni che lentamente si insinuano nella testa...
Ho lasciato per ultima la canzone che considero la più bella di Neil e Chris: "Being boring". Vi è mai capitato di piangere ascoltando una canzone? A me si, molte volte, ma è ascoltando questo pezzo che le lacrime iniziano a rigare il mio volto quasi automaticamente: il brano è assolutamente fantastico, con ìl suo tono malinconico, che ti invita a guardare indietro, a volgerti verso i tuoi ricordi, a ricordare il tempo trascorso e a naufragare nelle emozioni più profonde.
Concludo questa prima mia recensione scusandomi per l'inesperienza e la scarsa oggettività e consigliando questa raccolta a chiunque desideri un biglietto di sola andata per gli anni '80 e la loro indimenticabile atmosfera...
Elenco tracce e testi
05 Jealousy (04:15)
At dead of night, when strangers roam
The streets in search of anyone who'll take them home
I lie alone, the clock strikes three
And anyone who wanted to could contact me
At dead of night, 'til break of day
Endless thoughts and questions keep me awake
It's much too late
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
I never knew time passed so slow
I wish I'd never met you, or that I could bear to let you go
At dead of night, 'til break of day
Endless thoughts and questions keep me awake
It's much too late
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
I never knew 'til I met you
08 Liberation (04:06)
Take my hand
I've changed my mind again
Really I believed it true
that all who fell in love were foolish
But I was wrong
I've learned that lesson well
All the way back home at midnight
you were sleeping on my shoulder
Take my hand
Don't think of obligations
Now, right now
your love is liberation
To free in me
the trust I never dared
I always thought the risk too great
but suddenly I don't hesitate so
Take my hand
Don't think of complications
Now, right now
your love is liberation
Liberation
The night, the stars
A light shone through the dark
All the way back home at midnight
you were sleeping on my shoulder
Take my hand,
Don't think of hesitation
Now, right now
your love is liberation
Liberation
Back home at midnight
All the way back home at midnight
11 Yesterday, When I Was Mad (04:00)
Darling, you were wonderful, you really were quite good
I enjoyed that, though, of course, no one understood
A word of what was going on, they didn't have a clue
They couldn't understand your sense of humour like I do
You're much too kind
I smiled with murder on my mind
Yesterday, when I was mad
And quite prepared to give up everything
Admitting, I don't believe
In anyone's sincerity, and that's what's really got to me
You have a certain quality, which really is unique
Expressionless, such irony, although your voice is weak
It doesn't really matter 'cause the music is so loud
Of course it's all on tape, but no one will find out
You hated me too
But not as much as I hated you
Yesterday, when I was mad
And quite prepared to give up everything
Admitting, I don't believe
In anyone's sincerity, and that's what's really got to me
Then, when I was lonely
I thought again
And changed my mind
Then we posed for pictures with the competition winners
And argued about the hotel rooms, and where to go for dinner
And someone said: "It's fabulous you're still around today,
You've both made such a little go a very long way"
Yesterday, when I was mad
And quite prepared to give up everything
Admitting, I don't believe
In anyone's sincerity, and that's what's really got to me
Yesterday, when I was mad
And quite prepared to give up everything
Admitting, I don't believe
In anyone's sincerity, and that's what's really got to me
Then, when I was lonely
I thought again
And changed my mind
13 Somewhere (04:42)
Make of our hands, one hand
Make of our hearts, one heart
Make of our vows, one last vow
Only death will part us now
Make of our lives, one life
Day after day, one life
Now it begins, now we start
One hand, one heart
Even death won't part us now
There's a place for us
somewhere a place for us
Peace and quiet and open air
wait for us somewhere
There's a time for us
some day a time for us
Time together with time to spare
time to learn, time to care
some day, somewhere
We'll find a new way of living
We'll find a way of forgiving
somewhere
There's a place for us
a time and place for us
Hold my hand and we're halfway there
Hold my hand and I'll take you there
somehow, some day
somewhere
There's a place for us
a time and a place for us
Peace and quiet and open air
Hold my hand and I'll take you there
somehow, some day
somewhere
I feel pretty, oh so pretty
I feel pretty, oh so pretty
15 Flamboyant (03:40)
You live in a world of excess
where more is more
and less is much less
A day without fame
is a waste
and a question of need
is a question of taste
And You're so flamboyant
the way you look
It gets you so much attention
Your sole employment
is getting more
You want police intervention
You're so flamboyant
the way you live
You really care that they stare
And the press deployment
is always there
It's what you do for enjoyment
You live in a time of decay
when the worth of a man
is how much he can play
Every day
all the public must know
where you are, what you do
'cause your life is a show and
You're so flamboyant
the way you live
and it's not even demeaning
You're so flamboyant
It's like a drug
you use to give your life meaning
You're so flamboyant
The way you look
It gets you so much attention
Your sole employment
Is getting more
You want police intervention
Every actor needs
an audience
Every action is
a performance
It all takes courage
You know it
Just crossing the street
well, it's almost heroic
You're so flamboyant
There you are
at another preview
In a pose
the artist and you
To look so loud
may be considered tacky
collectors wear black clothes by issy miyake.
You're so flamboyant
the way you look
It gets you so much attention
Your sole employment
is getting more
You want police intervention
You're so flamboyant
The way you live
You really care that they stare
And the press deployment
is always there
It's what you do for enjoyment
You're so flamboyant
You're so flamboyant
16 Being Boring (04:50)
I came across a cache of old photos
And invitations to teenage parties
"Dress in white" one said, with quotations
From someone's wife, a famous writer
In the nineteen-twenties
When you're young you find inspiration
In anyone who's ever gone
And opened up a closing door
She said: "We were never feeling bored
'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end
When I went I left from the station
With a haversack and some trepidation
Someone said: "If you're not careful
You'll have nothing left and nothing to care for
In the nineteen-seventies"
But I sat back and looking forward
My shoes were high and I had scored
I'd bolted through a closing door
I would never find myself feeling bored
'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end
We were always hoping that, looking back
You could always rely on a friend
Now I sit with different faces
In rented rooms and foreign places
All the people I was kissing
Some are here and some are missing
In the nineteen-nineties
I never dreamt that I would get to be
The creature that I always meant to be
But I thought in spite of dreams
You'd be sitting somewhere here with me
'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end
We were always hoping that, looking back
You could always rely on a friend
And we were never being boring
We were never being bored
'Cause we were never being boring
We were never being bored
19 I Get Along (04:11)
Feeling like I'm stuck in a hole
body and soul
while you're out of control
Now I know why you had to go
well I think we both know
why it had to be so
I've been trying not to cry
when I'm in the public eye
Stuck here with the shame
and taking
my share of the blame
while making
sudden plans that don't include you
I get along, get along
without you very well
I get along very well
Now I know you'd much rather be
with rock royalty
instead of someone like me
The big boys are back and we need them, you said
Think it was something you'd read
and it stuck in your head
Even though I don't suppose
that's as far as it goes
You've got quite an appetite
for being wronged and in the right
Well from now on it won't affect me
I get along, get along
without you very well
I get along very well
The morning after the nigh before
I'd been alerted
to your lies
I phoned you up
You calls were all diverted
Took a long time to track you down
even though you were defiant
It's not what you think it is, you said
and proceeded to deny it
So I lost my patience at last
and it happened so fast
you belong in the past
I've been trying not to cry
when I'm in the public eye
Stuck here with the shame
and taking
my share of the blame
while making
sudden plans that don't include you
I get along, get along
without you very well
I get along very well
20 So Hard (03:58)
I double-cross you
And you get mysterious mail
I've tried hard not to shock you
It's hard not to
With the things I could say
Tell me why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
Why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
You lock your letters in a box
And you've hidden the key
I go one better
I'm indebted
To a contact magazine
Tell me why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
Why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for us
Everybody's got to live together
Just to find a little peace of mind there
If you give up your affairs forever
I will give up mine
But it's hard
So hard
I'm always hoping
You'll be faithful
But you're not, I suppose
We've both give up smoking
'Cause it's fatal
So whose matches are those
Tell me why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
We make it so hard (it's so hard)
Tell me why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard
Tell me why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
We make it so hard for ourselves
We make it so hard
So hard
We make it so hard
21 Rent (03:33)
You dress me up, I'm your puppet
You buy me things, I love it
You bring me food, I need it
You give me love, I feed it
And look at the two of us in sympathy
With everything we see
I never want anything, it's easy
You buy whatever I need
But look at my hopes, look at my dreams
The currency we've spent
I love you, oh, you pay my rent
I love you, oh, you pay my rent
You phone me in the evening on hearsay
And bought me caviar
You took me to a restaurant off Broadway
To tell me who you are
We never-ever argue, we never calculate
The currency we've spent
I love you, oh, you pay my rent
I love you, you pay my rent
I love you, oh, you pay my rent
I'm your puppet
I love it
And look at the two of us in sympathy
And sometimes ecstasy
Words mean so little, and money less
When you're lying next to me
But look at my hopes, look at my dreams
The currency we've spent
I love you, oh, you pay my rent
I love you, you pay my rent
Ooh, I love you, you pay my rent
Look at my hopes, look at my dreams
The currency we've spent
I love you, oh, you pay my rent
I love you, you pay my rent
Look at my hopes, look at my dreams
The currency we've spent
I love you, oh, you pay my rent
I love you, you pay my rent
I love you, you pay my rent (It's easy, it's so easy)
You pay my rent (It's easy, it's so easy)
You pay my rent (It's easy, it's so easy)
I love you (It's easy, it's so easy)
(It's easy, it's so easy)
(It's easy, it's so easy)
(It's easy, it's so easy)
(It's easy, it's so easy)
(It's easy, it's so easy)
(It's easy, it's so easy
24 It's A Sin (04:59)
(20 seconds and counting)
When I look back upon my life
It's always with a sense of shame
I've always been the one to blame
For everything I long to do
No matter when or where or who
Has one thing in common, too
It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin
It's a sin
Everything I've ever done
Everything I ever do
Every place I've ever been
Everywhere I'm going to
It's a sin
At school they taught me how to be
So pure in thought and word and deed
They didn't quite succeed
For everything I long to do
No matter when or where or who
Has one thing in common, too
It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin
It's a sin
Everything I've ever done
Everything I ever do
Every place I've ever been
Everywhere I'm going to
It's a sin
Father, forgive me, I tried not to do it
Turned over a new leaf, then tore right through it
Whatever you taught me, I didn't believe it
Father, you fought me, 'cause I didn't care
And I still don't understand
So I look back upon my life
Forever with a sense of shame
I've always been the one to blame
For everything I long to do
No matter when or where or who
Has one thing in common, too
It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin
It's a sin
Everything I've ever done
Everything I ever do
Every place I've ever been
Everywhere I'm going to - it's a sin
It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin
It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin
(Confiteor Deo omnipotenti vobis fratres, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione,
verbo, opere et omissione, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa)
[trans. "I confess to almighty god,
and to you my brothers,
that I have sinned exceedingly
in thought, word, act and omission,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault"]
28 It's Alright (04:19)
Dictation being forced in Afghanistan
Revolution in South Africa taking a stand
People in Eurasia on the brink of oppression
I hope it's going to be alright
I hope the music plays forever
Forests falling at a desperate pace
The earth is dying, and desert taking its place
People under pressure on the brink of starvation
I hope it's gonna be alright
(Alright Alright Alright)
'Cause the music plays forever
('Cause it goes on and on and on and on and on)
I hope it's gonna be alright
(On and on and on and on, forever)
And the music plays forever
(Alright Alright)
Generations will come and go (will come and go)
But there's one thing for sure
Music is our life's foundation
And shall succeed all the nations to come
(Alright Alright Alright)
'Cause the music plays forever
('Cause it goes on and on and on and on and on)
I hope it's gonna be alright
(On and on and on and on and on)
(On and on and on and on)
And the music plays forever
The year three thousand may still come to pass
But the music shall last
I can hear it on a timeless wavelength
Never dissipating but giving us strength
(It's alright)
I think it's gonna be alright
(It's gonna be alright)
(Alright Alright Alright Alright)
'Cause the music plays forever
(Eeh-oh-oh-eeh)
(Gonna be alright)
If the music plays forever
(It will be alright)
If the music plays forever
(I think it's gonna be alright)
It's gonna be alright
(If the music plays)
It's all - alright
It's alright
(For it goes on and on and on and on)
(On and on and on and on)
34 Always On My Mind (04:00)
Maybe I didn't treat you
Quite as good as I should
Maybe I didn't love you
Quite as often as I could
Little things I should have said and done
I never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
Maybe I didn't hold you
All those lonely, lonely times
And I guess I never told you
I'm so happy that you're mine
If I make you feel second best
I'm so sorry I was blind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn't died
Give me, one more chance to keep you satisfied, satisfied
Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn't died
Give me, one more chance to keep you satisfied
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
Maybe I didn't treat you
Quite as good as I should
Maybe I didn't love you
Quite as often as I could
Maybe I didn't hold you
All those lonely, lonely times
And I guess I never told you
I'm so happy that you're mine
38 Miracles (03:54)
Clouds drift away
when they see you
Rain wouldn't dare
to fall near you here
Miracles happen
when you're around
Somehow the grass is much greener
Rivers flow faster and cleaner
Being with you
no matter where
sunlight breaks through
and suddenly there's
A bluer sky
whenever you're around
You always bring
a bluer sky
a brighter day
Thunder is silent before you
Roses bloom more to adore you too
Miracles happen
when you're around
The sunset is deeper and longer
The scent of the jasmine is stronger
Stray dogs don't bite
Birds start to sing
Lightening daren't strike
You suddenly bring
A bluer sky
whenever you're around
You always bring
a bluer sky
a brighter day
Birds fly
even higher in the sky
Sun shines
It's a new day
Being with you
no matter where
sunlight breaks through
and suddenly there's
A bluer sky
whenever you're around
You always bring
a bluer sky
a brighter day
(Miracles happen)
Birds fly
even higher in the sky
(Miracles happen)
Sun shines
It's a new day
(Miracles happen)
Sun shines
It's a new day
46 I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More (Peter Rauhofer Roxy Anthem) (10:26)
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